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
High oil consumption. Car shaking , sputtering, Shutting off in traffic. Replaced spark plugs 3 times in a year. Having to top oil off every other week because there will not be any oil in engine. Stopped in traffic.
Car was fine and I get regular oil changes. Last week all the sudden the car started making noise and just shut off. When my husband checked there was no oil on the dipstick but I park on concrete and the car is not leaking oil. Apparently the motor is blown and completely locked up.
High oil consumption leading to costly repairs outside of warranty.
The oil pump failed, causing the car to die while on the interstate. There was no prior signs nor warnings to this issue, and it caused the engine to lock up, meaning that the engine now needs to be replaced. This is not unheard of with Hyundai’s.
2020 Hyundai Tuscon engine continually consumes an excess amount of oil on a weekly basis causing cylinder knocks. This vehicle has been routinely maintainanced and continues to experience this issue which is an issue known by the manufacturer and has yet to be addressed seriously by the manufacturer. The vehicle is just out of warranty; however, the issue stems from known engine faults that are the responsibility of the manufacturer.
Engine run hot smoke from engine car cut off wouldn't restart had totaled to Hyundai company in Lithia Springs Ga was told by service guy that engine locked motor needed replaced. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Excessive oil consumption in the engine. 1 Qt every 900 to 1000 miles. This has been going on a while.
I was driving home last week when I came across a large crash on the highway. Traffic was backed up for a mile. I decided to turn around through one of those crossovers and head a different way home. I accelerated to catch up to the oncoming traffic when my car suddenly sounded more loud like it was struggling to accelerate. I got onto the off ramp and my car slowed from 70mph to 40mph and would not go any faster. It began lurching and I decided to try to get off the highway and get as close to home as I could as it was 9pm. My car slowed to a stop and the oil light and engine light and battery light came on. A few moments later the whole dashboard lit up and the car died. I popped the hood and to my horror there was literally no oil in my car. My oil light never came on and my oil change service notice never came on at any point. I took it to a dealership where they told me my engine has blown and needs replacing. This engine experienced the same issues as listed in the lawsuit earlier this year, only my 2.4L was not included as an affected model. This car only has 88,000 miles on it and has had at least 9-12 oil changes. My car was working normally until it shut down, no warning, no lights, and no other issues this entire time I’ve had it. I was broken down on a country road in the middle of the night with no phone service. Hyundai claims my car was not one of the engines affected by the recall or lawsuit, yet my car did exactly what others stated happened to theirs.
The oil is burning up so fast. Every oil change that is within the mileage limits they tell me my car is bone dry. If the oil in my car runs out my car engine can blow up or it can stop working. The only way it has been reproduced is that every oil change for 2 years now they have told me it’s bone dry. It has not been inspected by manufacturer. They told me it would cost about $400 for them to even just check it out. There are no warning lights at all.
I was driving 45mph on a major road when, the vehicle with out warning lost power, I heard rattling, lost power. I turned it back on by the power button, drove into gas station where the check engine light flashed, oil light flickered and didn't turn back on. Car was rattling, turned it off. Got out, checked engine under hood and components. Dip stick had oil. Car had no signs of anything else. Vehicle would not start, called tow. Waited 5 hours for tow. Did not hear back from Hyundai dealership in a month. Submitted all articles of maintenance. Going on two months and was told to resubmit. Three months prior, engine over heated due to original hose component coupler piece melting.
Check engine light came on and went off again prior to waiting the 2 weeks for service. Infamous code P0420 catalytic converter bank 1 code where manifold, catalytic converter, and O2 sensor were replaced at a measly 37k miles.
This is the second Hyundai Tucson that I have owned and the same thing has happened wih both of them. My daughter also bought her Hyundai Tucson the same day as I got mine in June, 2020, and the same thing is happening to her. It starts with the engine warning light coming on, and then finding that the engine oil is low in between oil changes. There is no visible sign of the oil leak (no drops on the driveway, no oil in the engine compartment, etc.) but now the oil is disappearing at an alarming rate. My daughter has had her car looked at, and it appears that she may have to get a new engine, which is what happened with my previous Tucson (2015). Luckily, Hyundai "good-willed" me the replacement of my previous engine, but now I am at, or close to the limit on my extended warranty (for which the dealership did not give me paperwork), and have an engine that is just disappearing engine oil. Hyundai has to know of the issue, but refuses to make corrections to the problem which sticks people with huge bills to correct a problem they know exists. I have seen MANY complaints about this exact thing, so it's not a secret.
On 8/7/2024 the engine light came on and stayed on. I took the car to my service pro and he did a pcm scan. Error code displayed a catylitic problem on bank 1. This is the secind time this has happened to this vehicle. First time was 2/13/2023, Mileage was 52000 miles. Salem Hyundai replaced the Cat with a new one. On 8/8/2024 I called Salem NH Hyundai to report the issue and have an appt for 8/14/2024. Milage on vehicle is 77181.
The "check engine" light has come on at least three (3) times. The first time, the car went into slow down mode. We stopped at a mechanic, who reset the computer so that we could drive it. We then had it towed to our mechanic, who told us about the problems these Hyundai engines are having. He told us that engine replacement was inevitable. It happened two (2) more times. This time, we had it towed to a Hyundai dealer. The first time, they kept the car for two weeks, only to tell us that they could not "replicate the problem". We opened a file with Hyundai USA [Hyundai Case Management #: [XXX]. It happened again. Same message: "Could not replicate the problem." The blogs are full of horror stories about the engines failing during high speed travel. [XXX] The Virginia Lemon Law does not apply until at least three (3) attempts have been made to repair it at a Hyundai authorized service provider. Our only options appear to be suing Hyundai, or continuing to drive it, running the risk of an engine failure/shutdown at high speed, or trying to sell it to CarMax with a known safety issue. The attached documents show when the incidents occurred. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently decelerated. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a knock sensor failure. The contact was informed that the knock sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed engine and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,196.
I turned on a road that the speed limit is posted 55mph and I accelerated up to about 50 and suddenly my speed dropped back to about 10mph and the car began shaking and the engine light was flashing. There was absolutely no warning at all. I had left my house about 15 minutes prior and everything was fine while I was driving up until then. My engine failed. If I had entered an busy highway I would have most likely caused a Major Accident and been killed and/or killed others. It happened around 5:00 A.M. in the dark which was bad enough as I was alone on my way to work. I had it towed to the Dealership and they replaced the knock sensor and assured me that the car was perfectly safe now. But on Dec. 1,2022 I was driving on a 35 mph road and the car did exactly the same thing and I had to be towed again.This time after much arguing the engine was condemned and replaced.
While driving down the interstate to go back to my college, I noticed a cloud of white smoke coming out of my exhaust. Seconds later, I no longer could accelerate and white smoke was also coming out of the engine. There were no lights on my dash at this point or at any point before this day. I quickly tried to get off of the road when I noticed my car was no longer going. I managed to get to the side of the road where finally my engine and oil light came on. I waited 2.5 hours for a tow truck on the side of the interstate, where I was barely off of the road. It was taken to the dealership where I bought it (since the car only has 32k miles on it) for a "hole in the engine" which is what I was originally told by the service department. Two days later, I received a phone call that there actually was no hole in my motor, and that the drain oil plug disappeared from my engine while driving, causing all of the oil to spill out of my engine that day on the interstate. Despite getting an oil change only 1500 miles ago from this exact dealer, they stated that the plug would have fallen out immediately after their service if it was placed back incorrectly. Hyundai stated this is now an "owner's problem" and that I was to call my insurance company to get an estimate from them because the dealership would not cover it since it was no longer a warranty issue. I called my insurance company who then got pictures from the dealer of the engine and a video. They then called me stating this type of damage is not covered under my policy, and that they would not pay for it. So here I am, stuck with Hyundai refusing to pay for a damaged engine even though the oil drain plug fell out, which inherently caused the damage, and despite having a 10 year/100k mile warranty on the motor. I found out there is an open investigation through the NHTSA about this exact issue and was hoping to receive clarity on what I can do.
Traveling on the highway and the engine decelerated, oil pressure light came on briefly and then went off. The engine light went on. Was not able to accelerate past 50 mph. The car was hesitating and shaking. Had to change lanes and drive a distance to get to safe place. Engine starting knocking and got worse the longer it was driven. Was a safety risk as unable to go any faster than 50 miles per hour and hard to steer with car shaking. Car has 79,384 miles on it. Dealership states engine failure and that engine needs to be replaced. Car had burned up almost all the oil that had been replaced two months prior. Hyundai currently has a recall for this exact problem with their 2017 Tucson’s
Check engine light came on for 2020 Hyundai Tucson; the vehicle has the 2.0 engine. I called Hyundai for service waited 3 weeks for service appt. Service ECM software update completed on 2/13/2023. On 2/15/2023 service light came on again. Advised Hyundai Service dept that the light was on again. There was a recall for 2019 2.0 engines for Exhaust Manafold Catalyst sensor. Advisor stated that bring it in 3 weeks and we will take it for a test drive.
Engine light was flashing on and off in September 2022 I took it in to a Hyundai dealer in September and was told it was the Catalytic convertor. The catalytic convertor was replaced in October 2022, 2 weeks later the engine light was flashing and the car would not accelerate. I took the care that day to Freehold Hyundai where after keeping it for 3 days they said it was an issue with the oil filter. I have taking the car on a regular basis for all oil changes since in my possession. On December 25th as I was driving to my families house for Christmas the engine light again started flashing and the car would not accelerate. I was able to get the car back to my house. No one was available to call that day due to the holiday. I contacted Freehold Hyundai 12/26/2022 and had the car towed to their facility. On 12/27/2022 I was told the cars engine is failing and that they need to obtain authorization from Hyundai in order to get approval. This is a leased vehicle and does have warranty coverage but they are not able to confirm it can be fixed and cannot offer me a lender car.
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Quick Summary
The 2020 Hyundai Tucson has 45 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.