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A British Columbia man claims that certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles are equipped with inadequately lubricated engines which causes engine seizures and even catastrophic failure.
Plaintiff John Kevin Killoran alleges that the sub-par lubrication in Hyundai Sonatas, Santa Fe Sports, and Tucsons, as well as Kia Optimas, Sportages, Sorrentos, and Souls can even cause the engines to catch on fire.
Killoran claims that his 2012 Hyundai Tucson suffered from the alleged engine defect. He says that only a year after he purchased the vehicle, while he was driving with his spouse and young infant in late December, the engine began knocking loudly. Ultimately, the car lost power, says Killoran, and he had to pull over.
Originally, the plaintiff had to pay more than $600 to fix the Tucson, notes the complaint. Ultimately, however, Killoran alleges he had to replace the entire engine.
The plaintiff says that the replacement would have cost him more than $8,000, but he shared his story on an investigative news report and, as a result, Hyundai agreed to cover the cost.
According to the Hyundai class action, GDI engines are affected by the defect. The engines contain metal debris from the factory were they were made, Killoran claims.
The metallic residue makes it difficult for adequate lubrication to be distributed throughout the engine and as a result, the engines are allegedly prone to catastrophic failure.
The Canada Hyundai, Kia class action lawsuit states that the defect is present in the following vehicles:
- 2011 through 2016 Hyundai Sonatas
- 2013 through 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sports
- 2011 through 2015 Hyundai Tucsons
- 2011 through 2016 Kia Optimas
- 2012 through 2016 Kia Sportages
- 2014 through 2016 Kia Sorrentos
- 2012 through 2016 Kia Souls
Killoran contends that Hyundai and Kia knew or should have known of the allegedly defective engine in the vehicles. In addition to consumer complaints, the carmakers issued technical service bulletins about the problem, says the plaintiff. Further, the carmakers’ own testing should have revealed the problem.
In addition to allegedly having to pay expenses related to the defective engines, the plaintiff says he would not have purchased or paid as much for the affected vehicle. Further, says Killoran, he and other Class Members face safety hazards, should their vehicles stall unexpectedly while driving.
“Had Plaintiff and the proposed class members known of the Engine Defect, they would not have purchased or leased the Affected Class Vehicles, or would have paid substantially less for them,” states the complaint.
“Engine failure and/or fire in the Affected Class Vehicles also requires expensive repairs, car rentals, car payments, towing charges, time off work, and other miscellaneous costs. Moreover, as a result of the Engine Defect and the Defendants concealment thereof, the Affected Class Vehicles have a lower market value, and are inherently worth less than they would be.”
The Canada Hyundai, Kia class action lawsuit seeks to represent all those who purchased or leased one of the allegedly defective vehicles.
Do you drive a Hyundai or Kia that stalled or lost power? Tell us more in the comments below.
The plaintiff is represented by K.S. Garcha of Garcha & Company, Barristers & Solicitors.
The Canada Hyundai, Kia Class Action Lawsuit is Killoran v. Hyundai Auto Canada Corp., et al., Case No. S-194327, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.
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203 thoughts onCanada Hyundai, Kia Class Action Alleges Engine Defect
My Kia has been a nightmare. I named it Murphy – if things can go wrong, it will happen to my car! I purchased a 2015 Kia with 88,000 miles on it, in June of 2019. One month later, the car would not go over 40 miles per hour. The car sounded like it was struggling for air. There were no warning light showing on the dash at all. This was a scary moment, because I was driving on the freeway with my daughter and suddenly I had traffic zooming around me on both sides and my car just kept going slower and slower. Brought the car in to the dealership and they said it needed a new catalytic converter. After that repair, the car periodically ran rough, but when this happened, there were no warning lights on the dash. On several occasions, a check engine or an oil light came on but the car was running normally and the car did not need oil. When I brought the car in to the dealership to check if there is anything wrong, I was always told that there was nothing wrong with the car and no history of any error codes on the computer. The car has always used more oil than it should. I had to check the oil once a week and top off the oil. In May of 2020 the car would not accelerate. Brought it in to the dealership and they replaced the catalytic converter again this time for no charge. Technician notes on the repair invoice states that he saw metal pieces in the exhaust piping. In January 2021, I received recall notifications from Kia. I brought the car in for servicing this recall. At the time the car was running rough and the gas mileage had dropped below 20 mpg, just like the other 2 times that I needed to replace the catalytic converter. I also had the check engine light and the oil light come on in the car but when I brought the car in, there were no warning lights. The dealership performed the recall computer update and said that they did not see any warning lights and they did not see a history of issues on the computer. One month later the check engine light and oil light came on again, and stayed on once the car was warmed up. During this time, I received another recall notice from Kia for issues related to rod bearing failure. I brought the car to the dealership and they replaced the oil pressure sensor. This did not fix the issue. Now they say the car needs a new oil pump and the total repair for the sensor and oil pump will be @ $2300.00. Both the dealership and Kia says that none of these issues are related to the recalls. The only thing they offered me was low interest financing to pay for the repairs. I am so done with this car and with Kia!
Extra motor oil is always in my boot for every trip.
It is my lifesaver. My car is losing oil and empty every 2000~3000km.
Yesterday my 2018 kia sorento just completely stopped working in the street, The engine basically turned off and wouldnt go. The engine goes through an overabundant amount of oil. Later that day it started making a loud noise and stopped again in the street, They tried to boost the engine and it wouldnt work. I am not being told that the engine is no longer good and needs to be replaced.
The known issues with this engine should have been addressed, This engine basically self implodes with time. Its unnaceptable. Its over 6000$ to replace this engine
I bought a 2012 Hyundai Tuscan 2.0L AWD brand new and had multiple significant issues with it. Approximately 18 months after purchase, I parked the car at work and it would not start, loss of compression. Hyundai serviced the vehicle in Guelph, ON and told me they noticed I was 650 km overdue on my oil change and that was the cause without even looking at the engine, they claimed it voided the warranty and would cost $7,000 for a rebuilt engine. I towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic who discovered it was a defective timing chain tensioner (which Hyundai was aware of and took us 3 weeks to get the part as they pulled the original part and reissued under a new part number). The chain slipped off the tensioner and caused the engine to fail. It could have been catastrophic if the engine was running at the time. Hyundai Canada refused to even pay the part cost because I took it to an independent mechanic and not a dealer, despite the fact the dealer refused to work on it unless I signed and accepted all of the charges. Obviously being a little over due on an oil change did not cause this issue. A year later, the engine overheated during a family trip on HWY 401, we had to pay to get the vehicle towed and inspected by the dealer in KItchener, ON. They informed me that there were no issues found and the vehicle’s engine codes did not note any problems. They forced me to pay for the inspection. The following week, it overheated again and I took it to the same dealer. While the vehicle was on the hoist being inspected, it caught fire briefly and caused panic amongst their staff. They discovered the fan was failing due to a faulty wiring harness, they replaced everything under warranty but refused to refund the previous charge for inspection. We had other less severe issues with it prior to trading it in for another brand in 2018. It was the worst vehicle we ever purchased.
I have a 2012 Tuscan and it was a nightmare from the start. In the end I was driving down the 417 with my niece and it stalled out on the highway. So dangerous. Towed it to my mechanic and the engine had seized. Fought with Hyundai as they were recalling for the same issue in the states and they said my engine was made in a completely different factory. Cost me about $6000 to replace the engine. Now there is a recall that could cause the engine to seize and they refuse to honour it.
Bought a 2018 KIA Optima EX on Oct. 15,2020…46685 km, like new condition from a used car lot. They had got it from the Auction.
On Feb. 3,2021 it started losing power at 2000 rpm’s with the warning not to keep driving it…49,102 km
I took it to the KIA dealership here and they got a CODE P1326-KNOCK SIGNAL,performed a software update, cleared codes and road tested vehicle and said no issues after repairs. I phoned the KIA dealership yesterday and they said there was now a LIFETIME WARRANTY on the engine. I saw this lawsuit this morning and was astounded that this problem has been occuring for all these years.
Needless to say I do not feel good about driving this car when this canhappen again.
My 2012 Sportage has rattling, knocking sound, losing motor oil, as was noted in the letter about recall that I received from Kia.
I brought my car to the nearest Kia dealership and told symptoms of my car to them.
They had testdriving and they told me the engine of my car is not drivable. But a few days ago I got a phone call from Kia. My engine doesn’t qualify for an recall or any campaigns. Only they can do what I heard is submitting a claim for good will from Kia to see see if they will be willing to replace under good will..
How many more times do they want me to risk my own life?
I think it is the basic ethics of a company that consumers who purchase their own goods should not be threatened by life and property, but their ideas seem different from mine.
I have a 2015 Santa Fe Sports 2.0T, 103,000kms, and I have been dealing with loss of acceleration, engine noise and heavy fuel consuption. I have been fighting with my dealership for two weeks now, on and off diagnostics and they came back that there a misfire on piston #3 and I have a turbo failure. I told them that it’s probably the turbo itself since I have no engine oil left because if there’s no seal in the turbo, it will get it’s lubrification from the engine itself. They decided to change my intercooler ( they had to reach out to hyundai Canada for them to cover the cost because I am 3000kms over warranty ) because they said it was the first step of diagnostics and won’t know if it work until it is replaced. The next day, I take the car back and nothing has changed, I have no power what so ever. They say ok well it was the other part then, the wastegate that keeps sticking. I tell them no, it’s my turbo, it has to be. They tell me it’s a 6000$ part, hyundai won’t cover it, blah blah blah. Of course they won’t cover it because they lost my chance of that after they asked for the intercooler. They call me back 2 hours later telling me I was right all along and they apologize. They tell me, they will put my old intercooler back and tell hyundai canada to cover the turbo but they need to take a picture of some valve in the turbo to see if its gunked up. After taking the picture, they tell me that it is really dark and I have small chance of it being covered. 2 days later, they tell me it’s good, hyundai will cover. After alot of trouble with my dealership, I didn’t trust them anymore so I took the new part to my mechanic and when I got there ( 10 kms from the dealership ) my car was smoking out the exhaust and from under the hood. Once my mechanic got the car on jacks and looked at the problem, my turbo was half installed, missing hardware, loose retaining bolts. Oil was everywhere. This is the best part, when he took the turbo out, he saw the problem immediately. The nut that was supposed to be retaining the entire inner part of the turbo wasn’t there so the impeller was chewing itself, sending metal flakes in the oil, a part was almost all the way out, ready to eject into my exhaust. My mechanic told me either the nut was never installed or the nut was there, loosened off and somehow, by miracle, didn’t touch any inner wall of the turbo, didn’t do one scratch and just left. ( he was being sarcastic because there was no way that would happen at the rotation speed of the impeller ). My engine is still not acting at 100% even after changing the coil on piston #3 and spark plugs. ( The engine kept chugging everytime you would turn the car on ) Please tell me I am part of this because knowing all of this, No way I would have bought this car. It has been a pain since the day I bought it
I have a 2011 kia optima sx 2.0 turbo..last summer I was traveling on hwy2 in alberta when the car started to shake and lose power..I thought it was a bad sparkplug,which I went home and changed plugs.still showed misfire on cylinder.4,did compression test to find out cylinder.4 was dead.. called dealership and they said bring it in…135000 km on the car always serviced with synthetic oil…they had the car for almost 2 weeks and was told it was a burnt exhaust valve from leaking rod seals but its not covered under any recalls even though I had it in not 3 months before for excessive oil usage and no problems found. .so the dealership tore the engine apart as requested by kia Canada while their engineer’s tried figuring whats wrong with it…needless to say when I was told they we not going to do anything for me I tried talking to kia canada about it and was pretty much told to f off it wasn’t their problem…so I went and got my car from the dealership.mind u,the engine was in pieces in the trunk,now they want 8000 to put an engine in it…I think kia should man up and fix their junk…they know its a problem but won’t admit it….there are slot of forums where oil consumption and bad engines with my same problem is on the net but kia isn’t helping these people out…so I have a car for another 6 months of payments that I can’t drive and don’t got 8000 to put a motor into…its a lawn orament
I have a 2014 Kia Forte with the 2 liter GDI engine 216 000 Km. on car. It has developed a knock in the engine that I though was just a bad lifter but after some research have found out it is piston slap and of course will need a new motor to fix. Love the car it has excellent mileage and power but as a trade in now is worthless. Was not aware of any life time problems this engine has had until now. Not happy that Kia has not stepped up to solve their problems.
I have a 2017 Hyundai Tuscon that now has a blown engine. Did all required oil changes. Started off this summer with disappearing oil, then a couple weeks ago a knock appeared. When i called the dealership last wedk they said it was caused by not using a Hyundai oil filter. I don’t think so! Was driving it to the dealership today when the engine ceized. Now they want $8000 to replace engine.
Hi, did you get any satisfaction from the dealership ?
I have a 2018 Hyundai Tucson, and on Christmas day it broke down. I had ZERO warning to top it all off. Thinking all is well I drop it off at the dealership onto which I have them tell me I will have to pay 275 dollars plus HST to tare down the engine to prove it’s not my fault. I have had this vehicle for just over two years. And they said they will then take pictures and submit it to Hyundai Canada to see whether there is a build up and whether or not it is deemed my fault. So it’s great to read all of the numerous issues all over the internet including issues with accelerating, lubrication, engines catching fire and inability to maintain a certain level of oil in the motor to keep it running.
But some how it has nothing to do with their motor. This morning I get more information and my stomach has not stopped turning. Money is tight as it is for me living on a paycheck to paycheck basis. As I’m sure most people do these days! But to have to figure out how to find where the 4 thousand-10thousand dollar motor replacement is going to come from has me completely sick to my stomach for the last week. I have three kids to feed and an out of town job that I work at to provide a life for them. I don’t have a spouse or another vehicle and I don’t have a spouse to lean on. I’ve cried more than I wanted to this Christmas.
Our 2011 Sorrento suffered the same issues. Engine was smoking. dealer called it an electrical issue. 2 week later it dies, 5K out of warranty. Cost $6k to replace engine just so we could sell ay a lower loss. Is there . Is there a claim for the 2011 Sorrento with the v6 motor?