7 complaints reported

2012 Hyundai Tucson POWER TRAIN,ENGINE

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
7
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jul 2022 Fire

I was driving down the interstate, going approximately 70mph, and my 2012 Hyundai Tucson started having difficulty maintaining speed. The engine started revving up while the car was still slowing down. Suddenly, I felt a knock and smoke started bellowing out of the engine bay. I pulled over immediately, opened the hood to inspect, and was almost burnt by the flames. There was a fire near the back of the engine block which I was able to put out with some water. I had my vehicle towed to the Hyundai of West Allis in Wisconsin. The dealership and a corporate Hyundai inspector determined that the cause of the fire was a thrown engine rod. There were no signs of issues or engine lights prior to this event. My Tucson has been at the dealership for nearly two months. After tens of hours dealing with Hyundai customer service and the dealership, both entities decided that they will do nothing to remedy the situation. My Hyundai vehicle has the 2.4L Theta II engine which is clearly implicated in the recent class action lawsuit against Hyundai for faulty engines. There is a recall for the rod bearing which was the direct cause of my engine throwing a rod and causing the fire.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2022
Jan 2022

My 2012 Tucson engine, with 62,000 miles, locked up on 09/22/21 while I was on a trip, without warning & no check engine light came on. Luckily, I was able to coast to the small shoulder. It suddenly seized on a stretch of I15 in the mountains of the Mohave Desert. The engine completely stopped so suddenly that I was lucky I was able to coast to the shoulder. The shoulder was very narrow, so I was barely off a very busy highway, at night. The breakdown happened just before midnight. I was stuck on the side of the road as cars and trucks were flying by us, with little room to avoid hitting us. It took 4 hours to find someone who would tow my car. I was towed to Midas shop at a cost of $800. The Midas shop confirmed that my engine had seized, was full of oil, and no explanation for the engine seizing could be found. The only option was to replace the engine. I wanted a new one, but they could not find one. They found a "used" one from a 2012 Tucson, supposedly with 40,000 miles on it. The mechanic had to go to Huntington Beach to pick it up. He was amazed at the cost of the engine (much higher than they had paid for any other used engine). Ultimately the replacement cost $12,118.41. When I picked up my car on 10/15/21 I headed home to San Diego (170 miles). After approx 100 miles, the transmission suddenly stopped shifting into any gear. It would not come out of neutral. I was in a lane close enough to the shoulder to coast just far enough to get a few inches off the highway. Because it was a Friday evening, there were no auto shops open. I had no choice but to have the car towed to my house (70 miles) at a cost of $500. A local transmission shop diagnosed my transmission problem. It was due to failure of the part that pumps fluid into the transmission. Yet another problem that shouldn’t occur in a car with only 61,000 miles on it. The cost of the repair was $4,200. The failure of those parts put me in 2 very dangerous situations and cost me $20,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2021
Dec 2020

DRIVING ALONG THE INTERSTATE WHEN ENGINE HAD REDUCED ENGINE POWER FOR A MOMENT, THEN STALLED AROUND 70MPH. MADE IT TO AN EXIT RAMP LUCKILY. ENGINE HESITATED TO RESTART, ONCE IT DID START ENGINE STARTED KNOCKING AND HAD NEXT TO NO POWER. TOWED TO HYUNDAI DEALER, HYUNDAI DEALER STATED THAT HYUNDAI HAS HAD MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THESE ENGINES AND HYUNDAI SHOULD COVER IT FULLY. DEALERSHIP PROCEEDED TO PULL OIL PAN AND VALVE COVER WITHOUT OUR CONSENT AND WITH NO COMMUNICATION FOR DAYS. CONFIRMED THE ENGINE WAS BAD, METAL SHAVINGS IN OIL PAN, ROD BEARINGS FAILED. COMMON PROBLEM. WAITING ON HYUNDAI FOR APPROVAL. SERVICE ADVISOR QUIT, WE WERE INFORMED 6 DAYS LATER THAT HYUNDAI IS ONLY WILLING TO COVER 65% OF COST AND WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY 35% ($3,500.0) OUT OF POCKET. WE REFUSED TO PAY; THEY STATED WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY DIAGNOSIS, BUT THEY ENDED UP WAIVING THAT. TECHNICIANS DID NOT FULLY SECURE OIL PAN OR VALVE COVER. OIL UNDER CAR WHERE IT WAS PARKED, HAVE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS TO BACK THIS CLAIM UP. HAVE RENTAL CAR AND MANY TOW BILLS IN TO THE MIX NOW. WHY WOULD THE DEALER TELL US HYUNDAI FULLY COVER THIS BUT THEY DON'T? WE NEED THIS ISSUE FIXED. MANY OTHER TUCSON OWNERS DEAL WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, WITH THE SAME ENGINE AS THE OTHER CARS, BUT THEIRS GET REPLACED FREE OR CHARGE AND EXPENSES PAID BY HYUNDAI.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Mar 2020
Sep 2020

I WAS DRIVING AND THE ENGINE STARTED MAKING A CLICK CLICK NOISE. IT SOUNDED TERRIBLE LIKE THERE WERE ROCKS RATTLING AROUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ENGINE AND LOST POWER. THE VEHICLE BROKE DOWN AND I HAD TO FIND A TO AND RENTAL CAR TO GET HOME. HYUNDAI SERVICE SAID I NEED A NEW ENGINE, BECAUSE THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDED REPLACED. I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL RECALLS ON THE HYUNDAI ENGINES AND I CALLED THE HYUNDAI CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FLAT OUT TOLD ME THAT MY NGINE WAS OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY AND THEREFORE THEY COULD NOT HELP. I AM NOT READY TO HAVE TO GET A NEW VEHICLE, SPECIALLY IN THIS COVID SITUATION. I HAD A SIMILAR ISSUE WITH A 2003 TUSCON SANTA FE...THIS ENGINE FAILURE ISSUE IS A SCAM.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2020
Feb 2020

I WAS DRIVING AND THE ENGINE STARTED MAKING A NOISE. ALL OF A SUDDEN IT SOUNDED TERRIBLE LIKE THERE WERE ROCKS RATTLING AROUND IN THE ENGINE AND IT SHUT DOWN. I WAS INITIALLY IN TOWN WHEN IT STARTED AND JUST GOT ON THE HWY WHEN SHE BROKE DOWN. HUBBY, TWO PUPPIES, AND I WERE STRANDED IN THE SIDE OF THE HWY IN 100 DEGREE HEAT FOR 2 HRS. HAD TO RENT A MOVING TRUCK AND TRAILER TO MAKE THE TREK BACK HOME TO GA. HYUNDAI SERVICE SAID IT THREW A ROD AND SHREDDED IN THE ENGINE AND THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDED REPLACED. MINIMUM OF $5500 FOR THE ENGINE ITSELF. I SWITCHED TO SYNTHETIC OIL ON THE FIRST CHANGE WHEN I GOT HER NEW AND WAS REGULAR WITH HER MAINTENANCE. I WAS NOT READY TO HAVE TO GET A NEW VEHICLE JUST YET.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Aug 2020
Jan 2019

"TAKATA RECALL" AS MY 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON REACHED 100,000 MILES MY TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AND LEFT ME STRANDED. I HAD A REBUILT TRANSMISSION PUT IN, THAT WAS PURCHASED FROM THE DEALERSHIP. NOW I AM AT 132,000 MILES AND MY ENGINE IS KNOCKING. THE KNOCKING GETS LOUD DURING ACCELERATION, AND HAS QUICKLY GONE FROM A TICKING SOUND ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE TO A LOUD KNOCK. MY MECHANIC IS SAYING THAT THERE IS NO COMING BACK FROM THIS, THE ENGINE WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. OIL CHANGES ARE DONE ON TIME, THERE IS OIL IN THE CAR NOW BUT A ROD IS KNOCKING LOUDLY. THIS CAR WILL HAVE BEEN PURCHASED TWICE ONCE I HAVE PUT ALL THE REPAIRS INTO IT THAT REALLY SHOULDN'T NEED TO BE PUT INTO A CAR AT THIS STAGE OF IT'S LIFE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jan 2019
Dec 2018

WHILE DRIVING AND GOING FROM DRIVING FOR AWHILE TO STOP AND GO IT STALLS. HAS HAPPENED NOW 3 + TIMES IN DRIVING SITUATIONS. HAVE HAD CAR CHECKED OUT AND SAID NOTHING IS WRONG BY TWO DIFFERENT GARAGES. STALLING IN TRAFFIC IS NOT SAFE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Dec 2018

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2012 Hyundai Tucson has 7 POWER TRAIN,ENGINE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.