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
i have a 2018 hyundai sonata. i am having the engine oil leak problem with my car. This started just this week . car is at 60000 miles now. I would like to be part of the class action lawsuit or a recall notice for hyundai. Please file a lawsuit. They must know they cannot get away with it.
I have a 2019 Kona and by 60K burned oil. Took it in for recall and they said it did not qualify. I am going to take it to a separate dealership. They just deny deny deny
I have a 2017 Hyundai sonata and it burns oil it’s been like dat since I got it about 2 n a half yrs ago…
I have spent a year proving to the dealership that these problems existed for them only to act like they did not know what I was talking about while the whole time this class action suit was building. I have been waiting since April for a new engine only to be told they do not have an eta on the parts. Meanwhile, my 2020 Palisade sits rotting in the dealership’s parking lot. My case manager has not assisted me in getting new information or offering resolutions. Today I notified the Better Business Bureau and The Attorney General of Massachusetts.
Mom just bought a used Hyundai Elantra 2018 38000 miles on it from the Hyundai dealership 5 weeks ago. After driving it less then 150 in a week she found herself seeing the oil light turne on, few seconds later loss of power as she was pulling to the side of the road she head metal scraping sounds and other loud sounds coming from the engine. As she finally got to the side of the road the engine shut off and a little bit of smoke coming from under the hood. The car was towed to the dealership and after having it for a few days they told her it had complete engine failure and they were going to replace the engine. I drove by the location mom broke down and I saw 2 big oil stains on the side of the road. The dealership has had her car for over 5 weeks now. The did give her a loaner or rental car they had there on the lot. Mom did purchase an extended warranty because the car was an as is no warranty. This totally blows my mind because as far as I knew Hyundai cars are very good cars these days and I was the one who converted my mom of this. I hope this new engine is going to be a good one, fingers crossed.
Shut them down, blog the internet, tell all, everyone, everywhere, it’s bs they sell this high dollar garbage.
I have a certified pre-owned 2018 Santa Fe ultimate with oil consumption issues. On mother’s Day May 2024 my oil light flashed a few times while driving 70-MPH. I checked the oil level and the dipstick was dry with scorched marks. I had to add 5 quarts of oil for it to reach the full level on the dipstick. Took it to a dealership for a oil change and oil consumption issues. My receipt only reflected the oil change and never mentioned the oil consumption reported by customer. Yet they told me to bring it back at 1,000 miles to check oil level. Did that and the oil level was between the Full and low level. Checked recently and now at the (L) Low level and only been 1,500 miles since the oil change. Ask dealership for a receipt stating that I reported zero oil and was told that they know I came in for that issue and don’t need a receipt. They’re aware of the ongoing issues and I’m at 79k miles and brushed me off so I can reach 100,00 miles which ends the warranty. Then they will say they had no knowledge of my oil consumption issues. Now taking it to where I bought it from in NJ and leaving it parked until then.
I own a 2020 Hyundai Palisade and we are dealing with this EXACT issue right now! Of course the dealership swears it is not a “known” issue, but my cousin who owns the same model is having the same exact issue. We first noticed the problem when I would come to a red light or stop sign and the car would start to shudder or somewhat move abnormally. I decided to take it in. At the time I took it in I had 68,000 and some change miles on it. I told them what had previously happened with my cousins Palisade and I too had concerns that mine was doing the same. After them having it for almost 2 weeks they tried to tell me I had gone over needing an oil change and would have to pay for a valve replacement and a combustion clean on top of the oil change. Mind you we stay on top of our oil changes religiously being a military family who travels frequently. So I made a phone call to the last place we had it changed and confirmed I still had a good 2600 miles until I was due for one. As for the valve and combustion cleaning it is still under warranty and we would t have to pay either way. Needless to say we were able to get all of it covered. When we were finally able to pick it up, per warranty policy you have to bring it back after 1,000 miles of the most recent oil change to check the levels to see if it is in fact burning oil. I did just that at around 900 miles. The guy at the dealership suggested we do so since Hyundai is strict about going over the 1,000 miles. They checked the levels, said it was a little low, but nothing concerning. Two weeks later(this past week my husband had to drive 4-5 hrs away) and the change oil indicator came on. I took it in the next day and low and behold there was only a quart of oil left in the vehicle. We had only driven it about 2600 miles since the most recent oil change. They gave me a loaner, called me the next day and tried to tell me I didn’t bring it at the required 1,000 mile mark that Hyundai requires for warranty to have the levels checked. Which I had 2 weeks prior. We went round in circles with them. Come to find out the gentleman we had been dealing with in the service department did not document that I did in fact come in at the 1,000 mile mark so it is no where in the system for Hyundai to have for warranty. All they could do was top the oil off, have us pick it up and we have to take it back again in about 850 miles and you better believe I will be making sure they document everything! They had basically already told me I needed a new engine and to me that is not ok on a 4 year old car that I pay an arm and a leg for. How is this not a factory issue/recall? I’m glad I looked this up and we aren’t the only ones dealing with this!
Hello, whatever ever became of this, because I have a 2020 and I’m going through the exact same issues. Trying to decide if I fight Hyundai, or just trade in my car, but I love my car, but it’s doing the exact same thing pretty quick here. I’m sure our engines will see just like kias do.
I have a 2017 Kia Soul at 60,000 miles it started burning oil now it uses 2 1/2 quarts per oil change ( 3,000 miles ) Dealer said they can do a test but I would be required to pay 89.95 for the oil change and come back in 1,000 miles. If 1 quart or less is used they kiss it off and say it’s normal to burn a quart every 1,000 miles That’s total BS I have been using Jiffy Lube with a coupon for my oil and filter changes. They will keep your oil filled when down a quart up to 3,000 miles. Oil today is 9.00-11.00 per quart so I will dump the care or keep using Jiffy Lube for aboy 40.00 per oil change for 5 W- 20 so heads up if you want to save money if your car burns oil. Jiffy Lube knows about this issue and without any questions fills my oil up at least twice in 3,000 miles.
“Shame on you KIA for screwing us customers that bought a new vehicle in good faith”
I have a 2017 Tucson 1.6L with 133,000. About 6 mo ago it started burning through oil like crazy and every time I would take it for it’s usual oil change I was told it was completely out of oil, even though the oil light never came on. I started filling it more frequently and told the dealership about the problem when I had my 120,000 check up. I was told that these kind of engines “just do that” and was sent on my way. Took a road trip and 5 hrs into the drive my car started losing power. Barely coasted into a town before it completely stalled. I am told that I need a whole new engine. Hyundai offered to put a used one in with 90,000 miles on it for $13,000. I was completely stranded in the middle of nowhere and ended up stuck in the town for a week because of a rental shortage. At this point, the amount of money I have put into just trying to get home, get my car to the dealership and get a rental is more than the car is even worth. To say that I am angry and fed up with Hyundai is an understatement. It’s just not right that they can knowingly rip people off selling these cars which have so many defects.
Shut them down, blog the internet, tell all, everyone, everywhere, it’s bs they sell this high dollar garbage.