2012 Hyundai Equus problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (4) · Suspension (2) · Electronic Stability Control (Esc) (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Equus model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Visibility:windshield Wiper/Washer:motor 2016-02-29 · campaign 16V117000 · 18,700 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2012 Genesis vehicles manufactured August 1, 2011, to April 30, 2012, and 2011-2013 Equus vehicles manufactured July 10, 2011, to June 12, 2012. The windshield wiper motor cover seal on the affected vehicles may degrade allowing corrosion on the wiper motor's circuit board. The corrosion can cause intermittent or total loss of wiper function.
Risk: Inoperative wipers during inclement weather can decrease driver visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the wiper motor cover and seal, free of charge. The recall began on April 22, 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 140.
Service bulletins (79)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Back Over Prevention: Warnings 2026-10-15 · 26-GI-004H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some hyundai vehicles may be equipped with a parking distance warning (pdw) sensor(s) that may trigger various dtcs and display warning messages on the instrument cluster, resulting in the pdw sensor(s) failing to detect nearby objects or triggering multiple false alarms. this condition may be a res
Engine 2026-10-07 · 26-EM-015H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures for vehicles exhibiting this condition. all internal combustion engines consume engine oil as part of normal engine operatio
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DL · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn). these inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehi
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DCS · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn), that have been identified in u.s. vehicles following prior
Exterior Lighting 2025-11-06 · 25-BD-012H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to the accumulated moisture in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (drl), or fog lamp. this tsb illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. lamp assembly replacement is not necessary
Power Train 2024-04-09 · 24-AT-002H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this tsb provides a procedure to diagnose and replace, if necessary, an automatic transmission with incorrect ratio dtc (transmission clutch slip in gear above limit) listed on page 2.
Showing the 6 most recent of 79 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-11 · Power Train“i am writing to log an immediate emergency update to my vehicle safety report regarding my 2012 hyundai equus signature 5.0l. on friday afternoon, july 10, 2026, hyundai motor america’s corporate office formally initiated a high-level tier-2 supervisor review to investigate the severe powertrain safety hazard currently present on my vehicle—specifi…”
2026-07-08 · Power Train“i am reporting a severe vehicle safety hazard involving a sudden loss of motive power and extreme thermal failure on my 2012 hyundai equus signature 5.0l. in july 2022, at 88,845 miles, an authorized hyundai dealership replaced the transmission under a factory warranty event. rather than replacing the transmission oil cooler assembly—which was con…”
2026-07-06 · Power Train“i was driving on the highway and my transmission due to a failed transmission service done to my vehicle caused my vehicle’s transmission to overheat a blowout my transmission cooler and mix coolant and transmission fluid unknown to me because of a clogged transmission cooler line improperly flushed instead of replaced by the patrick hyundai dealer…”
2020-05-31 · Air Bags · 75,000 mi · 💥 crash“following a slip on the road i am the victim of an accident on the edge of a hyundai santa fe. the car struck the mountain, but the airbags failed to activate in the accident resulting in a frontal impact, which caused me serious injury. why the airbags are not triggered ?? the car made several rotations and suffered irreversible damage and despi…”
2020-03-20 · Suspension · 108,516 mi“from the desk of lmi's executive director: [xxx] i purchased 2012 equus on march 7, 2012 with 108,216 miles. the cars suspension started going bad as of last week. i brought the car back on march 20, 2020 to have a mirror replaced and to discuss the suspension problem. it?s been over a week and today them after a 45 minute drive i was told t…”
2015-03-09 · Power Train · 41,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2012 hyundai equus. while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jolted continuously and shifted independently into another gear. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 41,000. …”
2015-01-20 · Suspension · 31,000 mi“my vehicle sways like a boat side to side no matter my speed, but on the highway it almost feels like i'm losing control. i have taken the vehicle to the dealership and after having it for 4 weeks they returned my vehicle back to me not repaired and no answers to why the issue started. i was told they were requesting an hyundai field engineer to co…”
2014-08-01 · Electronic Stability Control (Esc) · 8,000 mi“after a few months of purchasing car the ecs light started illuminating which in return gave car a spongy, bouncy ride etc., height function would not work. after repairs were done 1st time around june-august of 2013 seem like every few months problem would occur again and again, latest being july 2014,car was placed in shop july 7th and car was j…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.