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 Sante Fe that i bought from an Elgin,Il dealer brand new.I have oil consumption loosing a quart of oil a week now.I also have a recall for the anti lock brakes .Please include me on this class action lawsuit.
I have a 2015 Hyundai Tucson and for the last year and half I’ve been adding a full quart of oil every 2 weeks, this can not be normal. Any suggestions of what to do ?
I have a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. I found out about the motor recall last year. It’s been burning oil and started making a noice. The local dealership in Jonesboro AR, where I have purchased all my Hyundai’s from for over 25 years, did a oil consumption test and ran a cleaning solution through it. Corporate office in California denied my motor replacement. My vehicle is still burning oil. I have to check it with every trip I take.
I have been back and forth to the dealership and they say there is nothing they can do that the decision comes from corporate. So I contact corporate and they say there is nothing they can do call the dealership. Clearly Hyundai is not taking responsibility PERIOD. They are not standing behind their so proudly awarded 10/100,000 powertrain warranty.
I have a 2015 Hyundai Sonata that I absolutely love to drive. That is until a couple of weeks ago I had the engine seize up and a code come up on my dash telling me it was in limp mode. The dealership informed me I needed an entire new engine.
I had to trade in my 2012 Kia Sportage that was my husband’s which barely made it to the dealership. I didn’t have it right then for the down payment and luckily they gave me something I could work with at that time for it (though it left us with a hefty car payment we didn’t expect or need).
2016 Kia Sorento- bought this car because Consumer Reports had good ratings. Has been a nightmare. We have to add at least 5+ quarts of oil every month. The valve seal gaskets have had to be replaced. And now the check engine light is on, and it’s sputtering. And I am unable to drive. In the past year or so we took it to the local Kia dealership. They did an oil consumption test- and it proved that it was using excessive oil. But Kia wouldn’t do anything even though it is a known issue.
Please add to lawsuit. I have 2017 Hyundai Elantra and a 2017 kia sportage.
I have a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe and my engine just fell apart because of this reason. I had no idea it was using so much oil and was getting oil changes fine until March 2022. I got an oil change at Valvoline and they mentioned there was not much oil when I brought it in. We checked for leaks and nothing was leaking so didn’t think much of it. Fast forward to today, I took my car into the shop because the engine started to sound weird and they again told me no oil even thought I wasn’t even over average mileage between oil changes. Now I’m told I need a whole new engine. Picked up my car to take it home and discuss with my husband and it completely died, the engine was clunking and now it’s sitting on the side of the road waiting to be towed somewhere. This is complete crap. I want in on this suit ASAP. Please contact me!
I have 2017 hyundia tucson will this issue as well….
I have a 2014 Elantra GT. I bought my car brand new and change the oil every 3000-5000 miles. I’m not hard on my cars. Currently, my little car is at the dealership getting the combustion cleaned bc of the leaking oil. It will cost me $750! They said my car had to be leaking 1 qt per 1000 miles for my warranty to cover it. WTF!. My car only has 85,000 miles on it! My car has broke down twice from this so far. I’m livid and I want justice. Never buying a Hyundai again. I’m coming back toyota! lol.
Please add me to this law suit. Angel Ruiz from Chicago. I bought a Hyundai sonota 2016 a year ago. I was maintaining it even changing oil every 1,000 miles or less. I bought various oil from Walmart, target, etc. Had to replace the intake right away. A few months later the engine block exploded. When I took it to hyundai they said they couldn’t do anything cause there was a recall that wasn’t taken care off. That recall was only for the the turning signals lights being opposite. Now I’m down 22k and the engine replacement is around 5k. This is an insult to all owners who bought a car from this company.