Used Hyundai Tucson Glow Plugs

Glow plugs are a diesel-only component — they pre-heat the combustion chamber to aid cold starting in compression-ignition engines, and petrol Tucsons never had them fitted at any point in the model's history. If you have a petrol Tucson and are chasing a cold-start or misfiring issue, you are most likely looking for spark plugs instead. Always confirm your fuel type from your V5 before ordering any ignition or starting components.

These are entirely different engine families across different generations, so direct interchangeability is very unlikely — the Mk1 Tucson used engines such as the 2.0 CRDi (D4EA) while the Mk2 brought revised and newer diesel units. The engine code is the single most reliable guide here, so check your V5 or run a VIN check to get the exact code before sourcing a used set. Confirm compatibility against your specific engine code with the breaker before purchasing.

The Mk2 Tucson received a facelift around 2013, but external styling changes do not affect glow plug fitment — what matters is whether the engine code changed at that point for your specific variant. If your engine code remained the same across the facelift, the plugs are likely compatible, but mid-production running changes to ancillary components can occur. Give your engine code and registration to the breaker and ask them to confirm against their dismantled vehicle rather than relying on year alone.

The Tucson Mk3 was sold in the UK across trims including S, SE, Nav, Premium, and Premium SE, but trim level makes no difference to glow plug fitment — the plugs follow the engine, not the badge or equipment level. What does matter is which diesel engine you have, as the Mk3 was offered with different CRDi units over its production run, so confirm your engine code from the V5. Pass that code to the breaker and they can match it to the correct plug specification from their donor vehicle.

Hyundai and Kia do share engine families across models, and in some cases the same diesel engine code appears in the Tucson, Santa Fe, and Kia Sportage, which can mean the glow plugs are physically identical. However, you should not assume this without checking — confirm that both donor and recipient vehicles share the exact same engine code before treating them as interchangeable. A good breaker will be able to cross-reference the engine code and plug specification to give you a definitive answer.

A diesel Tucson uses one glow plug per cylinder — four on a four-cylinder diesel, which covers all the standard CRDi engines sold in the UK across all three generations. It is generally advisable to replace all plugs at the same time since they age together, and mixing an old plug with new or low-mileage used ones can cause uneven cold starting. If sourcing a used set from a breaker, aim for a matched set from a single donor vehicle with a confirmed matching engine code to your own.