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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Hyundai Tucson — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 255 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

255
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
12
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
13
Involved Fire
owner-reported
9
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Hyundai Tucson — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

59 complaints

124 complaints

255 complaints

266 complaints

203 complaints

229 complaints

1,624 complaints

1,090 complaints

398 complaints

384 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 160 reports
Service Brakes 36 reports
Hydraulic 27 reports
Power Train 26 reports
Electrical System 17 reports
Unknown Or Other 12 reports
Engine And Engine Cooling 10 reports
Structure 9 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Service Brakes ODI 11562069 12/27/2023

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Tucson. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V651000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brak…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11561801 12/26/2023

Front passenger door extremely hard to open and front driver exterior handle wont open door.

Electrical System ODI 10668152 12/24/2014

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON. WHILE PARKED IN A DRIVEWAY, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. A POLICE AND A FIRE REPORT WERE FILED AND NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,000.

Engine ODI 11290970 12/23/2019

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY ENGINE CUTS SHUTS OFF. I LET THE CAR ROLL TO THE FIRST OFF RAMP IN WHICH I COULD NOT START THE CAR AGAIN. STUCK IN MIDDLE LANE OF EXIT UNTIL I GOT HELP TO PUSH CAR TO SIDE OF THE ROAD.

Engine And Engine Cooling ODI 10440922 12/21/2011

BRAND NEW CAR- A FEW DAYS AFTER PURCHASING AND DRIVING THE CAR, NOTICED CAR WAS NOT DRIVING RIGHT. SEVERAL SYMPTOMS BECAME NOTICEABLE. CAR WOULD JERK WHEN ACCELERATING AND BRAKING. CARS PICK UP WAS DELAYED AND HAD A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE VIBRATION, WHILE IN IDLE AND WHILE DRIVING, TO THE POINT OF GETTING NAUSEOUS WHILE DRIVING IN THE CAR. TOOK CAR TO HYUNDAI SERVICE AND TOLD THEM…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Hyundai Tucson, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Hyundai Tucson reliable?
Owners have filed 255 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Hyundai Tucson, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Hyundai Tucson years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.