NHTSA Complaint #11679973 — 2018 HYUNDAI TUCSON

I was driving on the highway, about to change lanes, when I looked in my rear view mirror and saw black smoke coming from my appeared to be my exhaust. I immediately started to pull over, and that is when the oil light first appeared on my dashboard. By the time I had put the car in park, the check engine light had also appeared. After calling my boyfriend and a tow truck, I exited the vehicle and noticed a large pool of oil by my front tire. With the car on the tow truck, I could see oil continue to drip out. The car was towed to the local Hyundai dealership. Since this occurred on a Saturday afternoon, the service dept. was closed, and Hyundai called me on Monday, Aug 11, 2025 to explain that i should contact the auto mechanic that last changed my oil, as the oil plug had fallen out, and my engine had seized. (Had I not noticed the smoke right away, I could have been in an accident on the highway when the engine seized.) I explained to Hyundai that I had my oil changed 3,000 miles ago, and hadn't seen any indication of oil leakage, nor had the oil light come on prior to the incident on Aug 9, 2025. Hyundai insited I contact the oil change mechanics as it was clearly a craftsmanship defect, not the fault of Hyundai parts or material. Hyundai provided photos showing the oil plug was still laying on the block. I visited Superior Auto (mechanics that did the previous oil change) and they also deny responsibility due to the fact that the car drove fine for 3,000 miles without any indication of oil leakage, so there is no proof of fault craftsmanship.