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
2014 hyundai tucson. Engine locked up. Had serviced exclusively at the dealership. No oil leaks, instead oil migrated thru the intake and was burning it. Locked up three weeks after last oil change.
I have a 2011 Hyandai sonata! EVERY WEEK I have to check the oil and of course add oil! I have NEVER had a vehicle that BURNS oil like this!!!! It’s getting very expensive! The 5 years I have owned this car this is what I have to DEAL with. Every time I start it up a puff of smoke comes out and if something happens to this car I’m done because I can’t afford another one!!!! DO SOMETHING HYANDAI
2019 Hyundai elantra piston failure
My car 2018 Hyundai Sonata is burning oil. We are going through the “consumption” test right now and I have to return in 1000 miles to check again. I have 67K miles on the car. AHHHHH.
I have a 2018 Santa Fe Sport and am going through oil like crazy. Every time I get an oil change at the dealership I tell them what is going on and they just put it in my notes. Every 2,000 miles, maybe less I have to add it at least 2 quarts of oil because the oil light starts to flicker. When I check it, it is below the low line and almost out of oil. I have now started checking it every 2 weeks and am constantly adding oil to guard against engine failure. There are never any signs of leaking on my garage floor so I know it is getting burned off somewhere which is not good. They want to do an oil consumption test next. We’ll see what happens from there but i’m not happy. How do we get in on this class action law suit ?
Same car and same problem. Please see my comment, just posted 7/19. It seems like the dealerships and Hyundai are trying to sweep this under the rug. There is clearly something going on and the right thing to do is to issue a recall.
How can we get updated on this? I have a 2017 Tuscon that is gulping over a quart of oil every 1000 miles. I took it into the dealership three times for oil consumption tests and the final time I’m sure they did some sort of temp sealant fix that worked for a couple of months…would not replace the engine. Back to adding oil every two weeks.
Hi Jeff. Did you get any reply to your post? I have a 2015 Santa Fe Sport and am having the EXACT same issue. Multiple 1,000 oil consumption tests…multiple patch fixes…still burning WAY too much oil. Dealership (Fairfax Hyundai) said they can’t do anything as they’re just following Hyundai corporate procedures. Very frustrating.
I live in Indiana my wife has a 2018 sante fe and I need to know how to get in this class action lawsuit because dealer has been notified 2 times about having no oil in it. What can we do to solve this issue?
I have a Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2017 and I have experienced the same problem with the engine oil. Every 500 miles, I have to change it every time.
Saw oil light. Just put 4 Qts of oil in 2018 Sonata with 116k miles. Only 5k miles since change. Happened before but thought JIffy Lube may have under filled when added 2 qts before last oil change.
I am losing oil to stick at less than 1000 miles!!!
Have to get it checked every other week
I’m in Indiana and need to file a lawsuit and reach out to them again. I shouldn’t pay for a new engine. Hyundai Sonata 2015