Logotype of Hyundai corporation.
(Photo Credit: Arsenie Krasnevsky/Shutterstock)

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

  1. Gina Argenbright says:

    I have a 2015 Hyundai Tucson. About 4 months ago i went to get an oil change and they said I barely had any oil. I told them that couldn’t be possible because I always get my oil changed at 3,000 miles. I wrote it off as maybe they were trying to upsell me on better oil. I went for another oil change about a month ago to a different place and they said I had no oil. This definitely makes sense now. Please add me. Hopefully Hyundai will fix this issue.

  2. Kevin Wayburn says:

    Bought a 2016 KIA Sorrento 2.4ltr FWD in 2019. Going through 1 quart of oil every two weeks. About every 2-300 miles.

  3. patty Cowan reis says:

    Please include me

  4. Denise Oxenreiter says:

    We have a 2012 and 2017 Elantra, please add us. 2017 Elantra engine malfunctioned due to no oil (used more than it should have), no warning of low oil, now car is not driveable.

  5. Jason Basham says:

    2017 Kia Optima has had a oil consumption problem for 2 years and Kia and the dealerships are giving run around. So add me

  6. Tiffany caraway says:

    Please add me, we have 2016 kia optima the piston rings are leaking and the shop said we are losing alot of oil due to it. They said its a very expensive fix. Everything in this article is exactly what is wrong with our car. We want to be apart of the class action suite.

  7. Shaliah N Maddox says:

    2012 Elantra

  8. Dawn Collier says:

    2017 Santa Fa sport

  9. Susan says:

    2016 ELANTRA GT

  10. Dick/Shenna Wilson says:

    2013 KIA Sorento with major oil leakage problems. Had to shop
    to replace pan, pan gasket, still had problems, replaced the front seal. Engine already has class action on it for Failure. KIA refuses to do anything until the engine actually fails!

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