What 216 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell

Without any notice, the crankshaft seized while driving 55 mph on the highway. We were on a highway with one lane in each direction and a shoulder. No warning lights appeared until after the engine failed. We were barely able to coast to the shoulder at the time. The incident blew a baseball size hole in the engine. The vehicle was towed to over 60 miles to Noller Hyundai of Lawrence, Kansas. The repair was paid for under the Hyundai warranty without me providing any maintenance records. The engine is not in our possession for you to inspect, but I'm sure you could reach out to the dealership where it was replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11676165

engine is burning oil. have to replenish oil level once a month, started about a yr ago

NHTSA ODI 11664078

On [XXX], my husband and I were driving on [XXX] (Highway) in the slow lane, when the engine shutoff without any Service engine light warning. It was frightening because an tractor trailer was directly behind the car as we lost power. There was no sounds of engine parts knocking or pinging when the problem occurred. The only thing was observed was (two) 2 puffs of smoke seen from the tailpipe, witnessed by my son who was following behind in his vehicle. The vehicle was not able to start after shutdown and had to be towed to my home. We purchased a new battery after assuming battery failure--with no resolve. The vehicle was towed to(two) 2 repair shops with the same conclusion: Seized Engine After checking Open Recalls on my vehicle, I contacted Hyundai to check for assistance. The vehicle is now at the Hyundai dealership in McDonough, Georgia for inspection. I am thankful that my husband and I were not injured or laying in a Morgue after this frighten ordeal on the highway when the Engine suddenly shutoff/Seized. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11659451

The engine uses about 3 to 4 quarts of oil before a oil change the it will go in limp mode. I have to get it rest and then add oil for the engine to run right. Also transmission don't want to shift 3 to 4 gear it will be 35 mph to 65 before it shifts. When the car goes in limp mode I lose power going up a hill and almost got rear ended. They won't do anything do to its a used car. No lights came on the dash till it acts up.

NHTSA ODI 11652974

--->While I was driving my hyundai tucson engine seized (-engine model (lm) 2.4l theta ii--> 63,664 miles). Yes, the vehicle is available for inspection. ---> As I said before I was driving in a express way when the incident happened. My car just stopped working out of a sudden and I had to take the side road by applying a much force effort from myself not to get hit by several vehicles behind. When I finally managed to step aside, I sensed some sort of smoke smell. And also all warning lights from car dashboard came up with no prior lamp alerts before this incident. ---> I took the vehicle to the nearest repair shop called Sam's certified auto repair. And there it was diagnosed that the vehicle engine was seized. So i inmediately called the dealer and the asked me to tow my SUV. There they diagnosed the vehicle with a seized engine too. From there on I found out that these vehicle i bought have a recall and that the this engine model has a major malfunctioning manufacture issues. Then I tried to get an authorization approval for a new engine but it was denied because they stated that I have a savage title.

NHTSA ODI 11622117

The engine completely shut off while I was driving 70 mph on the highway. I lost braking and steering power. I had NO warning, no lights came on at all. I bought it used on 11/20/2023 and I have only driven it 6,011 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11617479

Left passenger door, (that has child safety lock engaged,) will not open, from either the inside or the outside, when the unlock door button is pushed. When manually unlock door, it still won't open from either inside our outside. I have owned this vehicle for 9yrs and am less than 54,000 miles driven. This is a safety concern as I 2 small grandchildren and I need access to both doors.

NHTSA ODI 11613222

- My engine seized while driving North on [XXX] from San Diego to CA. After having it towed to a shop I was informed it was completely out of oil which caused the engine to seize and would need to be replaced. My last oil change had taken place within about 6k miles and should not have been out of oil. Additionally no oil light, engine light, or any light on the dashboard was on to notify me something was wrong. - I was on a major CA highway in the far left lane when the engine seized and would no longer accelerate. I was incredibly lucky to make it across 4 lanes and that there was an off-ramp right there so I could get off the highway. This could have caused a massive pile-up accident. - The first shop it was towed to confirmed no oil and engine seizure. Hyundai has only acknowledged I need a new engine but won't confirm it was due to lack of oil, likely because they know there are massive oil consumption problems with this Theta II engine. - Hyundai has now had my vehicle for 2 months and is denying warranty coverage as I cannot produce 2 out of 9 years of oil change records. I have provided the other 7, which include records of the last 4 years of consistent oil changes. - There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem before failure. There was no way I could have known anything was wrong or that this was going to happen. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11609830

Our 2015 Hyundai Tucson check engine light started flashing and went into "limp mode" while driving on the freeway. Limp mode means the car loses power to accelerate, struggles going up hills, and limits speed. Thankfully I was not pulling out. The vehicle was towed that day to a mechanic who found traces of metal in the oil (see documentation). The vehicle was then towed to the Hyundai dealer. The dealer explained there is a common problem with Hyundai engines failing due to rod bearing issues and PistonSlap. I later learned the dealership covers the rod bearing issues due to a court settlement from being sued for so many engine issues. The dealership said if they found it was an engine bearing rod issue (ring connecting to the piston) they would replace the engine since it was a safety issue. They claimed if it was a piston slap it would not be covered (even though the bearing rod is connected to the piston and could potentially cause PistonSlap). After checking that the car had been taken care of extremely well with oil changes around every 3 months and all safety procedures had been taken they performed a bearing clearance test. The test passed without error detection so they changed the existing knock sensor. We were directed to drive the car and if the sensor turned on again to bring the 2015 Tucson back. We did and a week later, the new Knock Sensor reported there was something wrong with the engine again. I also noticed when checking the oil that smoke came from the dipstick tube. We took the car to the Hyundai dealer again. They did the bearing clearance test again. It passed again but this time they detected a rattling noise coming from the engine block. According to the records the noise was loudest to cylinder 4. The dealer claimed we needed a new engine that would cost about $9,500. Clearly, this is a piston-manufactured defect. With metal floating in the oil and a limited piston warranty it encourages the owner to drive the car until it brakes.

NHTSA ODI 11600334

Ticking sound (loud noise ) from the engine and the check engine light is flashing. The mileage on the car is 142600km.

NHTSA ODI 11597501

Bought the vehicle as is with "1 owner, who was older" drove it off the lot and rest drove it, at 57,000 miles. Perfect...that was november 2023.. 3 days later my car was a little low on gas due to they didn't fill it and I left it be, started it drove about 15 miles and it starts sputtering and almost stalls out. Now here I am in June and beginning of June I hear ticking under hood, thinking it's my oil, I changed it (myself) and here it is 3 weeks later oil keeps burning hot, the oil.pressue light comes on when I brake and off when I give it gas, and I don't have any power what so ever when trying to accelerate and doesn't pick up speed unless I'm going downhill. I have 2 small children and a single mom working 5 days a week, I need this car to work. Please hellllpp me . We were going up a hill and I almost got rear ended because my car didn't have power. Not to mention the driver seat fuse keeps blowing out and the bolt keeps breaking so now I can't fit comfortably while.driving and my seat bounces constantly up and down when going over bumps. This was supposed to be my new beginning family car as this is the newest car I've ever owned and it's become an absolute nightmare and I'm scared for me and my children that the engine is going to blow up because that's what it sounds like or I'm going to get smashed by another vehicle due to the fact I have no power

NHTSA ODI 11595845

Vehicle code P1326 Flashing engine light Knocking noises while accelerating Indicates of low oil level When accelerating in doesn’t want to accelerate and it feels like it wants to stall out and shut off

NHTSA ODI 11594560

The passenger door handle will not open from the outside door after using keyless entry or door unlock. This put people at risk if someone is trying to rescue the person from an accident or other critical injury where one needs help to escape from the vehicle. There are numerous reports of this manufacture and model where the front doors or back passenger doors will not open. Carguru has a page listing this issue as well [XXX] The issue just happened one day when I tried to open the door for someone. This needs to be investigated. I have been told by a local mechanic that it would cost anywhere from $400 to $800 in repairs. The second issue is that the engine burns oil faster than normal. I have a normal commute to work and before the 3,000 mark for an oil change, my oil light comes on in my vehicle. I check the oil only to see that it's very low. My mechanic has stated that Hyundai Tuscan and the Kia Sorento have this engine issue. The burning of the oil is faster and the catalyst converter has to be changed faster due to high amounts of carbon being burned. Please look into this matter INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11592603

While driving our 2015 Hyundai Tucson on [XXX] outside of Sanford, Florida, [XXX], at 70mph, the car unexplainably lost all power and my husband had to veer into the right lane while avoiding traffic at high speeds, and pull onto the shoulder until the the car came to rest. This affected his safety, the cars in the right lane, the cars behind him, and his safety on the shoulder. When he tried to restart it, the engine light came on and he immediately drove home. The following day, we took it to our regular mechanic. After inspecting the vehicle, he told us our engine was completely “shot”. We called the Hyundai dealership in Daytona Beach, Florida. The engine light was on, so we paid to have it towed. The dealership called a couple of days later and after INSPECTION, stated the engine was seized, but it was under warranty. Later, we received a call saying it wasn’t under warranty because a KDSD “RECALL” was never completed. We had no idea what he was referring to, as we never received a RECALL notice regarding the KDSD. THERE WAS NEVER A RECALL ON A KSDS SYSTEM. ONLY A SERVICE CAMPAIGN THAT WE WERE NOT INFORMED OF. Therefore, the engine was a total loss and would not be replaced. THERE WAS NEVER A PRIOR INDICATION FROM ANY WARNING LIGHTS OR SYMPTOMS. Upon investigation, I learned that Hyundai was aware of this problem in 2018. Our vehicle was in for regular service on [XXX]. After reading many of the TSB Memos, Their Service Campaign began on [XXX]. We never received notice regarding this campaign. Nonetheless, as our car was in for service IN SEPTEMBER OF 2018, they should have made us aware, and performed the software update then and there. The software only warns the driver that there may be a problem. This update doesn’t improve THE ENGINE which is defective. It is abhorrent to me that they are still putting lives at risk. HYUNDAI NEEDS TO RECALL THIS ENGINE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED OR IS SERIOUSLY INJURED. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11581161

I went out side at 6 AM on Sunday, March 3rd, 2024, and found my 2015 Hyundai Tucson locked and running. The windshield wipers were on. I did not start the car myself and it was locked. Both keys were inside my house and had not been out of my care. The remote start key was in my locked jewelry box, never having been used since I owned the car. My regular key was in my purse. I did not know what to do so looked on line and found several incidents similar to this but unexplained. I called two Hyundai dealerships, a corporate office, and a national Hyundai help line. No one from Hyundai that I spoke with had ever heard of such an incident, although there were a few reported by private individuals on the internet. On that evening the car started up on its own outside my house at 6:00 o’clock. I called the police who told me to disconnect the battery for safety’s sake. I called the Hyundai numbers again and they have agreed to talk with in a few days.

NHTSA ODI 11575421

I went to get my car looked at a couple months ago and was told the oil pan was leaking . So the day I get it changed the car shuts off while I’m driving ; I began to loose acceleration, the oil light starts to flash , the engine light is flickering while the car is shaking making a knocking noise .

NHTSA ODI 11574747

Rear driver door does not open. The door has not been damaged but just stopped opening. It’s a safety issue because if something was to happen they could be stuck in the car.

NHTSA ODI 11567558

I have a 15 Hyundai Tucson that has been shutting off on me while driving on a highway going between 55 mph to 70 mph. Engine went into limp mode, CEL is on and flashing. Knocking noise heard from engine and consuming oil. Diagnosed with P1326 code. Brought to local Hyundai dealership. Even though road test stated normal operation, technician notes that vehicle DID stall, shut off, on return to the shop. No codes. Was told Hyundai would not pay for man hours to look into further. So allowed me to drive off their lot. Upon re-search I found, with NO help from local Hyundai or the dealership I purchased vehicle from, that my VIN number is associated with the E2 class action settlement that just went live May 2023, that my engine is indeed infected, like a cough before the cold, and has the potential of starting on fire/failure. Now I purchase this vehicle in 08/2023 with no disclosure of this very concerning problem. I am told by Hyundai USA that there is a paper trail that every affected VIN in the settlement has been notified, by law, to owners of affected VIN’s, and still not disclosed. I reached out to Hyundai USA at the national level, was given a case manager, who sent my case to the buyback/legal department. My case manager reached out and stated that my case has been denied due to age and mileage of vehicle (even though automatically extended to 15yr/150,000 miles) I asked what my next steps should be as my vehicle is still shutting off on me while driving and was told to have a different Hyundai dealership diagnose vehicle, but to not tell them all of the information of it already going to one Hyundai dealership. I was told if I hear a noise from the engine that I should pull off to the side of the road and call for a tow truck. I said so Hyundai USA feels good allowing this vehicle to be operated on highways knowing the symptoms I am experiencing. They obviously do not care for my safety let alone passenger safety, nor other motorist on roads.

NHTSA ODI 11562481

The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to accelerate while driving uphill. Additionally, the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the catalytic converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The engine had been replaced. The vehicle continued to hesitate while driving uphill. The check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The vehicle was returned to the dealer who diagnosed that the catalytic converter had failed again and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11558898

Bought vehicle from dealership and 20 days later my car shut off as I was driving. Spoke to dealer they had me bring to her mechanic that she use since it was going to be in the shop dealer agreed to put new pads and rotors on. Picked up vehicle, ask them about the problem. They told me that it was all good and that they just cleaned up the mass air sensor that was dirty. Brought vehicle home. Mid of Oct driving down highway/55 mph vehicle shut off again on me this time it went into limp mode. Call dealership back and she wanted me to drive it to shop. I stated I’d did not feel comfortable driving it 45 miles in limp mode. Local shop Looked at it discussed with dealership. I finally spoke to the shop they gave me the information of the codes. Dealership texted me not phone call told me all about the code It was pulling and recommended that I take it to a Hyundai dealership as there is a service campaign on the vehicle. Dealership sent bank a copy of the service campaign. It states as required by federal law dealers must not place vehicle into customers use until campaign and all open recalls performed on vehicle. Campaign states it is a safety action. Campaign also states Q&A on the campaign. Hyundai strongly encourages customers to get this fixed. Also states what will happen if the wear in the engine bearings are malfunctioning. Also states that dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the engine. this is the second time vehicle has shut off while I was driving on Wisconsin highways. I have informed dealership that it was the second time that it has done this and that it was unsafe. Then I find out that the first shop I took it to that works with the dealership put in a used transmission a new Cadillac converter days before my purchase, and neither in person prior to signing purchase agreement nor on the Wisconsin buyers guide does it show that this dealership replaced anything into this car. I have only driven 1400 miles. I spoke with dealer, she won’t help!

NHTSA ODI 11553908

The passenger rear door no longer opens from either the outside or inside. Door unlocks but unable to open door.

NHTSA ODI 11554023

I was drive home one night and the car cut off while I was driving I costed into a gas station good thing there was no other cars on the road. I call for a tow truck. The mechanic said it was a bad starter at first. A new starter was place in the car it started for 15 minutes and shut of they checked the starter it was working and that when I told me it was the engine. A very bad internal.engine problem

NHTSA ODI 11537907

My 2015 Hyundai Tucson (62,000 mi) has been having issues of late, I’ve been to my mechanic several times and the last 2 times my car was completely out of oil. There weren’t any warning lights and I just felt it was running “weird.” Now I’m told there us a risk of the engine seizing, catching fire, etc. and I have to constantly check the oil. I’m a senior citizen, so this isn’t easy for me. There is an engine defect causing the cars to need excessive amounts of oil and as more damage occurs, the engine eventually fails. What if I’m on a highway and that happens? Please make Hyundai fix these engines or give us new cars or enough money to buy a new one. They are stalling and putting us all at increased risk.

NHTSA ODI 11533559

The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that after reaching 100,000 miles, the vehicle started consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. Upon observing oil consumption, the contact stated that he had to add 1-quart of engine oil every 700 miles. The contact stated that previously the vehicle was receiving an oil change every 5,000 miles. The low oil warning light would illuminate on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The mechanic suggested that oil be added every two weeks due to the excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11530158

Oil burns it uses alot of oil like if it was leaking oil consumption

NHTSA ODI 11519947