2020 Hyundai Tucson: What to check before buying

Oil disappears between changes, often a quart every 1,000 miles or worse, with some cars running the dipstick dry. Consumption usually shows up around 70,000 to 85,000 miles. A brief low-oil light that flickers in turns or hard braking is often the only warning. Catalytic converters clog and get replaced, sometimes twice. Several engines fail outright, with power loss, lurching, and a full shutdown at highway speed. Dealers typically run a 1,000-mile oil test and a carbon cleaning before considering a new engine.

Most of these filings concern recall 20V543000, which covers an ABS electrical short that can start a fire even when the car is parked. Owners were told to park away from buildings, then waited weeks or months because dealers had no parts. Separate reports describe the emergency braking system blocking the car from moving when a door or seat belt is not latched, rear brake lights cutting out on and off, and a brake pedal that drops to the floor without slowing the car.

Engines stall, sputter, or shut off while driving, sometimes around 70,000 miles, and dealers often cannot reproduce it. A cluster of warnings for ABS, auto hold, lane keeping, blind spot, and forward collision can light up at once and stay on. Misfires and limp mode with code P1326 persist after parts are swapped. Brake lights stick on with the headlights. Cars without an engine immobilizer get stolen, and some insurers refuse coverage. Many early filings complain about waiting for ABS fire recall parts.

A flashing check engine light and sudden limp mode are the main complaint, sometimes while merging onto a freeway. Code P1326 ties to engine bearing failure that needs a full engine replacement. Catalytic converter failure with code P0420 appears as early as 19k miles and can return. Low-mileage cars also lurch while stopped in drive or stall briefly under throttle, and dealers cannot find a cause. One crash report with injuries describes a car stuck in drive and airbags that did not deploy.

The airbag warning light comes on intermittently, stays lit for a few minutes, and then goes out. It returns even after a dealer clears codes or replaces the unit under the passenger seat, around 50,000 miles in one report. One owner paid $175 for a reset that lasted only a few hours. The most serious filing describes a head-on crash where the airbag did not deploy and the driver was injured.

The forward camera stops working without any impact, which sets off lane keeping and forward collision warnings together. Out of warranty, dealers quote roughly $1586 to $1700 to replace it, and one repair order lists a software error. The blind spot system can also shut itself off partway through a drive, and dealers have not found the cause. The sudden alarms can startle a driver into pulling over.

Rear brake lights fail repeatedly and trigger a Check Brake Light message. Replacement bulbs, including genuine Hyundai bulbs, fail again soon after. One mechanic found a melted brake light housing, and the problem continued after it was replaced at about 100,000 miles. Other cars have a brake light that stays on when the pedal is not pressed, which confuses drivers behind.

The forward collision system triggers on the highway with nothing ahead. It sounds a loud alarm and brakes the car hard, which risks a rear-end crash. Dealers often find nothing, and in one case the needed sensor was on backorder. Cruise control can also fail to resume after braking, so the car slows and will not respond to the gas pedal.