NHTSA Complaint #11434166 — 2015 HYUNDAI TUCSON

Twice in the last nine months (roughly December 14, 2020 at 67,000 miles & 9/7/21 at 84,300 miles) I have been left stranded on the side of the highway due to what two different Hyundai dealerships call "complete engine failure", which requires the replacement of the entire engine. Ultimately, when I asked what a "complete engine failure" entailed, the dealerships both told me there were metal flakes throughout my engine and that the engine had to be replaced. Both times the symptoms were as follows: loss of acceleration and a horrible ticking noise. The gas pedal is pushed to the floor and the car will not move forward. "Pop" or "Knock" and the engine starts smoking. No check engine light. No check oil pressure light. This is all within about 2 minutes. Moving from 65mph to 0 in a matter of 90 seconds without braking, when you have a semi truck behind you is terrifying. You put your hazards on immediately, pull over as soon as possible, and pray that nobody hits you. You try to stop and your brakes don't seem to be doing their job but you are finally able to stop. Once you've pulled over and the car stops smoking, you pop the hood. Immediately you notice the dipstick for the oil is about halfway out of the engine and oil has exploded everywhere under the hood. I purchased the car 14 months ago and so far, four of those months it has been undriveable due to complete engine failure, requiring replacement and fighting with Hyundai to do the right thing and repair it, which they refuse to do. Even when there is an active campaign (Campaign 966) to update the software to trigger a warning light. The campaign was issued 3/30/21 & I just received notification via first class presorted mail to have the software updated on 9/11/21. They say they won't make the repairs because it is out of warranty. I call lies. This is a direct result of failing to notify me in a timely manner to get the software update that would have at least supposedly triggered a warning light.