HYUNDAI GENESIS · model year

2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS

309 NHTSA complaints, 24 crash reports, and 3 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2009HYUNDAIGENESIS carries 309 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 24 crashes, 5 fires, 4 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2009 GENESIS is service brakes with 110 filings, followed by electrical system (25) and unknown or other (22). 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. This model year has 3 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 37 investigation files overlapping the 2009 GENESIS, 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.

309
Complaints
24
Crashes
5
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

309 filings

Crashes Reported

24 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
SERVICE BRAKES110
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM25
UNKNOWN OR OTHER22
STEERING21
EXTERIOR LIGHTING19
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL16
ENGINE13
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC11
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)8
POWER TRAIN7
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE6
AIR BAGS5
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS4
VISIBILITY/WIPER4
SUSPENSION3

Recalls (3)

13V48900029/10/2013

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FLUID

Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Genesis vehicles manufactured April 30, 2008, through March 28, 2012. The vehicles may contain brake fluid which does not protect against corrosion of the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU).

14V71300007/11/2014

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2009-2011 Hyundai Genesis vehicles manufactured April 30, 2008, to November 21, 2010, and 2011 Hyundai Equus vehicles manufactured July 31, 2010, to November 21, 2010. Due to a circuit failure, the stop lamps in the affected vehicles may not ill

13V11300001/04/2013

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburo

Recent Complaints

20251007ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase of the vehicle. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 121,000. It was later discovered through auto check that the mileage was 199,985.

Mileage: 199,985

20250815UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Light on the dash showing "airbags" is lighting up for the first time since I've owned this vehicle. I remember there being a recall regarding a switch or something pertaining to the airbags sometime in the past, but not sure if this was the concern (airbag light on dash lighting up).

20250806SUSPENSION

Front subframe is rotted out. And TPMS light is on.

20240717SERVICE BRAKES

Passenger side, rear brake line rusted to the point where brakes failed one morning. Brake fluid leaking from rusted brake line. Lost braking pressure while driving. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, independent shop Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No

20240419SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:HEAD RESTRAINT

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, she observed that the front driver’s and front passenger's headrests had deployed without impact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage 69,000.

Mileage: 69,000

20240314ENGINE

While driving the vehicle with approximately 113,200 miles on it, as the original owner, the car engine started to operate erratically. then the check engine light came on and then the check oil light came on and, after a short period of driving, the car stalled out and would not start up. This stalling out happened in a left turn lane of a very busy road. Two men in a vehicle that stopped behind me got out and pushed me off of the roadway about a block away from a dealer. The car was manually pushed into the dealership. The mechanic checked and the oil was full. The car is available, in my garage, for inspection upon request. The number 1 cylinder valve spring was broken and the engine jumped the timing on both sides with $2792.53 to $7,086.78 for parts plus labor to repair. At 86,283 miles, while driving in my village the number 3 intake valve spring broke and was repaired. At 51,574 miles, while driving on the interstate, the number 7 exhaust valve spring broke and was repai

20231106ENGINE

I was on the freeway and my car suddenly shut off completely.. engine, dashboard, lights EVERYTHING.. it was off for maybe 2 seconds and then the car Powered itself back up the car did not stop abruptly, so I was thankful for that. I didn’t panic or pull the wheel. I just continue straight and then thankfully it cut back on and then I got off the freeway as I was driving down the street not going more than 1015 miles my car cut off on me again it did the same exact thing everything just went off and then it cut back on mid drive and I have a four year-old toddler and I have been scared out of my life. Something is clearly wrong I need help please , no one can tell me what the problem is

20231106ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I was on the freeway and my car suddenly shut off completely.. engine, dashboard, lights EVERYTHING.. it was off for maybe 2 seconds and then the car Powered itself back up the car did not stop abruptly, so I was thankful for that. I didn’t panic or pull the wheel. I just continue straight and then thankfully it cut back on and then I got off the freeway as I was driving down the street not going more than 1015 miles my car cut off on me again it did the same exact thing everything just went off and then it cut back on mid drive and I have a four year-old toddler and I have been scared out of my life. Something is clearly wrong I need help please , no one can tell me what the problem is

20230731ENGINE

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the road however, the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the ECM. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred five additional times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 109,000.

Mileage: 109,000

20230731POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the road however, the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the ECM. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred five additional times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 109,000.

Mileage: 109,000

20230209ENGINE

Coolant leaking from back of the Engine block on 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan with 67000 miles..

20230209UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Coolant leaking from back of the Engine block on 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan with 67000 miles..

20230205ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Car randomly turns off while driving. Sometimes my car will go off. Most of the time it turns back on but that is dangerous.

20230205ENGINE

Car randomly turns off while driving. Sometimes my car will go off. Most of the time it turns back on but that is dangerous.

20230205FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Car randomly turns off while driving. Sometimes my car will go off. Most of the time it turns back on but that is dangerous.

20221108AIR BAGS

The dash cover on my 2009 Genesis 4-door Sedan has developed large cracks where the passenger side air bag is located. The concern is that this may cause the air bag to deploy inadvertently or increase the chance of flying shrapnel if/when the air bag should deploy during an accident. This problem started around 90,000 miles and has continued to get worse (The vehicle currently has approximately 125,000 miles). I took the vehicle to the dealer when the problem first appeared, but was told it was not a safety concern, and that it was not covered under the warranty. However, I feel this in fact could cause injury to anyone riding in the front passenger seat. 1 picture is attached.

20221108STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:DASHBOARD

The dash cover on my 2009 Genesis 4-door Sedan has developed large cracks where the passenger side air bag is located. The concern is that this may cause the air bag to deploy inadvertently or increase the chance of flying shrapnel if/when the air bag should deploy during an accident. This problem started around 90,000 miles and has continued to get worse (The vehicle currently has approximately 125,000 miles). I took the vehicle to the dealer when the problem first appeared, but was told it was not a safety concern, and that it was not covered under the warranty. However, I feel this in fact could cause injury to anyone riding in the front passenger seat. 1 picture is attached.

20221102CrashSERVICE BRAKES

My son was driving this car home from college mid-day on October 8. He had not driven the car for 10 days or so while at school and he did notice the brakes making an unusual sound that day he had never heard. While on the highway, there was a sudden stop ahead of him. When he pressed the brakes they completely stopped working and he rear-ended the car in from of him. The brakes were completely non-functional after the crash and he had to try to stop his car as best as he could without brakes. Luckily there were no injuries, however complete brake failure out of the blue is obviously enormously dangerous. The tow truck driver confirmed that brakes did not work at all and speculated that a "brake-line snapped". I have no idea if that is true or why he thought that. The car is totaled and no inspection of the car has taken place. We have the car at our house and it is available for inspection as we try to figure out what to do with it. There were no warning lights prior to the

20220217ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated while driving approximately 40-45 MPH, the vehicle stalled and lost electrical power temporarily. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who test drove the vehicle and diagnosed that no issues were found. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where unknown repairs were completed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed that the wiring harness had failed. The contact followed up with the dealer and was advised that an unknown module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,120.

Mileage: 100,120

20211223SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The driver was forced to apply the parking brake to stop the vehicle. His girlfriend was able to drive the vehicle home while the parking brake light remained illuminated on the instrument panel, even after releasing the parking brake. The contact called the dealer and was informed that his vehicle was already serviced prior under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V489000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) for the same failure. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and provided him with the same information as the dealer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 154,850.

Mileage: 154,850

Compare 2009HYUNDAIGENESIS to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS have?
The 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS has 309 NHTSA complaints, 24 crashes, 5 fires, 4 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS?
Yes, the 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS has 3 recall(s). The most common affected component is SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FLUID. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS?
The most-complained component for the 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS is SERVICE BRAKES with 110 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Is the 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. 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.