Hyundai class action: The push for compensation

Is Hyundai refusing to take responsibility for the paint peeling off your car? Join the frustrated owners registering for our Hyundai class action investigation.

Handle My Complaint is building evidence of the scale of the problem, which has been reported worldwide, to help Australians get the compensation they deserve.

The Hyundai paint peeling issue affects an array of models, though it is prevalent in cars painted white and manufactured between 2014 and 2018.

Many owners have been battling to get their unsightly cars repaired for several years, with their anger at the manufacturer’s response even prompting a protest in Perth.

Keir Emery was one of the protesters, driving his wife’s 2016 Hyundai i20 to the dealership to show how badly it was affected by the paint defect. The car was under warranty when paint first started coming off and the manufacturer agreed to respray.

 

 

“Hyundai told me they resprayed the whole vehicle but it turns out they only sprayed a few panels,” he said at the time. Six months later, paint was peeling off again and Hyundai tried to blame it on the panel beater.

What is being done?

Hyundai Australia told Drive in January 2024 that it was working to rectify the issue in as many cases as possible. “(We) have covered a number of vehicle claims, including many beyond the term of the vehicle’s paint warranty period as a gesture of goodwill and support to our customers,” a spokesperson said.

Judging by the number of Hyundai owners contacting Handle My Complaint and the 3000-strong membership of the Facebook page Australian Hyundai Peeling Paint, that “goodwill” does not appear to be stretching far enough.

Hyundai owners in other countries also seem to be having more luck getting the manufacturer to cover the cost of repairs, although not without similar battles.

In the United States, a class action was filed in March 2016 alleging that Hyundai’s use of “self-healing” paint had caused premature peeling.

The lawsuit cited the Santa Fe, Sonata and Elantra models, manufactured between 2006 and 2016, alleging they were sold with defective paint that caused it to bubble and blister.

 

 

Hyundai Motor America extended the factory paint warranty to six years for 2017 models of the Elantra, Sonata, and Santa Fe, and to five years for 2018 models.

In Canada, a class action launched in May 2023 claimed that certain Hyundai models painted in white or pearl white experienced significant paint loss.

In some cases, Hyundai Canada extended its standard three-year/60,000-kilometre paint warranty to five years with no mileage limit for specific models and colour variants, particularly those finished in white or pearl white.

Interestingly, Hyundai Australia has recently announced paint will be covered for seven years, or 100,000km, as part of its new standard warranty. But that won’t help those with older models.

What does this mean for you?

If you are affected by the Hyundai paint peeling issue, we encourage you to make a complaint with us. The more information we can collect, the stronger case we can build against the manufacturer. This may result in a class action.

 

 

Handle My Complaint CEO Jo Ucukalo says this type of legal action is often the only way to hold bigger companies to account.

“An individual is unlikely to be able to afford to initiate a class action but if we build enough evidence, we can collectively push Hyundai to do the right thing,” Ms Ucukalo says.

“We all know cars drop in value when we buy them but that should not be because of a defect in the manufacture – Hyundai owners should not be forced to drive around in damaged cars that are not of their making.”

Find out more about the Hyundai paint peeling class action investigation and make a complaint with us. Together we can make a difference.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of owners who have lodged complaints with us.