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
I have a 2014 Elantra GT. The problems I’m having have gone beyond the oil consumption already. My car has difficulty going up even slight inclines, sounds horrible, and I’m starting to smell exhaust fumes. I’m afraid to go anywhere with it for fear of getting stranded.
Since I don’t have a second vehicle,
Im going to have to go into debt now to get a used vehicle somewhere. I’m on a fixed income now and can’t afford a new car. I thought this Hyundai was going to last a lot longer than 8 years!
How can I be included in the lawsuit?
How do I become part of the class action suit
For my 2018 Hyundai Tuscan
That burns oils
YES!
We JUST found out that our 2013 Hyundai Santa are limited was 4 qts low! The car about failed on our family! I want my car to work, not spend countless time and money filling it with oil. HELP!
Yes! My Vehicle is using so much oil. More than the normal amount. I just bought a Hyundai Santa Fe 2017. I regret it so much. I have never bought a Hyundai before and I never will again.
My Hyundai burns oil for no reason I’m constantly having to check it then it quits and don’t want to idle I’ve replaced every part garages have told me to and it’s not helped!! My car is burning it’s oil all the way out in 2-3 days
Hyundai is in denial again. Defective coils and now excessive consumption. Bad metallurgy leads to bad problems in the engine, SHAME ON HYUNDAI. Okay, what is Hyundai going to do about this load of crap they’ve been dealing to their customer’s? Recall, Fix-it, and move on, or just get out of the car business.
My name is Dan Thissell. I have a 2017 Hyundai Sonata Sport. It has been consuming an obscene amount of oil for the last year and a half or so to the point where the #4 cylander failed becuase the plug and ignition module were fouled. I just found about this law suit after trying to research what I can do to have this solved
Hello,
My name is Lauren Berry, I own a 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT. It has been having an excessive and expensive oil consumption problems for over two years now, but I have no oil leak. My car is burning an obscene amount of oil which is not normal. I just read that this lawsuit said, “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”. I think this is the reason I have to buy another catalytic conveyor less than a year later in order to be able to drive. Which will cost me at least 1,500 for just the part. Catalytic convertors should last for at least 10 years or the life of the car. I purchased a catalytic convertor about a year ago, because it was clogged from all the oil my car was consuming. I cannot afford this. Please help.
Thank you
I filed a claim with Hyundai after having to put more oil in my 2015 Hyundai Sonata every two weeks to avoid being empty. I kept up with the maintenance. The car began stalling randomly so I filed the claim. They made me have the car assessed by a Hyundai dealership before considering my claim. At the dealership I had to sign off on $600 diagnostic fees if I declined their repairs. Repairs came back to $2k and after I agreed to them, they called to tell me the claim was denied.
I currently own a 2017 sonata burning 3 qts minimum between oil changes. Hyundai dealership did a oil consumption test, claiming that it was normal. This was during the 60,000 mile factory warranty. If this is normal, they are producing an inferior and potentially dangerous product. I am extremely disappointed, and can’t afford to trade out right now. Contacted Hyundai online got the typical runaround. This needs to be addressed.
I happened to check my oil level as I was smelling a burning smell. My last oil change was only 1000 miles ago and turns out I had NO OIL!! I had to add 4 quarts. I have no leaks and no noticeable exhaust of burning oil. My mechanic informed me of this lawsuit. I’m shocked to hear everyone else having these issues as well and Hyundai is doing nothing about it. I’m almost afraid to drive it – unless I check the oil level every day – but then who knows how much it’ll burn on a normal 25 mile commute to work. Frightening! I always do regular maintenance on my vehicle and have always had the oil changed every 3000. Shocked to hear this and would like to be part of this lawsuit
Your car is not safe to drive. Try to find a 25 year old Toyota or honda to drive while you wait to hear from Hyundai.