2008 Hyundai Tucson Problems and Recalls (43 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2008 Hyundai Tucson is Engine (14% of 43 owner reports). There are 1 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Engine — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
6 of 43 filings named Engine (14% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Airbags (3 reports).
There are 1 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Lights. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The previous year is not published here. Use the year list to jump around.
What to check before you buy a 2008 Hyundai Tucson
A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.
Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 1 campaigns on file below.
Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
Brakes. Have a shop check pads, rotors, fluid and whether the pedal feels firm.
Skim a few owner reports below for Engine. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.
What owners reported
System named most often:Engine 6 complaints · 14.0% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Which systems owners named
Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.
“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.
View component data as a table
System / Component
Complaints
Share of Reports
Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Engine (ENGINE)
6
13.9%
0 crashes · 3 fires
Airbags (AIR BAGS)
3
7.0%
1 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
3
7.0%
1 crashes · 0 fires
Steering (STEERING)
3
7.0%
1 crashes · 0 fires
Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY)
3
7.0%
0 crashes · 1 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
2
4.7%
0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
2
4.7%
0 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
2
4.7%
1 crashes · 0 fires
Suspension (SUSPENSION)
2
4.7%
0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover
20
46.5%
2 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations · Snapshot 2026-09-07 · Open source record
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
When reports and recalls showed up
When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Lights.
Recall campaign 13V113000
Lights
Report date
Component:
Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING)
Consequence:
Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of Park without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy:
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. The safety recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 110.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
What owners actually wrote
Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
#1. The airbag light comes on saying the passenger airbag is not connected (something like that). #2. Braking lights did stop working and stayed on while the car was turned off. I never received any recall notice of this and we fixed it ourselves. #3. And most important and dangerous! The back driver's side wheel froze up and started to catch on fire. We had the Caliper, and several other surrounding parts changed and the master cylinder when it almost caught fire again. A mechanic could not figure it out. I did a lot of research and discovered the problems with the ABS, which I strongly believe this is the problem. I cannot drive it at all. The emergency brake is like mush and does not work at all. I have now read of these cars catching fire from the ABS and people have died! My car is a 2008 and not the year of the car that has been recalled. But my 2008 is doing the same thing. My special needs son and I could have been killed! Flaming red inside the tire area. We threw bottles of water on it so it wouldn't catch on fire and catch all the other cars and buildings on fire. Please help! Also, the ECS light comes on for no reason. I'm afraid of this car and I'm afraid to sell it to someone who may be killed by it. We thought we fixed this problem in 2020 but it started catching on fire again in 2022 and had not been driven since Aug. 2022 since the last fire flames and stinky smoke that comes out from the back tire area.
I took the car to my mechanic to get brake pads because car was pulling to the left upon braking and he informed me the ABS module was bad and was not distributing brake fluid to the right front wheel. I called Customer Care Center for Hyundai and they informed me Tuscan models are not included in the ABS module recall event. Yet the information printed on all hyundai ABS recalls threaten a possible fire safety concern. I want to file a complaint because the ABS brake systems are all the same on all hyundai models. Please address my safety issue asap.
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that a section of the rear sub frame was extremely corroded. The contact believed that a welding failure might have caused the severe corrosion on the subframe. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where he was informed that he had approximately a year before the suspension would fail and the render the vehicle undrivable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.
The driver side door will not unlock. It will not unlock with the key fob. It will not unlock with the key. It will not unlock manually. The locking piece that should flip back and forth (from lock to unlock) is stuck in the locked position. This should be safety issue as you cannot operate the driver side door. You cannot enter or exit the vehicle from the driver side.
In October of 2020 I was pulling into a parking space and my car accelerated and crashed into a light pole resulting in injury to both my husband and myself. He is 91 years old and shattered his upper arm. We had the vehicle fixed and checked out and was told all was fine. About June of 2021 I took the car in for a recall on the brake lights to the Hyundai dealership and told them of the first incident and asked them to check and was told that all was fine. On December 23rd 2021, the same thing happened when I was pulling into my parking space at home. When it accelerated, I had both feet on the brake and ended up hitting a wall damaging the car again. Fortunately, this time injuries were minor. There were no warning lights, messages or symptoms before these two incidents happened. I am concerned that others will be put at risk if this happens again or to anyone else with one of these vehicles. I might add that with these accidents, the airbags did not deploy. The first was a significant crash which should have deployed the airbags.
MY ELDERLY MOTHER INLAW PURCHASED A CAR AT A BUY HERE PAY HERE PLACE. HER GRANDSON IMMEDIATELY NOTICED IT WAS SKIPPING WHEN IT GOT OVER 40. HIS GRANDMOTHER TOOK IT BACK THEY SAID IT WAS FINE THEN HIS GRANDMOTHER AND OTHERS NOTICED THE SKIPPING. SHE CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY SENT IT TO A TRANSMISSION SHOP WE ARE UNABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH. IT HAS BEEN THEE DAYS AND THEY WILL NOT TELL HER ANYTHING NOR PROVIDE A RENTAL CAR FOR HER USE. THEY SEEM TO BE SET UP TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS ELDERLY SICK LADY WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
What are the most common problems on the 2008 Hyundai Tucson?
Owners named Engine most often — 6 of 43 reports (14%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2008 Hyundai Tucson?
NHTSA lists 1 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Lights. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.
What should I inspect before buying a 2008 Hyundai Tucson?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.
Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?
No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.