CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2011 Sonata has a seriously defective engine that seizes without warning. It was awarded the dubious honor of being the first CarTalk / CarComplaints Turd of the Week in late September 2015.

A class action lawsuit was filed in May 2015 against Hyundai that claims the 2.4L Sonata engine is defective. More info here.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
60,459 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Hyundai Sonata brakes problems

brakes problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Hyundai Sonata:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2011 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 2 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #42

Dec 152017

Sonata

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car kept shutting down not wanting to start due to gas pump. I would be driving and would start stalling while drive almost crash. Electrical problems the light flinger on and off while driving and when switch them with a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required, especially at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #41

Jun 092018

Sonata

  • miles
The horn is a safety feature and it doesn't work all the time. More times not than working properly. Living in atlanta this is a serious issue.

- Fairburn, GA, USA

problem #40

Apr 062016

Sonata

  • 51,000 miles
Knocking in the engine, cruise control doesn't go off when brake is pressed, shift lock doesn't work.have to manually press override button to put in gear.car stalls sometimes after a turn. Ecs light is constantly on. Loss of power sometimes, had to replace brake light bulb twice in the last 6 months and they were completely black, like burnt.vehicle was generally in motion when issues occurred.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #39

Jan 042018

Sonata

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have had two separate incidents where my vehicle's engine completely lose power while driving. There is no warning and the steering locks up and my car is immediately disabled each time I came extremely close to being hit by on coming traffic.with the incident the car suddenly start slowing down and when I pressed the gas pedal nothing happened but all the sensors popped up I was able to pull over just as it lost power and the car wouldn't restart and I had it towed. Few days later car started as if nothing happened I began to drive it again but after about a week I was on the highway during morning rush hour attempted to cross lanes and it suddenly lost power again and I couldn't move the vehicle at all I feel very unsafe driving the car beacuse this happens randomly and without warning

- Hampton, GA, USA

problem #38

Nov 032017

Sonata

  • 102,000 miles
The contact owned a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle independently jerked to the right and clipped a semi truck. The contact's vehicle was pulled under the semi and dragged for 100 yards. Prior to the failure, the ESC and TPMS indicators illuminated. The contact also noticed an abnormal burning odor. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard and deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. There were no injuries. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

- Shata Lake, CA, USA

problem #37

Aug 302015

Sonata

  • 25 miles
Tuvo un accidente Y fue declarado perdida total, las bolsas no explotaron

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #36

Feb 032017

Sonata

  • 112,943 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine while attempting to accelerate. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle consumed an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V568000 (engine); however, the remedy failed to repair the recall. Earlier this year, the vehicle was diagnosed for a check engine warning indicator that illuminated and the remedy was a fuel injection flush. The local dealer (North freeway Hyundai, 20440 interstate 45 N, spring, tx, 77373) was contacted and scheduled an appointment through the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 10640136. The failure mileage was approximately 112,943.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #35

Jul 312017

Sonata

  • 49,000 miles
Defective brake switch stuck in on position caused the car slow down of its own Accord in traffic. Car drove as if you had foot on brake and accelerator simultaneously. Brake lights stayed on after taking foot off brake pedal.

- Rockford, IL, USA

problem #34

Jul 202017

Sonata

  • 75,000 miles
The ligth stay on and no turn off

- Caguas, PR, USA

problem #33

Jul 042017

Sonata

  • 132,000 miles
Transmission replaced.. starter taking more battery power to start car so starter was replaced then catastrophic engine failure. After replacement of engine- it was found that there is an electrical short that will not allow the alternator to remain charged. When the engine failed we were driving 68mph on the highway all lights, dummy lights and the power to the car started to flash, increase then decrease quickly then again and again.. thumping noise lights continued to flash/on off/etc car lost power engine died. The dealership is now saying that I am responsible for paying for diagnostics to find the underlying cause of electrical short.. I am responsible for any electrical repair that needs to happen. Electrical system was not faulty prior to engine failure. Hyundai should be responsible for finding the issue and correcting the problem.. the car had no alternator charging issues prior to the engine failure. A total of $13,800 has been spent on repairs and the car is still non functional. This is just not right.

- South Windsor, CT, USA

problem #32

Jul 122017

Sonata

  • 81,779 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The same bulbs go out in my tailight and headlight 3X a year and the dealership keeps telling me it's not electrical it's just bulbs don't always lay long. My SRS light pops

- Va Beach, VA, USA

problem #31

Feb 142017

Sonata

  • 75,000 miles
Engine shuts off while driving (various speeds), no power, no steering for maybe a second. It has happened three times. So far, the power comes back on within a second (did not have to put in neutral or park to restart). All have happened in city driving (have not been highway driving lately)

- Mishawaka, IN, USA

problem #30

Sep 152014

Sonata

  • 64,981 miles
Over the five years the car will stall in parking lot.will have it towed to dealer.this happen two times this year. They could not find problem. Could not use battery to start, battery checked it was fine, starter fine, alternator fine.it made me feel uneasy if it stalled on road.they checked engine said it was fine.not happy with this.the last at my kroger it stopped.towed to repair shop near home same result, could not find problem.each time when car sat overnight for repair the problem went away and car started ok by dealer.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

problem #29

Sep 042016

Sonata

  • 85,284 miles
During my last scheduled vehicle maintenance in April 2016, I explicitly communicated my concerns to the Hyundai dealer about my engine and the fact that the oil light kept coming on when I tried to accelerate and would go off as soon as I took my feet off the accelerator. I just found out through local news and information from online blogs that this was a sign of engine manufacturing problems originating from Hyundai's Alabama engine manufacturing plant. The dealer did not inform me that the engine in my vehicle was being recalled. Instead, I was told via the maintenance report that oil level was low and there were no visible leaks. I have receipts to prove that I adhered to all recommended owner maintenance services and have been diligent enough to service my vehicle according to the service schedule prescribed during vehicle purchase. I have strong reasons to believe Hyundai has not been honest with its customer. This being because, rather than elaborate on the cause and solution to the problem (I.e. Hyundai Sonata 2011-2012 engine recall), information was deliberately withheld from me by Hyundai. I never received a recall notice from the dealer despite purchasing the vehicle from an authorized Hyundai pre-owned vehicle dealer. I'm even more frustrated because this recall was announced in September 2015, 4 months after I purchased my vehicle under warranty and paid extra to have extended warranty coverage added on my vehicle. It's now 7 months after the recall announcement and I still have not received notice of the recall from Hyundai. As of today, 3 weeks after my vehicle stalled on the on-401 highway whilst driving at approx. 100km/hr., I have not heard back from Hyundai. I had to coast my vehicle to the outside shoulder of the busiest highway in North America at 9:00pm. 3 weeks on, I have no vehicle, no repair timeline and no response from Hyundai

- London, On Canada, MI, USA

problem #28

Feb 132016

Sonata

  • 60,000 miles
After the vehicle gets hot (in summer) or is drove for at least 30 mins, the ABS and traction sensor lights come on and make driving very difficult. The low tire light stays on since we purchased it.

- Cherry Valley, AR, USA

problem #27

Dec 012015

Sonata

  • 80,000 miles
Takata recall brake lamp staying on when turn lights on. Clicking noise under the hood. Car stalling

- Sherman, TX, USA

problem #26

Dec 122015

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
I have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata with approximately 65,000 miles. In 2015 the steering wheel locked twice while on but parked. The ESC and power steering indicators were on. After a while the issues spontaneously resolved in these instances and the vehicle able to be driven. In October 2015 the power steering locked up while driving the vehicle on a city street (speed <40mph). I was unable to turn the steering wheel and navigate resulting in several near misses with street parked vehicles before being able to stop the vehicle. Car towed to the dealership where they stated that they drove the vehicle around and "recalibrated it." Two months later while again traveling on city streets (<40mph) the steering wheel began to shake violently and I was unable to steer, again almost resulting in a significant crash. During this incident the same ecs and power steering indicators lit up. Unable to steer I was forced to stop and turn off my vehicle in the middle of a busy road. However, once the vehicle was turned off the steering wheel continued to shake violently until someone who came to assist me shut off the car battery. The car was towed to the dealership where upon showing them video the service manager stated he had never seen this occur in his 20 years of employment. The car is scheduled to be assessed on Monday. Internet searches show other videos of this make/model with the same violently shaking wheel and reports of accident close-calls. My specific car was part of an earlier recall (campaign 097) related to power steering that was reportedly fixed at that time, therefore this car clearly has known problems in this domain. I will never get back in this vehicle and will likely lose money on a trade in. There are clearly significant safety issues with this vehicle that have not been resolved by the earlier recall. Video link: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=msqe_quk50U updated 8/21/2017

- Hyde Park, MA, USA

problem #25

Sep 012014

Sonata

  • 52,000 miles
Shaking in steering... (thought it was ball joints - metal to metal)... told there was no problem with ball joints & no other issues determined (with their test drive). Local Hyundai service manager would not return repeated calls for complaint. Very disappointed now that "factory warranty & recall for steering problem" not worthy of repair at that time. Violently shaking now and Hyundai service department says it is not part of a steering recall (previously patched)... said it is a steering coupling (not the U joint which was part of the recall).

- Summerdale, AL, USA

problem #24

Jul 072015

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 74,500 miles
While driving on the highway and attempting to brake the steering wheel shook rapidly. The steering wheel makes a click when in park and I move the steeping wheel slightly off center to the left or the right. When driving at any speed and go over bumps on the road the steering wheel makes a clunk noise. The steering feels loose when driving on the highway at speeds of 60+. this is an issue that needs to be recalled. When I spoke to the dealer they said that my car doesn't have any recalls on the steering! but found right here on this website, shows the tsb#10-01-32. We purchased this car in 2011 with the full warranty intact from crain Kia, which also owns crain Hyundai the vehicle was a dealership demo vehicle. After running a VIN search on this website, it has not been inspected or repaired. This is unsafe and puts the lives of not just the owners/drivers of this vehicle but other drivers on the road as well in severe danger. At this time, if nothing is done, we will pursue legal action against Hyundai North America and crain Hyundai / Kia. For their lack of professionalism, selling "unsafe" cars to the public! please reopen this case immediately and have them repair these darn cars. Sincerely, us soldier and family

- Cabot, AR, USA

problem #23

Feb 172015

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 111,781 miles
Went to lakeland automall which is a Hyundai dealership to get some recalls taken care of. Upon arrival I gave them some recall paperwork in which they refused to look at and said that they have it in their database. The recall that has to do with the "stop lamp switch malfunction" was not complete. When I got my car back I checked my brake lights and they did not work properly. I told them that when I drive in cruise control my car releases it and my brake lights stay illuminated and my ESC control light comes on. Also on ocassion one of my tail brake lights work but not the other. They told me that they fixed this problem last April of 2014 but apparantly the same problem is replicating. They then told me it needed a whole tailight assembly.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?