2020 Hyundai Tucson Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the oil level was topped off. The dealer requested that the contact return every 1,000 miles for inspection. The failure persisted, and the vehicle was returned to the dealer every 1,000 miles. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer for an inspection, and the dealer discovered that the catalytic converter was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a second opinion, and the contact was informed that the engine had failed due to a defect in one of the engine cylinders. The dealer was informed of the findings by the independent mechanic, and an appointment was scheduled to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
This engine has 70,000 miles on it and has burned a quart of oil every 2500 to 3000 miles, two full quarts between oil changes. In talking to others Hyundai owners, they have similar issues. I have owned multiple other brands of vehicles with well over 150K miles and they did not burn any oil. Fords, BMWs, Volvos, and Subarus.
Complete engine failure. Car was burning oil, wasn't aware. Since I am an on the road salesman I travel alot and get oil changes consistently. Then recently the engine oil light keeps coming on when rounding bends or stopping on a hill. I checked the dip stick and see oil is Half gone in between oil changes. The car stalled as I was approaching a dangerous intersection. Thankfully I was able to stop the car.
I have a 2020 Tucson Sport with 82k miles. Since new, it consumes 1US qt. of oil every 6 month, although I religiously do the tune-up on its recommended intervals using only Mobil 5w-20 synthetic oil. What can I do?
2020 HYUNDAI Tucson Engine blown @ 89,307 miles and 1,265 miles after oil change due to missing oil plug. Daughter drives about 5 miles per day for college and groceries. The day before Thanksgiving 2025, her 2020 HYUNDAI Tucson died about 48 miles down the Highway without warning, no prior warning lights or sounds before shutting down. I had the car towed to the local HYUNDAI dealer in the town where her college is, where they told us the engine was totaled due to a lack of oil and a missing oil plug. I discussed with the HYUNDAI service advisor about having an extended warranty; however, they would not work with me or the company I had the extended warranty with, mentioning they would not cover the engine failure due to the oil plug being missing. I asked the service advisor in a separate conversation whether an oil pan drain plug that was not properly torqued during an oil change could remain in place for some time—particularly during short, low-speed driving—and then gradually work loose over additional miles. The service advisor mentioned that in situations like my daughter’s, where only about 1,265 miles were driven after the oil change (mostly short trips), it would be within reason for an improperly installed drain plug to stay in place until a longer highway drive with higher RPMs, at which point it could back out completely and result in a sudden oil loss and engine shutdown. The service advisor also mentioned that this is something they had seen before and is not unheard of on these vehicles.
The car has been burning oil for about two years . Noticed when my oil was changed by my mechanic , he told me oil level was about a quart low . Since that time I have had to add oil every 1000 miles . Approximately 4 quarts between oil changes , which I have done every 5 to 6 thousand miles . I have read that many other people have had same problem. This is a 2020 Tucson, Unlimited Model . Which at the time of purchase was the top model Tucson on the lot . Hopefully this is enough information to help get the consumer some Help in this situation ! Thanks
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Tucson. While the contact’s daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally loud knocking sound coming from the vehicle before the engine seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 83,500.
Vehicle excessively burns oil, engine drives rough, exhaust developed smoke, burnt smell in engine, engine and oil gauge light comes on.
the engine failed without warning. While going up a hill the car lost power. Yes, the dealership said it was a known problem. Yes, the dealership fixed the problem by putting in a new engine which I was responsible for 5% of the cost which was 739.66. The only warning that was given was after the car failed, the engine light and the oil light went on.
My engine is burning excessive amounts of oil, which is a "known issue" of Hyundai Tucsons. After an oil change with full synthetic oil, I cannot drive my vehicle more than 4,000 miles without reaching dangerously low oil levels. Most importantly, there is no clear indicator of this low oil level—no light that comes on and STAYS on to tell me as the driver to check the oil and see if there is a problem. Instead, if I brake too hard or take a turn to sharply a red oil light will turn on for 1-2 seconds and then turn off again. It is easy to miss. The first few times this happened in May I thought perhaps there was a loose wire on the sensor. After it appeared 3 or 4 times I took it to a mechanic who told me the oil level was so low that they had to add 2 quarts of oil just to have it register on the dip stick. The excessive oil burning is a known issue that Hyundai fights tooth and nail to avoid correcting. But to not have a warning indicator that the oil is at a dangerously low level is reckless on Hyundai's part. The engine could have seized up, thrown a rod, or any number of consequences. I had my oil replaced by Hyundai in May as part 1 of their oil consumption test. My car passed their 1000-mile test and 4,000 miles later I was in dangerously low oil territory again. Thankfully, I knew what to look for this time. Cars should not consume oil at this rapid of a rate but even if they do drivers should be notified about low oil levels via car sensors to keep them and their passengers safe.
Vehicle is burning an extreme amount of oil between regular oil changes. We are having no help from our local dealership in Tuscaloosa, AL where we purchased the car to resolve this issue without first spending a lot of money to diagnose an issue we certainly already have. Long before it was due for routine oil change, we checked it and it was COMPLETELY EMPTY of oil. NOTHING IN IT. We have to put oil in it three times before its next routine service. We have always had the vehicle serviced, on schedule, by our local Hyundai dealership and are the only owners of the car.
Engine oil excessive consumption/burning oil
In between my last 3 oil changes I have “lost” all of my oil in my car. Checked my oil randomly and there was NO OIL at all on the stick. After this last change I have checked it every week. I did not check for 2 weeks less than 1,000miles and it was below the low on the mark. Obviously running out of oil while driving is not safe and can cause the engine to blow. This can cause a crash or fire. There have been numerous issues with this and the cars need recalled. This is ridiculous.
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil warning light briefly illuminated. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the engine oil level was low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the engine was not consuming oil and that an oil change was needed. The dealer advised the contact to return after 1,000 miles to inspect the oil level. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer; however, it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Excessive oil consumption. Confirmed by Strickland service centers on last 2 oil changes. Engine is at risk of failure if oil level drops.
This engine been consuming tons of oil in it and I keep having to add more oil to it and it doing same thing with the coolant causing the engine to heat up a lot and smoked too
Heavy oil consumption problem - burns through oil completely every 300 miles. Replaced catalytic converter once already.
MOTOR IS CONSUMING A LOT OF OIL. I need to CHANGE EVERY month, which IS VERY EXPENSIVE
Excess Oil consumption cause the engine to die and the car to stall out in the middle of the road. Engine needs completely replaced.
Car is burning through oil at a rate of 5L per week.
Car broke down first time about 2.5 months ago. It was towed to Fred Beans Hyundai of Doylestown PA and they did oil testing on it and I was told that the car was burning oil too fast. They told me under warranty they needed to do a carbon combustion cleaning. So that was down, and less than 24 hours of having the car back, the check engine light came back on, the car wouldn’t drive above 50 miles per hour, and was jumping forward (the same thing that happened the first time) I had the car towed back to the dealership and they told me there was still leftover carbon and it needed to cleaned out again. The car was fine for about 2 months, however just today it broke down again. Same problem, check engine light came on and started flashing, the car will not go above 50 MPH and it jumps forward. I have now been given back a car that is unsafe to drive and put my family and 2 times. Clearly the dealership is not fixing the actual problem at hand and continues to put my family and i’s safety at risk. Each time the car has broken down I have been on the pa turnpike and been put in an extremely dangerous situation.
Engine is consuming 3+ quarts per 1000 miles. There is no low oil warning light or notification, just a low oil pressure light which could be caused by many things that would not cause a vehicle fire like low oil would. Hyundai was contacted and we were told that all we need to do was get our oil changed with them, come back in 1000 miles to check the level, if it was consuming greater than 1 quart per thousand miles we would be scheduled for a combustion chamber cleaning (service tech said this would do nothing to solve the issue), drive 1000 more miles and check level again, and if it was greater than 1 quart per thousand we would be scheduled for a new engine. They were informed that we were the second owner and we were told that shouldn’t be an issue. After completing the oil change and going in after 1000 miles we were told that the engine consumed approximately 3 quarts of oil. That information was apparently submitted to Hyundai and they said we were not approved for the combustion cleaning because we were the second owner. The safety of the vehicle was not taken into account at all and Hyundai did not show any concern of vechile fires even though low oil is a contributing factor to many scenarios that can cause injury or death.
the car started using a little oil around 80,000 mile, and its just gotten worst , to the point that's it using 1 quart per 150 miles the car runs ok but its ridiculous the amount it is using. and from what I've found researching there is a lot of complaints
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact called a towing service to jumpstart the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft bearing failed due to foreign material in the engine and oil consumption. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
Car had check engine light come on and found out that it had been using oil. Engine started using more than 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. Catalytic converter had to be replaced because it was plugged. Car had less than 80,000 miles on it when this started happening.
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The 2020 Hyundai Tucson has 45 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.