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
My 2013 Hyundai Sante Fe was doing great, had regular oil changes until one day in the summer of 2021 on my way back from camping (1 1/2 hours away), my car starting acting really odd. The temp gauge all the way to hot. It wanted to stall, sputtering. Got it home and it had zero oil in it despite getting regular oil changes. No oil leak. I’ve called Hyundai, checking recalls, talking to other people with the same problem and nobody is getting help. I was told they had changed something with the motors around 2012 to 2018 and realized there were these problems with the oil. Local garages told me of customers whose Hyundai’s engine blew despite regular oil changes and maintenance. It’s a matter of time. I just keep adding oil and oil addititives to plug anything from burning. It helps temporarily but that’s it.
I have a 2021 Kona ran out of oil, had to be towed. No solution except keep checking oil and add when low.
Dealing with this right now! Have a 2016 Sonata Sport guzzling over 3Q before next 3000 mile oil change. Jumping through dealership hoops wasting time with oil consumption tests. I will never buy a Hyundai again!
2016 Santa Fe sport 2.0 turbo, mines consuming oil and I’m having to add before the oil change is due.
160,000 KM in Canada!!
2017 Tucson burns 3 to 4 quarts between oil changes clogged my catalyst converter where I had to replace it I need a new engine!!!!
2019 Hyundai Tucson using major oil. I’m having to add 2-3 quarts between oil changes.
2017 tucson uses excessive oil.
I have a 2020 Hyundai Elantra SE with 33k miles on it. I got an oil change last month from dealership and today noticed a burning smell so I checked oil levels only to find out the car didn’t have any oil! Did not expect this from a new car. I just hope the engines ok. Local Hyundai dealership is 2 hour drive.
My 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate is burning over 3qts oil every 600 miles. The engine is trashed, I started having trouble at 93k miles. I bought the car new and babied it with 100% synthetic oil changes on schedule or before. The exhaust pipes tell the story, they are caked with black soot.
I have a 2011 Sonata that I am the original owner of. My car s burning oil started burning a lot of oil. I took it to the dealership where they have done most all of my oil changes since I bought it. They started the process of doing the oil change and had me drive it 1,000 miles and brought it back for them to check it. They contacted Hyundai and I was given a PH #. When they went to move on to the next step Hyundai denied it. the dealer said they did not know why they denied it they expected to e able to move forward with the process.