CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2016 Tucson comes with a dual-clutch, 7-speed transmission. But Hyundai forgot to tell you about one key phrase – zero-move. That's right, an alarming number of owners have said their SUV wouldn't accelerate after a stop.

Turns out that's because the transmission's application logic has been stumbling all over itself. Hyundai recalled the issue in September 2016, but it's difficult to say if owners are out-of-the-woods, or if this is just a sign of things to come.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,292 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.

2016 Hyundai Tucson drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Hyundai Tucson Owner Comments (Page 22 of 25)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #68

Jul 112016

Tucson

  • 8,700 miles

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

About mid-may of this year my husband experienced loss of acceleration (as if in stuck in neutral) at a red light. The car was in drive, the car revved to 3500-4000, but the car rolled backwards. The car was without power for about 10 seconds then terrifyingly lurched forward as though slipping in and out of gear. We took the car to the dealership on 06/21/2016 and were told that our car needed a software update and all the adaptive values were reset. We took our Tucson back. On 07/07/16 in rush hour traffic, our Tucson lost acceleration/power again when pulling away from a busy red light. The engine just revved up to 4000+ rmp, rolled backwards and had no power or forward acceleration. The car was in drive and the loss of power was about 20 seconds. We immediately called our dealership service advisor and were instructed to bring our Tucson in immediately. Our car was kept for several days and on Monday morning, July 11th I received a call stating that the technician was unable to replicate the loss of power and no error messages were identified and "that was just how the dual transmission (dct) functions". I picked up my car, drove about two blocks away from the dealership and lost all acceleration/power again when attempting to turn right onto a busy street from a stopped position. This time the loss of power was a full 45 seconds or more. The engine revved to over 6000 RPM and sputtered, slipping in and out of what felt like neutral, it was terrifying and I was almost hit! I immediately returned to the dealership and demanded that someone test drive with me but unfortunately it did not replicate the issue. I was told that the service supervisor would be looking at my car. The loss of acceleration/power is a very dangerous problem and we do not feel safe driving our Tucson. The dealership seemed completely at a loss as to what could be the problem.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #67

Jul 102016

Tucson

  • 1,052 miles
The vehicle is a limited with dual clutch transmission (dct). Vehicle has 1,052 miles on it, and I purchased new one month ago. Stopped at a traffic signal at head of line. When light turned green, I removed my foot from the brake and began to apply gas pedal. Car is in drive, standard mode. Engine would rev, but vehicle would not move. Switched to manual shift and still no movement. Put the vehicle in park and then back to drive, but vehicle would not move, though engine would rev. Once traffic cleared from behind me, I was able to engage reverse and back the vehicle into a parking lot. I restarted the vehicle and it still would not engage any of the forward gears, but would engage reverse gear. I waited an hour with the vehicle running and in park for the tow truck to arrive. Even the tow truck operator could not make the vehicle engage a forward gear. The vehicle was towed to the Hyundai dealer where it was purchased. After one whole day at the service repair, they cannot tell me what is wrong.

- Mobile, AL, USA

problem #66

Jun 102016

Tucson

  • 16,700 miles
Originally posted to this website on or about 6/13/16. Stopped at red light on a city street, the car would not move forward when accelerator depressed. Engine rev'ed to 4-5K but car failed to move. Put car in neutral and then tried again. Sat thru 3 red lights before car would go forward. It was very jerky and hesitant then car picked up speed. This was second time this has happened. First time I thought maybe I had hit the brake and not gas pedal. Drove immediatel to dealer and told them of issue. They have had my car since June 10, 2016. Service tech was able to actually capture on video (while test driving) my gear shift in drive and car moving in reverse. Hyundai usa, the dearlership and myself have been in frequent contact. Hyundai has no idea why this is happening. The car is not safe to drive. They say the Korean engineers are investigating. When I orginally posted on this website there I could only find this type of issue for a 2015 tuscon. I note today there are multiple complaints identical to mine. This car is less than one year old (owned ) with less than 17K miles. Inability to control directional motion or speed when it does move is not safe to myself or others. Majority of my driving is at highway speeds.

- Blanchard, OK, USA

problem #65

Jun 282016

Tucson

  • 2,100 miles

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

Sometime when up pull off from a stop the car will stop pulling forward and the RPM's will run up to 4000-5000 and the car will not move. You have to put in back into park then back to drive to get it moving again. Very dangerous situation when you are making a turn with oncoming traffic coming at you.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #64

Jul 072016

Tucson

  • 10,000 miles
Last night, I was in a traffic jam due to another cars accident. I was going less than 5 miles per hour in stop and go traffic for 20 minutes. After the two lanes were moving, I pressed on the gas and the engine revved up, but there was no forward motion. I put the car in park, tried again and still no motion. I turned the car off to reset and sat for a couple of minutes no motion. I put my hazard lights on because now I was making traffic be backed up. A police officer bump pushed my car with his police vehicle, so I could get out of the two lane road, since it was not safe to push the car into a safer area for towing. He scratched up my bumper do these actions, which should not have happened in the first place, and I would like Hyundai to fix my bumper. I do not feel safe driving this car because no warning lights came on, and it is a 2016 limited Tucson, which came with all the perks, and yet nothing showed up when I took it to a Hyundai service center. The mechanic witnessed the same problem after I had it towed there, the following morning. They worked on it and said it couldn't be fixed because there were no warnings lights or computer errors. They said it was a dual clutch system problem and they couldn't fix it. This is unacceptable, and I would like to know what's being done about this problem that is happening nationally, as I have seen many reports with the same problem. It is a safety concern and something that needs to be addressed. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle even though the mechanic said it's working now, due to the fact that he said there was nothing they could fix.

- Kingwood, TX, USA

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problem #63

Jun 192016

Tucson

  • 7,500 miles
On 2 separate occasions the car would not accelerate from a stop. The first time I had backed on to the road, put the car in drive and tried to accelerate. The engine revs but no forward motion. I tried putting it in park then drive, neutral then drive. Still no acceleration. Car finally started to creap forward. After a mile it was driving fine. The second occasion I was stopped at a stoplight. When the light turned green and I depressed the accelerator there was no forward motion. Again I tried putting it into park then drive and neutral then drive. No forward motion. Finally it slowly started moving forward. This is a dangerous problem that needs to be addressed immediately. I feel unsafe driving this car because I don't know when/if this will happen.

- White Bear Lake, MN, USA

problem #62

Jun 282016

Tucson 4-cyl

  • 380 miles

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

My car was 8 days old with less than 400 miles. When pulling out from a parking with a slight downhill drive turning right on to a four lane road and experienced no power to move the vehicle. I thought either my wife or I accidentally bumped the gear selector into neutral but it was in drive. Traffic was approaching at somewhere close to 45-50 mph which is the speed limit. Fortunately the cars coming up on us were able to go around us. We coasted into the other driveway about 200 feet from where we entered and after getting my heart rate down I was able to get it in gear. We drove around the lot for several minutes before attempting to renter the highway. This was our second day of a 9 day vacation trip about 200 miles from home. We stayed another week and severely limited our driving, I filed a case with Hyundai corporate and called my sales rep and service dept and said we were not comfortable with the return trip home since it involved winding mountain roads from 7000 foot elevation to 1000 feet in phoenix. He arranged a rental car for our return and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. We took the rental back and they supplied us with a loaner to use until July 11. We are leaving town again and returning on the 28th so they will have our car til then. We sincerely hope a fix is found by then as we really like the car and want to keep it but if a fix is not found we will have to determine plan B.

- Sun Lakes, AZ, USA

problem #61

Jul 062016

Tucson

  • 7,600 miles
Vehicle shifts into neutral randomly. I was driving normally on a city street and slowing down. Then I stepped on the gas to speed up and the engine raced (like the vehicle was in neutral). However, the vehicle was not moving and coasted almost to a stop. I put on the brakes, put the vehicle into park, and then back into drive and stepped on the gas and it started to move again. This has happened twice.

- Calabash, NC, USA

problem #60

Jul 042016

Tucson

  • 1,500 miles
This car has under 2000 miles. It lurches forward, revs up and will not advance when in drive, not only from a full stop but even when moving in traffic. At times will only go in reverse. Since 500M it has hesitated when taking off or passing other traffic. (also...the air conditioning has failed to put out cool air. )this is a tragedy waiting to happen and no one is listening. No answers and no help. Does someone really have to die, the same problem is repeated over and over. This is not a small inconvenience it is dangerous. Owners are posting all over- this same complaint. I have had this 35K $ car for 40 days and am afraid to drive it. I may not drive it again. This has happened in heavy traffic on the highway, in the city, in parking lots and pulling into my drive and garage. The dealer service dept. Was able to replicate it and reset the computer, still does not make me feel safe. I have read where it continues over and over. I don't feel this issue can be ignored, when the same thing is mentioned over and over - here and on other web sites. What is the manufacturer going to do? I am not going to accept this as a wait and see situation and I will not stop until I get answers and a resolution. Hyundai needs to address this asap.

- Green Valley, AZ, USA

problem #59

Jul 062016

Tucson

  • 6,000 miles
Today, July 6, 2016, at approximately 1:35 P.M., I electronically started my 2016 Hyundai Tucson vehicle, which has only about 6,000 miles on it, and drove from my home on a county road until I reached a signal intersection at a state highway about 2 miles away. I stopped at a red light at the state highway intersection with the engine running waiting for the signal light to turn green to turn left onto the state highway. When the light turned green, my vehicle would not move. It was in drive gear and the engine was running but it would not go forward even though the engine was definitely running and there were no warning lights or code lights showing on the dash to indicate a problem. I turned on the emergency flashers as there were several vehicles coming up behind me at the signal. I then tried putting the vehicle in park then back into drive but the vehicle still could not move forward. I tried putting the vehicle into reverse and it would not move backwards either. I then tried turning the vehicle off then back on several times using the electronic ignition but the vehicle could not move. A police officer arrived, parked behind me, and assisted with traffic now backed up behind me. He called a tow truck for me and my vehicle was towed to the local Hyundai dealer where I had purchased the vehicle a few months ago. I was instantly concerned that this could happen while driving and be a major safety problem. As it was, I was immediately concerned that someone coming up behind me might crash into me after the light turned green while I was immobile at the signal. I asked a lady who asked me what was wrong when she drove around me if she could see my flashers and she said she had. Both the police officer and my husband checked the vehicle and could not figure out why the vehicle could not move.

- Albany, OH, USA

problem #58

Jul 062016

Tucson

  • 5,500 miles

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

Dct disengages upon stop and won't re-engage into first, leaving the car idling at high RPM's until the vehicle finally engages -potentially dangerously.

- West Warwick, RI, USA

problem #57

Jul 042016

Tucson

  • 7,000 miles
At times, when the vehicle is at a complete stop, it will not move. The engine will rev in rpms, and was able to get it to go by playing with gear selector. This also has happened when the car was parked in a parking garage for 7 hours. Mostly it has been when the weather has been in the 85-95 degree range. This a a new vehicle with very few miles.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #56

Jun 162016

Tucson

  • 100 miles
When in driving, coming to a stop, the car lunges forward, must keep foot on brake, Hyundai says this is normal for the Tucson. I think this is a problem. Reported it in my first service and told it's Hyundai's problem. If I hit something it's my problem.

- Clermont, FL, USA

problem #55

Jul 022016

Tucson

  • 2,500 miles
Intermittent issue with transmission failing to engage 1st gear from a stop. Engine revs but no power goes to the wheels. Happened three times in the last two weeks on a vehicle with 2500 miles. Restarting the vehicle resolved the issue once but not on the other occasions.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #54

Jul 012016

Tucson

  • 16,669 miles
Fails to fully engage gears, feel like transmission has slipped out of gear, won't always go into first gear when starting out. Or goes into first and second is not there, no power to move until foot is lifted off accelerator, wait a few seconds then try again.

- Roseburg, OR, USA

problem #53

Jun 262016

Tucson

  • 3,700 miles
The problem is the dual clutch transmission (dct). At times, when progressing from a stop (stationary), the engine RPM increases normally but the transmission does not impart motion to the wheels. Dealer cannot duplicate the problem. There are numerous complaints on NHTSA website and on the Hyundai forum website. Hyundai is silent about this problem. This is a serious safety defect. Hyundai needs to recall this dct for repair/replacement immediately.

- Carol Stream, IL, USA

problem #52

Jun 172016

Tucson

  • 3,100 miles
On Friday, June 17, my Tucson was parked outside from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M. and the outside temperature was in the lower 90's. we then got in the car and drove approximately 2 miles at 25 miles per hour to the rear gate of the community. We stopped at the rear gate to wait for it to open, however it did not open as it did not sense the presence of the car. So I attempted to back up by placing the car in reverse and depressing the accelerator. The car RPM went to 4000 and the car did not move. So I took foot off the accelerator, and upon depressing the accelerator again, the car RPM went to again to 4000 however again the car did not move. My wife was with me asking 'what is wrong with this car it is not moving and cars are behind us'. I then placed the car in park for about 30 seconds. The gate was now opened, so I placed the car in drive and depressed the accelerator. The car RPM went to 3000 to 4000 again, however the car began to move extremely slowly, under 5 mph. It then shifted, jerking as it moved forward and shifting. After traveling about 200 feet the car began to shift and drive in a normal manner. This is the 6th or 7th time this has occurred, however usually happens when attempting to go forward from a stop. The car acts like it is in neutral and does not move, engine revs up but does not move. Taken the car to the dealership 3 times, however the problem is intermittent and does not happen at the dealership.. the check out the car and state that they find no error codes and the car is operating normally.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #51

Jun 202016

Tucson

  • 400 miles
We recently purchased this vehicle. After driving this vehicle two weeks, we experienced several instances in which the dct transmission failed. While attempting to cross four lanes of traffic, vehicle stalled while attempting to enter traffic flow. In another case, the vehicle failed to respond when it was put into reverse. Several other occasions the transmission slipped and failed to change gears. This car is very unsafe and we have no confidence in Hyundai. This vehicle was returned to the dealership and at that time they found no problem. The car is currently is in their care, awaiting further consultation from Hyundai corporate. However, we were told there is no current fix for the problem. We are currently dismayed and may be seeking legal advice..

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #50

Jun 272016

Tucson

  • 4,800 miles
Just like so many other complainants here: My 2016 Hyundai Tucson failed to move forward after being stopped at a red light and ultimately had to be towed to the dealership. The dealer "fixed" the issue by resetting the transmission module. However, they could not indicate why it failed in the first place nor could they guarantee that it would not happen again. Judging by the number of complaints here and at Hyundai-forums, this is becoming a widespread issue that needs to be addressed by Hyundai. It is a potentially dangerous problem if the vehicle becomes immobile while turning left in front of oncoming traffic. Hyundai forums thread: www.Hyundai-forums.com/2016-Tucson-IX35-models/454074-dangerous-horrible-dct.html sample videos: Https://youtu.be/tcvtr_zcyrs https://youtu.be/lzx0M58vulg https://youtu.be/H11K6uh1qzw

- Hamburg, NY, USA

problem #49

Jun 302016

Tucson

  • 2 miles
Having an issue with the transmission. When you go to accelerate it stays in neutral. This happens when moving. Sometimes it downsthits for no reason which made you slow down. Trouble shifting gears. Also when you try to move the driving stick to manual it won't switch over.

- Fall River, MA, USA

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