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Hyundai Elantra/Sonata MPG Class Action Lawsuit Tentatively Certified
By Sarah Pierce
A federal judge yesterday said he plans to certify a class action lawsuit accusing Hyundai Motor America of falsely advertising the fuel economy of its Elantra and Sonata models.
Hyundai and Sonata buyers sued the Korean automaker earlier this year after discovering their cars were not receiving 40 mpg as advertised. U.S. District Judge George H. Wu said the case “is probably going forward as a class in some way, shape or form” after tentatively ruling the class action lawsuit should be limited to California consumers because Elantra and Sonata buyers in other states aren’t covered by California’s consumer protection laws.
Judge Wu based his decision on evidence the plaintiffs presented showing Hyundai engaged in an extensive advertising campaign that touted the Elantra and Sonata as receiving 40 mpg on the highway. Judge Wu said the marketing efforts were extensive enough that consumers could have relied on the ads in making their decision to buy the vehicles.
“Plaintiffs have exhaustively detailed the extensive scope of the challenged advertising,” Judge Wu said in tentatively granting class certification of the Hyundai Elantra/Sonata class action lawsuit. “It appears almost impossible for Hyundai to dispute the extensive sweep of its marketing efforts as to the fuel efficiency of the Elantra and Sonata vehicles.”
The Hyundai fuel economy class action lawsuit focuses on the way the company advertised its fuel economy numbers, alleging the ads did not comply with regulations about how EPA mileage estimates are to be displayed.
Hyundai has been the target of multiple class action lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its allegedly inflated fuel economy numbers for a variety of vehicles.
In November, the EPA announced that Hyundai and its sister company Kia has overstated the gas mileage on nearly 35% of their 2011-2013 model-year vehicles.
The tentatively certified Hyundai Elantra/Sonata Gas Mileage Class Action Lawsuit case is Kehlie R. Espinosa v. Hyundai Motor America, Case No. 12-cv-00800, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.
The Plaintiffs are represented by Richard D. McCune, Elaine S. Kusel and Jae K. Kim of McCuneWright LLP.
Updated November 30th, 2012
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38 thoughts onHyundai Elantra/Sonata MPG Class Action Lawsuit Tentatively Certified
Hyundai includes mandatory arbitration for any disputes in their purchase contracts, and reinforces this when you register your rebate card. How does this impact the class action lawsuits??
for the advertised 40/33/29 on my 2013 Elantra, I’m happy to get 33/27/22! $70 a year rebate is an insult. My math says $400-500 is more in line with reality.
So, How do I join the lawsuit? And should I go ahead and accept the pittance offered?
K.
I bought my 2013 Hyundai Elantra solely because promised fuel economy. There were so many other vehicles I could have chosen from and I’m quite perturbed at how my EPA is not as claimed.I would like to join this class action lawsuit for California or nationwide.
I bought my Hyundai Limited edition plus an extra $1,500.00 for the wrap around warranty, in Jan 2012 ONLY because of the advertised mileage, as I do quite a lot of driving for my job.
What a let down!!!
I average 24/27 mpg., if I am lucky, I spoke with the dealership after I had the car for 2 months and was told I need to do around 7,000 miles then the higher mileage per gallon would kick in……it didn’t.
I had the choice of so many new cars at the time I purchased my Elantra, but only because of the advertised mileage and the assurance of the dealership that I would be getting 40 mpg., I went ahead and made the purchase.
I still have my previous car a pontiac vibe that is now 10 years old and does the same mileage as my new Elantra!
I live in Florida and I am now going to investigate the laws here to see what can be done.
Ok people, Hyundai is not the only manufacturer to practice this. Read ANY window sticker and it will state that your vehicle will get anywhere from 3-5mpg more/less than the “estimated” number says on the sticker. Vehicles are tested in perfect conditions at a constant speed and do not resemble real life driving. I have a 2011 Sonata and get a combined 27mpg but on the highway I get 35mpg which is more than the 33mpg the window sticker says and that is at 79mph. You can take 3 cars built on the same day with all the same options and get 3 different MPG readings based on how people drive. I have been in the auto service repair business for over 15 years for 7 different manufacturers, mpg is always a complaint no matter what car make it is.
We purchased our 2011 Elantra Limited in March of 2011. We also research and at the time gas was going way up and I was commuting 45 miles a day we made the decision to go with the Elantra for the 40 mpg. In the very beginning we got in the 30’s but we now consistantly get 27-28mpg. I have all my gas receipts proving this. I complained constantly to my service department, but was always told there was nothing wrong with the car. At one point I was told maybe it was my driving. I now refuse to return to that dealership for my repairs. A year after I bought my car I received a dealership offer to buy by car as a trade in for $12,000. That was half of what I paid for it in one year. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. What a slap in the face. You can’t tell me they did not know they were lying. I was a Hyundai owner from years back when they had the worst reputation and they even pulled my transmission from my Sonata to use in a lawsuit to prove if you maintain your car per their requirements there shouldn’t be any problems with the transmissions. Well I no longer have any faith in Hyundai. I do not want to take their Debit card offer cause I feel they owe us way more than that.
We purchased our 2013 Hyundai ELantra GT Oct 17 after doing what we thought was credible research! Today we get 28 MPG highway–that is a far cry from the advertised EPA number! I am extremely upset as we could have purchased any other car and had better results! We want a class action lawsuit–we are in Nc–so much for burning less carbon. I know I have a car for sale and that I will never but another Hyundai PERIOD!
I live in Indiana, my 2011 Sonata, only averages 27-30mpg. combined hyway-city. would like info. on class action suit in Indiana or nationwide.
I bought my 2013 Sonata back in November with the hope of getting 35 highway and 24 city combined at 28 mpg… I am extremely disappointed that my window sticker as well as my sales guy talking me up on the gas mileage was a complete lie. My vehicle only get 24 miles to the tank. We brought this up with the service department and were told that this is extremely weird and they have never heard this coming from any sonata owner besides us. Apparently we are not alone in this situation. Thank you for starting this class action lawsuit.
I’m glad that someone has started this class action. I don’t live in California, so I’d appreciate advice for a Rhode Islander wanting to file. My 2012 Sonata never gets more than 26 mpg on a combined tank of gas.
Have owned a Hyundai vehicle since2006…Models were/are: Hyundai 350GX, Hyundai Azera…Hyundai Genesis…After all these years I finallyheard about false/misstating gasoline milage. I hope something will happen, and us folks can be reimbursed for the true mileage/shown mileage, etc.
Loretta Gosalvez
Feel I was told another lye. I fell in love with the color, then got even more interested in the gas mileage warranties. I am stuck w a car payment and dumping more $ in the tank then I thought. I pray for justice!!