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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3,221 thoughts onHyundai class action over excessive oil consumption dismissed
2015 Sonata and my story is pretty similar to everyone else’s. Have to constantly check oil levels with no signs of a leak anywhere, no smoking, and my oil light doesn’t even alert me that it is low. All dealership could say is “its just how these TDI” engines are, that’s not helpful at all. Still have some payments to go and was looking forward to having it paid off and no more payments but unfortunately, seems as if I’ll have to be searching for a new car soon and it certainly will not be a Hyundai. So please please if there is a suit to be filed or ANYTIME please COUNT. ME. IN!
I have taken my vehicle to the dealership 3 times and had them do an oil consumption test due to check engine light. 2 weeks ago they tell me that it has excessive oil consumption and the engine will eventually fail. A claim was submitted to Hyundai and denied. I have a 2017 Hyundai Sonata with 90K miles
My 2016 Santa Fe was having to go get topped off every week between my normal oil changes. I was driving and all of a sudden my vehicle lost speed and the engine started knocking. It’s in the shop and I’m being told that my engine needs to be replaced.
2017 Hyundai Tucson – I have to add 1 quart of oil every 400-500 miles driven. It is unimaginable how much oil is being lost. My car has been in and out of the shop for the past 2 years, 22 weeks they have had my car over the past 2 years, it is there now after breaking down on the highway again. They have replaced Catalytic Convert 3 times in 2 years, it keeps getting blocked from the oil. I have had these major issues since 70K miles. Engine is one that was recalled and they better replace it this time. This has caused major issues with my employer and personal life.
You can add me to the list . I have a2015 Hyundai Santa Fe sport. I bought with 30,000 miles was great till about 60,000. It’s has a knock senor been towed in 3 times. Went a month without it. Finally fixed not. Then it started using 5 quarts of oil between changes. My son is a technician, he changes my oil religiously. He cut open the oil filter full of metal. Went to the dealership they done oil consumption test. Was 50 miles short of falling into the parameters. It’s continued to get worse, went back for another, they started it but the man said I was wasting time they wouldn’t do anything till it blew. Who knows where I could be when that happens. I’m sick to death of this and oh yes my paint is peeling . I thought about trading it but I hate for someone else to get it and it’s paid for I don’t want a car payment.
Please dd my vehicle to the list. 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The amount of extra oil that has been required between oil change is absolutely ridiculous!!! My vehicle is inoperable at the moment and I am devastated. There should have been a recall on the engine because of this issue!
I have to check my oil every week. My 2016 Sonata is at 98k miles.
Trade the car in now unless you have the 2.5 liter engine. The 1.6T isn’t covered under the extended warranty and they will leave you out to dry like they’re trying to do me now.
I have a 2016 Hyundai Veloster Base with the 1.6L, I bought my car in may 2021 with 87,000 miles on the clock. My car now has just under 104,000 miles, in that time I have had to replace the main catalytic converter, the entire exhaust, developed lower end noise after the catalytic converter went. it started consuming about 2 and 1/2 quarts of oil between oil changes, and in the first week of July 2022 the engine oil light came on briefly right after an oil change and the engine locked up solid. My local dealership quoted me $1300 plus labor for the catalytic converter, $165 for the engine treatment to supposedly stop the excessive oil consumption, $600 to do an in-depth diagnostic to find out why the engine was making the lower end noise, and now $600 for them to tear the engine completely down to find out what caused the engine to fail and if the extended engine warranty from Hyundai will cover it, and if it doesn’t then they quoted almost $6000 for a new engine with a 3 to 4 month wait. I still owe a little over $13,000 on the car and The car is now sitting in my driveway under a car cover until I can figure out what to do with it, all the while I am paying $377.77 each month for a car that I cannot drive. I would definitely like to be part of this lawsuit cause I honestly feel like I got shafted on this car.
We own a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe with the aforementioned junk 4 cylinder engine. Had the oil changed on July 28, 2022 and already a quart low with less than 500 miles. Pointed this excessive oil consumption out to the dealership over a year ago and was told that Hyundai Motor Company would probably not do anything to remedy the problem until I jumped through all the hoops of keeping records and letting the dealership check the oil every 1000 miles, etc. Even then there was no guarantee of a fix. I was told that Hyundai considers oil use of 1 quart every 1000 miles to be normal. I have all the maintenance records since we have owned the car (bought as a Certified Pre-Owned with about 21,000 miles). My wife and I have already entertained the notion of having to pay for a replacement engine out of our own pocket. It’s a very expensive repair!! Count us in as parties to the class action. Thanks!
Bought my 2016 Santa Fe Sport in September 2021, 96K miles. First oil change tech noted oil was low. I checked after 2k, had to add 2 quarts. Got oil changed at 4k after previous maintenance, noted low again by tech. I started checking every 1000 miles, have to add a quart each time. This is the first car I’ve owned in 50 years that in 12k miles added 6 quarts in total as of today, 2 complete oil changes, and no trust to take car on trips. Now getting check engine light, CO2 sensor in exhaust has failed, right after engine. Going to dealership tomorrow.