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Hyundai Tucson

Every model year 2016–2026: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

11 Model years 2016–2026

34 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

5,142 Complaints owner reports, all years

C Newest grade 2026 Safety Signal

2018 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2026 Tucson →Which years to avoid Compare it

Hyundai Tucson — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Hyundai Tucson · Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Active NHTSA advisory on 9 model years of the Tucson — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Hyundai Tucson model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2026	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	C	6	99	★★★★★	38 mpg
2025	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	D	7	445	★★★★★	38 mpg
2024	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	D	4	150	★★★★★	38 mpg	Park outside
2023	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	C	2	181	★★★★★	38 mpg	Park outside
2022	Plug-in hybrid Hybrid Gas	C	3	506	★★★★★	38 mpg	Park outside
2021	Gas	B	1	80	★★★★★	25 mpg	Park outside
2020	Gas	B	1	179	★★★★★	25 mpg	Park outside
2019	Gas	B	1	385	★★★★★	26 mpg	Park outside
2018	Gas	B	1	399	★★★★★	27 mpg	Park outside
2017	Gas Hydrogen fuel cell	C	3	1,093	★★★★★	50 mpg	Park outside
2016	Gas Hydrogen fuel cell	D	5	1,625	★★★★★	50 mpg	Park outside

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2018

On the filed record so far, the 2018 is the cleanest Tucson year we hold, and the 2023 the one to check hardest. The 2023 carries a standing park-outside or do-not-drive advisory, which outranks every other number on this page.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2018	B	0.1	50	Advisory
2019	B	0.1	55	Advisory
2020	B	0.2	30	Advisory
2021	B	0.2	16	Advisory
2017	C	0.3	121	Advisory
2016	D	0.5	162	Advisory
2022	C	0.8	126	Advisory
2023	C	0.7	60	Advisory

Which Hyundai Tucson years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2016 power train complaints at 0.15× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 8,000 miles). Latest: 2019 service brakes at 1.85× (18,500 miles).

Year	Power Train	Engine	Electrical System	Structure	Vehicle Speed Control	Service Brakes
2025	—	—	0.81×	—	—	—
2022	—	0.69×	1.03×	—	—	—
2019	—	1.22×	0.79×	—	—	1.85×
2018	0.52×	1.34×	—	—	—	1.37×
2017	0.25×	1.03×	0.86×	1.29×	0.56×	1.15×
2016	0.15×	1.05×	1.33×	1.32×	0.32×	—

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Hyundai Tucson, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

engine problems 1,841 complaints, every model year transmission and drivetrain problems 1,112 complaints, every model year electrical problems 701 complaints, every model year automatic emergency braking problems 516 complaints, every model year brake problems 417 complaints, every model year latch and lock problems 158 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2022: added plug-in hybrid, hybrid; best combined mpg 25 → 38; 4 → 5 EPA configurations
2020: best combined mpg 26 → 25
2019: best combined mpg 27 → 26; 6 → 4 EPA configurations
2018: dropped hydrogen fuel cell; best combined mpg 50 → 27; 7 → 6 EPA configurations

Compare

All Tucson head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2026 Tucson vs Chevrolet Trailblazer · Compact SUV	Trailblazer +3.6
2026 Tucson vs Chevrolet Trax · Compact SUV	Trax +6.7
2026 Tucson vs Chevrolet Blazer · Compact SUV	Blazer +14.2
2026 Tucson vs Toyota bZ · Compact SUV	bZ +5.2
2026 Tucson vs Toyota RAV4 · Compact SUV	Toss-up
2026 Tucson vs Nissan Ariya · Compact SUV	Ariya +38.5
2025 Tucson vs Toyota bZ4X · Compact SUV	bZ4X +26
2025 Tucson vs Toyota Crown Signia · Compact SUV	Crown Signia +3.3
2024 Tucson vs Toyota RAV4 Prime · Compact SUV	Tucson +11.7

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 40 of 79 1.06× the mileage of same-age vehicles Hyundai Tucson owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 25,800 miles across 2018–2022 (fleet 23,512), later than vehicles of the same model year. 293 readings.Same trim, next model year · 2025 → 2026 +2.4% at the median across 8 matched trims The manufacturer’s announced MSRP for the 2026 Hyundai Tucson against the same trim in 2025; the fleet moved +1.8% on 394 matched trims. Base trim $28,705 → $29,700. MSRP excludes destination; not a transaction price.

Common questions about the Hyundai Tucson

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Hyundai Tucson year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2018 Tucson comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade B (85/100), 1 recall and 399 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Hyundai Tucson years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Tucson model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Hyundai Tucson have?

Across model years 2016–2026, NHTSA has posted 34 recall campaigns for the Hyundai Tucson. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.