What 383 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell

The oil plug fell out of my Tuscon while I driving on the highway and it burned out my entire engine on January 2, 2023, at approximately 5:40 pm EST. The tech at the dealership found the plug in the tray under the spot where the plug goes. It was inspected by a technician at a Hyundai dealership. The car is a 2018 Tuscon--had less than 55,000 miles on it and is now basically worthless and undrivable, quoted $13,000 to fix it. My entire engine now needs to be replaced. I was within the lifespan of my last oil change when the plug fell out. A red oil light flickered on and then a battery subsequently came on. Within approximately three minutes of the light first flickering on, the car was dead on the side of the highway. The car would not turn over once it was stopped on the side of the highway. The car is still at the dealership and available for inspection as of today, but I am not sure how long it will be there because I am not sure what is the best path forward in terms of repair because of the financial cost. I'm lucky that I was able to navigate my car onto the shoulder of the highway and secure a tow without injury. It was a very foggy day and it was already dark when this occurred and I was afraid I would be struck if I exited my car. My car drifted to a stop at the start of an exit ramp with a highway barrier that prevented me from going farther right onto the shoulder.

NHTSA ODI 11500673

When driving at night and low-beams are on, there is a black void (looks like a black bar horizontally across the headlight projected area on roadway). Black void is eye level with driver’s view of the roadway. With the black void present, driver is unable to see the roadway clearly at night, which inhibits the drivers visibility and ability to see road hazards or animals crossing the road. Low-beam and high-beam bulbs have been replaced and checked for any burn spots or malfunction in the bulb itself; with brand new bulbs installed professionally, the black void is still present. Hyundai repair stated it is a known issue that has yet to be addressed by Hyundai Manufacturers. Issue has been present for 2-months now. While driving on interstate, went to pass a vehicle and while accelerating the vehicle would not increase in speed. The RPM needle jumped to 5-6 and a “whiny” noise was coming from engine area. Pressed harder on the accelerator so the car would speed up and with the pedal to the floor, the vehicle speed increased 1 mph in 5-sec intervals. Exited the interstate and was traveling on road with 60mph speed limit. Tried to accelerate again, and the vehicle would make the whiny noise and would not increase speed or shift. Let off of the accelerator and the RPM drops instantly to 2-3. RPM’s need does not smoothly increase or decrease, but instead jumps or drops instantly. When accelerator is pressed or when trying to increase speed, the whiny noise comes from engine. The vehicle sounds and acts like it is not shifting. Took to dealership and they said there are no recalls on transmission, but will not fix my transmission. 10-year/100000 mile warranty is still active, as it is a 2018 w/ 89500 miles. Safety concern as the vehicle will not accelerate or shift when needed and could cause serious accident if in a situation where evasive action is required.

NHTSA ODI 11500485

Engine (1.6-liter turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder) had a catastrophic failure driving along highway. Engine instantly lost power and stalled. No indicators on instrument cluster prior to engine stall, temperature gauge for coolant indicating nominal conditions. Upon pulling over to the side of the road, check engine & batter indicator lights shown on the instrument cluster. Hyundai's roadside assistance system, Bluelink, did not activate with the engine's stall. It was observed that a mix of antifreeze and oils were dripping behind the engine onto the ground. Dealer later discovered that a piston connection rod had punched through the wall of the engine block. Dealer has submitted issue to Hyundai Corporate. Vehicle is aggressively service with manufacture dealerships according to recommended service intervals with synthetic fluids.

NHTSA ODI 11498495

Leaving a parking lot, vehicle was hard-shifting at 10mph, 20mph, 30mph and was not gaining typical acceleration. Every slow down or stop sign/stop light this behavior continued with automatic hard shifting between gears and lethargic acceleration to the point where I felt this may cause an accident or cause another vehicle to have an accident due to lag response of my vehicle. Upon home arrival, I attempted to back vehicle into my parking spot but after shifting into Reverse, the R indicator on console was flashing but vehicle would not move. I drove back around the complex parking circle and again attempted to back vehicle in to a different parking space but experienced the same issue where R indicator was flashing but vehicle would not back up. My daughter and 2 grandsons then had to push my vehicle back in to the parking spot. I turned vehicle off, waited approximately 90 seconds and restarted the engine. When I shifted into Reverse gear, the car abruptly and harshly shut down. At that point, I put the vehicle back into Park gear and turned off ignition. Had the vehicle towed to closest dealership on Nov 28th - they have not been able to replicate issue nor find any fault codes when running diagnostics. No dashboard errors appeared, only the flashing Reverse indicator light on shift console. No prior issues earlier in the day when using vehicle, nor has this issue occurred in the 4 years I have owned it. It was severe enough I wasn't sure the vehicle would clear intersections in a timely manner, and worried it may leave myself and my daughter and grandsons stranded on the 20 minute ride to home.

NHTSA ODI 11495720

The component or system failing is the brake system. When applying the foot to the brake pedal, sometimes it goes to a very low level. The problem was reproduced with the service technicians of a dealer. They made a maintenance service (break flush) to the brake system. Problem seemed to be solved, but it came back again. The mileage between the first service and second service was 1,591 miles. In the second service, technicians made inspection to the brake pads, they were found within parameters. Test drive was made, and the problem was not reproduced. Not sure if they made additional service. After few weeks, the problem repeated again. This is an intermittent problem. Sometimes occurs, but not always. No warning lamps or indicators present at the time the problem occurs.

NHTSA ODI 11495559

Vehicle stalls when accelerating at low speeds. It appears to be a delay when the car transitions from 1st to 2nd gear. This creates a safety concern, especially when taking turns into traffic due to delays/stalls when turning.

NHTSA ODI 11494844

The headlight and taillight/break lights burn out constantly. Turns out taillights are melting in socket. My car is not uniquely affected. Many are having same problems. Suddenly losing lights while driving on freezing dark roads. Incredibly unsafe. Not isolated to my car. Very dangerous. The company should replace these sockets and reimburse for the bulbs which have been replaced approximately 6 times in 12 m.

NHTSA ODI 11494498

I went to get an oil change on Sept 3, 2022. After that oil change my car went back to normal but started to slow down in speed. On my way home my vehicle stalled. The more I drove the slower it got and loud grind it would make. My vehicle stalling could've caused an accident. My vehicle had a recall done March 21, 2021, which after Sept 7, 2022, I received a letter for a recall for a sensor for my vehicle that was issue per Hyundai website March 31, 2021. Hyundai has been able to confirm the issue. Only thing warning sign I received was my vehicle cut off the day I got the oil change Sept 3, 2022. We thought it may have been my battery.

NHTSA ODI 11494184

The contact's daughter owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact's daughter stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle began to lose motive power. The daughter stated that she depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle engine revved; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The daughter stated that she pulled over and stopped the vehicle and placed the vehicle in park(P). The vehicle was turned off and restarted and operated as designed. The contact's daughter stated that the vehicle was making hissing sounds while depressing the accelerator pedal. The daughter stated that the failure was intermittent; however, the failure occurred while driving over 50 MPH. The daughter stated that the check engine warning light was flashing. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,200.

NHTSA ODI 11493969

The car will jerk while driving. The problem was fixed last year and again it is happening now.Worse..the car while being driven will suddenly slow down inspite stepping more on the gas pedal.

NHTSA ODI 11493324

I’ve been having an issue with the car “jerking rapidly” when in traffic and rolling slowly and when climbing relatively small hills, it began about 2 months ago but have become progressively worse over the last month. I was told by someone with a similar vehicle that it is the “lower arm control. Need help with is or if there is a recall

NHTSA ODI 11493043

The oil fuel tank has been burning oil too fast in the GDI Engine & the oil has burnt through my alternator and spark plugs that I recently fixed only three weeks ago. This caused the engine to lock up completely while I was driving several times & I lost control while driving - having to restart the car multiple times to move it to a safe area. Now, the engine has locked permanently and I am unable to start the car at all despite replacing several parts and getting an oil change every 3-5000 miles (which continues to leak too quickly and harm other parts in the car).

NHTSA ODI 11492202

While driving my car normally 9 dashboard lights came on suddenly including the check engine, ABS, brakes while at the same time the dials on the dashboard including the rpms, speedometer, oil temperature and more all stopped working. This happened suddenly while the car was in drive and also caused issues with the transmission as the car stopped shifting gears properly and was driving very rough. With this sudden onset of many different issues out of nowhere driving the vehicle was very dangerous when trying to get to a safe location. After parking this electrical issue would not allow me to take the car out of park or use a OBD reader do to the electrical issue. After researching this problem I found several reports online describing nearly identical symptoms all of the sudden resulting in the car being undrivable and in a dangerous state. These owners said they took the cars to the dealer who tried replacing several components without fixing the issue with hours of diagnosis charges. Eventually after having the vehicles for several days they replaced the reverse camera which it turns out was shorting a significant amount of other critical car electrical components. With no prior damage to the camera or these electrical components the abrupt and random onset of this issue pose a significant safety risk to Hyundai Tucson drivers (at least in 2016 -2018 models) . My experience with the Hyundai Dealership was very similar to them even after I had diagnosed the issue to the camera the dealer said they had contacted the manufacturing engineers who took several days to determine what was causing these electrical issues. This is not an isolated issue as multiple hyundai tucson owners have reported this to Hyundai and their dealerships yet they fail to recognize the risks associated with the faulty cameras they install in their factories. They need to recall their vehicles prone to having this issue. This has cost me $1000 to fix and put me at risk on the road

NHTSA ODI 11492001

Hello, I hope your day is going well. Recently I’ve been having an issue with the car “jerking rapidly” when in traffic and rolling slowly and when climbing relatively small hills, it began about 3 months ago but have become progressively worse over the last month. I was told by someone with a similar vehicle that it is the “lower arm control.” The car is only 4 years old. I leased it and at the end of last year or the year before decided to buy it from the dealer. My plan was to have it for the next 5 years but this issue greatly concerns me. It seems to be a manufacturing issue. My car vin is [XXX] and I’d like to correct this issues ASAP. Thanks. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11489701

Good day, I hope your day is going well. I have a 2018 Hyundai Tucson and on several occasions when I have tried to stop rapidly my break seem to fail and the car slid further than expected. I noticed that there was an anti lock break hydronic recall on the 2018-2022 models but I never received a letter for my vehicle

NHTSA ODI 11489704

Knock sensor recall was done in May 2022. Brought vehicle into service for Ac problem and oil change, which was completed. Was on highway going home 65 mph speed limit hit a hill, my engine light started flashing, my transmission downshifted and I lost all accelaration while on hill, speed wouldn’t go any higher then 50 at that point. Got to closest gas station and had car towed back to dealership, I just want to point out that the knock sensor is going to put people in danger in certain situations like myself, I am not to happy.

NHTSA ODI 11488457

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 70 MPH, she started to hear a loud pinging noise coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that her daughter stated that the check engine warning light illuminated and she steered the vehicle to a highway off ramp as the vehicle began to lose motive power. The contact said her daughter saw that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle then stalled. The contact stated that her daughter called for a tow truck and had the vehicle taken to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and found metal shavings inside the oil pan and determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI 11487910

Paint is peeling.

NHTSA ODI 11487753

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 65 MPH, she heard a noise coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine services and the mechanic was made aware of the failure. The contact stated that while the mechanic was test driving the vehicle at 40 MPH, the engine blew out. The vehicle was towed back to the facility. The contact was made aware of Service Campaign: 966 (Engine Monitoring Logic Update). The manufacturer was not made aware of failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.

NHTSA ODI 11487155

The engine caught on fire, it was considered totaled loss. I settled with the insurance and not sure if the car is still available for inspection. My safety was put at risk because I was driving the car when it happened. I did not get injured because I was able to get out of the car. There was no recall from what I know. The car was inspected by GEICO which is why it was considered totaled loss. There was no warning before the fire. The car was in great condition.

NHTSA ODI 11485893

ENGINE LIGHTS continues to turn on every other day or so I took my car to get its regular Oil change and expressed this to one of the service reps about this issue they told me They couldn’t do anything about it because once they turned on the vehicle the light came off. A few days ago my engine started Blinking and I started panicking since I was on a highway from a road trip my car started making this awful cackling noise and I had To call a tow to then get told That this can take WEEKS TO FIX and NO RENTALS CAN BE PROVIDED WHEN I AM CLEARLY IN A DIFFERENT STATE THEN WHERE I LIVE! Hyundai IS ONCE OF THE WORST AUTO I HAVE EVER DELT WITH! Absolutely not Help I was practically stranded on an issue that Had nothing to do with me! The engine light came Out of no where

NHTSA ODI 11483602

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that if the steering wheel was not exactly positioned at 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock, the vehicle would fail to start. The steering wheel would lock-up and the vehicle would lose power. The contact stated that when turning off the vehicle, the steering wheel had to be positioned at the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock position or the vehicle would not start-up. The contact would tow the vehicle whenever the failure would occur. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 92,622.

NHTSA ODI 11482189

The paint is chipping in large patches on various places throughout the body of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11482298

check engine light comes on bout 25 times a week i plug my scanner into it and it reads knock sensor faulty I seen a RECALL for these cars why doesn't my car have a recall of this on going issue?

NHTSA ODI 11481551

Aug 9, 2022 ~1pm. Driving ~60 mph south on highway 18, 30 miles north of Lusk, WY. Heard 30 seconds of slapping noise from engine, follow by oil pressure low light. Accelerator also ceased to function. Pulled to side of road and waited for tow. Towed to Ken Garff Hyundai in Cheyanne, WY. Inspected on Aug 25, 2022 by technician at Ken Garff two weeks after incident. Hyundai authorized engine replacement. Hyundai also stated twice that there was a recall on the car. No recall appears in the NHTSA database. Problem is very similar to Part 573 Safety Recall Report 21V-727, which includes the 2017 Hyundai Tucson.

NHTSA ODI 11481209