What 370 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell

On March 21st, while driving my Hyundai vehicle, I noticed the vehicle began making a ticking sound. After stopping the vehicle, it slowly began catching on fire. The fire ultimately spread and resulted in the vehicle becoming a total loss. This created a serious safety concern and placed me at risk. I later learned there was a recall associated with the vehicle. However, I never received any recall notices because Hyundai reportedly had the wrong address on file. Had I been properly notified of the recall and potential safety risks, I would have done everything in my power to ensure the vehicle was inspected, repaired, and safe to drive. Because I was unaware of the recall issue, the vehicle continued to be operated without my knowledge of the potential danger. The incident caused significant financial and transportation hardship, including loss of reliable transportation and additional financial strain. Hyundai later reached a determination regarding the matter, but I remain concerned about the serious safety risk and the fact that I did not receive proper recall notification before the incident occurred. I am submitting this complaint because I believe the recall notification process and handling of this matter should be reviewed further due to the serious safety risk involved.

NHTSA ODI 11737337

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the vehicle slowed down. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the knock sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. While driving, a month later, the vehicle slowed down. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the knock sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced. Additionally, while driving, an unknown vehicle crashed into the rear of the vehicle, and it continued to move forward. The steering wheel became stuck and was uncontrollable. The driver shifted the gears to park and neutral. The vehicle was idling high and low. The driver depressed the push-to-start button, but the vehicle continued to move and drove onto the lawn over a flower bed and fence, went across a two-way highway, slowed down, and stopped. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. A police report was filed. There were no reported injuries, fire, or air bag deployment. The manufacturer was contacted to obtain the EDR box, and they sent an engineer who reported that the air bags were not supposed to deploy and was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

NHTSA ODI 11605477

I was driving approx 55mph on [XXX] in my 2019 hyundai tucson when the check engine light came on and the engine started to stall. I felt the acceleration dying down in the middle of busy highway traffic. Gray smoke started coming from the hood cracks. I luckily was in the right lane already, so when I could I veered off to the shoulder and the car quit. The smoke was increasing badly. Ppl from the highway were yelling its going to blow up get away from it! I was so scared. I grabbed my phone and keys and ran as far as I could while dialing 911. Within a couple minutes flames were swallowing the entire engine and front of the car. I am furious. I researched online and hyundai has had many similar incidents with this car and other with this engine ! These need to be banned and taken off the road before they kill anyone else. Ppl have been injured and killed from similar situations just like mine. I thank God I made it out of this horrific situation alive. But now I have no car and am at risk of losing my job and then housing . I thought I would have this car for years. Now I'm traumatized and without transportation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11594075

I was driving on the highway. The engine began making a ticking noise that momentarily went away and then quickly got louder. I saw white smoke out of the back, pulled over, and then saw black smoke from the front. The check engine light only momentarily came out AFTER the white smoke was visible and I was actively pulling over. I ran out of the car, and turned to look only to see a fire under the engine bay. I did not have a collision nor hit anything on the road. Engine had full synthetic oil in it, and the oil was changed less than 10,000 miles precious. (Also checked oil level/condition the week before). The car went from driving fine, to entirely engulfed in flames within 2-4 minutes. Maine state police: case# 245000657 The vehicle has not been inspected by the insurance company yet. The report will be sent to me, and it is currently available for inspection upon request. I literally could have burned alive. My family could have been trapped. I was on the highway, LUCKILY I decided to pull over when I did. If I did not, within 40 seconds I would’ve been engulfed in flames. I have most certainly not been sleeping well in the least bit. The only warning sign happened 5-10 seconds before I was out of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11563969

Car caught fire on the expressway.

NHTSA ODI 11519665

The contact owned a 2019 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH the vehicle started smoking and overheating. The contact was able to pull over safely. There were no warning lights on the instrument panel. Once the vehicle stopped the doors were automatically locked. The nearby drivers notified the contact of the fire under the vehicle. Once the contact exited the vehicle, the engine was destroyed by the fire. The inside of the vehicle was still functional. The state police arrived on the scene; however, a police report has not been obtained. The fire department also arrived and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a wrecking yard. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. There were no injuries or medical reports. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11462245

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 HYUNDAI TUCSON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 50 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO HER RESIDENCE BY HER INSURANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS LATER TAKEN TO HYUNDAI OF ST. AUGUSTINE, 2898 U.S. 1, ST. AUGUSTINE, FL 32086, WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE RECALL NOTIFICATION RECEIVED WAS NOT RELATED TO FAILURE THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCING OF THE SMOKE. THE DEALER ALSO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THEY HAD TEST DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V543000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC) ABS UNIT MAY CAUSE ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 29,933.

NHTSA ODI 11378269

DRIVING HWY SPEEDS 65MPH, CAR LOST ALL ACCELERATION AND ALMOST KILLED BY TRUCK WHILE CHANGING LANES. PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD. CAR THEN DIED, LOCKED, AND CAN NOT BE OPENED WITH PHYSICAL KEY, KEY FOB NOR BLUELINK REMOTE. CAR IS BRAND NEW JULY PURCHASE 1800 MILES. BLUELINK SHOWS 0 PROBLEMS UNDER DIAGNOSTICS.

NHTSA ODI 11270466

1.3 MILES AWAY FROM THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED THE 2019 HYUNDAI TUCSON IT STARTED TO SMOKE. 5 MINUTES LATER IT WAS ON FIRE!! IT HAD LESS THAN 400 MILES ON IT AND I'VE YET TO FIND OUT WHAT EXACTLY CAUSED THE FIRE. HYUNDAI OR THE DEALERSHIP WON'T TELL ME. THE FIRE CAME FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE UNDER THE HOOD. THE VEHICLE STARTED SMOKING WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO START IT AND CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11265995