Hyundai maintenance: cost, plans and service schedule

Are Hyundais expensive to maintain?

RepairPal claims that Hyundai vehicles cost $640 per year (adjusted for inflation) to maintain and repair on average. That’s well below the industry average of $891 per year and only slightly above brands with strong reputations for reliability, such as Honda and Toyota.

How Hyundai compares with other automakers

Hyundai’s vehicles often score well in reliability ratings, and brands with high reliability typically have lower maintenance and repair costs. According to RepairPal, Hyundai has a reliability score of 4 out of 5, which ranks it fourth out of 32 car brands. J.D. Power ranked Hyundai slightly lower (13th out of 29 brands) in its 2024 dependability study. Still, Hyundais are generally considered reliable and cost-effective options.

Hyundai maintenance and repair costs by model

It’s important to note that the $640-per-year figure is the average of every vehicle in Hyundai’s lineup, even though estimates for individual models can vary considerably. As an example of these differences, let’s take a look at some different Hyundai models and their estimated yearly upkeep costs.

These statistics also include both maintenance and repair costs despite the fact that these expenses require you to budget in very different ways. (Maintenance costs tend to be lower and more consistent, while repair costs tend to be higher and more occasional.)

Let’s dig a little deeper into what these costs can look like for Hyundai owners, starting with Hyundai’s recommended maintenance schedules.

Hyundai maintenance cost and schedule

While some automakers have uniform maintenance recommendations for every vehicle, Hyundai designs distinct maintenance schedules for its models. That means you’ll have to check your owners manual, Hyundai’s website or resources from your local dealership to find out exactly what maintenance services your vehicle needs and how often.

Example: 2022 Hyundai Tucson maintenance schedule

Just to show you what a Hyundai maintenance schedule looks like, we pulled the recommended maintenance plan for a 2022 Hyundai Tucson and included it in the table below.

The cost of maintenance is fairly easy to calculate once you know your schedule because you know when it will be needed. That means you can check what your mechanic charges for the services listed on your Hyundai maintenance schedule and map out those costs over time to create a budget for yourself.

Example: 2018 Hyundai Elantra maintenance costs

To give you an idea of what maintenance for your Hyundai may cost you, we got estimates for a 2018 Hyundai Elantra in Austin, Texas. Just be aware that prices for your vehicle in your area may differ.

Hyundai also offers three years or 36,000 miles of free maintenance on new vehicles, so you may not have to pay anything for maintenance if you bought a new Elantra or Santa Fe. With Hyundai’s Complimentary Maintenance Plan, owners receive free:

• Engine oil and filter changes
• Tire rotations
• Multipoint inspections
• Hyundai genuine oil filters
• Hyundai-recommended oil

These plans won’t cover more frequent maintenance than what your owners manual recommends, though, so you might still have to pay for some maintenance if you routinely drive in severe conditions.

Scheduled maintenance for severe driving conditions

Hyundai recommends more frequent maintenance for vehicles that are driven in severe conditions or routinely pushed to the extremes.

For example, if you were to drive the same 2022 Tucson we mentioned above in severe conditions, Hyundai would recommend getting an oil change every 5,000 miles instead of every 8,000 miles.

Hyundai repair costs

Repair costs are tough to estimate because breakdowns can occur unexpectedly. Also, because repair services tend to be more expensive than maintenance services, they can skew averages if you look at too small of a sample period.

The better you take care of your Hyundai, the less likely you are to deal with expensive repairs.

For example, RepairPal claims that the average Hyundai costs its owner $640 (after adjusting for inflation) per year in maintenance and repairs, but you likely won’t have many years where you actually spend that amount. It’s more likely that you’ll have some years where you only pay for maintenance and a few years where you pay significantly more because of a large repair bill. This should even out to about $640 per year, but your budget will need to deal with more volatility than that figure suggests.

That’s why it’s important to know what repairs might cost — you need to budget for them differently than you budget for maintenance.

Example: 2018 Hyundai Elantra repair costs

Here are some estimated repair costs for the same 2018 Elantra we got maintenance estimates for above.

The key to budgeting for repair bills is correctly estimating how likely you are to need an expensive repair. For example, a head gasket replacement is almost always going to be a very expensive fix, but you might not ever need that repair if you choose a reliable vehicle. So, how is Hyundai’s reliability?

RepairPal’s data shows that Hyundai vehicles average 0.3 visits to the repair shop each year, which is slightly below average. There’s also only a 10% chance of the problem being severe, which is below the industry average of 12%.

At the time of publishing, new Hyundais have a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. For context, that’s arguably the best new-car warranty on the market — just make sure you’re aware of any warranty fine print.

“While the customer service was generally good, the handling of warranty-related concerns left much to be desired,” said Emilie, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer from Florida. “My car is still under warranty, and I've been experiencing a troubling issue with the steering wheel making a loud noise when I release the brakes. ... Upon approaching the dealership, I was informed that I would need to pay for a diagnostic to determine if the issue falls under warranty. This was surprising and somewhat frustrating, as one would expect warranty-covered problems to be diagnosed without an additional cost. … The process of having to pay for a diagnostic to ascertain warranty coverage seems counterintuitive and raises questions about transparency.”

Hyundai also shortens the length of its powertrain coverage to 5 years/60,000 miles from the original purchase date for anyone that’s not the vehicle’s first owner.

Author’s note: As a professional mechanic, there were many years when Hyundai cars were known for being unreliable. We had gotten to know every problem and issue that the brand had because many of the cars would suffer the same fates. However, in recent years, Hyundais have become far more reliable, inching their way up to nearly the top of the reliability charts.

How can an extended warranty help?

Keep in mind that once your manufacturer’s warranty is gone, you may be on the hook for expensive repairs. Extended warranties and prepaid maintenance plans can help you save money on maintenance and repairs. But it’s important to find the right ones if you want to come out ahead financially.

Buying a prepaid maintenance plan lets you lock in a price for maintenance services that’s often lower than what you’d pay later on. That means you can save money if you shop smart, and you can potentially save even more if there’s inflation or a price hike between when you buy your plan and when you eventually get your maintenance done.

If you’re more concerned with paying for repairs after your Hyundai factory warranty ends, you should consider an extended warranty. These plans pay to repair your vehicle after a breakdown. However, there’s no guarantee that your warranty will save you money in the long run, so it’s important to do your research and be aware of the pros and cons of these types of plans.

Hyundai actually sells both prepaid maintenance plans and extended warranties, but it’s important to remember that it’s not your only option. To find the right plan, we recommend shopping around with different maintenance plan offers or extended warranty companies and getting multiple quotes for your vehicle. That way, you have the context to know if you’re getting a good deal.

» MORE: Car warranty vs. car insurance