10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,971 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Hyundai Tucson engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Hyundai Tucson Owner Comments

problem #9

Aug 222020

Tucson

  • 100,335 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I received the recall of my 2012 Hyundai tuscon. As a precaution I took it to the dealership to address the recall 181 and an electrical issue I had with the power windows. I visited the dealer two weeks apart and sat at the dealership for more than 5 hours with the second visit being for 8 hours. I was told something was leaking in steering and that had TL be fixed. I left with my car and approximately 8 days later there was a clicking and clanking aound coming from the engine, ive never heard the sound, yet on my paperwork it stated I complained about the sound, which I never did. My car started to stall and lose speed. I was over 100 miles from home and my car was failing in the mountains at that. I called the service department multiple times and never received a call back. Thank god for my insurance towing the car to the closest dealership. A day and half later I was told the engine was gone! I visited the dealership on 07/31/20 & 08/14/20... they documented a rattling rattling sound in the front in... never addressed me about this 'sound', did a so call inspection of the car and next thing I am told is I cant drive it because the engine could blow. No return from Hyundai service manager, no claim filed and I am still out of state without an answer. Called customer service sat online 30 mins waiting for a rep before their line disconnected and them another hour. Filed a case and now still stuck waiting for these people to do their job with out putting my life at risk.

- Baldwin, NY, USA

problem #8

Sep 272019

Tucson

  • 100,000 miles
Vehicle intermittently does not accelerate from a stop, often looses power. This can be dangerous if pulling out into traffic. Transmission issues have been addressed with other years, but this issue has not been addressed with earlier model years. While turning into traffic, vehicle did not accelerate as expected almost cause it an accident. Took vehicle to Hyundai for service, and the problem could not be duplicated at the time, instead was told to 'change transmission fluid, that may help' there have been multiple other Tucson's with the same issue. Vehicle continues to have same issues.

- Gulfport, MS, USA

problem #7

Sep 052019

Tucson

  • 167,000 miles
The contact owned a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA campaign number: 19V063000 (engine and engine cooling). While the contact's husband was driving 20-25 mph and making a turn, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into an underpass. There were no warning indicators illuminated. A police report was filed. The air bags deployed. The driver sustained injuries to his arm and wrist, and medical attention was provided. The vehicle was towed to an independent lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The insurance company deemed the vehicle destroyed. The failure mileage was 167,000.

- Garland, TX, USA

problem #6

May 042019

Tucson 4-cyl

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On Saturday May 4, 2019, my son was on guard duty at vmi and he lent his car to his close friend and roommate to attend a family event in arlington, va. After about 100 miles on the road while [xxx] was driving it on interstate 81 going North, the car started to slow suddenly, and the engine and gas light came on the dashboard, with no other earlier warning. He had to scan the area quickly to make sure other drivers were paying attention as he was quickly dropping below the minimum speed limit. This same thing was happening to multiple car owners of this make/model year. The car downright stop running in the middle of the interstate, with no warning. This put my son's long-time friend and room mate at risk! every service and tow station within 60 miles of harrisonburg were busy or closed. This sudden stall issue was known on 2/5/2019 and with your systems knowing the current owner, address, and my vehicle #, there is no excuse for not alerting me! I have incurred additional towing fees because I had my son's friend towed to the closest residential area off the highway where there was a local service station. Come to find out after they did a once over the car, that there were metal shavings in the oil and the tech had to hand-crank the engine to get it started. In other words, it met all the criteria for this issue known by Hyundai. I have had my vehicle regularly serviced at the Hyundai dealer service twice in December 2018, November 2018, and many other times before this. Nothing was ever mentioned to me about this deficiency. I have called and sent email and letters asking Hyundai to repair this known manufacturer defect. Every place near the tow address was closed. I drove above the speedlimit as it was hot and humid and they were not in airconditioning. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Springfield, VA, USA

problem #5

Apr 092019

Tucson 4-cyl

  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. While attempting to accelerate from a traffic light, the vehicle lurched forward and independently accelerated. The contact stated that the failure recurred once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #4

Jun 052014

Tucson 4-cyl

  • 38,000 miles
I pushed on the gas to accelerate and nothing happened except the rpms spiked to around 5-6K and the engine sounded as if I were in neutral and revving it up aggressively. This has subsequently happened dozens of times when traveling between 30 and 65 mph. It is scary, especially when I need to accelerate, say in a passing situation or when traveling to get out of the way. I've taken the vehicle to Hyundai (sheppard in eugene/springfield, or) twice for this issue. Both times, they kept it overnight and returned it to me without fixing anything saying: 1) I was the only one in the world who reported this problem, 2) they couldn't replicate the problem, and 3) there is nothing wrong with my vehicle.

- Oakridge, OR, USA

problem #3

Dec 032012

Tucson 4-cyl

  • 14,700 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I own a Hyundai Tucson 2012. On December 31, 2012, we took the vehicle to the dealership for regular maintenance and reported that we have experienced several instances of sudden unintended acceleration (sua) (I.e., the RPM raced up to 4,000 rpms when at idle and accelerator was not pressed). The dealership could not duplicate/verify concern. On November 10, 2013, again we expressed the dealership the same concern; however, we received the same response as on December 31, 2012. Throughout this year we have experienced sua several times, the most recent one last night, when while in motion the car unexpectedly accelerated its RPM. I believe this is a seriously safety concern which Hyundai should address immediately by investigating the problem and issuing a safety recall to its customers. Please advice the action we should take to have this problem solved and avoid any injuries.

- Burke, VA, USA

problem #2

Sep 012012

Tucson

  • 12,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that there was a recurring failure in which the vehicle would hesitate for 5-6 seconds when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis but the cause for the failure was not determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 12,000.

- Campbell, CA, USA

problem #1

Jan 242013

Tucson 4-cyl

  • 13,700 miles
I should start by stating that this has been an ongoing issue with this vehicle since I got it last year. At random times, while driving, my vehicle will not allow me to go above 2500K rpms, even with the gas pedal fully depressed. This may happen while I am on a slow road or, as today, when I am on the highway. It is a safety concern because I will need to merge onto the highway or speed up for some other reason and suddenly I have no power. I will be going 30mph and entering a 70mph roadway. The only way to stop this is to pull over, turn the vehicle off, and then turn it back on. I have taken it to my Hyundai dealer multiple times and they have been unable to fix it or address it in any way whatsoever. It is a huge safety issue that they will not address.

- Belton, TX, USA

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