Home · 2016 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell · Complaints

What 1,536 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (1,536)Crash / fire / injury (36)Transmission & drivetrain (498)Engine (372)Body & structure (220)Electrical system (200)Latches & locks (156)Speed control (104)Fuel system (54)Brakes (48)Visibility & wipers (40)Lights (28)

Newest first · 1,536 complaints · page 17 of 62

Aug 10, 2022Engine

My car seemed to be lagging severely when accelerating and then started coughing when accelerating and the check oil light came on even though I had plenty of oil and had just had it changed. I took it into the dealership and they said that the check engine light was also flashing just so fast I couldn’t see it. Several engine cylinders were apparently misfiring but it wasn’t covered by warranty. They installed new spark plugs and cleaned something to do with the fuel system and told me that would “be the starting place” several hundred dollars in. It worked fine. Fast forward 4 months I take it in for its regular oil change and mention how it’s been lagging again and here we go again. Same issue. According to my local mechanic a lot of these engines end up needing to be replaced completely to resolve the issue.

NHTSA ODI 11478626

Aug 9, 2022Latches & locks

Door handles on vehicle not working. When you go to pull back on the door handle it won’t open. I couldn’t get my Nephew out of the car. Very frightening. Had to crawl through the hatch to get to him. It started one day with my driver door and I had to pull back at least twice or more before it opens. Now the front passenger’s side door will not open unless pulling the handle from inside to let them in. Back doors are not wanting to open from outside. The day my Nephew was trapped no door would open. Thank god the hatch opened. This is a serious safety issue. Makes me nervous that one day I won’t be able to open my car doors from the inside too. I had trouble with that yesterday on the front passenger door. I don’t have kids and it’s just me a single lady that lives 5 minutes from work. I typically don’t have kids in my vehicle, this was the first time. Made me look like a bad auntie putting my brother’s child in danger. There is hardly any wear on my vehicle, so there must be an issue with the door handles in general.

NHTSA ODI 11478304

Aug 9, 2022Electrical system

Window motors and regulators are prone to failure. All 4 of the window motors/regulators have failed within the past year. Apparently the regulator is made of plastic and falls apart easily. As a result, the windows can no longer be operated, and they can be moved up and down by hand from the exterior of the vehicle. Safety is at risk because the integrity of the windows are compromised. In some cases windows will fall down during normal operation of the vehicle. No warning lamps were illuminated during this failure. Note another complaint here: https://www.hyundai-forums.com/threads/window-regulator-2016-hyundai-tucson.671843/

NHTSA ODI 11478492

Aug 8, 2022Latches & locks

3 of the 4 doors of my 2016 Hyundai Tucson are suddenly unable to be opened from the outside or the inside. There has been no damage to the vehicle. The driver door is able to be opened at this time. This is a major safety issue as passengers are not able to exit the vehicle in the case of an emergency/children passengers are not able to be removed from the vehicle. This seems to be a widespread issue for 2016 Hyundai Tucson customers. Internet thread included below: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t57988_ds1084478

NHTSA ODI 11478209

Aug 6, 2022Latches & locks

The passenger door will not open after being unlocked

NHTSA ODI 11477952

Aug 5, 2022Seats

While driving, the driver seat adjusted causing my seat to move up to the steering wheel. At the time I was on the expressway. I was too terrified to scream, I had to pull over to catch my breathe before I could continue driving to get home. I took my car to Hyundai and the service man stated that it didn't happen when he drove it and that they didn't find anything wrong. I filed a complaint before and never heard anything back. The car seat still adjusts. I don't drive it as much now.

NHTSA ODI 11477834

Aug 4, 2022

All 4 window regulators have failed. The first two were replaced by dealer, but now are refusing to replace other two. Windows will not stay shut. Have them wedged up with small pieces of carpet. The back two doors will not open either. They said they are fixing those.

NHTSA ODI 11477553

Aug 4, 2022Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, a clicking noise was present coming from the steering column while turning the steering wheel in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who indicated the ticking noise was caused by loosened steering column bolts. The bolts were re-torqued and the failure was remedied. The contact indicated that approximately 40,000 miles later the ticking noise reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering column bolts had loosened again. The bolts were again re-torqued and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,037. The consumer stated the 2nd occurrence happened on 07/20/2022 at 55,053 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11477601

Aug 3, 2022Airbags

Air Bag light is staying on constantly. Took it to the dealer and said it is the Air bag control module. Not covered under extended warranty. Called Hyundai and they said not covered since vehicle is at 69,000 miles. Noticed Hyundai has recalls for air bag modules on other vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11477387

Jul 30, 2022Latches & locks

Back passenger door will not open from time to time from the outside or inside. It unlocks and everything but you have to keep trying before it opens. I looked this up and it is common for the 2016 Hyundai Tucson. This is a defect that can be dangerous under certain circumstances.

NHTSA ODI 11476625

Jul 30, 2022Engine

I have been finding when going for an oil change, the mechanic is stating that my vehicle has no oil in it, no signs of a leak, and this has occurred multiple times in last couple months. Now I check oil once a week and finding more often then not my oil is low and I need to add oil. not once has any warning light come on. What irritates me most is if this seems to be occurring with others - Hyundai needs to do something about this. Who knows how long I drove with low to no oil in my vehicle before knowing I had this problem. Can't imagine the damage done to my engine!

NHTSA ODI 11476671

Jul 28, 2022Latches & locks

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the driver's side rear door was unable to be opened from inside or outside the vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.

NHTSA ODI 11476296

Jul 28, 2022Latches & locks

Both rear doors do not open from the outside or inside, no child lock engaged. Usually takes several tries locking/unlocking to get door open. In the event of a crash, passengers would not be able to exit the vehicle. Not inspected, and no warning lamps.

NHTSA ODI 11476310

Jul 28, 2022Latches & locks

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that after locking the front passenger’s side door, the door was seized in the closed position and could not be opened when unlocked. The contact indicated that extreme force was needed to pull the door handle while attempting open the door. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 52,000.

NHTSA ODI 11476391

Jul 23, 2022Latches & locks

Rear passenger door will not open from outside or inside after unlocking. Basically, the door stays locked. Only after repetitive banging on the door handle (outside) will it sometimes open (more often it just stay locked - it may be days and dozens of attempts before it haphazardly opens). Additionally, the front drivers side door does not open on the first pull from the outside (it requires at least 2 pulls - sometimes as many as 4 pulls to finally open). Finally, the front passenger door is experiencing similar problems where it may take a second pull to open the door (this door only recently started having this problem and it opens normally most of the time). It can't be a coincidence that 3 out of the 4 doors on this vehicle are having problems with the door locks. So far the front doors open fine from the inside but the rear drivers side door is a serious safety hazard as I have a 3 yr child that sits in the back seat regularly. A simple google search brings up dozens of links and articles where owners of the same model vehicle are complaining of the exact same problem. It's obvious that this is a common issue with this vehicle but so far no recall even acknowledgement by the manufacturer has been issued. This is a safety issue - PLEASE HELP

NHTSA ODI 11475458

Jul 20, 2022Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a rattling noise and vibration coming from the steering wheel. Additionally, while parking and turning the steering wheel in either direction, there was a clicking noise coming from the steering column. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the intermediate steering shaft was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA ODI 11474942

Jul 19, 2022

Three of my windows stopped working within a few weeks of each other in June 2022 and July 2022. My car has approximately 19,000 miles on it. I took it to the dealership and they said that the window regulators need to be replaced. It costs $741 per window. This is a defect that is occurring with this car's make, model, and year. There are many online forums where other owners of the exact same type of vehicle are experiencing this failure. For example, in this forum there are over 10 owners that have the same issue. Many owners of this car are unable to open their windows anymore unless they can afford to pay the high cost per window. This is putting people's safety at risk because, 1) your car's windows are an emergency exit point if you are in an accident and your doors are nonfunctional, 2) you can't communicate with law enforcement during a traffic stop which puts the officer at risk and yourself because you have to open your door when you can't roll your window down, 3) children in the back seats can't breathe well from the strong wind in their face when the window is stuck rolled down while you are driving. Also debris can fly into the car because the window is not rolled up while driving. Please consider these safety concerns and investigate the fact that there are so many of these cars experiencing this exact defect that is causing multiple windows to fail. This is one website with many forums that report this window failure with this exact type of car: https://www.hyundai-forums.com/search/1269536/?q=windows+tucson&o=relevance Thank you in advance for your time to investigate this concern.

NHTSA ODI 11474828

Jul 16, 2022Transmission & drivetrainEngine

This car is burning oil and locking up the engine while driving. This has happened multiple times now! I am changing the oil every couple two thousand miles instead of 3000, and sometimes even sooner than that. I was on the interstate a couple of times and the car will not accelerate. This is a danger to myself as well as other drivers. Why is this not being investigated??? Looking through the complaints, it has been happening to so many people and no one is doing anything about it!

NHTSA ODI 11474262

Jul 15, 2022Engine & cooling

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall upon depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The contact initially took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where the catalytic converter, spark plugs, and coil packs were replaced. Eight months later, the failure returned and the same mechanic informed her that the evaporated oil had melted the catalytic converter and referred her to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer on three separate occasions and each time the catalytic converter was replaced; however, despite the numerous replacements, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140,963.

NHTSA ODI 11474156

Jul 12, 2022Latches & locks

Locks and Latches have stopped working. My rear passenger and driver side latches do not open. It is a safety hazard for anyone riding in my vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11473490

Jul 9, 2022Latches & locks

Passenger side front door lock intermittently does not unlock either by pressing door handle or remote control. Passenger can be trapped inside of vehicle in the event of an emergency egress being needed. Problem is intermittent for now, but growing in frequency!

NHTSA ODI 11473107

Jul 8, 2022Latches & locks

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the rear driver’s side door latch would not unlock and could not be opened from inside or outside of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000.

NHTSA ODI 11472869

Jul 8, 2022Latches & locks

The car doors don’t open even after unlocking. I can hear and see the door is u locked but the door doesn’t open from outside. Unable to open the door and get my kid out in case of emergency

NHTSA ODI 11472999

Jul 1, 2022Latches & locks

Driver side door doesn’t open after unlocking unless you yank on handle 10+ times, and now driver side window no longer goes up. Motor works for window to go down but not up, so it is now a safety concern! A quick Google search reveals countless 2016 Hyundai Tucson owners experiencing the exact same thing- and always with the driver door only.

NHTSA ODI 11472067

Jun 30, 2022Equipment

Air Conditioning Unit is not working properly. I am spending over 1500.00 to have the defective unit replaced. I find it unreasonable that I should spend that amount to repair something that the company should include in a recall campaign.

NHTSA ODI 11471922

← NewerOlder →

Working with the data? Download all 1,536 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 25, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell verdict →