Status: In progress

Franz v. Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai allegedly sold certain vehicles containing defective oil pumps that pose a โ€œmassive fire risk.โ€

  • Deadline to file a claim: TBD
  • Proof of Purchase Required: No
  • Potential Individual Reward: TBD
  • Total Settlement Amount: TBD
  • States Involved

Abraham Jewett ย |ย  September 7, 2023

Category: Auto News
2023 Hyundai Tucson, representing the Hyundai oil pump class action.
(Photo Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock)

Hyundai oil pump defect class action lawsuit overview:ย 

  • Who: John Franz filed a class action lawsuit against Hyundai Motor America.ย 
  • Why: Franz claims Hyundai sold certain vehicles containing defective oil pumps that pose a โ€œmassive fire risk.โ€ย 
  • Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.ย 

Hyundai Motor America sold certain vehicles containing malfunctioning oil pumps that pose a โ€œmassive fire risk,โ€ a new class action lawsuit alleges.ย 

Plaintiff John Franz claims Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia issued a recall last month over the alleged oil pump defect that included more than 90,000 vehicles produced by either of the two automakers.ย 

Franz argues the oil pumps in the recalled Hyundai and Kia vehicles contain a controller that can short-circuit and overheat, causing the oil to likely โ€œoverheat and combust.โ€ย 

โ€œDue to the design defect, the Class Vehiclesโ€™ oil pump tends to malfunction and overheat while surrounded by combustible oil. This is a massive fire risk,โ€ the Hyundai class action states.ย 

The class vehicles are model year 2023-2024 Hyundai Palisade, 2023 Hyundai Tucson, 2023 Hyundai Sonata, 2023 Hyundai Elantra and 2023 Hyundai Kona vehicles, according to the class action.ย 

Franz wants to represent a nationwide class and South Carolina subclass of consumers who purchased or leased any of the class vehicles.ย 

Hyundai concealed, failed to disclose oil pump defect, class action says

Franz argues Hyundai concealed and failed to disclose to its customers that the class vehicles allegedly contained a defective oil pump.ย 

โ€œ(Hyundai) knew that the Class Vehicles suffered from an inherently defective oil-circulation system, were defectively designed and/or manufactured, and were not suitable for their intended use,โ€ the Hyundai class action states.ย 

Franz claims Hyundai is guilty of negligence, unjust enrichment, fraud by omission or fraudulent concealment, negligent design defect, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and breach of express warranty, and of violating the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.ย 

The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory relief along with an award of actual, general, special, incidental, statutory and consequential damages for himself and all class members.ย 

A separate class action lawsuit was filed against Hyundai in April 2022 over claims a number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles are equipped with defective engines that use an excessive amount of oil, stall and fail in time.ย 

Have you purchased a Hyundai vehicle equipped with a defective oil pump? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Eric M. Poulin, Blake G. Abbott and Paul J. Doolittle of Poulin Willey Anastopoulo LLC.ย 

The Hyundai oil pump defect class action lawsuit is Franz v. Hyundai Motor America, Case No. 2:23-cv-07218, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.


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47 thoughts onHyundai class action alleges some vehicles have oil pump defect

  1. Andrea M Dornacher says:

    I need help with Hyundai Elantra problems

  2. Danielle Dillehay says:

    I have a 2013 Elantra and have had issues with my carโ€™s rpm and also not wanting to excellerate when pressing on the gas.

  3. Natasha Brazil says:

    Why is 2011 Hyundai accent gls not in list? I had to replace my engine due to cylinder 3 misfire. After many coil pack replacements, it continued to misfire causing timing to skip while in motion unsyncing piston and valves resulting in busted block and engine replacement time of of work almost causing homelessness due to lack of funds and no transportation living in rural area. Spent over 8k due to this inconvenience.

  4. Kass says:

    I have a 2015 sonata hybrid which is experiencing all of the class action symptoms but the VIN is not covered. The โ€œengineersโ€ at Hyundai claim the engine problems are not fixable after holding the vehicle for 60 days.

  5. Lucy Carlson says:

    I own a 2023 Hyundai Kona.

  6. Helene Ginsburg says:

    I gave a 2023 Hyundai Kona. Hyundai Corporate setup appointment for dealer I leased car at to check since I couldnโ€™t get appointment. Service Manager, Ron, refused to look at it saying my car is fine as it will not catch on fire. I begged him to have Service Tech put on lift but he said my vin# shows my vehicle is fine. I called Corporate to advise saying I still want my vehicle thoroughly checked and now they say my vin# doesnโ€™t require them to physically check. I am still scared my car can catch on fire without them physically checking it. I have leased/purchased about 12 Hyundais from this dealership and feel very abandoned by them. I still feel very unsafe and want them to physically check my car but canโ€™t force them. Maybe if I were a male they would physically check my car but who knows.

  7. Angela L Bridges says:

    I had a 2012 Sonata, it burned oil fast but when I mentioned it to the dealership, they couldnโ€™t do anything because I was over 100,000 miles. Now I have 2020 Tucson. I should have left Hyundai. I went to trade it in at a Kia dealership, the manager said, your car is burning too much oil. It is burning oil because I have to put more oil in my car before the next oil change. I took it back to Hyundai and the mechanic is putting something in my engine before each oil change, I have to do it three times to see if it works. I bought my 2020 in the year 2019. My transfer case shattered and into the transmission. That broke the bank. The mechanic said that should have never happened. Iโ€™m pretty much done with Hyundaiโ€™s. All of my cars have been hyundais (Accent, Elantra, Sonata and Tucson. because they were good runners. My first two cars i got well over 200,000 amd never had a problem. I guess now the love for making cars has diminished because now they are crap. Now, I feel its time to abandon the relationship and find another type of car.

  8. Adrienne says:

    I had to have my engine replaced in March 2023, for my 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The check engine light kept coming on and it was burning oil. The dealer had my truck for 5 months.

  9. Cynthia D Williams says:

    2015 Hyundai Santa Fe engine quit working January 2022. My mechanic felt it would be covered under the warranty. Called Mall of Georgia dealership and took it there. I had to pay over $7000 for a new engine because 1) they claimed it was not the original engine in the vehicle 2) they no longer purchased refab engines to replace because of defects and 3) claimed there was sludge in the engine due to lack of maintenance. None of that made sense. The dealer I purchased the vehicle from in 2016 confirmed it was the original engine and I explained that my oil was changed regularly and if there was sludge, it was due to the defect in the engine causing the oil to burn. They refused to acknowledge any of that requiring me to pay over$7000 for repairs.

  10. Holly M Morton says:

    I have a 2011 hyundai sonata I bought from someone almost 3 yrs ago. The car only had 96,000 miles on it. Once it got to 104,000 miles it began to consume way too much oil. I called different hyundai dealerships to see if they would help me, but they said the engine gas to be knocking or ceased up before I could take it. I was trying to prevent other issues. Now itโ€™s 8 months later and due to too much oil consumption, and oil and gas combustion, the car started to stall, having misfires on different cylinders, it literally melted my catalytic converters, and now the exhaust manifold has a big Crack. My car is no longer drivable and was paid in full when purchased. They told me I have to pay for a diagnosis and then they will approve or either deny it. Iโ€™m a single mom with kids, I canโ€™t take a chance at forking more money out and then they deny it. Iโ€™ve put a good bit of money in the car. Now Iโ€™m running around trying to find a car that I can afford and not only will have to take a hit on my credit but will have to pay a car payment every month . It has been a stressful journey this year and nobody will help me. They really donโ€™t care because the recall warranties have already been closed. I didnโ€™t own the car when they were open . I canโ€™t believe how they are acting and not even caring

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