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.

9.7

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
82,050 miles
Total Complaints:
6 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. engine replacement advised (4 reports)
  2. not sure (2 reports)
2016 Hyundai Tucson engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Hyundai Tucson Owner Comments

problem #6

Jun 182023

Tucson ECO 1.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 54,069 miles

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

I have a 2016 Hyundai Tucson Eco/Sport, 1.6 GDI with just over 54,000 miles on it. It’s dead. Brought it to the closest mechanic and he said it was an engine problem and that I need to replace the engine. When it failed, no lights came on, no warnings, nothing. Now, after it failed, the engine and oil lights came on…after the fact! I have owned this car for over 6 years. When I bought it, it was barely used, not even a year old.

Let me point out that I had an appointment to fix the recalls scheduled, but they had it set for months out. Apparently that was the earliest they could get it in. It had oil in it, so it wasn’t bone dry, however I did notice the use of oil at an alarming rate. No oil is leaking out, so I have no idea where it has been going. This oil issue is very, very recent. It started within about a week of it dying. Obviously I don’t drive very often. Only going to/from work, grocery stores and picking my kids up from school. All of which is less than 3 miles from my house. I’m at a loss! I just had to fork out $17,000 to buy another vehicle, because I need a car and the Hyundai dealership has not been much help.

It’s sitting at the mechanic I had it towed to when the issue happened. Tomorrow I have to have it towed back to my house because they can’t hold it any longer at $150 per 1.5 mile tow (x2). Only for it to sit in my driveway until we can find a solution. I really don’t know what my options are. I’ve done research and found out about the engine lawsuit that was expanded to include many of the vehicles, but no recall yet. Anyone have any suggestions? At this point I’m all ears.

- Danielle N., Spearfish, US

problem #5

Aug 022022

Tucson Limited V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles

My engine seized up at 70,000 mile following continuous change of oil every 3000 miles. I had to fight with Hyundai but they finally agreed to replace the engine. I did however have to pay the cost of hoses and oil which totalled around 1200. I guess this was a cheaper cost than paying for an engine. Overall, I really regret buying this car and would warn others to avoid. I have have so many issues with this 2016 Hyundai Tuscon.

- Patricia F., Humble, TX, US

problem #4

Jan 292023

Tucson Limited 1.6L Turbo

  • Automatic transmission
  • 71,000 miles

Hyundai Tucson 1.6L Turbo with 71,000 miles. While on vacation the engine began to misfire. Had it towed to a dealership in NJ. Cost $120 for tow. Paramus dealership diagnosed as Internal Engine Failure, burnt valve in cyl 2 and no compression. SUV was shipped to back to Ohio, cost of $800. Ohio dealership verified the Engine Failure. Repair the engine was estimated at $9000. Replace the engine at $14,000. Sent a PA notification to Hyundai Motor to cover the cost. DENIED! Resent the PA after much conversation with Hyundai Customer person. DENIED! Currently trying another approach but not expecting much. This engine is said to be good for up to 300,000 miles. A burnt valve at 71,000 in unconscionable. Anyone here have helpful insight to getting engine fixed/replaced?

Update from Feb 17, 2023 2nd owner

- rudester, Aurora, US

problem #3

Dec 182021

Tucson Limited 1.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 114,000 miles

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

We are in Hyundai service and also the performance of our vehicle. Our 2016 Tucson has approx. 114,000 miles. We noticed it started using oil after we had the last oil change from Hyundai dealership in Georgia. 900 miles after the oil change it was down 3 1/2 quarts. We had no issues with the vehicle prior to this oil change and multi point inspection. After filling it up with the oil needed, we started monitoring it weekly. Each week it needed approximately a quart of oil at each check. We were not too concerned about the oil consumption as it did not appear to affect the performance of the car or show any kind of blow by coming out of the exhaust.

On Dec 17th we were driving from Atlanta to Minneapolis. During our trip and our first fill up we checked the oil and it was fine. On our second fill up in Champaign, Ill we checked it again and needed to put in 3/4 qt of oil. After we filled up with gas and started driving the car started running very rough and acceleration was very poor. We pulled over to another filling station and checked the oil again and to see if we could determine why it was running so poorly. The oil level was fine with nothing coming out of the exhaust. This was 4 am on Saturday Dec 18th.

We located a Hyundai dealership with a service center within 8 miles and drove it there and waited until 7:30 am for them to open. They opened up at 7:30 am but informed us they had no Hyundai technician available to diagnose our vehicle. They were overbooked and were not sure when they would be able to look at it. They were very courteous and directed us to a car rental facilty close by and gave us a shuttle ride there. We rented a vehicle for the week to continue our trip to Minneapolis in hopes that the vehicle would be repaired by the time we drove back to Atlanta on the 27th.

We touched base midweek Dec 23 by calling them to see if they had a chance to look at it. We left a message for them to call. They had not had a chance to look at it and would not even get to it until approx. the 27th. On 12/30 they told us the 3 out of the 4 sparkplugs were severely burnt with carbon so they priced out a tune-up and we gave him the okay to do that. After doing that the car still had a misfire on #3 cylinder. The technician diagnosed that it had a bent valve or a stuck valve and he checked with a camera probe to verify it was a bent valve and the options we have are to tear down the engine, replace it with a new intake, cylinder head and all new valves to include misc parts and labor for an estimate of $6100.00. Other option was to install a used motor or a new remanufactured motor. The remanufactured motor would cost over $12,000 and we have to wait until the end of February to get an engine block from Hyundai.

What we have learned in researching from others who have owned Hyundai 4 cylinder engines is that Hyundai has offered through a Hyundai special service plan to help people out with the replacement of their engines or has provided some type of assistance. We were told to look online for this as the dealership did not offer to do it for us. In addition to paying for either the 6100.00 or the 12.000 engine we had to pay for a car rental costing up 1261.00 for the week and we will have to look into transporting our vehicle from Champaign Ill to Atlanta for approx. 800.00 since the vehicle could not be fixed to drive when we needed it. We contacted Hyundai USA on Jan 8th and heard back from them on Feb 4th that they would do nothing to help us. We have made multiple calls to the service center in Champaign and do not get any calls back.

Today, Feb 13th our car is still in Champaign Ill and we are making arrangements to have it transported back to GA as it cannot be driven. We have been unable to find anyone that would fix the vehicle due to a shortage of Hyundai and Kia parts. I have noticed on this site so many owners with the same issue and I wonder how Hyundai expects to sell any more cars if they do not last past 100,000 miles. By the way, blue book value of my vehicle is 14k so a 12K engine does not make a lot of sense. We are looking into the possibility of a rebuilt engine if we can find a mechanic to put it in.

Update from Feb 13, 2022 Since it has been at the dealer since Dec 18th with no response from Hyundai our tabs have now expired. No way to pass an emissions test to get the tabs with the shape of the vehicle.

- Susan M., Villa Rica, US

problem #2

Dec 152021

Tucson Limited T-GDI GAMMA - 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles

Pronounced metallic engine knock/slap sound coming from the underside of passenger side of engine. Flickering of the oil pressure light, no check engine light. Slap noise becomes more pronounced upon acceleration. Little to no oil in the engine when checked. What little oil found on dipstick beads up as if there is moisture on the dipstick and has a pronounced burnt plastic smell. No other warning lights on dash come on and oil pressure light does not stay on, it flickers briefly when engine is started or gas pedal pressed. Vehicle cannot be safely driven and was towed to the dealership on 12/17. As of 12/27, dealership service department has not looked over the vehicle.

Update from Jan 6, 2022: Hyundai dealership is refusing coverage under warranty without record of every single oil change.

As of 1/6: vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure due to failure of rod bearing. Maximum mileage between oil changes was 6500 miles (averaging 5k miles between changes); manual recommends going no more than 7500 miles between changes.

- ahleia, Richmond, US

problem #1

Apr 162020

Tucson SE 2.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 103,000 miles

Driving down the road one day and all of my dash lights come on. I work at an auto shop. I pulled over and cut my car off. checked the oil and everything seemed fine. Tried to crank the car but car would NOT crank. Took it back to the shop and my mechanic said the engine is done. My car only has 103,000 miles - it has been well maintained and serviced on time. How does an engine just stop working?? I am a single mom and I don't have $5000-$7000 to put into a new engine. Hyundai needs to do something about this. I have seen a lot of vehicles with similar mileage do the same thing mine did.

- ldixon3210, Macon, US

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