Consumer complaint received 2025-08-21 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Repossession — Deficiency balance after repossession
Company: HYUNDAI CAPITAL AMERICA
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
Hi, I am writing because I believe I may have experienced an unlawful repossession of my vehicle. I believe that my rights may have been violated and I would like to know if the sale of my vehicle can be challenged. 

Id like to know if there is a way to potentially get Hyundai to provide me with a vehicle of equal value to the XXXX Hyundai XXXX that was repossessed. Hyundai caused me to have a great and undue financial and mental hardship. I fell behind on payments due to the many expenses their vehicle defect caused me and I also developed a verifiable mental health condition as a result of the hardship. After the repossession this past XXXX, I originally filed a police report thinking that the car had been stolen ( as it had been once before ). I later called Hyundai Motor Finance to ask if the vehicle had been repossessed. They confirmed that it had been repossessed and they informed me that the period for reinstatement had passed and that a high cost redemption was the only option available to me. I had not been informed of an option to reinstate my loan before the repossession. Most importantly, despite ensuring that Hyundai Motor Finance had my correct address, they never mailed me a written notice stating their 15-day Notice Of Intent to sell the vehicle at auction, including my options for reinstatement/redemption and associated costs. This type of notice was never sent to me via postal mail or email. Id like to know if this is considered a violation of my rights and would this allow the repossession and sale of the vehicle to be challenged? Does this potentially qualify as an unlawful repossession with the possibility for a lawsuit? 

Please continue reading for a full overview : Between XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX of XXXX, my car was repossessed due to missed payments. My auto loan was through Hyundai Motor Finance, and I drove a XXXX Hyundai XXXX without a push start button that I purchased in XXXX while still living in NJ. 
I moved to XXXX in XXXX, and in XXXX, I began experiencing a series of car vandalism incidents by the XXXX XXXX ; these are teen boys around the country who have targeted certain Hyundai and Kia models that were discovered to be easy to steal. As a result of Hyundais faulty vehicles which made theft all too easy, I suffered repeated damage to my vehicle. On three separate occasions in XXXX, which were in three different locations in XXXX, I had my windows smashed in by the XXXX XXXX. Although my vehicle was insured, I had to pay for damages to my windows out of pocket due to my XXXX car insurance not covering glass repair. In XXXX of XXXX, my car was stolen. Following this, I was without a car for 3 months ( the car was recovered with damages totaling more than {$7000.00} and went to an auto body shop to be repaired - Hyundai parts were on back order due to the XXXX XXXX rampant theft and vandalism ) and had to pay for public transportation and XXXX XXXX XXXX rides to get around while I did not have a car. As a result of these four incidents, I experienced an undue financial hardship and extreme stress. 

I was financing my car and I ended up falling behind on my car payments due to the repeated out of pocket expenses due to the car vandalism and theft ( deductibles, glass repair, public transit and rideshare ). In XXXX of XXXX, I lost my job after developing XXXX XXXX XXXX ( diagnosed by a primary care provider ) and the impact that it had on my work performance, resulting in me struggling even more financially. * Please note that I have submitted a claim to Pennsylvanias Victim Compensation Assistance Program, but I am still awaiting a determination. I have been waiting for 90+ days. VCAP has been fighting the licensed XXXX who has overseen my XXXX XXXX XXXX to get them to determine a percentage for how much the car theft affected me. However, since medical providers do not typically evaluate their clients health using percentages, a determination has been greatly delayed. I also submitted a claim to the Hyundai Theft Settlement and I am hoping to receive compensation from them as well, but it is currently unknown when Hyundai might begin to send payments out. Even then, the Hyundai Theft Settlement has set a very limited amount on what they are willing to payout, and I am only expecting to receive approximately {$2000.00} or less from them. 

On numerous occasions, I spoke with both Hyundai Motor Finance and Hyundai USA about buying back my car or lowering my payments given how much hardship their vehicles defect had caused me. They refused. With the ease of theft and overall status as a target which encouraged the vandalism and theft of my vehicle, I feel as though I essentially had a lemon, but I did not have the option for recourse the way one does with a lemon. This was my first time financing a car and I feel that myself and numerous others were misled in their purchase of this Hyundai model and similar ones. 

When my car was stolen in XXXX of XXXX, I believe XXXX insurance should have considered my car totaled. The person who stole my vehicle, crashed it and caused damages amounting to over {$7000.00}. By that time, my car windows had already been shattered 3 different times and combined with the theft, the value of my vehicle had already depreciated drastically. The cost of repairs in comparison to the value of my car at that time should have been enough to have totaled it. 

Hyundai has caused great emotional and financial harm to me and numerous others. I did not lose possession of my vehicle because I was irresponsible. I lost possession of my vehicle because Hyundai caused great harm to me financially and mentally. Hyundai has caused even further harm by repossessing my vehicle and reducing my ability/access to transport. If it had not been for their defect, I would not have fallen behind on payments and I would still have a car today. I believe that Hyundai should be held accountable for replacing the car that they took from me with one of equal value. It is my hope to either have the XXXX Hyundai XXXX replaced ( with a push start ) or to be given funds in the amount of the value of the vehicle so that I may purchase a car. Hyundai has sold my vehicle at auction and has informed me of a remaining {$10000.00} balance. Ideally, I would like for them to clear this balance and potentially remove the repossession from my credit report.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation