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
Currently having this issue with my 2016 Kia Optima. Changed oil less than 2 months ago and have barely driven 1000 miles since. There is NO oil in my car right now. This is bullsh*t. What’s even worse is that Hyundai/Kia have no solutions for this known issue. I also have a radio that won’t play which is another known issue that they have no solution for and of course my vehicle is out of warranty. Never again. I’m going back to Honda or Nissan.
Rot in hell, Hyundai CEO and board members
2016 Accent burns oil at a much higher rate than it should. Hyundai knows this but refuses to make amends. Horrible company and despicable “leadership.” Korean P.O.S. Back to the reliable Japanese cars for me. maybe even the American cars. I will bash Hyundai and spread the word of their criminal behavior as much as I can and wherever I can. Again…Korean P.O.S.
That being said, what recourse do we have in the short term?
My experience is the same as Jennifer Moore below. 2017 Sante Fe, spending upwards of $70 a month in oil. It does not leak it just burns. I have replaced the spark plugs multiple times, and they are covered in oil. The low oil light does not come on until it is almost bone dry, but it goes off quickly. Now the engine shakes violently even when filled with oil, and is misfiring. Running on 3 cylinders. I’m the 2nd owner, brought it in at about 80k miles, had to pay for an oil consumption test and combustion test, over $500 in service fees plus my time and oil purchased. Then had to wait a month to be seen about what the replacing the engine will entail/cost. They won’t help me. Not too mentioned my car was vandalized and the ignition ripped out in a failed attempt at the Kia Boys challenge. Whatever you do, do not buy a Hyundai.
My 2017 Santa Fe requires 2+ quarts every few weeks!! A couple times it got down to nothing and there’s NO low oil light or anything. The car was barely going and stalling out before the oil change place figured out what was going on. What a disaster!!
Our 2017 Kia Sorento requires quarts of extra oil every month. It does not leak onto the ground. It somehow consumes the oil. I constantly worry about not having enough oil in the engine or accidentally overfilling the oil upon required refilling. Either situation is obviously not good for the life of the car, and I feel stuck with it. We are not the type of people to withhold that information from potential buyers. We want to get rid of the worry by getting rid of the car. I will never recoup our investment, but I’m tired of throwing good money after bad.
I talked to Kia about my 2018. Kia sporting all wheel drive using a lot of oil. They told me to bring it in and pay them $800. 2 clean the engine and monitor the oil being used.
And then if they found what they think they might find. I might get a new engine, but I need to pay them first
My 2017 Sante Fe used so much oil I’m spending upwards of $70 a month in oil. It does not leak it just burns it up. I also have to replace the spark plugs every 3 months. The low oil light does not come on until it is almost bone dry, and when it does come on ot only lights up/flicks on for approximately 5 seconds while I’m driving so it is missed quite a bit unless I see it out of the corner of my eye. I can’t believe this would get dismissed. I’ve been waiting for a class action since 2021 when I purchased my used vehicle and then sadly realized there was an oil issue. I was excited that I might FINALLY get compensated for all the extra expenses this car has caused.
My 2017 SantaFe Sport uses at least one quarry of oil per tank full. It does not leak oil, it burns out it. Dealership wants me to spend hundreds on dissent options to see if it helps.
I have a 2015 Tucson, in 2018 or 2019 I had to have the engine rebuilt because they couldn’t find where the oil was going, no leaks etc, also had to have my transmission rebuilt in that same time period because of faulty shifting. I have had several issues with this SUV, that are not normal wear , and the brakes are constantly being replaced.