2012 Hyundai Tucson problems
The 2012 Hyundai Tucson has 316 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (54%) concerns engine. Next are brakes (11%) and drivetrain & axles (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 316 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 54% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 20
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 84,000 miles 210 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 27 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 20 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 28 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 30 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 41 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 24 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 13 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 210 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 84,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (125 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 20 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 16th most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Hyundai Tucson with enough data (82 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
We were going through a green traffic light, we were about the 6th car through the light when vehicle coming out of nowhere ran the red light from the cross street at about 55MPH, did not try to stop, we slowed to almost a stop and swerved to avoid the person. She did not try to stop and t-boned us in the drivers wheel and door, but the airbags did not activate, even with this high speed collision. This is the second accident of this kind where they did not activate.
Catastrophic engine failure on a 2012 tucson with only 80k miles. The vehicle was regularly serviced. Heard a faint ticking coming from the engine while driving, and later that day, the engine blew. Apparently the theta 2 engine the vehicle uses is known for failure, but the hyundai dealership I took the vehicle to claimed only about 2% of these cars were affected, and I was just "unlucky". No warning lights, nothing.
On july 4, 2019 I was driving and my vehicle suddenly broke down while driving about 60MPH in manahawkin nj on rt. 72. I have not had any issues leading up to this. I had to have the vehicle towed. Since the nearest hyundai dealership was closed b/c of the holiday I had it towed to mr. Tire. They at first thought it was the alternator then the starter, but then decided it was an engine issue. I then had it towed to the dealership and they confirmed it was an engine failure and it would be covered under warranty.