What are the common problems with the 2009 Hyundai Tucson?
Owners of the 2009 Hyundai Tucson have filed 18 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the airbags (6). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 13 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 18 owner complaints on the 2009 Hyundai Tucson. Owners named the airbags most often: 6 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 18 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 1 reports an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2009 Tucson
NHTSA's file holds 18 owner complaints on the 2009 Hyundai Tucson. Owners named the airbags most often: 6 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 6 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 2 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Seat Belts | 2 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Structure | 2 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 18 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 1 reports an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2009 Tucson
The 13 mileages owners gave run from 1,000 to 106,000 miles, and half are at or under 29,000. With fewer than 20 mileages this page gives the median only: the other percentiles are too few to say. 1 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2009 Tucson wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 12 of the 13 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2009 Tucson can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1,000 miles |
| 25th percentile | Too few to say |
| Median (50th percentile) | 29,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | Too few to say |
| 90th percentile | Too few to say |
| Highest mileage listed | 106,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 1 of 13 |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 2,652 NHTSA owner complaints on the Hyundai Tucson that list mileage came after 41,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Hyundai Tucson last? →
Is the 2009 Tucson a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad Tucson: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 18 complaints, the 2009 drew the fewest of the 22 Hyundai Tucson model years from 2005 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2016 (1,626).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Tucson | 185 | 139 | 57,000 |
| 2006 Tucson | 135 | 108 | 65,000 |
| 2007 Tucson | 65 | 47 | 88,000 |
| 2008 Tucson | 43 | 38 | 43,903 |
| 2009 (this page) | 18 | 13 | 29,000 |
| 2010 Tucson | 59 | 39 | 45,602 |
| 2011 Tucson | 124 | 70 | 70,000 |
| 2012 Tucson | 255 | 169 | 83,000 |
| 2013 Tucson | 266 | 159 | 78,000 |
| 2014 Tucson | 202 | 94 | 78,410 |
| 2015 Tucson | 229 | 88 | 69,000 |
| 2016 Tucson | 1,626 | 834 | 29,500 |
| 2017 Tucson | 1,097 | 439 | 26,253 |
| 2018 Tucson | 399 | 112 | 31,623 |
| 2019 Tucson | 386 | 95 | 21,400 |
| 2020 Tucson | 179 | 32 | 6,200 |
| 2021 Tucson | 84 | 14 | 25,000 |
| 2022 Tucson | 511 | 64 | 20,000 |
| 2023 Tucson | 184 | 21 | 19,241 |
| 2024 Tucson | 158 | 20 | 12,907 |
| 2025 Tucson | 459 | 45 | 6,000 |
| 2026 Tucson | 102 | 12 | 2,664 |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Tucson year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Hyundai Tucson years to avoid →
2009 Hyundai Tucson recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 1 recall campaign that names the 2009 Hyundai Tucson. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 13V113000 | Apr 1, 2013 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2009 Tucson lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2009 Tucson.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 5 of the 18 complaints on the 2009 Hyundai Tucson give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: TUCSON, TUCSON HYBRID and TUCSON PLUG-IN HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: TUCSON, TUCSON HYBRID and TUCSON PLUG-IN HYBRID.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2009 Hyundai Tucson questions
What are the most common 2009 Hyundai Tucson problems?
NHTSA's file holds 18 owner complaints on the 2009 Hyundai Tucson. Owners named the airbags most often: 6 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 18 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 1 reports an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2009 Hyundai Tucson?
Of the 13 complaints on the 2009 Hyundai Tucson that list mileage, half came after 28,000 miles; 1 came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. With fewer than 20 mileages, the median is the only percentile given. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2009 Tucson can cover.
Is the 2009 Hyundai Tucson a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad Tucson: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 18 complaints, the 2009 drew the fewest of the 22 Hyundai Tucson model years from 2005 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2016 (1,626).
How many recalls does the 2009 Hyundai Tucson have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 1 recall campaign that names the 2009 Hyundai Tucson. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2009 Hyundai Tucson before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2009 Hyundai Tucson.