The Hyundai ix35 to go for is a 2.0 CRDi with a full service history, the lesser risk even though owners report injector and EGR trouble on it; avoid a 1.6 GDi or 1.7 CRDi with gaps in its servicing.
2 known faults, 2 rated high severity in our database; owners report 39.9 mpg, 83% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Check a Hyundai ix35 advert (free) →The 2.0 CRDi diesel is the safer ix35 to buy, because the 1.6 GDi and the 1.7 CRDi each have a serious known engine fault against them and it doesn't. That doesn't make the 2.0 CRDi clean: one owner had all four injectors fail on a 2010 car, another had the EGR fail at 85,000 miles, and a third had a conrod bearing give out on an automatic at 45,000 kilometres.
The known engine faults cover the whole run from 2010 to 2018, so a 2017 ix35 isn't a safer bet than a 2011 on that score. The 2.0 petrol has no known fault, but so little is on record about it that there's nothing to back it or rule it out. Choose on history rather than age: oil changes done on time and receipts for any big engine or gearbox work.
Between 2WD and 4WD, the 2WD has less to go wrong at the back. Two owners have reported rear differential failures on 4WD cars, one at 41,000 miles along with the hydraulic coupling, and 4WD automatics are due fresh fluid throughout the gearbox and the whole 4WD drivetrain, diff included, at 60,000 miles. A 4WD without an invoice for that job isn't one to buy.
No ix35 engine has a clean record, but the 2.0 CRDi diesel is the one to pick, because there's no serious known fault against it. It still needs a solid history, since owners have had trouble with it: a 2010 car needed all four injectors and then a sump seal, a 2012 car's EGR failed at 85,000 miles and a 2012 automatic's conrod bearing gave out at 45,000 kilometres.
The 2.0 Theta II petrol is an unknown rather than a safe bet or one to avoid. There's no known fault against it, but no owner report names it either, good or bad. It runs a timing chain, like the 1.6 GDi. If you're looking at one, its service history and how it sounds from cold are all you've got to go on.
The 1.6 GDi petrol has a known timing chain tensioner fault between 60,000 and 100,000 miles: the chain jumps teeth and damages the engine, and a rattle on a cold start is the giveaway. The 1.7 CRDi's known weakness is its turbo, which fails between 70,000 and 120,000 miles when carbon clogs the oil feed pipes after skimped oil changes. Listen for a siren-like whine and look for blue smoke.
On gearboxes, owners have reported first and second being stiff to engage when it's very cold, and one 2014 diesel needed a new synchro ring at 70,000 miles. Clutches have gone early too: a 2WD 2.0 CRDi's failed at 37,000 miles and another car's clutch and dual-mass flywheel went at 62,000.
Listen hard at a cold start and under load, since each of the ix35's known engine faults makes a noise. A rattle as a 1.6 GDi fires up points to the chain tensioner, and a siren-like whine or blue smoke on a 1.7 CRDi means the turbo is on its way out. Don't buy a car doing either.
Ask for oil-change receipts at regular intervals, as skimped changes are what block the 1.7 CRDi's turbo oil feed. On a 4WD automatic, get the invoice for the 60,000-mile fluid change and ring whoever did it to confirm. Check both rear tyres match on a 4WD: one owner's rear differential failed with a nail in one rear tyre, and the uneven pressure or mismatched rears were the suspects.
On the drive, try first and second from cold, feel for clutch slip, and check the steering for play and clunks, because one 2010 1.6 GDi needed a new steering rack for exactly that. One owner also found the driveshafts noisy on a 2WD GDi. Run the air-con for at least 15 minutes: owners have had it blow warm on longer trips as the condenser freezes, and the fix that worked was a software reprogram and a new probe.
Test every electrical item. One owner traced repeated flat batteries to the radio and a glove-box light that stayed on, another's infotainment, reversing camera and sat nav gave up, and a 1.7 CRDi had a clicking dashboard with the reversing lights flashing. On a 1.7 CRDi, ask about sudden power loss, which two owners had and tied to the fuel filter. Look under the boot floor for water, since one 2013 car leaked into the load area.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
Yes, as a 2.0 CRDi with its oil changes documented, as long as you accept individual owners have had that engine's injectors, EGR and a conrod bearing fail. A 1.6 GDi past 60,000 miles or a 1.7 CRDi past 70,000 is inside its known fault window, so it needs the cleanest history of all. The 2.0 petrol has too little on record to judge either way.
It's a car where the choice of drive matters on the road. A 2WD on 17-inch wheels is the quieter and more refined of the two, but its front end runs out of grip early on greasy roundabouts. The 4WD on 18-inch wheels holds on far better in the same conditions, though it's noisier and less polished, so decide which matters more before you go looking.
Away from the engines, the reported trouble sits in the drivetrain and the air-con. Two owners had rear differentials fail on 4WD cars, one at 41,000 miles with the hydraulic coupling, and clutches have gone at 37,000 and 62,000 miles. One car needed a complete engine rebuild under warranty after its piston rings cracked, and its owner hadn't heard a thing beforehand.
A 2.0 4WD owner had dealer updates to the rear trailing arm bolts and the engine software, so ask whether that work's been done on a 2.0 4WD. One 2011 car threw an emissions warning light for its intake swirl actuator, which is worth querying if a lamp's lit. And don't count on a full-sized spare in a car from 2014 on; lift the boot floor and see what's there.
Real-world economy on this generation: Hyundai ix35 39.9 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Hyundai ix35 advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 39.9 mpg across the Hyundai ix35 engines with data, about 83% of the official figure, from 588 submissions.
Hyundai ix35 Real MPG by engine →There's plenty of room inside the ix35, and it's comfortable too. The driver's seat adjusts fully and the steering wheel moves for both height and reach, so it isn't hard to find a driving position that suits you, whether you're tall or short.
From the driver's seat it feels like a far bigger SUV than it really is. It's a sharp-looking thing too, with a hexagonal grille that went on to become Hyundai's trademark face and bold, sweeping lines running along the body from nose to tail.
The Hyundai ix35 to go for is a 2.0 CRDi with a full service history, the lesser risk even though owners report injector and EGR trouble on it; avoid a 1.6 GDi or 1.7 CRDi with gaps in its servicing. Our database holds 2 known Hyundai ix35 faults, 2 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Listen hard at a cold start and under load, since each of the ix35's known engine faults makes a noise. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Hyundai ix35 fault before you travel.
Owners report 39.9 mpg on average, about 83% of the official figure, from 588 submissions. Chain (IX35 2.0, 2.0 THETA, G4KD): no fixed replacement interval, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Hyundai ix35 Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Hyundai ix35 buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 107 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
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The Hyundai ix35 is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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