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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
I had a 2014 Hyundai Sante fe. No engine or oil lights came on. It all of a sudden did not sound good while I was driving. We shut the car off in a parking lot to investigate the sound. But it never started again the engine seized and that was it. I had my car towed to Hyundai they told me it was because of non regular oil changes. I began to investigate all the engine issues. I tried to contact Hyundai canada several times and got no response. My options were new engine used engine or new car. $7000 for used engine $11000 for a new one. Not great options, no one could tell me why any of the problem sensors did not come on before my engine died. I was left in a very poor financial situation. I would hate for anyone else to go through this. No one at Hyundai would address my questions about the engine problems I discovered on line. This appeared to be a common issue with these engines. Hyundai needs to back Up their cars and do the right thing. I’m lucky it didn’t happen while i was driving on the highway with my kids. My story could have ended much worse.
Driving my hyundai sonata 2012 down the hwy. engine shut off and found to be seized???????
On April 3rd 2019 while traveling on vacation in the United States our 2015 Hyundai Tuscon suddenly lost power. We pulled over immediately then the engine shut off. The breakdown happen at the farthest point on the highway between Las Vegas and Reno Nevada (250 miles in both direction). After a 7 hour wait for a tow truck we arrived at the nearest town and spent the night.
The next day I found out my Good Sam Platinum road side assistance would not cover to get the car to the nearest dealership in Reno. Time being a factor I paid out of pocket to get to the dealership. We arrived just before the dealership was closing they said they would get the car looked at the next day Friday 4th April. I got a rental car and hotel room.
The next day I dropped by the dealership around noon and found out they had not yet looked at the car. Late in the day I notice a missed call and found out the dealership was now closed. I went first thing in the morning to find out about the car the person at the desk told me I would have to come back on Monday 7th because the person handling my vehicle did not work on Saturday. Not knowing how long the repair would take and my daughter and granddaughter had to be back home for Monday to go to work and school. I booked them both flights to go back home.
Monday I went to the dealership and found out the engine was beyond repair and it could take 3 months to get a replacement engine. We returned the rental car and got another one that the dealership deals with to get us back home with our belongings. We expedited our drive home and used an economy hotel during our stay in Reno. Even with these measures the cost associated to deal with this trip interruption added up. Hyundai trip interruption assistance (Xperigo) is nothing more then a complete joke. After sending them a copy of all the receipts and required documents (and not being able to talk to a human). They sent me a non- negotiable cheque for $100.00 Canadian.
After almost three months I got a call that they received the new motor parts and did the repairs and road test “the car is ready for pick up”. I made arrangements to fly back to Reno on 4th July 2019. The next day I took possession of my car and proceeded back to Canada. I notice a slight smell but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from but checked everything under the hood and found the oil was about a litre low of oil. I top it up but no signs of any leaks.
Further down the road and stopping at a rest stop I found a stranger looking at something under my car. Further investigation I found the splash guard and front mud flaps were missing securing screws to help hold them in place. The forward mud flaps were rubbing against the front tires and causing the smell in the car. I tried calling the dealership and secured them the best I could with what I had on hand. (the dealership later apologized and promised to cover repair cost).
I own a 2017 Santa Fe sport
My wife’s 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe’s engine seized at 130,000km. It was consuming excessive oil since 114,000km but all the dealer did was top up oil every 2 weeks until it failed. Upon failure both the dealer and Hyundai Canada claimed it didn’t qualify for the recall.
Had we not had extended warranty we would have had to purchase a new engine ourselves.
As it stands, extended warranty purchased a used engine with 60,000km on it that falls under the same recall.
I will never purchase another Korean car and urge others not to as well.
Hyundai’s service has been disgraceful to say the least.
I purchased a brand new 2013 kia optima turbo back in 2012. My engine failed at 30,000 miles. The fan that cools the radiator failed maybe a year after that. The evo stereo system failed 30 days past the warranty and I had to pay for a refurbished one ($900) It came with a 1 year warranty and right after that expired, the sirius xm radio would no longer come in. I really miss it. As of this moment the car runs out of gas when there are 2 bars still showing on the gas gauge. The turbo seems to have gone out as of 3 weeks ago because it will not accelerate quickly. The warranty is now gone except for the engine which they covered for an additional 5 years after they replaced the first one.
2015 Santa Fe with the engine blowing up weekend before Christmas.
Words cannot describe the inconvenience and stress we had to endure.
I purchased a 2018 Sonata Sport with the 2.4 L engine in August 2018. I’d heard that Hyundai had made huge changes and their cars were a much better quality, so after years of driving old beater cars I decided it was time for a something reliable. A few days ago on New Years Eve, I was driving myself and my two children home from visiting family and about an hour and half into my 8 hour drive all the sudden the car lurched forward and the engine light stared flashing. Hyundai will being replacing the engine under warranty, however I will never trust my car again!! I was left stranded for hours with two kids and have had to miss two days of work due to waiting for Hyundai to look at the car! I’m stuck with this big car loan for a car have no desire to even own anymore. I cringe to think of the plummeting resale value of Hyundai cars now. And when my car is fixed I’ll have to take more time off to travel back to BC to pick up the car.
I had financed a 2016 Hyundai Tucson with the 1.6L Turbo engine and had noted the acceleration issues that came about after the recall and servicing. I had told the dealership a few times and they didn’t find anything wrong as the problems were intermittent and random.
While I acknowledge that I have stacked on the KMs on my Tucson (~248,000), I unfortunately had started to have a deep engine rattle. I took it to the dealership and they said that it needs a replacement engine for ~$7200. It’s no longer drivable and I can’t afford to replace the engine.
Never going to buy a Hyundai again.
My name is Rose Sytsma – Caissie. I bought a Kia Soul 4 U 2010 almost 2 years ago from a used auto dealer and in the past month its been randomly stalling on me at stops and jumping gears. Now it wouldn’t start the other day because I found out the gear cable may have a problem. I just found this web site and it sort of makes sense now. I have a starting point now but as a woman how hard is this going to be to get it rectified?! Not happy at all since i drive with my kids often in the car and it is how I get to work 5 to 6 days a week!