AutoUtility currently tracks 77 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Hyundai Tucson. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 36 complaints (46.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 2 filings cite a crash, 3 cite a fire, 6 report one or more injuries.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
36 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
12 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
11 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
4 complaint narratives describe this symptom.
Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"See attached document for complaint."
"The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine blew. No warning lights were illuminated. There was white smoke coming from the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or..."
"This vehicle burns oil at an alarming rate. I am getting oil changes every 3K miles, and when I take it in, the dipstick is dry. I receive no oil lights to tell me it is low. I just had to get spark plugs and the mechanic at the garage told me this was due to the oil consumption issue in these..."
"I was driving down [XXX] from my house.My engine light started to flash.I tried to accelerate my car barely went 10 miles an hour.I got Home 2 minutes later.There was major knocking.I had the car towed to [XXX], Hyundai, the only code that is showing up on the diagnostics, is P1326 there is an open..."
"The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road..."
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Hyundai Tucson | 226 | 7 | 1 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Hyundai Tucson | 1616 | 14 | 5 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Hyundai Tucson | 1083 | 13 | 3 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Hyundai Tucson | 389 | 13 | 1 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Hyundai Tucson | 372 | 14 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Hyundai Tucson | 176 | 5 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Hyundai Tucson Current Page | 77 | 2 | 1 | Current |
| 2022 Hyundai Tucson | 490 | 31 | 3 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Hyundai Tucson | 173 | 15 | 2 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Hyundai Tucson | 136 | 17 | 4 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Hyundai Tucson | 408 | 36 | 7 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Hyundai Tucson | 0 | 0 | 5 | View 2026 Problems → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 34 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 27 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Hyundai Tucson
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Hyundai Tucson is Engine & Cooling, appearing in 36 records (46.8% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Brakes & Traction Control (12) and Electrical System (11).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 77 consumer defect complaints and 1 safety recall campaign for the 2021 Hyundai Tucson.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Hyundai Tucson, 2 filings cite a crash, 3 cite smoke or fire, and 6 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
NHTSA ODI records list 1 formal defect investigation involving the 2021 Hyundai Tucson (1 currently open).
Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.