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
Yes. 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. It started burning oil at 75000 miles a year ago and the dealer has done 2 consumption tests saying it passes the test but I totally disagree. I just went on a 1200 mile trip and had to add 2 and 1/2 quarts of semi synthetic oil. ( the dealer advised to only use semi or regular oil ) synthetic burns too quickly. They need to recall all of our p.o.s. vehicles. I have never had a vehicle that burns oil like this. I will never buy another Hyundai. I will drive this one as long as I can cuz I hate car payments but I’ll never buy from Hyundai.
I too have a Hyundai tuscon 2016 that had a motor go and it has been at the dealership since Feburary 16th 2022 with still no word on a fix. I still owe on it and in order to get back and forth to work I was forced to go take on a new loan for another car and can not afford two car payments for long! How do I add my name to the lawsuit?
I am in the same boat! My 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is under 100,000. Like other customers, I have gone through the oil consumption test protocol and spent nearly $1,000 for the dealership to (not fix the problem and) determine my engine needs to be replaced due to excessive oil consumption. When the Hyundai employee sent in a request to their tech line to replace my engine, the warranty was declined. There is no way my 4 year old car that is under 100,000 miles should be having engine failure with literally no help from the workers. How do I become included in this lawsuit, or what can I do to ensure I am properly served?
My hyundai 2017 tucson constantly burns oil. I have to check between oil changes. 80,000 miles. Today I had to add 3 quarts. And the mil light came on. I just had the fuel injectors cleaned as service department said the injectors are capturing oil and making sludge. There is no oil leakage in my garage.
Please let me be added to the lawsuit.
I have a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport that just got appoved by the extended warranty company for replacement. I had to pay almost $1000 to have the oil consumption test performed. The extended warranty would not pay for any diagnostic services to determine if the engine was faulty. I’m just happy they are fixing the car
We have a 2017 Hyundai accent and have consistently have problems with the car losing oil and constantly needing to add oil. The car has 98,000 miles and it’s been a on going problem.
Same issue with my 2016 Hyundai Tuscan. Dealer has no appointments to see me for a week. I had 0 oil after driving less than 3,000 miles. It’s a constant problem. Last time this happened, my car kept stalling so I rushed to get another oil change.
2015 Kia Soul + owner, Kia’s bulletin states up to 1 quart per 1000 mile is nominal. Dealer performed consumption test. result 1/2 quart per 1000. After last oil change I drove for 1000 miles and had to replace a quart. ? Just had the dealer perform combustion chamber cleaning per step two of the oil const bulletin at my expense 417.00$. Before the cleaning the engine was noisy and often sounded like a diesel when I started it. It is quieter since the cleaning. I will run it for a 1000 miles and see if the oil consumption has been stopped. 70000 mile on my soul it should not use any oil. Up to a quart per 1000 oil consumption standard is ridiculous.
My 2016 sonata, just topped 100K, has been having oil consumption issues. Just went to dealer for 2 recalls and had them check. They said 2 leaks, valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket replaced. My husband has had same issue with his 2017 Kia sportage bought 2020, and continually since day 1 has to check and replace oil. Was told he has consumption issue but that year is not in this list!
How can we join this class action suit?
We started having issues last Summer 2021 with our 2016 Santa Fe burning oil. We went through the oil consumption testing. Our car was well within the warranty. They said that it wasn’t losing enough oil to warrant a new engine. They put a bandaid(cleaned engine and put some type of plug in) on the problem and we are now dealing with the same issue 10 months later. This time we are about 1500 miles out of our warranty and they are telling us that the head gasket, amongst other engine issues needed to be repaired, totaling $4500. They had our car for 21 days and paid for the repairs at a discounted rate(without a loaner car that we are to get through our warranty we paid for). 2 weeks after paying for all the repairs, we are still having issues with the Santa Fe burning oil. They are giving us the runaround. We are beyond frustrated. Please help and add us to this lawsuit.