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2012 Hyundai Tucson: check engine light

31 of the 255 complaints about the 2012 Hyundai Tucson describe check engine light.

owner complaints
31
of this car's complaints
12%
typical repair cost reported
$6,000
typical mileage
98,500
recalls
1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 25 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below

Check engine light by model year

What owners say

Filed Jun 22, 2023 · HI

My 2012 hyundai tucson driver dash with the speedometer goes blank and I lose acceleration while driving and also the gears dissappear and I'm not able to reverse.yesterday the engine light turned on when I was driving but after I parked and turned car off and waited 10 minutes it was still on,but another 5 min after I turned it off and on again it turned off.looked on other forums alot of hyundai cars are having this problem.

Filed Sep 12, 2022 · Engine · 155,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that she had a routine recall repair completed at the dealer however, while attempting to leave, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who informed the contact that a diagnostic test was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to a manager. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.

Filed Sep 7, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · WI · fire

I was driving down the interstate, going approximately 70mph, and my 2012 Hyundai Tucson started having difficulty maintaining speed. The engine started revving up while the car was still slowing down. Suddenly, I felt a knock and smoke started bellowing out of the engine bay. I pulled over immediately, opened the hood to inspect, and was almost burnt by the flames. There was a fire near the back of the engine block which I was able to put out with some water. I had my vehicle towed to the Hyundai of West Allis in Wisconsin. The dealership and a corporate Hyundai inspector determined that the cause of the fire was a thrown engine rod. There were no signs of issues or engine lights prior to this event. My Tucson has been at the dealership for nearly two months. After tens of hours dealing with Hyundai customer service and the dealership, both entities decided that they will do nothing to remedy the situation. My Hyundai vehicle has the 2.4L Theta II engine which is clearly implicated in the recent class action lawsuit against Hyundai for faulty engines. There is a recall for the rod bearing which was the direct cause of my engine throwing a rod and causing the fire.

Filed Apr 19, 2022 · Engine · TX

2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON Bought it used, 1 prior owner ~50K, very clean. Since is VERY well maintained (incl. oil changes). Periodic engine light off & on for no reason. NO other probs, no oil leaks EVER. All recalls done. Dealership checked 11/2021 when doing recall, didn't document, it's "a short in wiring", "expensive to fix" & blamed "not tightening gas cap"?! THEN...On freeway with no warning light, a loud "bang" noise heard, vehicle began shaking. Initially felt like flat tire, barely able to control, lost power but able to steer off highway, engine died. VERY, VERY dangerous situation in heavy traffic. During tow to dealership, found # to national recall center who assigned a case number & was told "it's being escalated nationally..a corporate case worker (CW) will call in 3-5 days". Told "tell dealership to give loaner car". No loaners b/c LONG waiting list. Corporate requested multiple exams & photos from dealership in search of "engine sludge" (shift blame technique "poor maintenance") none was found. Engine pictures pristine (per dealership) "like a new engine". Corporate even requested 1st owner records!? Diagnosis:"catastrophic engine failure" due to bearing failure, estimate ~$7K+ for new engine. Corporate offer: 80% of engine replacement cost w/parts warranty (1 yr/12K), no loaner car unless delay due to backorder. Owner gets to counter offer or discuss w/ CW whose role (apparently)is to negotiate w/owner. 3 wks, never rec'd call from anyone. Hrs, days, wks spent chasing elusive CW. "Cust. Care" answers "hello, what's VIN & mileage?". Forced to repeat same story over & over, finally learned CW out on PTO, no one reassigned (someone slipped w/ "we are SOO busy here"). Finally reached CW. Call #1: nice guy. Call #2: lied, blamed dealership, mean, shaming, told to quit calling, wasting HIS time. Take it or leave it on 80/20 deal to replace w/another Theta II (aka we never fixed our prob) engine. NEVER BUY HYUNDAI! SOMEONE COULD'VE DIED.

Filed Mar 1, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · CA

My 2012 Tucson engine, with 62,000 miles, locked up on 09/22/21 while I was on a trip, without warning & no check engine light came on. Luckily, I was able to coast to the small shoulder. It suddenly seized on a stretch of I15 in the mountains of the Mohave Desert. The engine completely stopped so suddenly that I was lucky I was able to coast to the shoulder. The shoulder was very narrow, so I was barely off a very busy highway, at night. The breakdown happened just before midnight. I was stuck on the side of the road as cars and trucks were flying by us, with little room to avoid hitting us. It took 4 hours to find someone who would tow my car. I was towed to Midas shop at a cost of $800. The Midas shop confirmed that my engine had seized, was full of oil, and no explanation for the engine seizing could be found. The only option was to replace the engine. I wanted a new one, but they could not find one. They found a "used" one from a 2012 Tucson, supposedly with 40,000 miles on it. The mechanic had to go to Huntington Beach to pick it up. He was amazed at the cost of the engine (much higher than they had paid for any other used engine). Ultimately the replacement cost $12,118.41. When I picked up my car on 10/15/21 I headed home to San Diego (170 miles). After approx 100 miles, the transmission suddenly stopped shifting into any gear. It would not come out of neutral. I was in a lane close enough to the shoulder to coast just far enough to get a few inches off the highway. Because it was a Friday evening, there were no auto shops open. I had no choice but to have the car towed to my house (70 miles) at a cost of $500. A local transmission shop diagnosed my transmission problem. It was due to failure of the part that pumps fluid into the transmission. Yet another problem that shouldn’t occur in a car with only 61,000 miles on it. The cost of the repair was $4,200. The failure of those parts put me in 2 very dangerous situations and cost me $20,000.

Filed Jan 19, 2022 · Engine · TX

Air conditioning system was just replaced for $2000. A week later, car to a dealership for a recall. Two and a half weeks later, while driving, engine lights came on, hard to accelerate, then rattling noise from engine. My son was on way back to college and on a rural road with not too much traffic. He pulled over and was not able to restart car. Had to be towed to nearest town (between home and his school, about 1 1/2 hours from each). The repair shop said total engine failure. They investigated and not able to find a rebuilt engine because engine has too many problems and a used engine would be $8000 to install and would likely have same defect. The car only has 96,000 miles. We bought used, from a Hyundai dealership, with a good CarFax report. It was a safety problem because he could have been devastating if he was on a busy highway. Unfortunately, it happened in a scarcely populated area and he was stranded while it was getting dark waiting for the tow truck. No warning lights until time of engine breakdown. Car had just been seen at a service station and car dealership just days before breakdown. We cannot take chance of investing that much money into a car that would have same problem. Had to have car sold for scrap.

Filed Jan 13, 2022 · Engine · 99,450 miles · OR

The contact's daughter owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while driving approximately 68 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle lunged forward. The check engine warning light was flashing. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the connecting rod and engine needed to be replaced. Additionally, cylinder #3 was blown. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 99,450.

Filed Oct 26, 2021 · OH

On 5/13/21 I took my vehicle to Preston Hyundai to complete 2 recall campaigns. Campaign 958 20-01-012H and Campaign 181 #19-01-012H. Part of the instructions for Campaign 181 (attached), states they must "Loosen the intake manifold stay bolts and remove the intake manifold stay. After the recalls were done, Preston checked my vehicle and there were no active . Also, my vehicle was working fine prior to the recalls that were done. Less than 2 weeks after Hyundai completed the engine oil recall campaign, my engine light came on. I took it back to Hyundai on 6/1/21 and they said the Intake Manifold was broken and needed replaced. I told them if was fine when I brought it in for the recall and they worked on it during the recall and therefore, needed to replace it. They refused. Hyundai said it would be $1149.76 to replace Intake Manifold and Ford said only the Intake Manifold Runner needs replaced and it would be $360.43 before tax to replace it. I am requesting that my Intake Manifold be replaced by Preston Hyundai or that they pay the $360.43 plus tax for Fairway Ford to replace the Intake Manifold Runner.

Filed Jun 29, 2021 · Engine · NC

My vehicle has stalled (died) several times on me in the last several months. This happens when I am pulling into traffic or stopping at a light, etc. and is a serious problem because it could cause me to be hit. I took the car to my licensed mechanic and he said there was metal in the variable timing hub...he put the new part on it and then changed the oil and took it for a test drive. On return it was rechecked and found to be full of metal shavings again. He stated I would need new engine because mine was falling apart. He checked for recalls and found that this problem was a recall on the Santa Fe and the Sonata but not for my Tuscon...this does not make sense as these vehicles basically have the same or similar engines. Check engine light and oil light came on and stayed on. I was advised by my mechanic to contact you with this problem. I believe Tuscons should be added to the recall list before lives are lost. I believe my car should be repaired by the dealership..I would appreciate any help you can give me on this

Filed Sep 3, 2020 · Engine · 138,000 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 hyundai tucson. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v063000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact called jim click hyundai auto mall tucson (700 w auto mall dr, tucson, az 85705, (877) 888-2233) who confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 138,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed May 13, 2020 · Engine · 100,086 miles · CA

On 5/10/2020, check engine light went on, engine sputtered, we were able to exit freeway and pull over and by that time, car was shaking very hard. Towed to mechanic, car requires engine overhaul. Car then towed to hyundai dealership, car needs a full engine rebuild. I have maintained my car with oil changes and the car has 100086 miles. There are numerous reports of failure of the theta ii 2.4 liter engines, which my car has, yet no recall issues. Mechanic said parts alone will be around $6000 dollars, if you add labor it's probably more than the car is worth. I am concerned that there is a defect in the engine that poses a risk to life. A few months prior, this car also had a complete failure (lost all power) on the freeway.

Filed Jan 28, 2020 · Engine · 80,000 miles · VA

We had the car towed to our mechanic because the engine light came on. The mechanic tested the car and heard a tapping noise when stepping on the accelerator. The mechanic noted that there were large metal shards in oil pan. The shards were not present in the oil when oil was drained out. The metal shards were only visible once the oil pan was removed. The mechanic completed additional inspection to ensure there were no other issues. After removing the oil pump, he found all the rod bearings had play. This appears to be a manufacture defect. I spoke to the service advisor and he told me that a number of their customers were having the same problem, but the 2012 hyundai engine was not on recall. Based on research, we discovered that this is a common problem with all 2.4 liter engines on all platforms for kia and hyundai. We took the car to the hyundai dealer and were told we needed to purchase a new redesigned engine. During this conversation, we were notified the new engine has engine rod bearings that are more sturdy. Hyundai currently has a recall for the oil pan and also has recalls for engines in other car models but not this model. A new engine should not be required for an 7 year old car with 80,000 miles. As a car professional, I suspect this is due to the issues with a defective rod bearings that wear prematurely and result in catastrophic engine damage so the engines should be covered in the recall.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

Engine and engine cooling: engineReported February 5, 2019 · 120,000 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2013 Tucson vehicles. The engine oil pan may leak and, if not addressed, the loss of oil may result in engine damage.
Risk
A damaged engine can increase the risk of a fire or it can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Hyundai has notified owners, and dealers will inspect for an oil pan leak, replacing it if necessary, and install an updated oil pressure switch, free of charge. The recall began August 19, 2019. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1‑855‑371‑9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 181.

Recall number 19V063000 · Recall details

Questions about the 2012 Hyundai Tucson check engine light

Is check engine light a common problem on the 2012 Hyundai Tucson?

31 of 255 owner complaints about the 2012 Hyundai Tucson (12%) mention check engine light. The model year with the most reports is 2017.

How much does it cost to fix check engine light on the 2012 Hyundai Tucson?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $6,000 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Hyundai Tucson?

There is 1 recall and 25 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2012 Hyundai Tucson

Engine failure 66Stalling 39Knocking 32Loss of power 20Fire or smoke 17Won't start 10Warning lights 5

All model years of the Hyundai Tucson

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