2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid

I am reporting a critical Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve failure on my 2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. The failure resulted in an immediate loss of engine power, reduced vehicle performance, reduced fuel efficiency, and the vehicle entering limp mode while driving, creating a significant safety hazard in traffic. Diagnostic & Technical Details: Error Codes Captured: Diagnostic trouble codes in the P0400 series (EGR system flow/circuit malfunction) were confirmed during diagnostic inspection. Root Cause: The component failure is directly linked to an internal short circuit in the EGR valve assembly, caused by solder flux contamination during manufacturing. Manufacturer Response & Escalation Denial: When contacting Hyundai regarding this failure, I was informed that my vehicle’s VIN is "not included in Safety Recall 260" (NHTSA Campaign 24V-308). I formally escalated this claim to Hyundai Corporate, but my request for reimbursement and coverage was explicitly denied on the grounds that my VIN falls outside the designated recall parameters. However, this exact failure mode, part assembly line, and manufacturing defect (solder flux contamination) are identical to the safety defect described in Recall 260 as well as Hyundai Service Campaign 9B3. Hyundai is restricting coverage based on narrow VIN manufacturing windows despite identical, defective parts being installed across non-recalled vehicles. Because a sudden EGR failure causes unexpected loss of power while traveling in traffic, and because Hyundai Corporate has refused to cover this out-of-pocket repair, I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this issue and compel Hyundai to expand the scope of Recall 260 to protect affected owners and mandate reimbursement for out-of-pocket repair costs.

Vehicle exhibits a dangerous 2-to-3-second delay/total loss of accelerator response at low speeds or rolling stops (5–15 mph). When stepping on the gas pedal to pull into traffic or make a turn, the vehicle hesitates completely before engaging power, even when the pedal is fully depressed. This creates an extreme crash risk when entering oncoming traffic or merging.

On June 3, 2025, I experienced a terrifying and dangerous incident while driving my 2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid on a three-lane road at approximately 50 mph. Without any warning, the gas pedal became completely unresponsive, and the car abruptly decelerated from 50 to 20 mph. This sudden loss of acceleration was incredibly frightening, especially with vehicles close behind me that nearly collided with mine. There were no warning lights or check engine alerts. Fortunately, I was able to safely cross all lanes and pull over before having the vehicle towed to a local Hyundai dealership. I shudder to think what might have happened if this had occurred on a highway at higher speeds. This is not the first time I’ve experienced serious issues with this vehicle. In February 2024, at about 17,000 miles, I received an urgent alert recommending a system check. At that time, the car was revving while idle and would occasionally lurch at low speeds. The dealership had difficulty diagnosing and resolving the issue, and my vehicle remained in the shop for over a month before they ultimately replaced the oxygen sensor. Since then, the car has continued to lurch intermittently — for example, when backing out of a parking space or in stop-and-go traffic. In fact, approximately 10 minutes before the June 3 incident, the vehicle lurched several times while moving slowly in traffic. When the car began to lose speed during the most recent incident, I pressed the gas pedal all the way down, but it failed to respond at all. I believe the current issue may be related to the unresolved problems from last year and represents a significant and recurring safety concern. I’ve also read in Tucson owner forums that other drivers have experienced similar issues, suggesting this may be part of a broader, systemic defect. At this point, I do not feel safe driving this vehicle. I truly believe this car is a lemon. This vehicle is still at the dealership, but they have not given me any updates yet.

While traveling out of town, our 2023 Tuscon HEV with 31,000k started chugging/hesitating during acceleration. This chugging continued to worsen, so we took it to a Hyundai dealership to diagnose. We were told that fuel injector #3 was misfiring, and, as they did not have the parts in stock, that it would be safe to make the 5 hour drive back home to service the vehicle. During the first 4 hours of the drive the chugging/hesitating worsened, several times suddenly losing power and speed dropping from 70 or so mpg, to 40 mpg and lower, creating extremely harrowing and dangerous conditions from the higher speed drivers behind and around us on the highway. During the last hour of the drive, the vehicle started making a screeching sound, and emitting a burning smell, and chugging so convulsively that we made an emergency detour to drop it at the closest Hyundai dealership. The second dealership said that they could not use the 1st dealerships diagnosis, and that they would need to do their own assessment. Almost 2 weeks later, we were informed that the vehicle was fixed and that issue was a cracked tensioner belt and that likely is what set off the other code(s), including the fuel injector code. Upon picking up the vehicle we discovered that the same chugging issue was still occurring and returned it to dealership #2. They ran another diagnostic and determined that fuel injector #3 needed to be replaced-the issue that dealership #1 originally diagnosed. We were also told that, the problem is with the outsourced company that makes the fuel injectors, and that this is a recurring issue with the other injectors. Unfortunately, Hyundai has yet to take responsibility and save its customers a lot of inconvenience and safety concerns, by allowing dealerships to go ahead and replace all of the fuel injectors at once when the 1st one goes bad.

Unknown what fails. After driving approximately 30 minutes on a highway, car suddenly stops accelerating and bucks a bit as it slows. Must turn off car and turn it back on to accelerate again. Happens on the highway frequently. Very dangerous as there’s no way to accelerate. Only stop. It’s like it can’t find a gear and the engine revs. It happened 6 times during a 2.5 hour drive.

ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE AND WILL NOT ACCELERATE AND CAR START OVERHEATING AND BAD ODOR SMOG COMING OUT FROM THE EXHAUST. DEALER FOUD THE FOLLOWING, CONCERN SCANNED FOR CODES, FOUND CODES P111100, P030000. P030100, P030300, P030400 ABNORMAL COMBUSTION DETECTION FOR ANY CYLENDER, RAMDON CYLINDER MISFIRE DETECTED CYLINDER #1,2,3,4 MISFIRE DETECTED, PERFORMED FUEL TEST FOUND ALCOHOL AT 5% FOUND FUEL WAS DISCOLORED AND SMELL VARNISH OR CONTAMINATED, DEALER STILL HAVE THE CAR AND THEY WANT US TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS AND VOID THE WARRANTY, WE CONTACT THE STATE TO DO A FUEL TEST TO THE GAS STATION AND EVERYTHING IS WITH THE GUIDELINES BASE ON THE REPORT, LOOKS LIKE THE CAR IS DEFFECTIVE AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHECK