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 Hyundai Sonata co-owner. Everything was going great (we paid for a drivetrain warranty) and in 2021 it began using oil. Sometimes 2 or 3 quarts between oil change intervals of about 3000 miles. Now the car is consuming a quart of oil every 700-800 miles. No leaks on the driveway – we paid $500 for gasket replacements and $350 for a battery replacement at the dealership and still we are adding a couple of quarts of oil each week. Took it back to the authorized dealer who advised us to ‘Just drive it until the engine locks up’. Sounded like lousy advice to me, except we have to feed it oil on a weekly basis to keep it running – sometimes twice weekly. A nice car but now it sucks!
Same here! My wife loves her car but this sucks.
I bought a used 2017 Hyundai Tucson in August of 2022. Now, it has 90,500 miles on it. It’s currently in the shop and can’t be driven because of corroded spark plugs and engine failure. My oil level would constantly be low, but there was never oil leaking on the ground. The mechanics told me my engine was completely shot and would either have to be rebuilt or replaced. Since I’m not the original owner, the 100,000 mile warranty doesn’t apply to me. Hyundai told me my car isn’t included in their recalls either.
2018 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Theta II… just had to replace valve cover gasket and high pressure fuel pump gasket because it was leaking oil. Dealership has said nothing about recalls, burning too much oil, etc. only wanted to charge $450 to replace gasket so I did it myself. Been putting 2-3 QTs in every 3000ish miles. Still owe on the car. Never buying another Hyundai
I’m at the mechanic now with my 2016 Sonata. I got a full inspection 20 days ago with oil top off. Now I’m almost out of oil.
Please contact me regarding a class action lawsuit for Hyundai engines burning excessive amounts of oil.
Dido here. Owner of Sonata 2015. It is consuming a quart of oil in almost every 500-miles. Pls advise what I need to do to join the crowd in this lawsuit.
I have a 2015 Hyundai Sonata with 149,000 miles and is showing signs of this problem. Had to get an oil change 1k miles before I was scheduled to. Not sure how to become a part of this process but would be interested in speaking with someone
2016 sonata sport owner. Think I was one of the first in my region to go thru the consumption ritual. Didn’t amount to anything. Been adding oil for 5 years now. I would love to see a class action go forward. Count me in
Same here. 2013 Sonata burns in excess of 4 quarts every 1000 miles. Losing power daily. Hyundai says nothing.
We have a 2017 Elantra with 90,000 and have to add over a quart of oil every 1000 miles. I am very concerned that the engine life will be diminished by this issue.
2017 Sport, did the recall for knock sensor. No problems until 165k last 9000 miles put at least 8 to 10 quarts of oil in. Never have I had a car use oil like this. Any engine that has regular oil changes should go 250k before it shows any oil usage. Complain to your state reps. File complaints if they don’t want to fix the problems stop sales of their autos. But with class action suits seems the can help a few, pay fines to the Gov. and next day business as usual.