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:
2 / 14
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,782 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Hyundai Tucson Owner Comments (Page 7 of 17)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #214

May 262020

Tucson

  • miles

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

on multiple occasions the transmission failed to engage at slow speed then lunges forward when it does. it happens when your at a stop accelerate slowly to about 10 mph get off the accelerator then re-apply it. the engine revs but the transmission acts like it goes into neutral then catches a gear and lunges forward. It is unsafe because the driver behind you can hit you from behind, which almost happened to me, or you can hit the car in front of you when it lunges or worst hit a pedestrian because of the unpredictability of the transmission/ engine power engagement. The so called fix was a software issue that didn't fix it. mine still has it and when i told the dealer they said they couldn't duplicate the problem BUT it has happened so many times to me that i can make it fail. Hyundai should be accountable for this but no one ever listens to the consumer until its to late. it asks below when it happened but it started shortly after i purchased the car and happened multiple times. but the one i absolutely remember was when i had my daughters in the car right after my daughters birthday.

- Millwood, NY, USA

problem #213

Aug 242022

Tucson

  • miles
I have a 2016 hundai Tucson limited 1.6 l turbo and have had a lot of problems with this car when I merge on a highway I put the foot on the gas and the car doesn-??t move even though I have the foot to the floor and when I-??m in stop and go traffic the car jerks like it wants to stall I brought the car to the dealership and told them what the problem is they could not duplicate my issue and they said there is nothing wrong with it and also they didn-??t find any codes on the computer, next week I-??m bringing my car back to the dealership for the same problem and I bet that they are not going to find any problems again. I-??ve been driving over 45 years and never had this problem with any other car-??s that I have owned, I-??m afraid that one of this days I-??m going to get hit from behind. I hope that the manufacture puts a recall on these cars soon, I-??m ready to sell my car and never ever buy another Hyundai again.

- Saugus , MA, USA

problem #212

Aug 162022

Tucson

  • miles
2 separate issues - oil is being consumed at alarming rate- not burning off and not leaking just disappearing at a rate of a quart every 200 miles -brake pedal is vibrating and clicking up while breaking, then goes straight to floor causing driver to release brake and then repress while stopping

- New W, CT, USA

problem #211

Jun 092022

Tucson

  • miles

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

I have made multiple complaints to Jenkins Hyundai of leesburg about my car hesitating and not going like it should and almost causing multiple accidents because it wouldn-??t go when it should. However, they stated nothing was out of the ordinary and to just drive it in sport mode. Well I-??m December of 2020, the turbo went out while driving home. They then wouldn-??t fix it until I had a friend state that her dad worked at a diff location and that it was covered under warranty. They told me they had to do an investigation to see if it was covered under warranty or not. They kept my car for a few weeks before I got a phone call on New Year-??s Eve stating my car was ready for pick up. Meanwhile, there was an active recall with the brakes from September of 2020, that they in fact did not fix while having my vehicle there. Fast forward to June 9, 2022, and my turbo went out again and there is water mixed with the oil in my car. I have made multiple reports along with others on the transmission issues and now making a report on the turbo. These vehicles are not safe, I don-??t understand why they have not been recalled for these issues.

- Fort Mccoy, FL, USA

problem #210

Aug 122022

Tucson

  • miles
While driving the car started making a clicking noise. Then shortly after the noise started, the car would no accelerate over 40mph. Once pulled over after this, we discovered that there was no oil in the engine. There have been no signs of oil loss and we also get our cars oil changed regularly and we were towards the end and already had an oil changed scheduled. There were also no warring lights that ever became illuminated while this all happened so we had no idea of the issues until the car was already seizing up. This seems to be a common issue with 2016 Hyundai Tucson-??s

- Salem, OR, USA

problem #209

Jul 292022

Tucson

  • miles
My car would not accelerate over 20mph took into dealership in 5/2021 with 75,000 miles I was told I needed a new Catalyst converter I replaced it. My oil started leaking in 10/2021 was told my oil pan gasket needed resealed I completed it. In April of 2022 I was recommended to get oil pan gasket resealed still. In July of 2022 my car slows down then stop on expressway. It starts back up I-??m only able to go 20m0ph on the expressway this is not safe at alll with my children in the car it was very scary. Dealership finally has an appointment 8/9 diagnoses car 8/11 stating my Catalyst Converter is clogged and need replacement that caused my car to stop and slow down as well as I need oil pan gasket burning oil/leaking oil. This is a safety problem the car is not 10yrs old and has less than 100,00 miles to stop without warning lightsss or anything on a moving fast expressway could have caused me and my kids life. This issue need to be taken serious and inspected because I continue to have the same issues with the car a little over a year!!

- Oak Park, IL, USA

problem #208

Aug 122022

Tucson

  • 133,000 miles

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

The contact owns a?2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to respond while the RPM gauge was at 5000 RPM. Additionally, the vehicle emitted an abnormally loud sound and there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact veered to the side of the road and noticed a trail of coolant and oil leak on the highway. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.

- Greensboro, GA, USA

problem #207

Apr 222022

Tucson

  • miles
My car seemed to be lagging severely when accelerating and then started coughing when accelerating and the check oil light came on even though I had plenty of oil and had just had it changed. I took it into the dealership and they said that the check engine light was also flashing just so fast I couldn-??t see it. Several engine cylinders were apparently misfiring but it wasn-??t covered by warranty. They installed new spark plugs and cleaned something to do with the fuel system and told me that would -??be the starting place-?? several hundred dollars in. It worked fine. Fast forward 4 months I take it in for its regular oil change and mention how it-??s been lagging again and here we go again. Same issue. According to my local mechanic a lot of these engines end up needing to be replaced completely to resolve the issue.

- Emmitsburg, MD, USA

problem #206

Jul 302022

Tucson

  • miles
I have been finding when going for an oil change, the mechanic is stating that my vehicle has no oil in it, no signs of a leak, and this has occurred multiple times in last couple months. Now I check oil once a week and finding more often then not my oil is low and I need to add oil. not once has any warning light come on. What irritates me most is if this seems to be occurring with others - Hyundai needs to do something about this. Who knows how long I drove with low to no oil in my vehicle before knowing I had this problem. Can't imagine the damage done to my engine!

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #205

Jul 112022

Tucson

  • miles
This car is burning oil and locking up the engine while driving. This has happened multiple times now! I am changing the oil every couple two thousand miles instead of 3000, and sometimes even sooner than that. I was on the interstate a couple of times and the car will not accelerate. This is a danger to myself as well as other drivers. Why is this not being investigated"?" Looking through the complaints, it has been happening to so many people and no one is doing anything about it!

- Bloomingdale, GA, USA

problem #204

Jun 162022

Tucson

  • miles

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

I was on my way to work as normal. There were no warning lamps or other notifications/signs of a problem when all of a sudden, my vehicle started decelerating. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw smoke. I immediately pulled over and the smoke increased. Within a matter or seconds flames started to shoot out from under the hood. I don't know if the fire started from something electrical or engine-related but it spread fast! Before the police and fire truck arrived at the scene, my car was engulfed in flames! This was a terrifying and horrific experience! Prior to this, I had to replace all of the motors on the windows and noticed the jerky movements when driving in Turbo mode that I was told was normal. I didn't even have the car for 2 years! When I contacted Hyundai about the windows, they did nothing and the Rep referred me to get rid of it! I should have listened.

- Fleming Island, FL, USA

problem #203

Jun 192022

Tucson

  • miles
Engine has no oil less three months since last oil change, vehicle did not have any type of low oil notification, car just stopped engine locked up.

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #202

Nov 272021

Tucson

  • miles
Shortly after purchasing this vehicle I noticed I was using more oil than I had in other vehicles in the past. I thought it may have been normal for this different type of vehicle. The longer I owned this vehicle the more oil it consumed. I became worried and asked my brother who is a mechanic and he said sometimes turbos go through extra oil. It then got to the point I was going through close to a quart a week. I then was driving down the highway and my engine stalled and quit. Come to find out I had somehow been getting gas into my oil and it ruined my engine.

- Cambridge Springs, PA, USA

problem #201

May 142022

Tucson

  • miles
Hyundai dealership just gave me my vehicle back after having it for 3 months replacing the engine due to engine failure which a class action law suite was filed about. While having my vehicle they also replaced all the ignition coils and spark plugs, 1 day after receiving my vehicle back my car throws the following codes and has to go back to the dealership. P0353- ignition coils C primary control circuit/open P0354- ignition coils D primary control circuit/open P0420- Catalyst system efficiency bele9 threshold bank 1

- Warsaw , IN, USA

problem #200

Jan 172022

Tucson

  • miles
I was driving on interstate and my vehicle felt like it was losing power. It felt like the engine was failing. My car started squeaking and flutter when I tried to accelerate pass 65 mph. I took it to delearship and they told me my engine needed replaced. It only had like 89k miles on it. They replaced engine. I picked up SUV, and as I am driving home on interstate my car started to shake and squeal again when I accelerated to 65 mph. It seemed I had to floor the accelerator to get to 65 mph. I took suv back and this time they told me it was the transmission. It is currently in shop getting transmission fixed. Hyundai has had my car now for 4.5 months replacing motor and now transmission. I bought this car brand new, and had issues with this SUV in the past. It would consume a lot oil way before it time for oil change, but dealership did oil consumption test and said it was fine. It lost complete power at traffic stop. Every time I took it to delearshop they would say everything look good. My model Vin number isn-??t on the recall list, but I wouldn-??t purchase a used 2016 Hyundai, Tucson do to safety concerns.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #199

Apr 252022

Tucson

  • miles
The engine caught fire while driving. The entire vehicle was engulfed in flames as a result. Total loss of vehicle.

- Window Rock, AZ, USA

problem #198

Apr 142022

Tucson

  • miles
While climbing the hill on Highway 5 south, the engine RPM dropped so I was moving the car to the shoulder, and while moving, black smoke came out of the engine hood and stopped the car on the shoulder, and then, the fire began to rise under the engine hood. An insurance company investigation determined all losses. Geico Claim #0547433700101042

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #197

Sep 262021

Tucson

  • 92,976 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil level warning light was flickering. The contact stopped and checked the oil level and continued to drive. While driving, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle before the engine seized. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 92,976.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #196

Jan 312021

Tucson

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to merge into traffic, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate above 40 MPH while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

- Hagerman, ID, USA

problem #195

Jan 072022

Tucson

  • miles
Traveling with my family my vehicle just completely gave out at high speeds on the highway. I managed to safely navigate to the shoulder and wait in the freezing cold for a tow. Initially I was told the issue was due to lack of maintenance but upon further investigation it was uncovered that this was an unaddressed recall issue. The engine threw a rod bearing and caused damage to the rod, engine, battery, and spark plugs causing all to be replaced. There were no indications of what was about to happen prior to it happening. Thank God there weren-??t more people on the road or that we weren-??t in a different area.

- Fredericksburg , VA, USA

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