Hyundai Tucson Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability
Year-by-year breakdown of safety recalls, NHTSA owner complaints, reported deaths, injuries, crashes, and worst problem areas. Updated daily from federal databases.
Recent Safety Incidents — Last 5 Model Years
Own a Hyundai Tucson? Check your specific VIN for a full history report.
Hyundai Tucson — Year-by-Year Problem Comparison
| Year | Verdict | Recalls | Complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Deaths | Top Issue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Excellent | 1 | 18 | 3 | 5 | — | Forward Collision Avoidance | Full report → |
| 2025 | Good | 3 | 208 | 18 | 9 | — | Forward Collision Avoidance | Full report → |
| 2024 | Good | 2 | 89 | 8 | 9 | — | Forward Collision Avoidance | Full report → |
| 2023 | Good | — | 128 | 11 | — | — | Unknown Or Other | Full report → |
| 2022 | Caution | 1 | 410 | 31 | 14 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2021 | Excellent | — | 44 | 2 | 5 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2020 | Excellent | — | 101 | 2 | 3 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2019 | Good | — | 253 | 5 | 5 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2018 | Good | — | 250 | 16 | 7 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2017 | Caution | 1 | 699 | 18 | 10 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2016Worst | Avoid | 1 | 1099 | 12 | 6 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2015 | Good | 1 | 168 | 3 | 4 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2014 | Good | 2 | 123 | 2 | — | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2013 | Good | 2 | 159 | 13 | 11 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2012 | Good | 2 | 168 | 9 | 9 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2011 | Good | 4 | 98 | 3 | 9 | — | Engine | Full report → |
| 2010 | Excellent | 4 | 47 | 1 | 1 | — | Power Train | Full report → |
| 2009Best | Excellent | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2008 | Excellent | 1 | 34 | 2 | 1 | — | Electrical System | Full report → |
| 2007 | Excellent | 3 | 43 | 6 | 6 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2006 | Good | 3 | 92 | 10 | 12 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
| 2005 | Good | 4 | 148 | 10 | 10 | — | Air Bags | Full report → |
22 model years shown. Crashes, injuries, and deaths from NHTSA complaint filings. Click any year for full details.
Most Common Hyundai Tucson Problems
Based on 4,389 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across all model years.
Recent Safety Recalls — Hyundai Tucson (2022–2026)
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson vehicles. The software installed in the Integrated Central Control Unit (ICU) may be incompatible with the vehicle, which could result in inoperative headlights and/or taillights.
Remedy: Dealers updated the ICU software, free of charge. All affected vehicles have been repaired and therefore no owner notification letters will be mailed. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 214.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the roof moldings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 241.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022-2024 Tucson vehicles equipped with an optional Mobis tow hitch wiring harness. The wiring harness may have been installed incorrectly, allowing water into the control module. Moisture accumulation may cause the trailer lighting to fail or an electrical short circuit.
Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will install a cap of the wiring, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed February 13, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated July 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 290. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 20, 2025.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Palisade Tucson, 2023 Sonata, Elantra, and Kona vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump controller to overheat.
Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting September 7, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 246.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024 Tucson and Santa Cruz vehicles. The circuit board in the motor-driven power steering assembly may short circuit, resulting in a loss of power steering assist.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the motor-driven power steering electric power pack, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 11, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 261.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024 Tucson vehicles. The tire and loading information label may incorrectly indicate information about a spare tire. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the tire and loading information label, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 5, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 247.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson vehicles. The glove box air bag warning label may be missing. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy: Hyundai will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 4, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai Customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 268.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson and Santa Cruz vehicles. The console extension wiring assembly may be routed improperly, allowing the transmission to be shifted out of Park without applying the brake pedal.
Remedy: Owners are advised to use the parking brake when parking the vehicle. Dealers will reroute the console extension wiring assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 17, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 273.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson and Santa Fe vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power and engine damage, possibly resulting in an oil leak.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 281.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson, 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2026 Genesis GV70 vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not have been installed properly, which can cause the air bags not to deploy as intended.
Remedy: Dealers will reinstall the side curtain air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning December 29, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 289 and 029G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 22, 2025.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Elantra N, 2026 Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), and Elantra vehicles. The B-pillar impact sensors may have been misassembled, which can delay air bag deployment.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the impact sensor(s), as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed June 19, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 299. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 22, 2026.
Showing 12 recalls from 2022–2026 model years. See the full year-specific pages for older recalls.
Recent Owner Complaints
Direct reports filed with NHTSA by Hyundai Tucson owners — 2022–2026 model years.
The display on the dashboard that includes the speedometer and other information goes completely blank. So does the heads-up display on the windshield. This could occur at the same time or individually. It may last only a few seconds or for several minutes. This has happened since I bought the car about 1.5 years ago. I've had it to the dealership and they have noted the problem but have not been able to fix it. I know that Genesis, which is part of Hyundai has had recalls about this problem, but so far Hyundai has not. Since it involves a loss of the speedometer, I think that it is a safety problem and should be addressed. It happens almost every time that I drive the car.
The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced intermittent phantom braking; the vehicle violently and suddenly slammed on the brakes with no obstructions present, causing the contact to sustain shoulder and back pain on several occasions. The contact did not seek medical assistance. The contact stated that the failure had progressively worsened. Additionally, the contact stated that the standard Smart Cruise Control (SCC) disengaged while driving. The contact stated that the failure had been intermittent, requiring the driver to manually re-engage the cruise control mode. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
Phantom Braking due to Forward collision detection has caused one front end collision in snow and one rear end collision in a construction zone while I was slowing down. In one instance it was snowing and in one instance it was in a dusty construction zone slowing for steel plates.
I forgot to mention that with my two accidents while slowing down for traffic or a turn, that phantom braking happens almost every day now (it happened about 7 times in 4 minutes while I was on the highway, that's not exageration) Curves on the highway with a car diagonal to you in the center lane while you're passing, weird light reflection, falling snow, dust in a construction zone, anything. I can't drive with it on as it alerts to nothing. It's very scary to drive with it on, so now I have a useless safety feature that is really more like a death trap in the right circumstances, which will come.... Someone will be doing 70 on the highway, and their Hyundai Tucson will slam it's brakes on full tilt and it will cause injury and/or death. It's only a matter of time.
I've had this vehicle as a loaner from Hyundai for 2 weeks now and the vehicle has used its "emergency" breaking system automatically without any need for it 3 times now! No vehicle or object is anywhere close in front of me. Literally gave my daughter, significant other and I immediate wiplash and headaches. Today as I was already breaking due to traffic ahead, the dang vehicle used its emergency breaks (as I was breaking) and completely took over and broke in the middle of the lane, I was nearly rear ended - you can head the brakes from the vehicle behind me and they had to move into a grass area to avoid hitting me- I was unable to accelerate or break on my own.
(NHTSA Tracking Number 11726105) I am updating my existing complaint regarding my 2024 Hyundai Tucson (NHTSA Tracking Number 11726105) for an ongoing safety concern involving an intermittent warning chime while driving. This issue began shortly after I purchased the vehicle in Nov 2025 and has been reported to the dealership multiple times over several months. The warning chime occurs randomly while driving without any visible warning message or dashboard alert. This creates uncertainty because I do not know what the vehicle is trying to warn me about, which is distracting and creates a safety concern while driving. The dealership previously replaced both front seatbelt buckle assemblies after identifying intermittent high resistance as a possible cause. However, after that repair was completed, the warning chime occurred again while I was driving to the dealership for a follow-up visit. This confirmed that the issue was not fully resolved. I immediately returned the vehicle to the dealership, and they are now performing further diagnosis. I was advised that if the issue reoccurred, the next possible areas for diagnosis could involve the instrument cluster or the control module, both of which are safety-related systems connected to warning alerts and seatbelt functions. In addition, during this same visit, the dealership confirmed there is an actual oil leak requiring repair. This is significant because when I first raised this concern after an outside inspection in December 2025, I was told it was likely leftover residue from a prior oil change. The dealership has now confirmed it is a real leak and kept the vehicle for repair while providing a loaner vehicle. Because this vehicle was sold as Certified Pre-Owned and these safety and mechanical concerns continue shortly after purchase, I remain concerned about the reliability and safety of the vehicle.
driver’s side of the vehicle that the headlight does not cover the entire road but has an angle and is a safety issue.
This incident occured in The Woodlands, Texas, about a 45 min drive north of my home. I was headed south on [XXX] . I had pulled into a left turn lane at the intersection of [XXX] . After the oncoming traffic had cleared, I proceeded to make a left turn onto [XXX] . My Hyundai Tucson slammed on the brakes just as I entered the oncoming lane. The FCA was OFF. I was able to hit the gas and start moving forward again before any oncoming traffic got to this intersetion. There was no warning before the brakes were applied. Note, the FCA safety function was absolutely positively turned off. We have gotten into the habit of turning it off to avoid these unintended, unexpected sudden complete stops. Now I'm concerned the FCA system has more problems than just being overly senstive or malfunctioning causing numerous sudden braking issues. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was stopped behind another car in a through-lane in the parking lot at Marshall's. I was fully stopped about 1 car length behind another stopped car. I decided to make a left turn (from my stopped position) into a perpendicular through-lane in the same parking lot. Just after I drove my entire car to the left of the parked car, my Hyundai Tucson slammed on the breaks. There were no cars coming toward me in the oncoming through-lane. There were no cars in front of me or coming toward me in the perpendicular through-lane. The FCA was OFF. Again, I don't understand why the car is appying the brakes while I'm going forward if the FCA is off.
The Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning systems activated while making a left turn after stopping for a red traffic light and locked the brakes of the vehicle in the middle of the intersection with no other car in front of me. Dash alerted that a collision was going to occur. This was the second time. The first time it happened the dealer said it can happen if there is a bug or dirt on the sensor in the bumper or dirty windshield by the camera, they even said it can happen with glare from the sun or light glare.
I was turning right from [XXX] onto [XXX] . It was raining lightly, the car initiated emergency braking and no one was in front of me. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
At a slow speed the car lurched, paused, in traffic. The engine light is on. It could be dangerous.
1029 total complaints retrieved from NHTSA for 2022–2026. For older model years, see individual year pages.
Tucson Years to Avoid
Best Tucson Years to Buy
Hyundai Tucson Problems by Year
Frequently Asked Questions — Hyundai Tucson Reliability
What year Tucson has the most problems?
Based on NHTSA data, the 2016 Hyundai Tucson had the highest combined complaint and recall count — 1099 complaints and 1 safety recalls. See the full 2016 report for specific defects.
Is the Hyundai Tucson reliable?
The Hyundai Tucson has accumulated 4,389 owner-filed complaints and 36 safety recalls across all model years in NHTSA's database. The 2009 model year shows the fewest reported issues. Always run a VIN check before purchasing any used Tucson.
What are the most common Tucson problems?
The most frequently cited problem areas are: Engine (1155 reports), Power Train (645 reports), Unknown Or Other (448 reports), Electrical System (361 reports). Based on NHTSA complaints across all model years.
How do I check if my Tucson has an open recall?
Use the vehicle's 17-character VIN at VinCheckEngine.com. Our free VIN report pulls the latest NHTSA recall data along with auction history, odometer records, and 30+ intelligence signals.
Check a Specific Hyundai Tucson VIN
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