2026 Hyundai TUCSON: complaints, problems and recalls

I have had my car for a few weeks and have almost been rear ended 2 times. The first time I had the forward safety timing set at standard and the second time it was set at late. In both instances I was fully at a safe distance from the car in front of me and was applying the break myself. Upon investigating it seems like this is a common problem. Like it is too sensitive to the break of the car ahead and too harsh on its own breaks. I would like to be able to keep this feature turned off and not have to reset each time I start my car. I feel un…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11710438 at NHTSA ↗

The Hyundai Tucson has a warning "Consider taking a coffee break" which cannot be disabled. This is a distraction which can cause an accident. Driver should be allowed to disable it.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11711187 at NHTSA ↗

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact became aware that the fuel economy was poor and failed to meet the standard. The contact stated that while tracking the fuel consumption, the contact discovered that the vehicle's fuel economy was 26 MPG instead of 36 MPG. The defect was brought to the attention of the dealer, and the vehicle was test driven; however, the dealer stated that the vehicle was performing as designed and that there were no issues found with the fuel consumpti…

Owner-reported narrative. 500 miles reported. Look up ODI 11713864 at NHTSA ↗

I was in stop and go traffic on the highway. The car in front of me started going and I did as well. At this point, I was at least 3 car lengths behind them. They braked fairly quickly and I was as well. When I was braking, the FCA emergency braking enabled super prematurely. The result of the emergency braking caused the vehicle behind me to rear end me. My car has since been repaired, however this is super disappointing on a brand new car with 500 miles.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11717044 at NHTSA ↗

The brakes pushed down to the floor before the collision and wouldn’t stop the car my passenger was injured no warning system on the collision prevention and nothing engaged my foot was on the floor and there was about a 10 second delay before the brakes kicked in it’s all on dash cam

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11721876 at NHTSA ↗

I purchased the car about 30 days ago. in that short time on two occasions, with absolutely NO REASON the 'Forward Safety Warning System' engaged and applied the brakes so severely that on both occasions i narrowly missed being rear-ended. Fortunately, all vehicle occupants had their seat belts on, otherwise we would have been thrown around the car. In the first occasion my husband was driving about 50 mph and BAM WHAM! Totally out of the blue the car throws itself into a complete stop for NO REASON...he was NOT close to any car. The secon…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11723435 at NHTSA ↗

Wife was driving car and the steering locked up and she could not turn it for about 5 seconds. second issue was put it in reverse and it would not come out of reverse, she had to turn car off and on 3 times to get it to put it in park or drive. I ran this through my Claude AI and it says this is an ongoing problem with the Hyundai Tucson. Please make them fix this before selling anymore vehicles as both are major safety hazards.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11724165 at NHTSA ↗

After 3 months and 840 miles, my 2026 Hyundai Tucson wouldn't respond one morning. No power at all, including to unlock the car. Road side assistance struggled to jump out but finally the car started, but the cluster panel would not turn on. I had to drive to the dealership with no speedometer or other screen sensors, as well as a lack of blinker or lights. This is outrageous because I barely drive the car and it's brand new.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11724310 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2025-08-25 (August 25, 2025)

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson and Santa Fe vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power and engine damage, possibly resulting in an oil leak.

Consequence: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash. An oil leak in the presence of hot engine components can increase the risk of an engine compartment fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 281.

Reported: 2026-01-26 (January 26, 2026)

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."

Consequence: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.

Reported: 2026-04-20 (April 20, 2026)

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Elantra N, 2026 Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), and Elantra vehicles. The B-pillar impact sensors may have been misassembled, which can delay air bag deployment.

Consequence: Air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the impact sensor(s), as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 11, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 299. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 22, 2026.

Reported: 2026-05-18 (May 18, 2026)

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, and Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV) vehicles. Software in the front cameras may cause the forward collision avoidance system to activate prematurely and unexpectedly apply the brakes.

Consequence: Unexpected braking increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will update the front camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 17, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 302. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 20, 2026.

Reported: 2026-06-23 (June 23, 2026)

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV) vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."

Consequence: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 22, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 304. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on June 25, 2026.