What 122 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Hyundai Tucson Plug-in Hybrid

At dusk I was driving below the speed limit (40 MPH). I was at least 3 car lengths behind the vehicle in front of me when i saw the driver was braking because his brake lights came on and there was an intersection ahead with a stop light. There were at least two cars ahead of the vehicler I was behind. I braked but the car kept on going and appeared to accelerate. I was unable to stop the car with the brakes and collided with the car ahead. It was a sturdy vehicle with a strong bumper so I did not do much damage, if any, to the vehicle but my car requires 6,645.90 of repairs. No one was hurt and the air bags did not deploy. I was wearing my seat belt. There was no warning from ny vehicle that I was getting too close to the vehicle ahead and my car made no attempt to brake automatically. It was as though all warning indicators were not functioning. I have had two other incidents of the car surging ahead but did not report it because no one else was involved and I was able to correct the speed and I thought it was just my imagination.

NHTSA ODI 11718185

As I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage, the vehicle's engine revved, tires squealed and then the vehicle propelled forward on its own, without my foot being on the accelerator. The vehicle only stopped when it hit a support column and the wall of the parking structure. There was extensive damage to my vehicle and to the parking structure wall. My safety and the safety of others was put at risk due to the car accelerating on its own. The problem has not been confirmed or reproduced by the dealer, but we did take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and they said they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle that would have caused the unintended acceleration. The vehicle has been inspected by the manufacturer, the insurance company and an investigator for Hyundai. Hyundai infomed us that they are not taking any responsibility for anything that occurred and that they will not share their investigator's report with us. There were no warming lamps or messages related to the problem prior to the failure. However, there have been other occasions while driving on the open road when the engine has revved on its own and I told Hyundai about that. In doing our own research, we have found that there are other 2023 Hyundai Tucson drivers who have had this exact same problem (unintended acceleration causing a crash) while pulling into parking spaces. Additionally, the air bags did not deploy during the collision and therefore the incident was not recorded by the EDR.

NHTSA ODI 11711003

I was backing out of my driveway, which is on a busy street. I waited for the traffic to clear. I backed out onto the main road, which I thought was completely clear, but a car came behind me and I smacked right into him. There was no beeping from my car, and the automatic braking system did not engage at all. The rear of my car, particularly the driver's side, was severely damaged. The other car's passenger front door was badly damaged. The side curtain airbag on their car deployed and their vehicle (Volvo station wagon) was not driveable. The emergency braking system frequently engages unexpectedly when I back out of my driveway, even when there is no hazard. The unexpected braking is oftentimes dangerous. However, this time, when I needed it, it did not engage. An outside diagnostic inspection was done on the vehicle, and showed "no event." If you saw the cars involved in the accident, it is clear there was a significant "event."

NHTSA ODI 11702099

As I was parking my car in a parking spot going about 5 miles or less. My car surged forward at a very accelerated speed, and I ended up running into a brushed and a metal fence, which is what stopped me. There were no warnings that went off on my car. No emergency brakes, nothing.

NHTSA ODI 11700859

On [XXX], while driving a 2023 Hyundai TUCSON SEL, the steering wheel suddenly and completely detached from the steering column and ended up in the driver's lap. This sudden and absolute loss of steering control is a catastrophic failure of a primary safety system that placed the driver's life and potentially the lives of others in immediate and extreme peril. It was only due to sheer luck that the vehicle was brought to a stop without an accident or injury. Following the incident, due to fear and anxiety, the driver is now in treatment and has been unable to work. The vehicle was transported to Ron Marhofer Hyundai on the same day. The following day, the driver was met with a profound lack of respect and professionalism from the service advisor, Declan McCready. The driver and her mother were implicitly told they did not know what they were talking about and were treated with a profound lack of respect. The service advisor initially asserted there was no warranty coverage for the issue and that it would cost nearly $500.00 to fix. He also claimed his entire shop of mechanics looked at the car and found nothing was broken. However, the very next day, the dealership abruptly reversed their diagnosis and instructed the driver to get a rental car, stating they would now be fixing the vehicle under warranty. The repair order confirms the technician's findings: "verified concern steering column separated stopped bracket bent and separated replaced column housing operating normal". The vehicle had 14,479 miles at the time of the failure. There were no prior warnings or symptoms before the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11685540

UNKNOWN - was parking in a spot and car accelerated uncommanded, stepped on the brakes and car did not stop. It stopped with parking sign cement post.

NHTSA ODI 11680465

For the second time in a year, I was pulling into a parking space and when I applied the brake, the car accelerated, seemed to be airborne and lurched forward. Though I firmly had my foot on the break, it would not stop until it hit a brick post about three feet away. This exact same scenario happened in July of last year. Then, I hit a stand of shrubs. Someone said, your foot must have slipped off the break and hit the accelerator. I said, “I don’t think so.” Yet, I took the blame for the accident, for I could not believe it was a car malfunction, nothing close to this had happened to me since I owned the car. Everything was the same in the last crash as in the first. This time, as soon as the car accelerated, I checked, and my foot was firmly on the break. There is definitely a malfunction in the car. The black.box Should be recovered and read by someone not associated with Hyundai. I checked on Hyundai Tucson Owners’ group on Facebook, and my incident has been reported by others.

NHTSA ODI 11668700

I was driving straight when a vehicle coming from the opposite direction made a left turn without yielding, crossing into my lane. As a result, my vehicle collided with the other car at full speed. However, the airbag in my steering wheel did not deploy upon impact, as it should have. My injuries have been significantly more severe than they would have been had the airbag functioned properly. I reported this issue to the vehicle manufacturer, and they opened a case and conducted an inspection. During their inspection, they found that the airbag had since deployed. However, my vehicle was transported off a steep hill and moved to multiple lots before the inspection, any of which could have triggered a delayed deployment. Despite this, the manufacturer has refused to accept liability. Because the airbag failed to deploy at the time of impact, there was no buffer between me and the steering wheel. This resulted in excessive force against my chest from the seatbelt and direct impact with the steering wheel, leading to more severe injuries. There were no warning lights on in the vehicle before the crash, nor were there any recalls related to this issue at the time of the incident.

NHTSA ODI 11643749

On [XXX] around [XXX] PM two Barnes County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a Reckless Driving Complaint. The Reckless Driving Complaint started on [XXX] and later crashed around [XXX] near [XXX]. Barnes County Sheriff Randy McClaflin said the reporting person, a [XXX] female, was also the driver of the reckless vehicle, a 2023 white Hyundai Tucson. of Fargo contacted the Barnes County Dispatch Center and reported her gas pedal was stuck and the vehicle she was driving was traveling at speeds of over 90 miles per hour. made multiple attempts to shut the vehicle off, place it in neutral/park and brake however, those attempts failed. One Barnes County Sheriff’s Deputy was able to position his patrol vehicle in front of vehicle while the other Barnes County Sheriff’s Deputy was able to position her patrol vehicle behind Both Deputies communicated with through a Barnes County Dispatcher while they attempted to disable vehicle. At one-point was able to slow her vehicle enough that she decided she could enter the median and use the cable barriers to stop the runaway vehicle before it struck a slow-moving vehicle ahead of the lead Deputy. entered the median and struck the cable barrier with the side of her vehicle. The vehicle became disabled. was uninjured and was taken to Mercy Hospital by Sheriff’s Deputies. The North Dakota Highway Patrol will be investigating the crash. Sheriff McClaflin said kept as calm as can be expected and due to her quick thinking, she was able to avoid causing any injuries to others on the roadway. Sheriff McClaflin would also like to remind everyone to please watch for emergency lighting while traveling on roadways INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11607070

The contact owned a 2023 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while his mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal sound emanating from an unknown location of the vehicle, after which the vehicle began to accelerate on its own. The driver attempted to stop the vehicle, but the brake pedal pulsated and failed to slow the vehicle, resulting in the driver briefly losing control of the vehicle and only coming to a complete stop after colliding with a utility pole. Both the driver and passenger side air bags deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The driver and passenger were both transported to an area hospital by EMT and treated for injuries to the chest sustained from the air bags. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11598593

The car suddenly and unintentionally accelerated. To avoid going through the back of my garage, I turned slightly and hit the frame of the garage. It continued to accelerate for a few seconds until I managed to stop it. I then backed up. Again, the car suddenly unintentionally accelerated. I managed to stop it. I slowly drove it into the garage. I left it in the garage until having it towed to Planet Hyundai. I did not want to drive it in case it accelerated on the drive to Planet Hyundai. I was driving about 5 mph when I hit the frame of the garage. The car continued to accelerate. Automatic Emergency breaking and Forward collision warning. The vehicle has been inspected by the manufacturer. The inspector or the dealer could not reproduce the problem. The vehicle can be inspected. The vehicle has been parked at Planet Hyundai from 1/29/2024 to 4/15/2024 I reported the incident to Hyundai USA.I have not received any inspection reports.

NHTSA ODI 11583708

I purchased a new vehicle in February 2023. After a month and a half, I traveled to Washington DC on a pleasure trip. After my work/vacation trip when I am returning back to home all of the sudden, there was heavy smoke from the hood and eventually tried to turn off the engine but the car didn't respond, and when I tried to open the Hood in order to cool down the engine I see fire already in the engine. So, there was no intimation on the dashboard about the fire or not even an alert. Moreover, the engine didn't turn off even after trying to turn it off 4- 5 times. I was really worried about what would happen if the door locks stops working

NHTSA ODI 11518756

on 04/16/23 I got into my car and Immediately after going into drive the brakes completely failed. The car continued accelerating even after releasing the accelerator and refused to stop even while pumping the brakes. Thank god I turned into a tree and missed pedestrians. the car was totaled.

NHTSA ODI 11517285