@circuitsmith, we have/had two Hyundai’s with the theta II engine. One is a Sonata and is burning around 0.75 qt of oil every 1000 miles. Not enough for a new engine and we are at 86K miles now. The other one was a newer Tucson with the same engine. No issues so far, but I decided to trade up to a RAV4. I had to cough up some extra $ but then maybe in the long run it might be worth the peace of mind, esp as the kids are the primary drivers of that car.
I am surprised that Hyundai/Kia keeps putting the same engine in their new car without any clear redesign being anounced.
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Sure, a certain percentage of the population fail to do the necessary maintenance that their car requires. And if Hyundai/Kia engines were failing at the same rate as other manufacturers’ engines used in similar types of vehicles then that would be a reasonable explanation.
However, when Hyundai/Kia GDI engines are failing at a MUCH higher rate–and much lower mileage–than the competition, it is not believable that the owners are at fault. That would imply that people who buy Hyundai and Kia vehicles are more likely to skip necessary maintenance than people who buy competing vehicles, and there is simply no evidence to suggest that.
A much more plausible explanation is that the engines in question really are defective, either in design, or in manufacture, and that other manufacturers’ engines do not suffer from the same defect(s).
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You can be denied…but if you have good records then they’ll loose in court.
Where is the evidence for this assertion?
Please, just look over at any new media or the Hyundai forums.
If the engines were fine, then why would they extend the warranty and go through somewhat bizarre solutions one of which was changing the dipstick on these engines.
They are now updating the knock sensor so the engine would go in limp mode before failing. This is just to prevent lawsuits from people being stranded in dangerous situations.
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carcomplaints.com is a good place to start.
That website helped steer me away from the problematic dual clutch transmission available in the 2017 Tucson.
Understood. If good records include receipts for approved oil and filters and a corresponding handwritten log in the owner’s manual, I’d be fine. Just always wondered if they’d come back with the “how do we know you actually used that oil and filters in this car at the mileage you noted” line. Safer to do it at a shop (or dealership) with records, I suppose. But I don’t.
Actually, I did with the Toyota since maintenance was “free” for a period. Did not with the Ford (it’s gone anyway) as it only came with one “free” oil change. Free is in quotations on purpose. There ain’t no “free” lunch, as they say!
I guess you are right. Car Complaints has a lot of problems for certain Hyundai models. I always thought these were pretty good cars but this engine reminds me of the old Chrysler 2.7 mess. They always blamed that on the owner as well. Talk about a pile of junk!
I agree is would probably be a good idea to have the oil changed at a dealer, especially during the warranty period, with the impacted models. There will be a good record that way and it would be harder for them to deny coverage.
Just got another letter for the knock sensor reprogramming campaign. The interesting part is that for the 2.4 GDI Tucson, they list the 2014/2015 and then the 2018. Now, the 2016 & 2017 have the same GDI engine but not sure how they are not affected.
The 2010-2015 Tucsons used the problematic 2.4 Theta-II engine.
2016-2018 use a 2.0 Nu engine.
From my understanding, the base models on 2016 & 2017 have the 2.0 GDI engine which is still the Theta II. The higher trims have the 1.6 turbo you are referring to (but the dual clutch transmission which is a whole different story).
Just curious, how would that help prevent the drivers getting stranded?
I think the CEL comes on and the rev’s on the engine is limited so you can only limp to safety.
When/if it happens to my wife, I will post a more elaborate description-probably with some colorful text 
Nope. I own a 2017, and it’s a Nu.
Says it right in the Owner’s Manual.
I wonder what happened to the other letters?
Greek alphabet starting at Theta goes Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu …
You are right, I looked it up. I was thinking of the 2.0 Turbo which is a Theta II.
The 2016-18 Tucson also comes with a 1.6 turbo Gamma engine.
I don’t think this is the engine in question but here is a news story about a massive recall on the 1.6l models.
OH NISSAN FROM 2003 TO 2005 V6 PATHFINDERS PLENUM SCREWS COME LOOSE AND FALL INTO PISTONS AND DESTROYED ENGINE .NISSAN DIDN’T PAY I belive on the 3D35 V6 engines
There is a recall on some Hyundai engines. We have a 2014 Sonata but we have never received a notice in the mail about this particular recall. We found out about it after our engine failed and I was doing research to but a replacement engine.
https://autoservice.hyundaiusa.com/Campaign162/MicroSiteTemplate/MicroSiteTemplateVINValidate/2904