Update:
- A judge dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by a group of vehicle owners against Hyundai Motor Co. in a California federal court.
- The class action lawsuit claimed a number of Hyundai and Kia model vehicles contained an engine defect that caused them to use an excessive amount of oil.
- The vehicle owners argued the alleged defect, in addition to costing them money for the excess oil, caused the vehicles to stall and eventually fail.
- Court approval of the dismissal was not required as the class had not been certified nor proposed to be certified for purposes of a settlement, according to court documents.
Hyundai excessive oil consumption class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A group of Hyundai and Kia vehicle owners are suing Hyundai Motor Co.
- Why: The drivers allege numerous models of Hyundai and Kia vehicles are equipped with defective engines that use excessive amounts of oil, stall and eventually fail.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.
(April 20, 2022)
Hyundai makes numerous models of Hyundai and Kia brand vehicles with defective engines that use excessive amounts of oil, costing their owners huge sums of money, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
On Apr. 12, eight owners of Hyundai and Kia brand vehicles filed a class action lawsuit against Hyundai Motor Co. in a California federal court, alleging violations of federal warranty laws.
The Hyundai excessive oil consumption lawsuit alleges that numerous models of the automaker’s vehicles are equipped with defective Nu, Gamma, Theta, Lambda and Kappa engines.
The defective engines allegedly use excessive amounts of oil, stall and eventually fail. The drivers say Hyundai should have issued a recall for the vehicles a long time ago but hasn’t.
As a result, thousands of Hyundai and Kia owners and lessees have allegedly been forced to constantly check the oil levels, and oil must be added to the engines more frequently than even the owner’s manuals recommend, Car Complaints reports.
The engine issue has flow-on effects like reduction in engine lubrication due to crankshaft submersion and gaskets and seals damage, which leads to oil leaks.
The plaintiffs also claim that oil in their vehicles migrates to places where it shouldn’t be, damaging the combustion and exhaust systems.
This allegedly causes “abnormal wear of engine parts, oversaturation of carbon and deposits of oil sludge, ultimately requiring a costly engine rebuild or replacement.”
Automaker should honor warranty claims outside terms, Hyundai class action says
The plaintiffs allege that Hyundai should honor customers’ warranty claims even when the warranties have expired.
According to the lawsuit, Hyundai can’t adequately repair the oil consumption problems and doesn’t offer any reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs caused by the issue.
The class action states customers must suffer through long wait times for replacement parts, “and in most cases do not receive required engine replacements.”
The cars with the allegedly faulty engines include the 2012-2020 Hyundai Elantra, 2009-2018 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, 2019-2021 Hyundai Kona, 2020-2021 Hyundai Palisade, 2010-2012 and 2015-2021 Hyundai Santa Fe, 2009-2010 and 2015-2021 Hyundai Sonata, 2011–2021 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, 2010-2013 and 2015-2021 Hyundai Tucson, 2011-2021 Hyundai Veloster, 2020-2021 Hyundai Venue, 2010-2021 Kia Forte, 2017-2020 Kia Niro, 2011-2020 Kia Optima and Optima Hybrid, 2012-2021 Kia Rio, 2011-2020 Kia Sorento, 2012-2021 Kia Soul, 2011-2020 Kia Sportage, 2018-2021 Kia Stinger and 2022 Kia K5.
Meanwhile, Hyundai has expanded its recall of vehicles with an exploding seat belt part issue that has caused multiple injuries to include 6,240 of its 2021-2022 Elantra and 2020 Accent vehicles.
The plaintiffs are represented by Nye, Stirling, Hale & Miller LLP, Sauder Schelkopf LLC and Walsh, PLLC.
The Hyundai Oil Consumption Lawsuit is Cho, et al., v. Hyundai Motor Company, LTD., et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Are you one of the drivers affected by an allegedly faulty Hyundai engine? Let us know in the comments!
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3,394 thoughts onHyundai class action over excessive oil consumption dismissed
I have a 2020 palisade. I purchased a separate warranty, thankfully. I received a new to me engine and I am still having the same issues. I hadn’t even put 1k miles on it before the consumption issues became a problem again. Now I’m stuck. This is a legit problem being experienced by more than & people in California. Unfortunately some of us owners are now being held hostage by vehicles with failing engines that we paid too much for. Thanks for standing behind your product and customers Hyundai (sarcasm). Truly a shame because the 2020 Palisade is beautiful otherwise.
We are on a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. We started having problems with it only six weeks after we purchased it in May 2023. The dealership we bought it from originally changed the spark plugs and covered everything telling us all repairs have been made and now we were fine. By October 2023 when we had it in for its first oil change, we noticed it was consuming oil fast. The problems continued on and we kept having it serviced at the original Kia dealership we purchased it from. They told us it was normal oil consumption for these vehicles and eventually the engine would blow and Hyundai would replace our engine at no charge. Fast-forward to December 2024 when the car began shaking, smelling and not being safe to drive. We had it diagnosed at a Hyundai dealership and Hyundai refused the claim saying they would not replace our engine because it was not rod bearing failure. But they did say our engine requires replacement. The car has been sitting at our house, not able to be driven safely as we continue to pay monthly payments and cover it on insurance since we are upside down in the car. We do not know what to do and cannot afford to replace the engine as it would cost even more in an already upside down position financially with this vehicle.
I bought my 2018 Kia Optima brand new. I have maintained oil changes. Last year it started consuming oil. I did the 1,000 mile oil consumption test . It failed. I did the 500 oil consumption test it failed. Kia denied my claim. I have to put oil in weekly.
How was the Oil Consumption law suit dismissed! Not only are car owners dealing with a defective engine, for customers like myself, I’m having to pay for extra services at every oil change like EPR (Engine Performance Service) trying to prevent oil consumption. These added services are nowhere in the owner’s manual under the maintenance schedule, and if you refuse to pay for such added maintenance, the representative will make you sign a form showing the services were offered (at owner’s expense) and denied, which could deflect any responsibility of a faulty engine from Hyundai. Customers are being held HOSTAGE. Do what we say and pay for it or else your warranty will not cover the defective engine. This should be a crime against consumers!
Over a quart or oil every 1000 miles and they are giving me the run around
I bought a used 2013 kia rio for $9,000 2 weeks later the engine began going out. Now it is not drivable due to a rod knocking