California hydrogen vehicle owners report 'nightmare' finding fuel | 10 On Your Side

It's too hard to find fuel. That's the message from hydrogen car owners across the region. They're now taking legal action with some telling 10 On Your Side they have cars they can't even drive.

"I just want to get out of this. I want my money back," said Jeremy Crooks who bought his Hyundai Nexo back in 2022.

Crooks was hoping the Hydrogen car would be the next big thing, but Crookers and others like Bernard Gross tell 10 On Your Side the hydrogen vehicles they bought are a big headache…especially when it comes to fueling them.

"This station doesn't work. This station is offline. This station is closed,” Gross said. “The cost is sky high."

Attorney Jason Ingber represents clients across the Sacramento region and beyond with similar stories.

“This is an absolute nightmare for thousands of people. People are hurting,” Ingber said. "In Sacramento alone because there's only one station in West Sacramento people are facing way more challenges than anywhere else in the state."

He's launched a class action lawsuit against Hyundai Motor America saying consumers are being misled about the viability of hydrogen cars in California.

"Well we want to get people out of these car notes. That's the first thing…just get them some relief,” Ingber said. “People are struggling everywhere, and they're making $500, $600 payments. Sometimes they're paying high APR financing on these cars, and they can't use them."

He’s referencing people like Gross who bought his Hyundai Nexo in 2021.

"Now to protect my credit score, I'm just paying for a vehicle that I don't even drive,” Gross said. "We started running into situations where you would go to a station and there might be a couple cars in line and you might wait half an hour, 45 minutes or an hour, hour and a half, and then maybe the car in front of you got the last little bit of hydrogen or you hooked up to the station and then there was an error code."

Crooks documented his recent trip out of town solely to fuel up. So what’s the deal? Hyundai is aware of the challenges.

“We’ve offered a 21-day car rental option to customers for trips outside the refueling infrastructure. Unfortunately, there have been shortages of hydrogen fuel for delivery to stations in Sacramento and the Bay Area, negatively affecting Nexo owners in the area. Hyundai is aware of these refueling issues and continues to support hydrogen infrastructure development in California,” said the company in a statement to 10 On Your Side.

Ingber says more should be done.

"They're selling people on the thing that it's going to be convenient. It's not convenient," Ingber said. "People are struggling to find a place where they can get fuel and these stations know that there's a fuel lack problem. They know that there are stations that constantly close and yet they're still selling the car to this day."

10 on Your Side also reached out to the operator of the fueling station, Iwatani Corporation of America.

“It is still a new technology and there are challenges. There definitely are challenges,” said James Kast executive director of Hydrogen for Iwatani. “We implemented a virtual cueing app so that you could basically join the cue on your phone from your house or from wherever you are and while the folks were on site waiting when the time took a while you could be doing your thing and reduce that time spent waiting there at the station. And know that at least us as Iwatani is trying to make the experience better every day.”

With cars like the 2023 Hyundai Nexo still being sold for more than $60,000, Attorney Ingber is pushing back.

"Hyundai will have to answer for what they're doing," Ingber said.

Meanwhile, Iwatani tells 10 On Your Side it plans to make additional upgrades this summer to improve the performance of the fueling stations in hot weather. Ingber said concerned drivers can contact his office at 213-805-8373.