2009 Hyundai Genesis
The Verdict
The 2009 Hyundai Genesis has 234 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are brakes (123 complaints) and body (53 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 49/100, it earns a "Proceed with Caution" rating. If you're shopping for a Hyundai Genesis, consider the 2014 model year which has 90% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2014 has 90% fewer complaints
View the 2014 Hyundai Genesis dashboard →
Klunk Score: Proceed with Caution
About average for complaint volume. Research the specific issues before buying.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
Recalls 2
Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.
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...
Risk
If the module corrodes, reduced brake effectiveness may result, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Hyundai will notify owners and instruct them to bring their vehicle to a dealer for service. Hyundai will inspect the HECU module for proper operation, and will replace the modules as necessary. ...
Reported Apr 10, 2026
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...
Risk
A following vehicle may not recognize that the vehicle is slowing or coming to a stop if the stop lamps on the vehicle do not illuminate as expected. There is an increased risk of a rear-end crash...
Remedy
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will repair the stop lamp switch circuit, free of charge. Hyundai issued an interim notification to owners on January 6, 2015. The recall began on March 23,...
Reported Jul 11, 2014
Get notified if a recall hits this car.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Complaints
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.
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).
Front subframe is rotted out. And TPMS light is on.
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
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.
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 repaired. All three times the vehicle operated erratically. The car was in traffic each time this occurred and my safety and the safety of others were put at risk. I have all the receipts from all three breakdowns including the diagnosis. The engine is apart now and I have the parts list and labor costs from the dealership for the work that needs to be done. Initially I was told by the dealer that I needed to have all 32 valve springs and rocker arm assemblies replaced according to a Technical Service Bulletin. When I protested that they did not do that during the previous repairs the dealer said they would only replace the one that was damaged. That is why there are two parts estimates. I have them both. The check engine light came on just after the engine started to operate erratically and the check oil light came on shortly thereafter. I contacted the manufacturer and they said they could do nothing.
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
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.
Coolant leaking from back of the Engine block on 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan with 67000 miles..
Car randomly turns off while driving. Sometimes my car will go off. Most of the time it turns back on but that is dangerous.
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.
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 issue. Less than a week after the accident we received a Notification of Extended Warranty from the car manufacturer regarding a possible issue related to brakes. And we have read about other braking issues that have evidently arisen over the years with this model year car.
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.
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.
I am sending this email in regards to my dashboard cracking around the airbag. It looks like someone has taken a box cuter and sliced my dashboard. Everyday, I notice more and more cracks. Now I am at three cracks (one was small and now it has spread) I am from southern California and my car is parked outside with windows cracked half way with a window shade for my front window. I am concerned about this as I do have passengers in my car and not sure if the airbags will deploy or not. Looks like this is a problem as looking at the Hyundai dashboard, there are many concerns. Hopefully I will hear back from you soon to see what can be done about this problem. I would hate for the airbag to deploy and someone can get hurt or killed. I am providing you with photos..
Brake unit failure. Car brake pedal became soft, needs to be pressed to the floor to get the car to stop...and even then it does not stop fast enough to be safe. Online research shows that this is a known issue for this model and Hyundai has been covering the cost for this as it is attributed to a part installed at the factory.
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The contact stated that she noticed that the brake lights would not illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the stop lamp switch needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The dealer stated that the diode wiring system needed to be replaced. The contact was relating the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 13V113000 (Exterior Lighting). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,394.
A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO THE BRAKES ON MY 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS COMPLETELY FAILED AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR WHILE ATTEMPTING TO EXIT THE FREEWAY. I WAS ABLE TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE AND GOT THE CAR TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE BRAKE PEDAL EVENTUALLY REGAINED PRESSURE AND BEGAN FUNCTIONING AGAIN. OVER THE NEXT 5-6 MONTHS THE BRAKES PROGRESSIVELY GOT WORSE EACH TIME I DROVE THE CAR. I WAS CONSISTENTLY HAVING TO PUMP THE PEDAL AND NEEDED TO KEEP GIVING MYSELF MORE AND MORE DISTANCE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD THE EXTERIOR BRAKE LIGHTS AND OTHER SENSORS ON THE CAR WOULD STOP FUNCTIONING ENTIRELY FOR PERIODS OF TIME. THOSE LIGHTS AND SENSORS EVENTUALLY QUIT AND NEVER TURNED BACK ON. AT THIS POINT VEHICLE BRAKES WERE GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND IT HAD NO FUNCTIONING BRAKE LIGHTS SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THAT I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THE CAR FROM FOR REPAIRS. THE DEALER WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE REPAIRS TO THE CAR BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH MY VEHICLE. THEY DOCUMENTED AND DESCRIBED SOME SORT OF CONTAMINATION IN THE BRAKE FLUID THAT HAD TURNED IT INTO A WHITE GOOEY SUBSTANCE AND THAT FLUID CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE AND WORE COMPLETELY THROUGH THE ABS MODULE. COINCIDENTALLY THAT IS THE EXACT SAME DESCRIPTION THAT WAS GIVEN FOR THE RECALLS IN 2013 THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF CAR (NHTSA CAMPAIGN 13V489000). THE PREVIOUS OWNER DID HAVE THOSE 2013 RECALL REPAIRS MADE AT ABOUT 60,000 MILES BUT THE SAME ISSUES THAT CAUSED THE FIRST RECALL ARE OBVIOUSLY OCCURRING AGAIN WITH THE CAR CURRENTLY AT ABOUT 120,000 MILES. THE MANUFACTURER DEALER WANTS $2500 TO REPLACE THE ABS MODULE AND TO RESET THE COMPUTER WHICH IS OVER HALF OF THE BLUE BOOK VALUE. THAT ALONG WITH THE $1000 ALREADY SPENT TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEMS, THE CAR IS NOW BORDERLINE TOTALED AT THIS POINT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 HYUNDAI GENESIS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, A FELLOW MOTORIST ALERTED HIM THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATING. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED TO ALERT HIM OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE AND SAW THAT THE FUSE WAS NOT BLOWN. THE CONTACT ALSO NOTICED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WERE INOPERABLE UNLESS THE SWITCH WAS SET TO AUTO MODE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT LINKED THE FAILURE TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V713000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 138,526.
MY CAR SHUT OFF/THE ENGINE LOST POWER, WHILE SITTING IN TRAFFIC. I FELT A SLIGHT ROUGH IDLE, THEN REALIZED ALL MY DASH LIGHTS WERE ON, AND THE ENGINE WAS NOT RUNNING. I PLACED THE CAR IN PARK, AND PUSHED THE ENGINE START BUTTON. CAR STARTED BACK UP, BUT EVERY TIME I STOPPED I HAD TO PLACE THE CAR IN PARK AND KEEP MY FOOT SLIGHTLY ON THE GAS TO KEEP IT FROM IDLING ROUGHLY AND SHUTTING OFF AGAIN. I HAD TO DO THIS FOR A HALF HOUR UNTIL I REACHED MY DESTINATION. AFTER SETTING FOR 4 HOURS THE CAR STARTED FINE AND I HAD NOT FURTHER ISSUES. BUT MY FEAR IS THAT IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN WHILE IN TRAFFIC OR POSSIBLY WHILE DRIVING, WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
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