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Last week, Hyundai Motor America Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit in California federal court alleging that the motor company failed to disclose a defect in the engine of its 2011 to 2015 Sonata models.
Lead plaintiff Beth Graham, a Sonata owner, alleged in her class action lawsuit that Hyundai did not disclose that the engine in the Sonata model was manufactured with a defect in its rotating assembly that causes “sudden and catastrophic engine failure.”
“The rotating assembly cannot withstand the long-term stress generated within the Sonata’s combustion chambers and fails within the useful life of the engine (most failures occur between 60,000 to 90,000 miles),” the Hyundai class action lawsuit alleges. “When the rotating assembly fails, it does so without warning and causes the engine to seize suddenly—leaving Sonata drivers without power and struggling to maneuver the vehicle to safety.”
Graham further alleges that in addition to concealing this defect from Sonata owners and failing to issue a recall, Hyundai improperly denied warranty coverage to owners whose engines failed due to the defect. “Hyundai has concealed the problem from consumers and implemented a concerted practice of denying warranty coverage for failed engines,” the engine defect class action lawsuit alleges.
“Hyundai tells Sonata owners that they must submit a complete record of the vehicle’s maintenance history before making a warranty claim—even though it knows that Sonata engines fail regardless of owner maintenance and that the faulty rotating assembly is responsible,” Graham alleges in the Hyundai class action lawsuit. “For those warranty claims that are submitted, Hyundai’s practice is to deny them based on inadequate maintenance records or improper maintenance,” she continues. “Hyundai denies that engine failures are widespread in Sonata vehicles and blames its customers for the problem—forcing them to pay as much as $10,000 for an engine replacement.”
Graham also alleges in her class action lawsuit that Hyundai was or should have been aware of the defect. “Hyundai is, of course, currently aware that Sonata engines are seizing in record numbers,” the Hyundai class action lawsuit alleges. “It provides Hyundai dealerships with replacement engines and carefully tracks both part sales and the type of repairs conducted by its dealerships,” Graham further explains.
“In addition, many Sonata owners have complained to their dealership and to Hyundai’s corporate office—to no avail,” the Hyundai class action lawsuit continues. “The strong likelihood is that Hyundai knew of the rotating assembly defect much earlier, likely before Class Vehicles were ever released to the public.” Graham further points out that discovery and review of Hyundai’s internal records will be necessary to know whether Hyundai was aware of the defect, “but the rotating assembly defect is one that would typically be discovered during standard pre-release testing,” she contends.
Graham alleges that Hyundai violated various state laws and class members are entitled to costs and damages. The proposed Class includes “[a]ll persons who purchased or leased a 2011-2015 Hyundai Sonata within the United States.”
Graham is represented by Eric H. Gibbs, Dylan Hughes, and Steve Lopez of Gibbs Law Group LLP.
The Hyundai Sonata Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Graham v. Hyundai Motor America Inc., Case No. 5:15-cv-02071, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District for California.
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310 thoughts onClass Action: Hyundai Failed to Disclose Sonata Engine Defect
I would also like to join the lawsuit. 2012 Sonata 2.0T 79,400 miles always used synthetic oil .. complete engine failure no warning lights nothing as I was on the interstate at 60 miles an hour very dangerous..Please contact me with any information as to how I could join this lawsuit.
Same thing occurred with my 2011 Sonata. Go to carcomplaints.com and please leave your story on the website. The only way we get justice is to continue fighting. We have to bring Hyundai to their knees as they are 100% aware of the defect and have all along. The service manager at the dealership told me they have known and to explore my legal options. There should also be a criminal complaint filed by the authorities as this falls under criminal negligence. Please contact me and the lawyers to become part of this fight.
My 2011 sonata has been running great with no problems. It powered down on the highway during rush hour without warning this week. Had it towed to the garage and was told my engine had seized. Only 82,000 miles on it and always regularly maintained. Total estimate to fix it will be $4,500. I would love more information on this matter. Thankyou.
We bought a 2012 Hyundai Sonata just for the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. Very nice car until the engine seized up at 74,891 and like most of the people on here it happened without warning but fortunately my wife was almost home. We had it taken to the dealership where we purchased it and were originally told don’t worry it’s covered and the replacement engine would be at the dealership in 2-3 days. Then were told the district rep had to approve it which according to what the dealership told me the rep said to go ahead and replace it. Nope that was only the beginning of our story. They said corporate wanted the oil pan dropped and pictures taken. At that point we were told that due to lack of maintenance it was not covered. We took in every receipt to verify that in fact we had changed the oil and serviced our car more than the warranty requires. At that point our dealership Legacy Ford and Hyundai in McDonough,Ga told us it was between us and Hyundai now that they couldn’t do anything more about our car. So we had it towed back home at our expense and now it’s in our garage collecting dust. So we would really like to join the lawsuit and make Hyundai stand behind the warranty and fix our car. If you can help please contact me.
I recently had my 2013 Hyundai Sonatas engine seize on the freeway. Luckily, I was able to pull to the shoulder of the highway without incident. My car only had ~46,000 miles on it and the warranty has covered the work. I am still worried however that the replacement engine may not be a solution after reading the reviews. Please let me know if there are other options available for me.
Any problems from replaced engines? I’m now waiting for new engine too. Dealer said I can continue driving it until they receive the engine from Hyundai. I’m not sure if that is a good idea but can’t help.
don’t drive it! Mine rattled for a week then blew. In shop now. Crazy that I got the letter to extend warranty the day after it happened… I filed a claim and am waiting on if they will cover or not. Anyone have luck on them actually covering it now that they have been extending warranties?
My 2011 Sonata too failed without warning while driving. Repariman said engine had seized. There was not warning and no engine light came on. Just 2 weeks before it had been at the dealer to replace the front axle and the car received a clean bill of health.
I am the owner of a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The engine failed without warning this week while driving on the freeway. As my car shut down and I was fortunate to pull off the freeway safely with semi trucks all around me.This could have been a different outcome if I had been in the fast lane. My vehicle is still at the dealership being repaired,and I am told it will be just under 6,000 to repair. Please contact me with any information regarding the class action law suit. Thank you.
I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata and while my son was going to work doing 65 on the highway the engine siezed up and he was nearly killed by the morning traffic trying to get to the side of the road. There was no warning the car had been running fine and has been well maintained. It has 59000 miles on it. I had it towed to my machanic first because I had no Idea what the problem was and never expected the engine to go bad on a 3 year old car. when he told me I was shocked. I than contacted Hyundai to picked up the car from my mechanics shop. They took the car and after checking it over they put a new engine in the car. They had to cover it under warrenty because my mechanic had looked at it first and we already new there was no slug in the engine and i had a full set of service records. they need to fix the problem before someone gets hurt.
I have a 2013 hyundai sonata 39k miles well maintained that just died blown engine that also sits at hyundai dealer needs new engine which they refuse to cover. I don’t have the 6k to replace . Need help asap can anyone assist please.
Do you have extended warranty or is your vehicle precertified?
I own a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. Same thing happened to mine loss power on the interstate. It was the worse feeling in my life. I’ve had so many problems with this car, it has been towed 3 times. Please send me information regarding this lawsuit.