2023 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid

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.

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds and attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated before the contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. The following day while driving away from a stop light, the vehicle briefly shuddered and was unable to exceed 20 MPH, prompting the contact to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 3,000.

On four occasions in the last five weeks, I have been driving at relatively low speed (20-30 MPH), and when I attempt to accelerate, the vehicle will not accelerate when I press the gas pedal. The tachometer shows the RPMs are maxed out, but the vehicle does not accelerate no matter how hard I press the gas pedal. I have to pull off the road, turn off the vehicle, and restart to fix it. I am certain I have not accidentally hit any buttons or switches each time. I have tried changing drive modes (eco/normal/sport) and using the paddle shifters and that has no effect. Cruise control is off, and no other speed limiting system is activated. There are no warning lights or indicators when this occurs. This is incredibly dangerous, as I am unable to get up to speed on a main road. A few instances led me to be unable to successfully merge onto a main road, which has led to me almost being rear-ended on one occasion, and the most recent instance I was in the left lane of a main road and attempting to pass a large truck and could not maintain speed. I was fortunate to come upon a slight downhill slope and was able to coast across the right lane and get off the road, but it was a near-accident. The dealer service center was unable to diagnose the issue, and therefore could not repair it.

My suv is a hybrid. I slowed down before making a right turn to check if it was clear before continuing with the turn. I see one car and its pretty far away. My gas engine switch off to go into EV. I step on the gas and my suv goes no where for about 5 seconds. Now the car down the street is approaching me fast. Finally the gas engine kicks on my suv started moving. The other car honk and went around me.

Two times in the last two weeks of March and about 10 times since we purchased the vehicle new in December 2022, after starting the vehicle and backing out of our garage onto our street, then stopping then shifting from reverse to drive and going no faster than 15-20 mph for about 300 yards, the Tucson revs up to about 3ooo-3500 rpm and will not shift into second gear. After about 1 minute or so it seems ok. But until then the transmission does not shift smoothly like it did the first six weeks of ownership. It did not operate like this until about the beginning of February. Something is not right with the transmission. I suspect his will be difficult to diagnose since it is intermittent. Want to get this documented and checked out before this becomes a major problem. This is also a safety concern since the vehicle is limited to about 15 mph and could cause an accident if it malfunctions when pulling out onto the street and there is following traffic. Our vehicle has been at the dealership since April 7th waiting for approval and installation of a new factory transmission. Was supposed to be completed yesterday or today, but no info from the dealership yet. I suspect this may not have resolved the vehicle defect.