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
Same exact issue. Has totally stalled twice in the last 6 months, no warning for low oil. Frequent oil changes & top offs. It’s absurd. Took my car in to be inspected & have oil consumption test run – Hyundai of America DENIED the claim & test coverage despite knowing it is an outstanding issue. Consumption test costs $700-$900 as quoted by the dealership. Makes me never want to buy another hyundai. So done. How do I sign up to be a part of this??
I have a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and having the same issue with the Oil Compensation, they told me to come back every 1000 miles I have a sticker in my window when to go back my car stalled and was towed and was at the Dealership for almost a month, please sign me up this is Ridiculous. More money out of my pocket.
2016 Hyundai Sonata here and I thought I was going crazy. My mechanic said these cars are notorious for burning oil, and I only have 108K on it. Put 5 qts in 3 weeks ago and I had to get an oil change. The body and interior and in great condition. Not sure if I should sell it, or keep putting oil in it as I like not having a car payment.
My 2018 sonata limited burns at least couple quarts of oil every 1000 miles, currently doing the “ run around” w Hyundai and local dealership to address this issue. Yesterday was 3rd time taking car to dealership ( to do the combustion cleaning) $500 out of MY pocket, 2 times before to have oil drained and tamper proof plug put in. Time stamp photos taken by myself show the consumption. Also paint is bubbling and flaking off at 58,000 miles? Have open claim # w Hyundai but that does squat for wasted time at dealership and on phone, time without my vehicle, and out of pocket money
Per my Hyundai dealer, they have performed 5 of these cleanings. In 1 case it seemed to help, in 2 cases it didn’t help at all, and the last 2 cases, it actually made it WORSE!!
Yes, my 2017 Elantra SE is consuming oil, many miles before oil change is due. Car will randomly shut off when coming to a stop, no notice. In Illinois, dealership couldn’t get me in, so I had to go to a local mechanic for a diagnostics, who noticed there was no oil. This also happened on a trip to Michigan in March 2022.
My 2018 Kia optima 2.4 L GDI engine burns oil. It burns so much that you have to check it every other day. The engine also runs extremely hot. The heat has casued the valve cover gasket to start leaking at only 81,000 miles. When an exhaust shop told us our catalytic converter needed to be replaced because of oil leaking into the exhaust and clogging it, the dealership claimed there was no way burned oil could clog the catalytic converter. (they had verified it the cat was clogged, but wanted almost $5,000 to replace it). They didnt even diagnose the oil leak. They also claimed that the valve cover gasket wasn’t covered under the 100k power train warrranty and refused to fix this issue. Basically, they are considering the leaking valve over gasket “normal wear”. Any how, they dont know how to fix these issues, probably because the engine itself is faulty.
My 2016 Hyundai Tucson burns completely through its oil tank and gives no indication of low oil other than a Diesel engine sound. I now check it every few days. The engine is EXTREMELY HOT and it seems to burn through a few quarts in less than 1,000 miles.
Same issue just happened with my 2017 Kia niro. The manufacturer won’t honor my warranty because of the “oil pressure sensor failing” even though I am still under warranty. That’s BS. I’ve taken my car the dealership for services in a timely manner. Sign me up.
Same problem. 2014 Hyundai Elantra
My 2018 Hyundai Tucson stalled on the highway last week. I couldn’t get Hyundai dealership in Greeley, CO to answer the phone so I left a msg that they never returned. I had it towed to a different shop and when they read the codes they gave me a service bulletin and said there is a class action lawsuit and I should get it to the dealership asap. It took me to weeks to get an appointment at the Dealership where I am waiting to hear back from. They did tell me since I didn’t bring it in for the recall I wouldn’t be covered under the extended warranty. I just received an email about the recall June 3rd 10 days before my car stalled.