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
2016 Hyundai Sonata. Burns over 2 quarts of oil a month.
Keep me informed
2016 Hyundai Sonata 75k miles burning oil like made. Very frustrating.
My son has a2017 Sonata and the fix from the dealership was just to check the oil levels weekly.
My 2014 Hyundai sonata had the motor replaced and is still burning oil. I had my oil changed less than 2 weeks ago and have already had to add 3 quarts of oil. When we contacted Hyundai I was told to get an extended car warranty before it got worse. Btw it only 154k on it!!
Samantha, I’m in the same boat. Mine is a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. I can only go 800 miles before it runs out of oil. An oil change with regular oil is supposed to last 3,000 miles. What the heck is going on here?
2017 Hyundai Tucson driver here, just finished my oil consumption test. They say “yes, it’s consuming oil but they won’t do anything because it’s out of warranty.” And that I should “just change the oil more often and check it frequently”. It’s frustrating also because this car is about to be paid off and we are stuck getting oil changes every couple thousand miles or less. The smugness with which he told me might be even more frustrating. Ridiculous. Good luck, everyone.
I have the same issue. I was told by employees at Hyundai to drive the car with my usual maintenance. When it fails, Hyundai will fix it.
I have a 2017 Hyundai sonata for 2 months now and I have to add 4 quarts of oil every month…. It’s ridiculous….Like every 1000 miles ..
2017 Hyundai Sonata. I go through oil FAST. Just had a mechanic confirm yesterday no oil leak anywhere, but next time it gets low to contact them so they can run the tests. Well, on my way home, I could smell it burning and when I got back to my house, NO oil in the engine. Very frustrating that I’m back and forth at the mechanic with this.
Yes! I have an oil hungry 2015 Sonata 2.0T – with 85k – shocking that a car can be given proper maintenance and still fail It also had a limp mode episode at 74 k or so. I love the car but can’t see buying another. The Hyundai franchise has a good thing going with an appealing line of vehicles but if they are going to abandon their loyal customers I can’t advocate anyone buy one. Pains me to say that…I love my car but I don’t have the confidence that was “sold” to me when I bought it.
I have A 2021 Hyundai elantra N-line 1.6L T And my car’s been burning all ever since I got it brand new now it has 30000 miles on it and I just checked all and the dipstick was dry
2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate burning 1 quart of oil every 500 miles. It’s ridiculous and wrong that Hyundai hasn’t addressed this.
Had a 2004 Elantra, solid car. My 2018 Hyundai Sonata with 50K miles engine is a POS. I bought it certified used, and it consumes around 1 quart every 800 miles or so. As far as an engine replacement, what are they going to use, another POS engine.