2026 Hyundai Tucson Owner Complaints

While traveling the following have happened multiple times. It has already been serviced by the dealership who corrected all pending recalls and then informed me they could not replicate the problem. It has now happened since the vehicle was returned to me. This morning while driving at freeway speeds. Multiple times Total HUD Failure: The Heads-Up Display (HUD) completely cuts power and turns off. Dashboard Cascade: The digital instrument cluster momentarily flashes almost every critical warning light simultaneously (including Brake, EPS, Charging, and Lane-Keep systems) before clearing itself. Powertrain Integrity: The engine and hybrid powertrain continue to run smoothly with no loss of propulsion or mechanical stuttering when the event occurs.

NHTSA ID

11764919

Incident

Sep 17, 2026

1.Driver Attention Warning (DAW). A sudden chime rings three times, the volume on my radio is cut. I am immediately distracted and look down at my dash. It is a picture of a steaming coffee cup with a note saying, “Consider Taking A Break”. At 55 mph, I am traveling 80 ft/sec. My eyes are diverted from the road for 2 seconds. There is a standard 1.5 second reaction time for my foot to reach the brake. The optimal mechanical braking distance for a 2026 Hyundai Tucson at 55 mph is approximately 104 feet under ideal, dry conditions. 2 sec =160ft 1.5 sec = 120ft Optimal braking=104ft --------------------------------------- Best case stopping =384ft Now, if there is a downhill, wet, or icy conditions, sand and gravel if I have to choose the ditch to avoid an obstacle that I would have seen 3.5 seconds earlier, I could conceivably be unable to stop for over 500 feet, putting myself and/or others at great risk of injury or death. The DAW is an annoying and unnecessary distraction at best, and a potentially fatal distraction in the gravest of circumstances. I declare that it is a serious safety hazard and request firmly that it be permanently disabled on my 2026 Tucson 2. Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA) When I am backing out of my driveway into the immediate travel lane (not crossing a lane), my steering wheel vibrates and the brake is remotely applied and not by my choosing if a vehicle in the OTHER lane (which I am not entering) passes by. If two, three, four or more vehicles pass in the lane that I am not traveling, my car is rendered helplessly stopped while vehicles in my travel lane come around the corner toward me and find me stopped against my will right in front of them. This is an annoyance at best, and another grave circumstance at worst. This RCCA feature is putting myself and/or others at great risk of injury or death. I declare that it is a serious safety hazard and request it be permanently disabled on my 2026 Tucson.

NHTSA ID

11764755

Incident

Jul 17, 2026

Sudden uncommanded high engine revving 4000 rpm with loss of forward acceleration while driving. ISG (Idle Stop n Go) indicator on dashboard turned yellow and system could not manually override. Vehicle was turned off. After car turned back on after about 30 minutes It entered a Protective Limp Home Mode, which cleared the systems. All seemed back to normal. It was advised to have vehicle towed to the dealer where purchased. The vehicle has only 4,000 miles and 9 months old. To date the dealer could not replicate the malfunction and could not find any abnormalities In the codes.

NHTSA ID

11761527

Incident

Aug 27, 2026

I lease a brand new 2026 Hyundai Tucson from Hyundai of [XXX] in [XXX] onXXX. I later discovered that there was an open recall on the vehicle dated XXX almost two months prior to my taking delivery of the vehicle. I've tried to secure a loaner car from the dealership in order to get the recall resolved but have been told it would be months before a car is available. From my understanding, this vehicle should not have been delivered with an open recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11760848

Incident

Jul 11, 2026

The DAW system goes off numerous times during any trip. Many times within 10 minutes of stating out. the constant annoying warning telling me to take a break when I just did puts me on edge. It went off about 30-40 times during a recent 2 day trip. At some point you just swear at the thing and want to rip the dam camera off the steering wheel. This is not the kind of attitude you want while driving long distances. I have driven over a million miles with no accidents in the last 50 years and I don't need a device to tell me to "take a break" every 15 minutes. This "feature" makes me a worse driver not a better one. I am tall and wear corrective glasses, perhaps that is the problem.... I can't change either of those, the car has to adapt to the driver. Please either get rid of this or allow the drive to "tune' the sensitivity to their needs.

NHTSA ID

11758726

Incident

Aug 12, 2026

I always have the Forward Attention Warning turned off in Vehicle Settings. This past week, 8/13/2026, while on the freeway I was doing the speed limit which was 70 mph. I had the Cruise Control turned on as well as the Lane Assist. While briefly changing the map setting on the display and not looking forward I got the warning “Eyes on the road, Hands on the wheel”. I got that warning twice within a minute. I was in the middle lane of a 3 lane freeway with fairly heavy traffic. All of a sudden there was loud beeping and the flashing red message “Take Control Now, Vehicle Stopping” The cruise control disengaged and the brakes were applied. My speed dropped from 70 down to 55 before I was able to regain control. Two minutes lather the exact same thing happened for a second time. Needless to say the traffic behind me also had to brake to avoid hitting my car! I have done some further testing and discovered while the Cruise Control is turned on the infrared camera behind the steering wheel is always active, regardless of what I have selected in Settings. If the Cruise is not turned on then the infrared camera will not function unless it is has been turned on in Vehicle Settings. I was very lucky that I didn’t cause an accident. Sooner or later someone isn’t going to be as lucky. The Forward Attention Warning System needs to be removed as a “Safety” feature. It is an accident waiting to happen! Another question is what will the effect be on my eyes after hours of exposure to the infrared camera beams? Has that been evaluated from a health standpoint? I don’t see any positive benefits of having the infrared beams constantly beaming into my eyes for hours and hours on a long trip.

NHTSA ID

11757453

Incident

Aug 13, 2026

It looks like condensation is in my windshield

NHTSA ID

11756653

Incident

May 22, 2026

Forward collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking systems failed on 5/13/2026. Driving at a low rate of speed, approximately 15mph in a roundabout traffic circle with no other vehicles in front of the vehicle, sunny dry weather, 740am. Proceeded into traffic circle and FCA engaged and hard braking occurred for instantaneous stop and my vehicle was hit in the rear by a school bus. Air bags did not deploy. No recall on the vehicle at time of accident. Recall issued 6 days after accident for FCA. After contacting insurance company, Hyundai was contacted and made aware of the incident and safety concerns. The vehicle was towed to the dealership that evening and the next day I was advised that they could not check out the vehicle prior to having the collision repaired. The vehicle was then towed to a collision repair shop and released from there and towed back to the dealership on 6/19/2026. The vehicle had two safety recalls at that time and according to the service department both have been addressed. The vehicle is presently sitting the dealership (8/4/2026) waiting for Hyundai to investigate further. There were a few incidents prior to the collision that occurred randomly with the warning going off when no other vehicles or structures were close by. I took possession of this vehicle on 11/22/2025 and it had 2,431 odometer miles when this accident happened.

NHTSA ID

11754769

Incident

May 13, 2026

My Gf was driving car coming up on stopped traffic when automatic braking engaged slamming on brakes for no reason causing the car behind to rear end my vehicle, My Gf was transported to hospital with 4 broken ribs with each rib having multiple fractures, She was in ICU for 2 days and total of 4 days. She has had to go back for another 1 day stay for pain and breathing difficulty.

NHTSA ID

11754733

Incident

Jul 21, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Tucson. The contact was notified the following day after purchasing the vehicle that there was an open recall on the VIN. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V316000 (Forward Collision Avoidance). The parts were available for the recall repair; however, the dealer where the vehicle was purchased was 97 miles away. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the local dealer for the recall repair. The repair was in the process of being completed on 08/03/2026. The contact researched and became aware that the “Do Not Sell” restriction was in place and was dated 5/19/2026. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue.

NHTSA ID

11754383

Incident

Jul 28, 2026

Our dashboard went blank and said “No Signal” over two weeks ago. (recall 304). We took it in for service. They did a Software upgrade which is the stated remedy. Two days ago it did it again. This time we had it towed to the dealership. They have had it since Thursday but no word back on a solution

NHTSA ID

11754210

Incident

Jul 15, 2026

The rear liftgate opened unexpectedly after garage door started to open by remote inside house and causing damage to rear liftgate. The auto liftgate was on at time, fob was no where near remote. Vehicle has been parked and used for three months there with no problems. Dearler checked for error codes, but none found.

NHTSA ID

11754081

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

First time it happened I was driving on the freeway from [XXX] to [XXX]. The car did an instant jerk stop ON THE FREEWAY!! I thought my granddaughter touched something but then it did it again when I was driving by myself. So I took the car in for the recall that came out for this issue and the day after that as I parked into an In-N-Out parking space my collision light came on warning me that there was a collision ahead. I was in a parking space so in that moment, I kind of let it go. Has done it a few times in local traffic. Fast forward to yesterday XXX It was way more serious. I was doing a U-turn and my car jerked. Stop the car behind me almost hit me and I was stopped in oncoming traffic. It released and I got to move so I didn’t wreck, but it scared me. I was very shaken. This is now happened a few times and I have already done the recall at this point I feel very unsafe uncomfortable driving the car and feel like I need a refund full refund. I am now afraid to drive it. It’s gonna kill one of us. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11752547

Incident

Jun 17, 2026

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 111 regulates rear visibility systems. It requires backup cameras to shut off within a specific time or distance after moving forward to prevent driver distraction. A screen stuck on the reverse camera means the vehicle failed to comply with federal safety safety standards in that moment, actively flashing an illegal, high-contrast visual distraction while trying to navigate. I am writing to formally report a critical safety defect regarding the infotainment system in my 2026 Hyundai Tucson, which directly resulted in property damage on 7/6/26. While driving at approximately 35 mph, the center display screen failed to disengage the rear view camera. The persistent, high-visibility flashing of moving traffic behind me in my peripheral vision completely obscured my forward safety alerts and navigation, creating an immediate visual hazard. This system glitch distracted me at a critical moment, causing an impact with a curb. Given that this incident was precipitated by a verified malfunction of a federally regulated safety system (FMVSS 111), I requested that Hyundai corporate review this case, investigate the failure of this component, and cover the cost of the $3,337 structural repairs. They have denied my request. I am aware that NHTSA Recall 26V400000/Hyundai Recall 304 is pending complete entry of all affected vehicles (vehicle was built at the Montgomery plant). Hyundai issued Technical Service Bulletin TSB 24-BE-001H for 2022–2026 Tucsons. It officially documents that these infotainment systems suffer from "freezing, lagging, unresponsive touchscreens, and intermittent blank screens". The bulletin attributes this to a loose internal coaxial cable and software bugs. I feel strongly that the camera freeze is a direct byproduct of this documented hardware/software defect. Hyundai explicitly stated to the federal government: "An instrument panel display that fails increases the risk of crash".

NHTSA ID

11752032

Incident

Jul 6, 2026

7/9/2026 Check engine light on at 320 miles. Had car 3 weeks. Took to dealership they ran diagnostics & the code came up as P050B00 (cold start ignition timing performance). Dealership told me that the manufacture knows there is a problem but does not know how to fix at this time. I was told there was nothing they can do and keep driving the car with a check engine light on, which is ridiculous. Filed a claim that day with the manufacturer. Still no response, but their customer service tells me my case has been escalated over a week now and no claims person assigned to my case, Since then I've noticed that when slowing down the car engine shuts off intermittently. It also did this the night before the check engine light came on. This is extremely dangerous when I'm driving.

NHTSA ID

11751686

Incident

Jul 9, 2026

Component: Forward Collision Avoidance / Steering / Electrical SystemDescription of Incident: While driving a rented 2026 Hyundai Tucson SEL AWD (VIN: [XXX]) on the [XXX], the vehicle experienced a severe, uncommanded steering intervention. While maintaining momentum on a winding road, the vehicle's automated systems falsely intervened, aggressively pulling the steering wheel and forcing the vehicle toward the edge of a cliff. The sensation mirrored violent torque steer, fighting driver input and nearly causing a catastrophic departure from the roadway.Safety Risk: This VIN is currently unlisted for active campaigns, but it is exhibiting the exact life-threatening failure mode detailed in NHTSA Campaign 26V316000 (FCA software defect). The manufacturer's current recall scope is inadequate and must be expanded immediately to include this VIN sequence before an uncommanded steering event results in a fatal crash. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11751443

Incident

Jul 17, 2026

The contact rented a 2026 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving and merging onto traffic on a highway, the brake pedal was slightly depressed and the vehicle overcorrected the brake, and abruptly stopped, causing the vehicle to be rear ended. There were no injuries sustained. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was driven away from the scene and was returned to the rental agency immediately. The contact was then advised that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V316000 (Forward Collision Avoidance). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11749558

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds with the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated, the system failed to warn of other vehicles or possible danger. The vehicle nearly collided with another vehicle while testing the feature. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where the failure could not be replicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 17.

NHTSA ID

11749308

Incident

Jun 17, 2026

Mileage

17 mi

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V316000 (Forward Collision Avoidance), but the failure persisted after the recall repair. While driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle independently braked to a complete stop without cause. Additionally, the rearview camera remained active on the display for 30 to 50 seconds while driving forward. The contact stated that the failures were recurrent. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and the case was currently pending an escalated resolution. The failure mileage was approximately 6,275.

NHTSA ID

11748615

Incident

Jun 24, 2026

Mileage

6,275 mi

My car was recalled because the auto brake was triggering incorrectly and causing issues (at least 4 accidents with injuries are known to have been casued by this problem). I brought my car in to have the auto braking issue fixed, after I had already been rear ended due to it automatically activating (submitted a previous NHTSA claim about this.) The same defect recurred while I was driving yesterday evening. A pedestrian had fully cleared a crosswalk, I attempted to pull forward, and the auto-brake triggered without cause, locking up the vehicle and nearly causing me to be rear ended again. This is an ongoing safety issue that was supposed to have been corrected and clearly was not.

NHTSA ID

11746742

Incident

Jun 25, 2026

The instrument cluster intermittently goes completely black while driving, causing loss of the speedometer, warning lights, and gear indicator. The failure occurs randomly, including while the vehicle is in motion. The symptoms match the known 2026 Hyundai instrument‑cluster recall, but my VIN is not currently included.

NHTSA ID

11745565

Incident

Apr 25, 2026

Hit a deer on highway and when impacted the hood flew up and smashed the windshield. I was unable to see where I was or if I was headed into the ditch or on coming traffic. The hood latch is metal the bar that the latch is attached to is plastic and broke completely off which allowed the hood to fly up and shatter the windshield. Having an important bracket like the hood bracket made out plastic is a huge safety issue. The vehicle is not available for pictures for the fact my insurance has deemed the vehicle unrepairable and have totaled the vehicle. I do believe checking into the plastic hood components should be conducted for a safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11744064

Incident

Jun 9, 2026

On my 2026 Hyundai Tucson Limited, the HVAC touch-panel status indicators are extremely difficult to see in daylight conditions. The illuminated indicators for A/C, recirculation, vent mode selection, and heated/cooled seat levels become washed out by sunlight and reflections. From the normal driving position, the indicators are often not visible. To determine the status of HVAC functions, I must lean forward and/or shield the panel with my hand to see the illuminated indicators. This requires additional driver attention and time looking away from the road. The condition occurs even with instrument panel illumination set to maximum and display settings to maximum. We had the suv at the hyundai dealer and showed the service adviser the problem and he agreed is was a design problem. It is especially a problem in lots of traffic these days when you have to lean over/closer or cup your hand to see the settings which requires taking your eyes off the road and your hand off the steering wheel for a long period of time, creating a distraction and safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11743554

Incident

May 10, 2026

I have a 2026 Hyundai Tucson 2500 miles. It has slammed on the brakes. At least 6 times since I've owned the vehicle for forward collision to the point where it could have put me in danger. And I could have been in an accident one time it occurred when I was making a curve, there was oncoming traffic from the other side in the curve. And the vehicle slammed on the brakes bc of the other car going in the opposite direction at the car. And just yesterday, as I was slowing to a stop at a stoplight, if there was a car in front of me going less than 15 miles an hour. So I can slow down so I could stop it slammed on the brakes. Despite the fact that the car in front of me had already left his stopping point again dangerous. I had a seat belt mark on my shoulder.Because of it

NHTSA ID

11741093

Incident

May 30, 2026

Driving on major highway during rush hour traffic the suv locked up due to the automatic front break system I couldn’t even turn to avoid the crash. I was rear ended from behind.

NHTSA ID

11740938

Incident

May 26, 2026