Hyundai is being sued in a Sacramento Superior Court for misleading consumers about the gas mileage of its 2011 and 2012 Elantra compact model.
This is the next chapter of a story that began in December of 2011 when the non-profit organization Consumer Watchdog slammed Hyundai for misleading consumers in ads for the new Elantra.
The lawsuit, which has been filed by Consumer Watchdog and the Washington, DC, law firm, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, alleges that Hyundai touted "The 40 Mile Per Gallon Elantra" in high-impact television, Internet, and print advertisements, without disclosing that it was referring to highway and not combined fuel economy numbers.
According to EPA estimates, the 2012/2012 Hyundai Elantra sedan returns 29mpg (8.1lt/100km) in the city, 40mpg (5.9lt/100km) on the highway and 33mpg (7.1lt/100km) combined.
"The omitted disclosures would have informed consumers that the car does not attain 40 MPG under most driving conditions," said Consumers Watchdog in a prepared statement.
"The illegal advertisements caused tens of thousands of California drivers to purchase or lease 2011 and 2012 Elantras and consequently incur unexpected fuel costs," the non-profit organization added.
The Consumers Watchdog release on the issue also includes a statement from Louis Bird of Sacramento, California, a 2011 Elantra owner who is representing other consumers in the class-action lawsuit.
"I feel like Hyundai took advantage of me. Hyundai's advertisements about the '40 MPG' gas mileage of the Elantra instantly caught my attention," said Bird.
"I bought the car thinking I would be seeing major savings at the pump and getting over 500 miles per tank, but Hyundai fooled me. I have not saved any money on gas and have been driving the Elantra for well over a year now. It is frustrating and disappointing. I never would have bought the Elantra in the first place if I hadn't seen Hyundai's ads boasting about gas mileage," he added.
Hyundai of America is expected to release an official statement on the matter later in the day.
14 Comments:
more poor americans pulling lawsuit scams
This is so freaking retarded. There is a HUGE FUCKING STICKER on the car when you buy it that tells you exactly what the city/hwy mileage are. It's your own damn fault for being stupid.
don't trust advertisements period! whoever does really need their brains examined. do some research and never buy a car impulsively. that is the lesson to be learnt here
It seems the ad depicts a drive of 1600 miles to disneyland (Highway) - surely Mr Bird noticed that seeing that it was the only research he had done prior to purchasing the car.
In Europe the same thing:
a car is advertised with a usage of 5L/100km, in fact when you drive it it uses 7-7,5L/100km.
the tests for all the cars are retarded: nobody drives like in the tests.
The tests are under the best conditions, other tires, very slow acceleration ...
Sorry for my english. I'm Belgian
Seriously?? Only in America do let these retards run around, suing anything and everything.
everyone knows Americans don't read! shame on Hyundai for taking advantage!
My sticker said 40MPG highway. That's what I get. Love my Elantra.
Mr Bird , Wait , last time I brought a new car , there was this silly little sticker on the window that told you the city gas millage, Did Hyundai sing lullabies to you when you look window sticker so you would not look at the MPG ratings on the window sticker, because had you looked and read it, it says 29 MPG city which BTW is darn Good and had you read it then you could had walk away and brought anther car with less city mpg . Maybe Hyundai should have the salesman read the window sticker to you? 29 CITY AND 40 HIGHWAY. What part is so hard to understand about that, lets face it, you even read the window sticker and now only want to cash in on this BS about hyndais 40 mpg or you didnt read the window sticker and then in that case it is only your own fult for not being a careful consumer.
Also , Please this law suit is BS and the DC, law firm, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP is only looking for a fast easy cheap buck law suit. If I was Hyundai I would counter sue all 3 parties for slander and defamation of character. This lawsuit smells as bad as a horse dunk
yep mine does does 44 mpg on the highway if I use cruise control and do 55 mph and i am seeing 31 mpg in city driving. I love this car inside out!
I guess CW doesn't read Car & Driver, Consumer Reports or Popular Mechanics since they all got the EPA or better with the Elantra.
On fuelly, there are owners who get less than the EPA rating, get right around the rating and get higher than the rating; as they say, YMMV.
What kind of "watchdog group" is this? Every carmaker is claiming 40MPG now. That's the magic number these days. I find it really interesting that everyone is saying exactly 40. Not 39 or 41... but 40 on the nose. Is this stupid watchdog group suing all of them?
You can get what the sticker says. I have a V6 Altima and it gets EVERY bit of what its recommended for. Like the poster above me mentioned, at 55 Mph you can get the mileage posted.
Here is where the retards get it twisted.
If for one second you think you are going to get the "sticker mileage" doing 75-85 Mph with the A/C on then you should do everyone a favor and jump from the highest building you can find. If you are that stupid to not realize that the mileage posted is under perfect conditions at a certain speed, then you shouldn't even be shopping for a car,..... take the bus.
The EPA/DOT ratings on the window stickers are basically a guide, and should NEVER be taken seriously, its simply providing the best case scenario.
Hyundai and Kia ADMIT to the MPG lies!!!!!! Google it! Owners of select vehicles will get a debit card for life for the miles they've driven and the miles in the future. MPG estimates have changed, for instance the Elantra was 29/40 but now it's 28/38! So you can get a debit card that gives the difference in MPG, given local gas prices, and they assume +15% gas price hike to help cover customer stress.
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