HYUNDAI EQUUS · model year

2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS

10 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2016HYUNDAIEQUUS carries 10 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and Not Rated/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2016 EQUUS is wheels with 2 filings, followed by engine (2) and tires (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 37 investigation files overlapping the 2016 EQUUS, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

10
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

10 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: Not Rated/5 — Not rated · Front: Not Rated/5 · Side: Not Rated/5 · Rollover: Not Rated/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
WHEELS2
ENGINE2
TIRES1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1
SERVICE BRAKES1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING1
SUSPENSION1

Recent Complaints

20241028SUSPENSION

Suspension air Block and airbags failing, even after being replaced by dealership 2 months ago. Most recently happened on the interstate at 70 mph. Fixed by dealership only to happen again!! Known problem by Hyundai dealership yet keep replacing with same defective part number. Twice have had new parts fail during test drive. Very expensive to repair $10,000 so far and just had the rear airbag go burst. Not safe to drive vehicle!! Never know when it will go out again. Last one just lasted two months!! Will never get money back from selling the car! Just want a safe vehicle and Hyundai needs to provide parts that work and are not a safety hazard!!

20231107EXTERIOR LIGHTING

There are actually 3 problems that my dealer has not been able to fix/diagnose. The first is the headlights, when set to the auto position, they will often turn off and on while driving at night. Service says that they were unable to duplicate the problem, but it keeps happening. The second is the Navigation system updates, that they claim they cannot provide any updates to my 2016 Equus (just about all other years and models are available). The third is the voice recognition system, which only recognizes my voice for phone calls, but not for directions. The dealer (Gettel Hyundai of Sarasota FL) had my vehicle for two weeks and was not able to fix any of these problems, although they charged me over $500 for diagnostics. If I look at the Hyundai Owners Forum, I see these problems documented over and over and I provided the dealership with that information to no avail. I also notified the BBB of my problems, (case# [XXX]), but they are not returning my calls to them in order to update

20201118WHEELS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWDER COATING FROM EACH WHEEL DETACHED AND LODGED BETWEEN THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS CAUSING THE BRAKING SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION AND THE BRAKING DISTANCE TO BE EXTENDED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TO ALL FOUR WHEELS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER - BRANDON HYUNDAI LOCATED AT 9915 E ADAMO DR, TAMPA, FL 33619, WHERE THE DEBRIS WAS REMOVED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED BY A POWDER COATING EXPERT THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A FAULTY POWDER COATING APPLICATION PROCESS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100.

Mileage: 100

20201007SERVICE BRAKES

DRIVING AT 75 MPH AND WENT TO PASS SOMEONE. THE ENGINE KICKED DOWN A FEW YEARS AND THE ENTIRE CAR SHUT OFF. NO POWER BRAKES AND NO STEERING AND STEERING LOCKED UP FOR ABOUT A SECOND OR TWO. DURING THE TIME IT WAS OFF THE VEHICLE JERKED HARD LIKE IF THE TIRES HAD LOCKED UP. AFTER THE COUPLE SECONDS THE VEHICLE TURNED BACK ON AND EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL AND NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR ANYTHING TO INDICATE A PROBLEM I WAS DRIVING ON THE I-80 HEADING TO RENO

Mileage: 48,200

20201007ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

DRIVING AT 75 MPH AND WENT TO PASS SOMEONE. THE ENGINE KICKED DOWN A FEW YEARS AND THE ENTIRE CAR SHUT OFF. NO POWER BRAKES AND NO STEERING AND STEERING LOCKED UP FOR ABOUT A SECOND OR TWO. DURING THE TIME IT WAS OFF THE VEHICLE JERKED HARD LIKE IF THE TIRES HAD LOCKED UP. AFTER THE COUPLE SECONDS THE VEHICLE TURNED BACK ON AND EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL AND NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR ANYTHING TO INDICATE A PROBLEM I WAS DRIVING ON THE I-80 HEADING TO RENO

Mileage: 48,200

20201007ENGINE

DRIVING AT 75 MPH AND WENT TO PASS SOMEONE. THE ENGINE KICKED DOWN A FEW YEARS AND THE ENTIRE CAR SHUT OFF. NO POWER BRAKES AND NO STEERING AND STEERING LOCKED UP FOR ABOUT A SECOND OR TWO. DURING THE TIME IT WAS OFF THE VEHICLE JERKED HARD LIKE IF THE TIRES HAD LOCKED UP. AFTER THE COUPLE SECONDS THE VEHICLE TURNED BACK ON AND EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL AND NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR ANYTHING TO INDICATE A PROBLEM I WAS DRIVING ON THE I-80 HEADING TO RENO

Mileage: 48,200

20191227ENGINE

VEHICLE PRODUCES EXCESSIVE EXHAUST SOOT AT ALL TIMES. THE SOOT ADHERES TO THE REAR TAIL PIPE, REAR BUMPER, AND TRUNK LID CAUSING STAINING THAT LEADS TO PITTING OF CHROME PIECES. THE SOOT IS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE AFTER A FEW DAYS AND REQUIRES CONSTANT CLEANING. THIS COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE AIR QUALITY AND DAMAGE OR STAIN OTHER VEHICLES AND PROPERTY NEAR THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING WALLS AND OTHER PARKED VEHICLES. EFFECTS ON LUNGS SHOULD BE STUDIED TO DETERMINE IF PERMANENT DAMAGE COULD RESULT FROM ACCUMULATION OF SOOT. ENOUGH SMALL PARTICULATE MATTER IS EMITTED TO HEAVILY STAIN REAR AREAS OF VEHICLE IN LESS THAN 1 WEEK. VEHICLE EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEMS COULD ALSO BE ADVERSELY AFFECT, CAUSING PREMATURE FAILURE OF O2 SENSORS OR CATALYSTS. TOUCHING THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AFTER 1 WEEK FOLLOWING A DETAILING LEFT HEAVY, BLACK STRAINS SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND AFTER MULTIPLE MONTHS OF SEMI-METALIC BRAKE DUST ACCUMULATION. EFFECTS COULD BE SEEN AFTER CITY DRIVING AND HIGHWAY DRIVING. SOM

Mileage: 36,000

20191216UNKNOWN OR OTHER

2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS - BLACK SOOT BEING EMITTED FROM ENGINE THROUGH EXHAUST SYSTEM. VERY HEAVY DEPOSITS ON REAR OF VEHICLE, SUFFICIENT TO BLACKEN CLOTHES, DISCOLOR THE VEHICLE, DOES NOT WIPE OFF AFTER A FEW DAYS AND CHEMICALS MUST BE USED TO REMOVE. MANUFACTURER SAYS: "THIS IS A NORMAL BYPRODUCT OF THE GDI ENGINE". SEE (PICS) MULTIPLYING THE NUMBER OF HYUNDAI VEHICLES IN THE U.S. BY WHAT I AM SEEING ON MY CAR, THIS COULD BE A SERIOUS AIR POLLUTION ISSUE.

Mileage: 28,000

20180717TIRES

2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS WITH CONTINENTAL CONTIPROCONTACT P245 / 45R / 19 98V TIRES; DOT AF7VP1H6 (0615); WHILE DRIVING MY DAUGHTER AND GRANDCHILD TO THE AIRPORT ON THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE. UPON RETURNING HOME, CALLED CAR DEALER AND SCHEDULED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT THE NEXT DAY. WE BOTH THOUGHT A FRONT TIRE HAD POSSIBLY THROWN A WHEEL BALANCING WEIGHT. DEALER FOUND BOTH FRONT TIRES HAD BELT SEPARATION CAUSING STEERING WHEEL TO VIBRATE. THE CAR AND TIRES WERE PURCHASED NEW AT THE DEALER AT THE END OF 2016, ARE ONLY 22 MONTHS OLD AND HAVE ONLY 19,700 MILES. WE HAVE NOT HIT ANY CURBS, ROUGH RAILROAD TRACKS OR LARGE POT-HOLES AND IT IS SUSPICIOUS THAT IT WAS BOTH FRONT TIRES. THE TIRE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BY THE DEALER, REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE A LIKELY MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND OFFERED ONLY 50% OF THE TIRE REPLACEMENT COSTS AND THEY WANTED THE DEFECTIVE TIRES. I WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE OTHER NEW TIRES FOR LESS COST THAN WHAT THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED. I

Mileage: 19,700

20160201WHEELS

I WAS DRIVING ON A TWO LANE ROD IN LAUREL, MARYLAND. MY CAR HIT A POTHOLE AND I GOT OUT TO LOOK AND DISCOVER THAT I HAD TWO FLAT TIRES ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. THE ROADSIDE ASSISTANT SHOWED ME THAT THE FRONT RIM WAS SPLIT AND THE BACK TIRE HAD A HOLE ON THE SIDE. THIS IS THE SECOND INCIDENT CONCERNING THE FRONT WHEEL OF THE CAR. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECT.

Mileage: 2,500

Compare 2016HYUNDAIEQUUS to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS have?
The 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS has 10 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS?
The 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS received an overall NHTSA safety rating of Not Rated/5, front crash rating of Not Rated/5, side crash rating of Not Rated/5, and rollover rating of Not Rated/5.
What are the most common problems with the 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS?
The most-complained component for the 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS is WHEELS with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE and TIRES.
Is the 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS has an NHTSA safety rating of Not Rated/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.