2018 Hyundai Tucson Problems, Recalls & Reliability
537 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2018 Hyundai Tucson, alongside 1 recall campaign and 1 defect investigation. It scores 28/100 on the trouble index — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Engine leads the reports, typically around 66,000 miles.
Typical
Where 2018 sits among all Tucson years
What owners report
“Car shaking, oil is burning , and drive hard. Engine and, oil light is now appearing.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Tucson
“Delayed acceleration from stop. Very unsafe when making a left hand turn as it will take up to 10 seconds for the car to accelerate. This happens often but not always. I do not feel safe driving this car.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Tucson
“I was driving, my oil and battery light went on, my engine stalled I pulled over. The car started to smoke and caught on fire. The car is totally a lost cause.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Tucson
“The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Tucson. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V543000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Tucson
“The car experienced a red, blinking check engine light. We had the car towed to the local Hyundai dealership. Please see attached document for the work that was done. This was in November 2023, and we just now had to have the car towed to the dealership again (April 2024).”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Tucson
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 142 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 34,700 miles. Half of those reports fall between 16,000 and 74,600 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (1)
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) recalled certain 2019-2021 Tucson vehicles on September 4, 2020. On December 30, 2020, Hyundai expanded the recall population, and added certain 2016-2018 Tucson vehicles. The Anti-lock Brake Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit…
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the HECU fuse. For 2019-2021 model years, the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) software will also be updated. Recall repairs will be performed…
Federal defect investigations
Technical service bulletins
165 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on engine and electrical — are on file for the 2018 Hyundai Tucson. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2018 Tucson TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2018 Hyundai Tucson reliable?
The 2018 Hyundai Tucson drew 537 complaints in federal safety records — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Its trouble index is 28/100, scored against the model's worst year (2016).
What are the most common 2018 Hyundai Tucson problems?
The top reported problems for the 2018 Hyundai Tucson are engine (246 complaints), transmission & drivetrain (100), and other (44).
At what mileage do 2018 Hyundai Tucson problems show up?
Owners most often report 2018 Hyundai Tucson problems around 34,700 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 16,000 and 74,600 miles.
Does the 2018 Hyundai Tucson have recalls?
1 recall campaign applies to the 2018 Hyundai Tucson. At least one carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning — check your VIN before driving.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.