Hyundai Sonata Complaints
17,026 consumer complaints on file.
- #11537122August 8, 2023UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have a 2020 Hyundai Sonata limited, recently at 68,089 miles on the odometer my wife was driving and got an engine overheat light and noticed thick white smoke puffing out the exhaust pipe. I told her to pull over when she called me and have it towed to the dealer. Soon after I went to the dealer to look at it because they were saying it would be weeks before they could look at it, and I noticed the coolant reservoir was empty. So, I filled up the reservoir and took it home. Over the next few weeks of driving I noticed the same puffs of white smoke coming out the exhaust every so often and the coolant reservoir draining in a couple days, even though there never was any visible leakage under the car when it was parked. So after a couple weeks of having to top off the coolant every other day I took it back to the dealer and told them what was happening. They were not sure what to do, after a week of troubleshooting they ended up replacing the whole muffler assembly under warranty to fix the issue. So far that seems to have worked. I'm reporting this, because I want NHTSA to investigate these models Hyundai Sonata hybrids 2020-2023 and get Hyundai to engineer a recall solution to this issue, because there seems like hundreds of stories on the internet of people having the exact same issue with these car models. I'm not sure replacing the muffler is a long term solution, unless the replacement mufflers were redesigned. If they are replacing them with simply a new muffler, with the same design flaws as the original I think it will likely fail again just like the original. My car is now at 70,800 miles and the issue seems to be fixed, but I have read many stories on the internet of people having 2 or 3 muffler assemblies replaced on these vehicles and the issue continues to reoccur.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11537158August 8, 2023ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that two weeks after having the oil changed, the low oil warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed to not add oil but to bring the vehicle back to the dealer at 1,000 miles driven. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11537194August 8, 2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, STEERING
On the dashboard showing " Hybrid system warning. Safely park and do not drive" sign while the vehicle is being driven and slowly loose its power till completely stall. After I turn off the engine and try to turn on again ,the "Ready" sign keeps blinking. I was twice stall by the exit of a freeway. It's very dangerous. I also found a few recalls related to this issue in the past.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11537235August 8, 2023STEERING
The power steering went out on two different occasions. The power steering assist light came on (red steering wheel light in the lower left corner of panel). The car was extremely difficult to drive. Once the car was shut off the system reset and the steering was normal. I brought the car to the dealership twice and they told me they could not duplicate the problem and could not repair the car unless they could duplicate the problem. Hyundai USA basically told me the same thing; even though there must be a known issue because they have extended the warranty on the power steering assist system. The dealership and Hyundai's only solution was to have the car inspected at another dealership. This is a ridiculous solution since the problem seems to be an intermittent issue. Having the car inspected by another dealership will not solve anything. I believe this issue makes my car UNSAFE to drive! Hyundai will not reply to my questions such as: why an error code was not recorded when the power steering light is triggered? Hyundai should pay for the repair of these issues as they are reported by the owner and not only when it is occurring at the dealership.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536842August 7, 2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonta. The brake lights are not working properly. I have been changing the tail light for some time now but it doesn't seem to be working. At first all lights came on and they wouldn't go off until I took the battery cable wire off. Then on another day the brake light in the back window, got stuck and the turn signal wasn't lighting up(no brake , nor turn signal lights but it showed in the car like it was working.when hitting the blinkers. I have taken it to several car shops even the dealership to have it checked out. I was told that it wasn't nothing wrong, but got stopped by police on numerous occasions cs the car didn't have Bck lights. The last shop i took it to said that it was the cars electrical system. I've checked to see if there was recalls.Doesn'tshow anything. It should be recalls on this, cause that's a safety hazard. Knowing you just changed out the lights and then boom u have no lights to show your turning or just on the road period at night. This is dangerous , I've almost got rear ended by a semi n other vehicles that was behind me and i had my granddaughter in the vehicle. Please check into this for the safety of ppl like me. Thanks in advance..
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536873August 7, 2023STEERING, ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
While turning in an intersection on a highway, car displayed check hybrid system and shut down. power steering could not engage so braking and turning was almost impossible. Car had to be towed, was not able to be restored
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536971August 7, 2023EXTERIOR LIGHTING, SEAT BELTS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My brake lights constantly go out new bulbs don't work either...it sems to be a malfunction in the wiring for the lights. The seatbelt on driver side will not latch no matter what. All electrical has issues, dash will go in and out as well as radio and heating/ac lights.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11537010August 7, 2023ENGINE
After a year of issues, burning oil, changing spark plugs, my engine is dead. Hyundai has ignored issues and many times refused to pay for oil, parts, etc passing all costs to me. I have a loan of 15k and no car. Called and emailed their case management team—no help, no reimbursements. I have no equity-No property left. This was my only mode of transportation. Due to their slowness, I had to buy a new car and spend money I was not scheduled to spend. The financial stress and lack safety and unprofessional manner from Hyundai is at a new level-ridiculous.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11537055August 7, 2023STRUCTURE:BODY, SUSPENSION
Severely rusted out and corroded front subframe, only noticed it on accident very recently, and my car is the last year of a generation that was recalled for this very issue within the Salt Belt- I live right at the bottom outskirts of the Salt Belt in NKY, and my car is the only year not recalled for subframe corrosion. It's bad and I'm freaked out and can't afford it unless I figure out how to do it myself without prematurely dying due to a dropped engine or something similar (premature because if I don't get it fixed soon I reckon that fate isn't too far off)
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11537056August 7, 2023ENGINE
The car just shut down, while driving. An wouldnt restart or even roll over.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536792August 6, 2023ENGINE
This car is a Hybrid The car has a 12V battery reset system which stops the 12V battery from draining to zero voltage. This is a design feature. However, since purchasing this car we have had Hybrid Engine Failure warnings happen 3 times, in 2 months. When this happens the car engine shuts down, no matter at what speed you are driving! The car gives a warning on the dashboard that states - Hybrid System Failure - and the engine shuts down. The dashboard goes completely bland as all electronics are switched off. This has happened 3 times, 2 of them occurred on the freeway at high speed. Luckily we were able to pull over without being impacted by another vehicle. After a few seconds of stopping we are able to push the 12V Battery reset switch and the engine restarts when the start button is depressed. After the first incident the car was given to the local Hyundai dealer and they found nothing wrong with the car. It has happened twice since the car was returned to us and the car is currently in the Hyundai dealership, a different one, for diagnosis. We do not want to drive this car until the fault is determined and corrected
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536620August 5, 2023FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Purchased a new Hyundai 2023 Sonata from McGovern Hyundai Rt 2 May 22, 2023. After two weeks of driving the vehicle, I noticed it hesitates when I push down on the gas pedal. I had planned to have the dealership take a look but have a very busy schedule, the issue continued each time I drove the car to the point it was hesitating, basically pausing as I cross intersections. On the 26th of July I was driving on the highway, as I started to experience issues when stepping on the gas. Entering a tunnel in Boston, I pushed down on the gas pedal and noticed the car was decelerating, I was losing speed, in a panic in the center lane of the tunnel, I was able to get the car over to the far right. The car was shaking aggressively then finally just gave out and I called 911. They towed the vehicle to the police headquarters, I called Hyundai for assistance. Had some hiccups but two days later they were able to service the vehicle, supposedly found a faulty fuel injector. They changed out the 1 faulty injector test drive and said the problem was fixed. I picked up my car on July 28th 2023. There is something still wrong with the car, it still has some hesitation and now misfires. Have not heard from Hyundai, I was assigned a case manager and told someone would follow up, no one has reached out. So lucky my children were not in the car and that i'm safe. I could have been killed, others could have been hurt/killed. This should not happen to brand new cars.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536437August 4, 2023ENGINE
The engine seized in 2022 and was repaired in 2023 ( dealership had it for almost a year). In 2023 it is now burning 2-3 quarts of oil every (2) weeks
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536479August 4, 2023POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Hybrid System Malfunction. The "Hybrid System Warning! Safely Stop and Do Not Drive" appeared on the vehicle dashboard. While traveling on the highway or in town the vehicle will want to slow down then stop. The dealership's (Wyatt Johnson Hyundai) Clarksville, TN, maintenance tech have troubleshot the vehicle. Since my daughter and I have owned the vehicle, it has been seen by the dealer a few times during this time a transmission replacement was completed for the Hybrid System Malfunction, which did not solve the problem and I had to pay out almost $6,000. Still, same issue arises and also, I was told by another tech that the transmission is sealed and should not have been opened. The only thing we heard from the dealer(Wyatt Johnson Hyundai) was to come and pick up the car. When my son-n-law went to pick up the vehicle, the engine was still torn apart. They said they would fix it and then let us know when it is ready to be picked up. We have not heard anything from the dealer (Wyatt Johnson Hyundai) at all, assuming they are still working on it. Until, we received a letter from Express Auto the the vehicle was towed and reported abandoned. So, I drove to Clarksville, TN and trailered the vehicle back to Las Vegas, NV to have the Hyundai techs here diagnose the vehicle.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536537August 4, 2023ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Car consumes TOO much oil. Even after I get an oil change I have to add more oil weeks later and the oil is always black. Several times the sensor has gone out on me on the hwy and I’m not able to accelerate or go over 35 miles which is extremely dangerous .
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536346August 3, 2023UNKNOWN OR OTHER, STRUCTURE:BODY
The panoramic sunroof wind deflector is off I seen online there was a recall about that. I call hyundai customer service about it they said it's been fix already in 2016. I'm a new owner and not sure where the work was done before I got it, but it came unglued again. I purchased the car from John amato hyundai dealership and get the services done there because I'm under a forever warranty and can't going anywhere eles because of the warranty. Which nothing is done free on it and all the work I've had done from them I believe they don't do everything because it still rides and sounds the same and there #1 excuse is that's how hyundai cars sounds. So with that being said if John amato fixed it, I see why it failed again. Can check my car to see if recalls were really preformed and done correctly and what's needed now to be like new again.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536052August 2, 2023UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
This vehicle consumes one quart of oil every 1000 miles. I have documentation to prove it. Hyundai has done their own asessments and claimed that it consumes less. There was a class action lawsuit filed in California for this issue.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536079August 2, 2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
car was jerkikg yesterday and now it wont start
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536105August 2, 2023ENGINE, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that the check engine warning light had remained illuminated. The contact stated while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle shut off and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The contact was informed that there were no recalls on the VN. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the timing chain had fractured and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that the headlight and taillight bulbs would burn out and require frequent replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11536174August 2, 2023SERVICE BRAKES
While driving on the highway, there was a sudden beep sound followed by the ABS light, the brake lights turning on, and the traction control light turning on. The vehicle keeps moving and the breaks are not working, and the brake pedal is too tight to press. To avoid a collision on the highway, I used the emergency brake to stop the vehicle If I turn off the engine and then turn it back on, I can drive, but again the same problem begins, and we must use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. A local Hyundai dealer has been notified about this issue, but it has been 3 days since they have not been able to resolve it
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0