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2016 Hyundai Veloster

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Veloster years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Hyundai Veloster are substantially higher than the model-year median of 85.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

108 reports with mileage · 114 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 132 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 43 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

15 crash reports4 fire reports11 injury reports

Engine complaints

132 reports
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Mileage unknown · Dec 3, 2023
Engine

On 11/21/2023, I took my vehicle to Musser's Automotive in Tipp City, Ohio & I was informed of an Internal Oil Consumption & recommendation for warranty coverage.

NHTSA ODI #11558221

Mileage unknown · Oct 17, 2023
Engine

After previous complaint I filed, my engine continued to decline. Began burning a quart of oil approximately every 240 miles and has now almost completely lost power. It will not go above 25 miles per hour. I can not drive it anywhere except within two miles of my house where the speed limit is 25mph. EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS! …

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After previous complaint I filed, my engine continued to decline. Began burning a quart of oil approximately every 240 miles and has now almost completely lost power. It will not go above 25 miles per hour. I can not drive it anywhere except within two miles of my house where the speed limit is 25mph. EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS! It will die while driving and crank right back up but then die again. As contained in my previous complaint - Check engine light has been flashing since last December, Oil light comes on approximately every 240 miles. Other model years of this car have been recalled due to oil issues - but not this one. Yes the engine has been inspected and everyone agrees the engine is bad but Hyundai refuses to do anything about it due to the car not being included in the previous recall years. PLEASE inspect it. Anytime you want. It's not like I can drive it anywhere. I would drive it straight to a junk yard, but am still paying on it. You should know, if you don't already, that Hyundai is regularly giving owners of cars that have been included in the recall, the runaround on repairing anything. There are multiple facebook groups with literally THOUSANDS of people complaining about the same or similar issues with their Hyundai vehicles and nothing is being done. The MOST disreputable company I have ever dealt with - from the dealer all the way up to corporate. READ SOME OF THESE STORIES TO GET A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM... [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11550416

Mileage unknown · Sep 16, 2023
EnginePower Train

Unknown Regular oil changes, cranked my car up one morning and it started knocking, I have been in a rental for 2 weeks now and paying out pocket as a single mother in grad school. The dealers excuse of not diagnosing the car sooner, is that their schedule is busy after arguing with the extended warranty company about my coverag…

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Unknown Regular oil changes, cranked my car up one morning and it started knocking, I have been in a rental for 2 weeks now and paying out pocket as a single mother in grad school. The dealers excuse of not diagnosing the car sooner, is that their schedule is busy after arguing with the extended warranty company about my coverage. I booked their next soonest appointment to be told we'll see if we can get it looked at that day. I believe they're hiding the fact that my bricks falls under recall 198 and do not want to admit it.

NHTSA ODI #11544905

109,852 miles · Aug 18, 2023
Engine

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine started knocking. The contact stated that several days later the knocking sound became louder, and the vehicle became inoperable. The vehicle was towed back to the residence. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnos…

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The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the engine started knocking. The contact stated that several days later the knocking sound became louder, and the vehicle became inoperable. The vehicle was towed back to the residence. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 109,852.

NHTSA ODI #11539394

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2023
Engine

My vehicle started making knocking noise in front end. Took it to my mechanic and he told me to take to dealership and see if there is a recall for my car. I've done so much research on vehicle for recall and it says that its the rod knocking which should be covered as the recall I found but Hyundai is giving me problems with it…

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My vehicle started making knocking noise in front end. Took it to my mechanic and he told me to take to dealership and see if there is a recall for my car. I've done so much research on vehicle for recall and it says that its the rod knocking which should be covered as the recall I found but Hyundai is giving me problems with it. Vehicle is a 2016 Hyundai Veloster Turbo

NHTSA ODI #11539383

Mileage unknown · Aug 10, 2023
Engine

The engine is stalling. Check engine light is flashing. Car is in limp mode. Dealership say it not a matter of it but when the engine blows up. Have seen where some of these cars blow up and catch on fire. Hyundai want help me or thousands of other people with this problem

NHTSA ODI #11537778

Mileage unknown · Aug 8, 2023
EngineSeats

When my car 2016 Hyundai Veloster reached almost 95000 mileage the oil starts to dissipate much faster so started to do oil change much often. Recently and my care already at 97000 mileage. We are driving going up a hill and it started to make some noise kind of like a motorcycle noise and I know there is something wrong but n…

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When my car 2016 Hyundai Veloster reached almost 95000 mileage the oil starts to dissipate much faster so started to do oil change much often. Recently and my care already at 97000 mileage. We are driving going up a hill and it started to make some noise kind of like a motorcycle noise and I know there is something wrong but no light warnings or anything. I was trying to push it to get to a safer side of the road because I have my 86 year old mother with me but the car did nor make it and heard something snap really loud and the car just stopped and saw a little bit of smoke. Had to stop immediately on the side of the road and it was a bad spot against the rail and that blocked the 2 doors on the right side. the car only have 3 doors so now my mother is stuck and had to figure out how to have her crawl out to get out the driver side of the vehicle. If the car was on fire that would have been really dangerous. Took it to the mechanic and my insurance inspector already saw the car and determined that there was some kind of rod that came off and that the engine is blown an that it is with a hole. it is beyond repair or if I do it will cost $5000-$6000. I bought it on 2018 with only 5000 miles on it. I kept up with yearly maintenance. I think it is insane that it will break that fast and we are traumatize with the danger. I am not ready financially for this.

NHTSA ODI #11537187

Mileage unknown · Aug 8, 2023
Engine

Engine is consuming oil. Catalytic converter becomes restricted, and motor will stop running while driving. After restart motor will not have enough performance to exit traffic. Catalytic converter was replaced and now problem is recurring.

NHTSA ODI #11537147

Mileage unknown · Jul 28, 2023
Engine

Car started making a loud rattling sound. Took car to get diagnosed, issue was with the connecting rod bearings inside the engine. Asked about current NHSTA campaign id # 20V746000 but was denied because my engine is not part of the recall. My car recently had a maintenance check up at the dealer and was marked as fine, no issue…

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Car started making a loud rattling sound. Took car to get diagnosed, issue was with the connecting rod bearings inside the engine. Asked about current NHSTA campaign id # 20V746000 but was denied because my engine is not part of the recall. My car recently had a maintenance check up at the dealer and was marked as fine, no issues. Engine light blinked once for about two seconds, no other warnings. I am very upset as this could have lead to serious issues and now I have to pay out of pocket to replace entire engine. Open campaign recall is for 2015-2016 Hyundai Veloster, my car is a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. Why is my engine not covered in recall?

NHTSA ODI #11535149

48,000 miles · Jun 29, 2023
Engine

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who inspected the engine oil and noticed there were metal shavings inside the engine…

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The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Veloster. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who inspected the engine oil and noticed there were metal shavings inside the engine oil. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there were metal shavings inside the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V746000 (Engine); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ODI #11529592

Official recalls

1

20V746000 · Engine

Dec 1, 2020

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Veloster, 2012 Santa Fe, 2011-2013 Sonata Hybrid, and 2016 Sonata Hybrid vehicles. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely, which over time can result in engine damage.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A damaged engine can increase the risk of a fire or it can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine. If bearing damage is found, the engine will be replaced. Dealers will also install a software update containing a new Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS). Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 198.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

EA21003 · Engine Fires

Opened Dec 22, 2021 · Closed Feb 5, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine

On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles.  During the PE investigations, Hyundai and Kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, including those due to engine failures involving various engine types.  The remedies for the engine failure recalls typically involve engine inspection (to detect existing damage), and if necessary, engine replacement.  Additionally, both manufacturers have been installing an engine control software modification known as Knock Sensor Detection Software (KSDS) which is intended to detect impending engine failure, alert the driver, and limit engine power (to lessen likelihood of engine failure).KSDS is being installed under recalls and non-safety field actions, and both companies have extended limited engine warranties (see recall files). On December 22, 2021, ODI upgraded PE19-003 and PE19-004 to this Engineering Analysis (EA21-003, covering both Hyundai and Kia) to evaluate the scope of the prior recalls related to engine failures/fires and the efficacy of the recall remedies for the recalls, as well as the long-term viability of related programs and non-safety field actions being conducted by Hyundai and Kia.  The former issue involved approximately 550,000 MY 2013 Hyundai Elantra, MY 2011 Kia Sorento, and MY 2012-2015 Kia Rio.  The latter issue involved approximately 2.5 million recalled vehicles, which have been identified as displaying potential remedy concerns: Hyundai recalls 15V-568, 17V-226, 20V-746, and 21V-727; and Kia recalls 17V-224, 19V-120, 20V-750, and 21V-844. Regarding the recall scope issue, among all of the scope vehicles identified at EA opening, ODI found only the MY 2011 Kia Sorento vehicles equipped with both the Theta II 2.4L 4-cylinder Multi-Point Injection (MPI) and the Lambda II 3.5L 6-cylinder MPI engines experienced relatively high rates of reported fires.  In December 2023, Kia issued recall 23V-877 that will cover about 80,000 MY 2011 Kia Sorento vehicles equipped with the Theta II 2.4L MPI engines.  The remedy will involve an inspection, and if necessary, a replacement of the engine, as well as the installation of KSDS.  It should be noted that in 2021 these vehicles were included in a KSDS product improvement campaign with warranty extension.  For the MY 2011 Sorento vehicles equipped with the Lambda II 3.5L engines, ODI believes that future engine failures/fires involving these vehicles will likely be due to a lax in adhering to the proper or scheduled engine maintenance (regular engine oil changes), rather than a design or manufacturing engine issue. Regarding the issue of the efficacy of the recall remedies, ODI found the majority of the recalled Hyundai and Kia vehicles, by model, experienced lower reported fire rates after the remedies were applied.  Furthermore, ODI found that for most vehicles that did not receive the recall remedies, by model, experienced relatively high fire rates.  To address this problem, Hyundai informed ODI in December 2023, that it will renotify all of its owners covered by the Hyundai recalls of engine failures/fires every 8 months for the next 3 years.  In December 2023, Kia stated that it will renotify the majority of its owners every 8 months for the next 3 years.Several previously recalled Kia models are excluded from the renotification due to their lower reported rates of engine fires.  Overall, the renotification actions will help to increase the recall completion rates, thus reduce the frequency of engine fires in the future. In view of the recall action being taken by Kia and renotification actions being taken by both Kia and Hyundai, ODI is closing this Engineering Analysis.  Also, both companies have been released from the 2020-iniated Consent Orders (Kia since November 2022 and Hyundai since November 2023).  The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.  To review the reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.