CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2008 Veracruz has a minor trend of complaints where the valve cover leaks oil onto the alternator, causing alternator failure. The problem starts with the battery warning light & typically all the other warning lights coming on in quick succession. Luckily, that problem was covered in a 2014 recall.
Overall, It's a solid reliable vehicle with no major problems reported.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
76,895 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.
Ever since we had a recall with Hyundai about replacing the engine's cover, the car has been having problems since. The issue occurred where the car would not start, and would flash many symbols on the dashboard. What would happen is that I would pull the car to the side of the road, wait a couple of seconds, and the car would start again. We went to our local auto service about this issue, but told us that it shouldn't be a big issue. And when this issue occurred the second time, I took the car to Hyundai services to see what the problem was. They told me that it was just a fluke and that it will not happen again. But when this issue occurred the third time, similarly to the first and second time, the car stopped running and the symbols flashed. But this time, the engine started to smoke and the car would not start no matter how long I waited. This led my family to be stuck in the highway and had to call a tow service to pick our car up. When we told Hyundai, they told me that the issue is that a rod which was a part of the engine, impaled the engine motor and made a quarter sized hole, which leaked gasoline from the car. We told Hyundai that we strongly believe that this issue occurred because of the recall, but they denied and said that we must pay for an engine replacement. We feel wronged by Hyundai as these issues occurred after the recall, and the car only has 124,00 miles on it. My family also took extensive care of the car throughout the 10 years we have had this car. My family and I also believe that other Veracruz owners might have had a similar issue as ours, so we hope you understand our situation. Thank you.
As soon as I turned vehicle on white smoke comes out of exhaust system and smells like burning oil. Drove it for a while and smoke was a bit less but still came out on everytime I made a stop along with the smell.
This is mostly from memory with most recent data reported. My 2008 veracuz has had the valve cover gasket repaired or replaced a minimum of 4 times since I purchased it on 4/30/09 from O'brien Hyundai. The first time was about 2 years after I bought it. Dealer found leak during oil change and attempted to seal with a silicone. That was unsuccessful and valve cover gasket was replaced. A year plus later I was driving home when I could not got faster that 35 mph. When I drove into my development, the max speed was 10 mph. I barely got into my driveway and the car stopped. It turned out that oil from a leaking valve cover gasket had shorted the alternator and the car had been running on the battery. Car was towed and both the alternator and valve cover gasket were replaced under warranty. In 2014, there was a recall for the leaking valve cover gasket problem and my car was repaired again. In November of 2018, the service tech at O'brien Hyundai found an oil leak during an oil change but was uncertain of the source. He put a dye in the oil and requested that I return after 2000 miles so he could inspect for the leak source. I took it back after 2 weeks and was told that the leak was from the timing chain cover gasket. However, the timing chain cover gasket, the valve cover gasket, the water pump and the alternator were all replaced under the power train warranty. In September, the "new" alternator failed and had to be replaced along with a drive belt at my expense. The fact that the valve cover gasket has been replaced multiple times in my vehicle makes me concerned that the engine design has a latent defect which can and has resulted in my vehicle losing power while in used creating a potentially deadly situation. A search on the internet shows me that my situation is not atypical and should be thoroughly investigated by your Agency.
My oil light came on--glowing faintly rather than being fully lit. The oil level seemed down a tad so I added a quart. Light went off. Car sat for a day. When I started it up, it seemed fine. No warning lights.I drove onto the highway. 20 miles into my trip the oil light faintly glowed. So I stopped. I started the car up again & things initially appeared fine. The oil light was off. But before I traveled even 1/8 of a mile oil light & check engine light came on. At the same time the warning lights came on, I could no longer (easily) steer the car. I'd lost the power steering. The car had not stalled. With considerable effort I got the car to the side of the road. I had the car towed to a service station. The service station said I needed a new engine. 1 year ago--car has yet to be fixed. They won't tell me if they'll pay cost of repair if they determine the engine damage was due to recall-related problems. The cost of having car towed to Hyundai dealership & diagnostic work is too high. As they refuse to tell me what would be covered if damage were due to the recall issue, it is pointless to pay to have it towed and evaluated. They need to tell me if they would cover costs if they it is recall related damage. They won't answer that basic question. It won't be repaired until they do.it's been a year since I had the original arguments with them. Hyundai needs to answer a basic question: In the event that the faulty parts related to the recall harmed an engine with 170000, will they pay for engine repairs-yes or no. That does not even require they look at the car. If the answer is "no" I would not spend money to have it looked at by the dealership as they have charged me before for work that was due to another recall.I had to refuse to pay and Wrangler with them in order for them to release the car without charging me for the cost of recall related repairs.
The car stopped working 2 weeks ago. The battery light came on so we took the car to our mechanic and the mechanic proceeded to change the alternator due to excessive grease on the alternator, after driving home the car wouldn't start so we had to tow to repair shop. The mechanic took about 2 days to change the alternator. When we received the car back while in idle it stopped while it was in idle about 15 miles from repair shop.we had to again tow the vehicle to the repair shop we took the car back and the mechanic replaced the alternator again and battery where the car is right now. The car again would turn over but again would stop right away. The mechanic said that the valve cover gasket was leaking and possible damaged wires in the engine/alternator. The valve cover was replaced about 3 years ago according to the Hyundai recall records at boulder Hyundai. Our mechanic stated and he will put that in writing that the valve job was substandard and the work 'shoddy '.upon researching the NHTSA other owners of the Hyundai 2008 Veracruz have had the same problem and one owner had the valve cover replaced 3 times and are still having the same problem. I have called Hyundai and they are not taking responsibility and I am unable to trade in the vehicle or sale so I am out about $7000 per kelly blue book valuation for a working car. We attempted on Saturday, June 9th to check the car to see if it would run and again after jumping the car it cuts right out. I believe if the repair on the recalled valves was done correctly the first time the car would be in working order and the alternator would not have had the excessive grease on the alternator.
Highway traveling at 65 mph when oil light glows but doesn't come on fully. As driver slows to pull to side of road, oil light comes on fully w/check engine light and power steering quits-all at once, making steering very difficult. It was a very dangerous situation because it was on a turn on I-81. Luckily traffic was light and there was no accident. The car was then towed to a service station. In terms of relevant history, when trip started, no warning lights were on. But incident came a few days after the oil light had glowed (not fully lit). The oil was a tad low but not a full quart. It was topped off which turned the oil light off. The check engine light had also came on briefly at a different time from the oil light but around the same day as the oil light. It too had turned itself off after being on briefly. So the day of incident there were no warning lights on at all and there had been none on except for that brief time I described above. People have since speculated that the steering failed because the car had stalled. I did not think that the car had stalled. Rather, it just seemed as tho the power for the steering had quit. Once the car was at the shop, I was told there was a bad banging sound when the car engine was on and the mechanic speculated that a rod had broken. Until this happened, the engine appeared to run well and there was no banging sound or any other noise while the car was being driven. The service mechanic confirmed that the oil was full but mentioned it being all over. This could have resulted in a terrible accident. I was very lucky.
Highway traveling at 65 mph when oil light glows but doesn't come on fully. As driver slows to pull to side of road, oil light comes on fully w/check engine light and power steering quitsall at once, making steering very difficult. It was a very dangerous situation because it was on a turn on I81. Luckily traffic was light and there was no accident. The car was then towed to a service station. In terms of relevant history, when trip started, no warning lights were on. But incident came a few days after the oil light had glowed (not fully lit). The oil was a tad low but not a full quart. It was topped off which turned the oil light off. The check engine light had also came on briefly at a different time from the oil light but around the same day as the oil light. It too had turned itself off after being on briefly. So the day of incident there were no warning lights on at all and there had been none on except for that brief time I described above. People have since speculated that the steering failed because the car had stalled. I did not think that the car had stalled. Rather, it just seemed as tho the power for the steering had quit. Once the car was at the shop, I was told there was a bad banging sound when the car engine was on and the mechanic speculated that a rod had broken. Until this happened, the engine appeared to run well and there was no banging sound or any other noise while the car was being driven. The service mechanic confirmed that the oil was full but mentioned it being all over. This could have resulted in a terrible accident. I was very lucky.
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the battery was replaced, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was diagnosed by another independent mechanic who stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V415000 (engine and engine cooling). Lithia reno Hyundai in reno, Nevada repaired the vehicle per the recall in 2014, but the failure recurred twice. Racine Hyundai in racine, Wisconsin was made aware of the failure and stated that, because the vehicle had been previously repaired under the recall, it could not be repaired again free of charge. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 86,000.
On at least a dozen occasions within the past few months alone, while driving I will suddenly hear a high-pitched "whirring" sound that sounds like it's revving up, then immediately afterwards all of my dash lights and the passenger air bag lights start to flicker and/or go off completely and then come back on again. Every single time this happens, as soon as I turn off my car (doesn't matter if I keep driving for a long while or stop driving shortly after it happens), it won't start again. It's completely dead and I have to have it jumped. My car has 94,000 miles on it, and in the past 8 years, the car has died/I've had to have it jumped over 30 times. I'm on my 5th battery! after the recall for the alternator gasket valve cap, I thought these problems would be fixed, but I've had exactly the same electrical issues/battery constantly dying since then! that recall literally did nothing. This is very unsafe, as the car can just suddenly lose power while driving, and then if you turn the car off, it won't start up again without being jumped. Hyundai needs to fix this asap. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of complaints about this, and it's just absolutely unacceptable!! I'll in the past 8 years, I have had to replace my battery 5 times in my Veracruz.
Vehicle stopped while driving without warning. Unable to start. Dangerous situation, unable to control vehicle. I was about to enter the interstate and loss power. Had to have the vehicle towed. Had this same issue with the alternator recall. Had to have the vehicle towed to a dealer. Dealer said it was engine failure. No warning lights came on dash, no issues. With the previous alternator recall, oil was dripping onto the alternator and the vehicle shut down while driving. I did not feel safe driving the vehicle as I did not know when this would happen. This vehicle is not safe to drive.
Engine valve cover gasket and alternator was replaced at the end of 2014 by a recall. Engine leaks again and dripping on top of the alternator. Hyundai refused to fix it as it is over a year after replacing the parts.
"ABS failure" and "alternator recall 121" the break, ABS, ESC and chk engine lights all came on and stay on. From time to time the TPMS light will also come on and speedometer will be at zero when driving along the highway. The car will from time to time completely shut down, even while driving along highway, which is a very dangerous situation. Upon further research and diagnostics by Hyundai it seems 2 items are the root cause of the problems, 1) faulty ABS module that was been reported by 100's of people and 2) faulty alternator that affects the loss in power, again with 100's of complaints. There is a recall for alternator but not the ABS module. This is a very expensive repair and with only 70000 miles, this should be replaced/fixed under Hyundai usa warranty.
The break, ABS, ESC and chk engine light all came on and literally everything shut down. There was no steering (extremely difficult), and worst of all no breaks. I could barely bring the car to a stop with both feet and had to divert my travel into a parking lot to avoid going through a red light. The problem stems from a faulty ABS module and has been reported numerous times on various web sites. The repair is very costly and the consequences are so potentially deadly I can't understand why this has not been a recall item.. please do the driving public a huge favor and investigate this problem. It's not as though Hyundai doesn't know about the problem.
We have a strong smell of antifreeze in our vehicle. It is constant, while driving or stationary, we can smell it inside the cabin of the vehicle or outside around the engine compartment while it is running. The level of antifreeze slowly declines. We also get a film on the front windshield. We have reported it to our local Hyundai dealership and they are unable to locate the problem. I am concerned breathing this in may cause health problems and we have a 3 year old granddaughter that is in the vehicle with us.
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. While driving 10 mph, the battery warning light illuminated and the radio shut off. In addition, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the alternator failed and the valve cover casket was damaged and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 85,822.
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The contact stated that vehicle was taken to a dealer for repairs under NHTSA campaign number: 14V415000 (engine and engine cooling).the contact stated that the technician failed to complete the recall remedy and only repaired the valve cover gasket. As a result, the alternator was not replaced. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle stalled after the recall repair being performed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the starter failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000. The VIN was not available.
I am the 2nd owner of this 2008 Hyundai Veracruz. The ESC, ABS and brake warning lights have been illuminated for months. Two dealers were unable to tell me the issue or to get the lights to turn off. Offered many services (not the AWD module). The AWD light would occasionally illuminate and I would lose cruise control and speedometer. Mid-March, the car became difficult to start - would turn over but wouldn't stay running once it was placed in drive and stalled a number of times in traffic (very dangerous! imagine left turns across a 2-lane highway!) I have gotten all the recall work done including the alternator and leaky valve cover gasket (not plural). This is a very dangerous problem that is common with these cars. I understand the module is around $2500 to fix and car is just past warranty when these issues start. I cannot with good conscious sell this to another human. Please make them issue a recall! thank you!
I am the owner of a 2008 Hyundai vera cruz. In 2014 my oil gasket leaked and I brought the car to a local garage and had it repaired. It cost $400. A few months later, I had a problem due to a power failure and I went to another garage nearby, and discovered my alternator failed and needed to be replaced. It cost me another $400. A few months later, I received notice from Hyundai stating that they discovered a fault in the oil gasket which could leak into the alternator and cause it to fail. I contacted Hyundai and explained what had happened. They assured me, just as it says in the recall notice, that if I had the work done already, I would be reimbursed, but they first wanted me to bring the car to a Hyundai service center, which I did. They checked the repairs and decided to re-do the gasket replacement, although they had no explanation as to why. They did not re-do the alternator so I assume they deemed it okay. Now, I have been going back and forth with them supplying copies of the repairs that I had done, and the repair orders, and the credit card receipts, some of which, strangely, kept getting lost even though I sent them as email attachments (after scanning them to digitize the copies). I was told some of the copies arrived, but others did not even though they all went with the same email. In any case, it has been a few months and now they finally said they would like to reimburse me for the repairs but have determined (again, with no explanation) that I should only receive $195. I have asked for an explanation and they simply state they want to pay me a lesser amount for the parts that were provided in the repairs and less for the labor. I must admit, I am a bit dumbfounded. I may be a disabled veteran but there is nothing wrong with my math. Can you please help me?
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