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
2016 Hyundai Sonata needs 3 quarts of oil to make it to next required oil change. It’s very frustrating to add extra oil that much! Been doing it for a year now. One day it just started making a bad sound and I popped the hood and it had no oil in it but it was 1000 before the next required oil change. Now it’s worse than that.
2016 Sonata. Few months ago my oil light came on and went to get an oil change and had almost no oil left. Drove about 1000 miles and the light came back on. Mechanic mentioned this issue with Hyundais and sure enough I see this. My lights come on again. Count me in on this!!!
2014 Sonatas been consuming oil since November of last year. I’ve done everything my local dealer has asked me to do HMA will only cover 85%. I purchased my car new and it’s only been serviced w/ Hyundai. Filed a complaint with the BBB and they marked my complaint as resolved when it’s clearly not resolved.
I have a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport that has been consuming alot of oil. I went to the Hyundai dealership and they wanted to do an oil consumption test but due to my SUV being out of warranty, I would need to pay $1,000 for the test. Currently my SUV is at 110,000 miles and as I was driving it, the engine light came on and I was not able to drive over 60 miles per hour. I pulled off the freeway to check the oil and it was low but it stalled every time I was at a stop light or stop sign. Currently, my SUV is at a shop and the mechanic informed me that due to the oil leak it melted my spark plugs and also the engine combustion and 0 compression on 1 and 30% compression on 3. I just got off the phone with Hyundai Corporarion and they basically hung up the call because I kept asking to speak to someone who can help me and not read a script. Have they no integrity?
I definitely want to join this lawsuit!
I’m having similar issues! My cylinders 2,3, & 4 are misfiring! And my car is drinking more than a quart or 2 of oil every 1000 miles. Was told today (after $600 in diagnostic fees) it’s from my negligence of keeping regular oil changes in my car! I have records to show that is not the case but Hyundai flat out told me they wouldn’t cover anything!!
My car was also stalling while I was at red lights/stop signs. It idles so rough!
2017 tucson. uses about a quart every 1000 miles. i would like to join in
Hyundai Tuscon 2019- Engine stalled out on the highway with no warning, the car had to be towed to an auto repair shop, diagnostic showed crankshaft issue, sludge around oil, brought my car in to Hyundai Dealer for warrantee decision on April 15, have not heard a decision in over 2 months on my active warrantee being confirmed or denied
Hyundai Sonata 2017—I got my oil changed on April/19/2022. It is now 6/14/2022 and my car has no oil. Took the car to the mechanic he says there was no oil in the car which caused a flashing check engine light. I have been getting my oil changes regularly. As soon as my car got to 100,000 miles oil consumption issues started happening. I am now at 107,000 and I am having to change the oil every month. Hyundai dealership is useless and are not backing up any class action law suites for the theta engines. I also got the knock sensor update when I was supposed to and yet they are still giving me a hard time for an engine replacement i am the original owner of the vehicle and have kept all maintenance records. I will never buy a Hyundai again!!!
Hi there! 2017 original sonata owner here…I am having word for word, the same issues! My knock sensor went out twice, even after I had the required replacement done. They refuse to back up their warranty, which is why any of us bought a Hyundai in the first place. Never again!
Just added 3 1/2 quarts to my wife’s 2016 Santa Fe Sport 2.0t. Couldn’t believe how low her oil was, and the dipstick looked severely tarnished, so I’m thinking she may have a sludge issue now. Her car has roughly 85k miles. It is mind-boggling how much money people are needing to spend on oil, and I saw that one person, predictably, even replaced their catalytic converter due to the carbon buildup from this issue. Hyundai needs to be held responsible. That said, I’ve found their service department here in Hartford, CT to be terrible to deal with. I would love to join this suit.
*Update to my last post* Hyundai dealer called after diagnostic today and told me that I have low compression (120 PSI) and that the engine is done on my 2014 Hyundai Tucson. I am shocked considering I’ve only driven the car 13,000 miles since I purchased it from the last owner and have all the service records to prove the car has been well-maintained and the oil has been changed every 4,000 miles. I had the 100,000 mile service performed last year as well. I’ve been experiencing excessive oil consumption since purchasing the car. I was at risk of a serious traffic accident on the highway when my acceleration gave out a few days ago. I’d like to join this lawsuit as this is clearly a manufacturer issue I should not be held responsible for.
My 2013 Hyundai Sante Fe Sport consumes so much oil, that I carry a couple quarts of oil in my car. The oil was changed 3 months ago and last week I personally added 2 quarts just to get oil showing on the dipstick .
Please add my name to the class action lawsuit.