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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3,222 thoughts onHyundai class action over excessive oil consumption dismissed
We have a 2014 Kia Sorento with the 2.4L. It has about 125,000 mi now but right around the 100,000 mi market started burning oil at a rate of 1 to 1 and 1/2 quarts every thousand miles, and every time there is metal flakes in the oil – not a good sign! If I run 5W20 it will burn even more than that so I upped it to 5W30, which is a little thicker, and that doesn’t burn quite as much but still over a quart every thousand miles. I have contacted the local Kia dealership to see if there’s anything they can do about this and they said basically that until the engine blows there’s nothing you can do. So I’m stuck with this ticking time bomb of a car, and every time I go on a longer trip I’m nervous she’ll blow on the highway and I’ll be stranded somewhere or get in a crash.
Kia really should just replace all these engines because they sold everybody pieces of garbage that are doomed to fail even with perfect maintenance records. It’s too bad because it’s been a good car otherwise but this engine is really awful.
Come on Kia, make this right. Make the investment now to show that you actually care about your customers. An engine these days should last more than 100,000 miles without major problems.
Hi
My 2015 Santa Fe sport has been burning oil and I’m have to put 2 quarts in it every 2 weeks. I use my car for work and can’t afford a car payment. It makes a rattling noise and other noises I know are because of it. I love my car but this is crazy!
I have a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe with a 3.3 L engine ( think, It is not the 2.4) and the engine is blown. I had regular oil changes but it was using a lot of oil and I didnt know it. No low oil warning light or any other indication. Checked the oil cause engine was making a strange thunking noise when I turned it off. It was 3 qts low on oil. I filled to the proper level. My wife drove the care next day to michigan and the engine started knocking so bad. Had it checked by two mechanics and they said the engine has to be replaced. So far I am told not covered by warranty or recall. Still owe on the car.
I have a 2014 Hyundai Accent that I didn’t know was losing oil until I did a quick stop right after turning and the oil light lit up for a brief second then turned off. I thought that was weird and wasn’t sure what I saw so I checked my oil. Sure enough, I was practically empty. If I hadn’t caught that brief light I’d have never known. Mechanics never said a word. Why isn’t the Accent model on this defect list?
My 2014 Elantra GT has the same problem. I had a scary moment today where my car stopped while I was driving. Luckily I was at a light when it stopped and not on the freeway. The technician said my car is burning oil and could not give me a radon why.
Whoops I meant could not give me a reason why
Hi, I have a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited and I have had this problem with my car using an excessive amount of oil between oil changes. Currently I am only into 1000 miles from my last oil change which is always at the dealership and my car was running sluggish. I checked the oil and found I only had 1/2 a quart of oil. Everytime this has happened, no indicator light comes on my dash to alert me of low oil pressure. This can be devastating if I didn’t check my oil now constantly. Can I still be apart of this lawsuit?
Good day. I have 2016 Hyundai 3.3l engine and see that there is a lot of these engines seizing as well. I believe it is the same issue. Any chance these will be named in the lawsuit? There are thousands of people left with payments on these vehicles that are no good to drive and the dealerships are not helping nor is Hyundai/Kia Canada
Mi hyundai santa fe consume 2 y medio cuarto de aceite cada mill millas,y no veo por donde se gasta e idol 5 veces a hyundai I solo completing el q.falta.
I have 2017 hyundai sonata. I’m having to put in a full gallon and a half of oil in between the 5000 mile oil change. Even though I’m putting in clean new oil when I check the Guage it comes back black.
Having an issue with my 2016 Hyundai Sonota. Excessive oil consumption, oil coming out of my exhaust pipes.
Mi Tucson 2015 está gastando alrededor de 1cuarto de aceite mensual, no tiene liqueos en motor, ni está botando humo.
Mi hyundai santa fe consume 2 y medio cuarto de aceite cada mill millas,y no veo por donde se gasta e idol 5 veces a hyundai I solo completing el q.falta.
I have a 2018 Hyundai Kona and at 10,000 miles they had to replace the engine. Now at 121,000 miles it is burning oil like crazy, it stalls on me and it is coming out my exhaust pipe. This is infuriating as I just paid it off and now I might not have a vehicle and I really can’t afford another vehicle. Hyundai should be held responsible and be made to fix the issue. They should be ashamed of themselves.