Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.
Fuel economy
20–22 mpgcombined; city 18–20, highway 23–26; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$14,760–$16,240U.S. average; Ohio $13,190–$14,510 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
Owners have filed 18 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Tucson. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.
Complaints by part of the car
Part
Complaints
Crashes
Fires
Injuries
Air bags
6
3
0
2
Electrical system
2
0
0
0
Seat belts
2
1
0
0
Structure
2
0
0
0
Vehicle speed control
2
0
0
0
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
0
0
0
Engine
1
0
0
0
Exterior lighting
1
0
0
0
Fuel/propulsion system
1
0
0
0
Steering
1
0
0
0
Suspension
1
0
0
0
Tires
1
0
0
0
3 more parts
Unknown or other
1
0
0
0
Visibility
1
0
0
0
Wheels
1
0
0
0
Complaints by model year
Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.
NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2009 Tucson over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.
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 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Risk: 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.
Carmakers sent NHTSA 39 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2009 Tucson, the latest on Oct 8, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.
The parts they mention most: equipment (10), engine and engine cooling (7), power train (7), equipment adaptive/mobility (5), electrical system (4).
NHTSA hasn't opened a defect investigation that covers this model year.
Maintenance
Oil
The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2009 Tucson.
These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.
Specs
EPA class: sport utility vehicle. Each version EPA tested:
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Version
Engine
Transmission
Fuel
City / hwy / comb
Tucson Front-Wheel Drive
2.0 L, 4 cyl
Automatic 4-spd
Regular Gasoline
20 / 25 / 22
Tucson Front-Wheel Drive
2.0 L, 4 cyl
Manual 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
20 / 26 / 22
Tucson 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
2.0 L, 4 cyl
Manual 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
19 / 24 / 21
Tucson Front-Wheel Drive
2.7 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 4-spd
Regular Gasoline
18 / 24 / 20
Tucson 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
2.7 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 4-spd
Regular Gasoline
18 / 23 / 20
Sources and dates
U.S. EPA fuel economy data, file of Sep 29, 2026
NHTSA owner complaints, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA recalls, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA manufacturer communications, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA defect investigations, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, file of Aug 7, 2026
U.S. Energy Information Administration, file of Oct 12, 2026
Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data