2012 Hyundai Equus

I am writing to log an immediate emergency update to my vehicle safety report regarding my 2012 Hyundai Equus Signature 5.0L. On Friday afternoon, July 10, 2026, Hyundai Motor America’s corporate office formally initiated a high-level Tier-2 supervisor review to investigate the severe powertrain safety hazard currently present on my vehicle—specifically, a catastrophic internal rupture of the transmission fluid cooler loop that has cross-contaminated and flooded my engine block infrastructure and main radiator with high-velocity metallic shrapnel. However, today, Saturday, July 11, 2026, the servicing franchise dealership, Patrick Hyundai, issued an immediate verbal denial of all goodwill repair or safety inspection coverage. This premature weekend denial represents a blatant, bad-faith attempt by a localized franchise to circumvent an active manufacturer safety audit. By issuing a verbal denial while corporate offices are closed, the dealership is attempting to apply high pressure to force me to immediately tow this severely compromised, non-driveable vehicle off their property. This action is designed solely to force the removal and destruction of critical, un-tampered physical fluid evidence before a qualified Federal Safety Engineer or a Hyundai Field Product Engineer can mandate a teardown or structural inspection. The manufacturer's franchise is actively evading its product liability and safety screening protocols for an integrated, multi-system thermal failure. I am requesting that federal safety auditors expedite an intervention, freeze any attempt to eject the vehicle from the facility, and order a formal manufacturer field safety audit. Case number 11749120

NHTSA ID

11749721

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

I am reporting a severe vehicle safety hazard involving a sudden loss of motive power and extreme thermal failure on my 2012 Hyundai Equus Signature 5.0L. In July 2022, at 88,845 miles, an authorized Hyundai dealership replaced the transmission under a factory warranty event. Rather than replacing the transmission oil cooler assembly—which was contaminated with heavy metal shrapnel from the original mechanical breakdown—the servicing dealer chose to only flush the lines, creating a latent fluid restriction. After approximately 18,000 miles of operation, this restriction completely choked the transmission fluid pressure loop. The extreme thermal stress and back-pressure caused the internal walls of the transmission cooler to suffer a catastrophic structural rupture. This caused the transmission to suddenly overheat and fail while driving, creating an immediate highway safety risk and a total loss of vehicle control. Furthermore, the internal rupture of the cooler walls has caused direct fluid cross-contamination ('SMOD'), forcing transmission fluid and metallic shrapnel directly into the engine's main radiator and cooling passages. This metal shrapnel is currently circulating through the engine's cooling network, creating a severe secondary hazard of catastrophic engine seizure and thermal runaway while traveling at highway speeds. The manufacturer has been notified but has formally refused in writing to dispatch a field engineer or authorize a safety inspection of this cross-contaminated powertrain network.

NHTSA ID

11749120

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

I was driving on the highway and my transmission due to a failed transmission service done to my vehicle caused my vehicle’s transmission to overheat a blowout my transmission cooler and mix coolant and transmission fluid unknown to me because of a clogged transmission cooler line improperly flushed instead of replaced by the Patrick Hyundai dealership there could’ve been and electrical fire or a crash due to these things.

NHTSA ID

11748611

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

FOLLOWING A SLIP ON THE ROAD I AM THE VICTIM OF AN ACCIDENT ON THE EDGE OF A HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CAR STRUCK THE MOUNTAIN, BUT THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO ACTIVATE IN THE ACCIDENT RESULTING IN A FRONTAL IMPACT, WHICH CAUSED ME SERIOUS INJURY. WHY THE AIRBAGS ARE NOT TRIGGERED ?? THE CAR MADE SEVERAL ROTATIONS AND SUFFERED IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE AND DESPITE EVERYTHING THE AIRBAGS WERE NOT TRIGGERED.

NHTSA ID

11326655

Incident

May 28, 2020

Mileage

75,000 mi

FROM THE DESK OF LMI'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: [XXX] I PURCHASED 2012 EQUUS ON MARCH 7, 2012 WITH 108,216 MILES. THE CARS SUSPENSION STARTED GOING BAD AS OF LAST WEEK. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK ON MARCH 20, 2020 TO HAVE A MIRROR REPLACED AND TO DISCUSS THE SUSPENSION PROBLEM. IT?S BEEN OVER A WEEK AND TODAY THEM AFTER A 45 MINUTE DRIVE I WAS TOLD THEY HAD THE WRONG MIRROR...EVEN THOUGH I SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE PERSON ([XXX]) AND HE ASSURED ME EVERYTHING WAS IN ORDER AND HE EVEN SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT FOR THEM TO REPLACE THE MIRROR. WHILE I WAS THERE I SHOWED [XXX] THE SUSPENSION AND I WAS REFERRED TO THE SALES MANAGER. TALK TO THE SALES MANAGER AND HE SHOWED NO CONCERN...THE SALES MANAGER GAVE ME A LOOK LIKE, SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT. I STATED MY CONCERN AND THAT I'VE ONLY DRIVEN THIS VEHICLE 590 MILES (TO WORK AND HOME) SINCE I PURCHASED IT AND THE SUSPENSION SHOULD NOT BE ACTING UP ALREADY. I COULD SEE IF I HAD THE VEHICLE FOR SOME MONTHS BUT I HAD IT ROUGHLY FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS. AGAIN, HE SHOWED NO CONCERN AND RESTATED THE "AS IS" POLICY. I UNDERSTAND THE "AS IS" PART AND I ADMIT I DID SIGN THE DOCUMENT BUT THE VEHICLE SEEMED FINE AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. MY CONCERN IS THE DEALERSHIPS ATTITUDE AFTER THE SALE. NO ONE SHOULD TREAT CUSTOMERS THAT WAY. I UNDERSTAND WHY THEY HAVE GOOD REVIEWS...IT IS BECAUSE MOST OF THEM COME FROM PEOPLE WHO PURCHASED NEW CARS OR CARS UNDER WARRANTY (MY FAULT FOR NOT DOING SO) HOWEVER A BUSINESS SHOULD BE ABLE TO WORK WITH OR ATTEMPT TO TRY HELP OUT A CUSTOMER (IT'S CALLED MAINTAINING REPEAT BUSINESS AND DEVELOPING CUSTOMER LOYALTY). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

11318847

Incident

Mar 10, 2020

Mileage

108,516 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI EQUUS. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE JOLTED CONTINUOUSLY AND SHIFTED INDEPENDENTLY INTO ANOTHER GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 41,000.

NHTSA ID

10692893

Incident

Jan 3, 2015

Mileage

41,000 mi

MY VEHICLE SWAYS LIKE A BOAT SIDE TO SIDE NO MATTER MY SPEED, BUT ON THE HIGHWAY IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE I'M LOSING CONTROL. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND AFTER HAVING IT FOR 4 WEEKS THEY RETURNED MY VEHICLE BACK TO ME NOT REPAIRED AND NO ANSWERS TO WHY THE ISSUE STARTED. I WAS TOLD THEY WERE REQUESTING AN HYUNDAI FIELD ENGINEER TO COME OUT TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE BUT I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM THEM IN ALMOST 2 MONTHS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10676847

Incident

Jun 2, 2014

Mileage

31,000 mi

AFTER A FEW MONTHS OF PURCHASING CAR THE ECS LIGHT STARTED ILLUMINATING WHICH IN RETURN GAVE CAR A SPONGY, BOUNCY RIDE ETC., HEIGHT FUNCTION WOULD NOT WORK. AFTER REPAIRS WERE DONE 1ST TIME AROUND JUNE-AUGUST OF 2013 SEEM LIKE EVERY FEW MONTHS PROBLEM WOULD OCCUR AGAIN AND AGAIN, LATEST BEING JULY 2014,CAR WAS PLACED IN SHOP JULY 7TH AND CAR WAS JUST RETURNED JULY 31ST IT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM THAT I THINK WILL CONTINUE FROM MY EXPERIENCE SINCE PURCHASING CAR, I AM NO TECH OR ENGINEER BUT FOR A FAIRLY NEW CAR THAT'S NOT THAT OLD THIS PROBLEM SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING, IT IS MIND BOGGLING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10618296

Incident

Jul 5, 2013

Mileage

8,000 mi

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN), that have been identified in U.S. vehicles following prior crashes, theft, or non‑certified airbag replacements. These inflators are not approved for use, may rupture during deployment, and have caused serious injuries and fatalities. Please see attached announcement, provided by NHTSA, for more details.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN). These inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehicle manufacturers and have primarily been found in vehicles that previously experienced a crash and underwent airbag replacement using non-genuine parts. These dangerous inflators have ruptured during deployment, posing a serious risk of injury or death due to metal fragments entering the vehicle cabin. To date, Hyundai is aware of three people who have died while driving a Hyundai vehicle with one of these substandard replacement airbag inflators that deployed in what likely would have been a survivable crash. NHTSA has issued a public advisory urging vehicle owners and service professionals to have vehicles inspected if there is reason to believe that a non-genuine replacement airbag may have been installed. Vehicles with salvage or rebuilt titles, prior airbag deployments, or unknown repair histories may present a higher risk. NHTSA strongly cautions against self-inspection by vehicle owners and recommends inspection by trained technicians.

This bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to the accumulated moisture in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (DRL), or fog lamp. This TSB illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. Lamp assembly replacement is NOT necessary in most cases. This condition can be eliminated by turning on the lamps with the engine running for several minutes or during normal driving operation.

This TSB provides a procedure to diagnose and replace, if necessary, an automatic transmission with Incorrect Ratio DTC (transmission clutch slip in gear above limit) listed on Page 2.

This bulletin contains information about the proper removal of the windshield wiper blade protective cover on all models. If the protective cover is not removed correctly, there is a possibility of the rubber insert and rail spring becoming partially separated on the inner side of the wiper blade, which could lead to poor wiping performance and/or possible scratching of the windshield glass. Follow the procedure in this bulletin to properly remove the windshield wiper blade protective cover on all new wiper blades.

This bulletin provides important checkpoint guidelines when performing engine oil and filter change services.