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:
15 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
57,394 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.
I have gotten my car in March 2018 since then I had to change my brakes rogers and now I have a knocking noise in steering wheel and when press down on brakes tires double turn at time
Brake light wires run too hot while car is operating and causes bulbs to burn out a day or two after being replaced. Plastic seems to be melting and may be able to cause a fire. Brake lights go in and out while driving as well which may cause an accident.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving various speeds, the rear brake lights remained illuminated. There were no warning indicators illuminated. An unknown local dealer diagnosed that the rear brake pads needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact heard an abnormal noise progressing from the steering wheel when it was turned in either direction. In addition, all four tires were prematurely worn to the point that they may need to be replaced. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V434000 (power train), 15V568000 (engine), 15V759000 (service brakes, hydraulic), 17V152000 (seat belts), and 18V137000 (seat belts, air bags). The contact did not receive any recall notifications. The vehicle was taken to palm springs Hyundai (3919 E palm canyon dr, suite a, 1-(760) 202-8888) where it currently remained for over three weeks. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 23,800.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle would decelerate without warning. An independent mechanic reset the computer, but the failure continued. In addition, the air bag warning indicator remained illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer. The vehicle was unable to be safely driven due to the multiple failures. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 15V568000 (engine), 15V759000 (service brakes, hydraulic), 17V152000 (seat belts), and 18V137000 (seat belts, air bags); however, the contact did not receive any notifications. The contact was also not notified of manufacturer service campaigns: 946 (under body corrosion preventative service and service campaign) and 953 (ECM & cluster update-engine monitoring logic product improvement). The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000.
"takata recall"... on March 16th 2019 my wife was driving with a passenger our 2011 Hyundai Sonata limited when an accident occurred at a high speed the airbags did not deploy and the seat belts did not hold them back both were severely injured the brakes also failed to stop the vehicle. I am attaching a picture of the vehicle after the accident I do have the police report however the officer did not mention on the police report to my knowledge about the airbags but when you contact me I can give you the number of the shop that has the vehicle and they can verify that the airbags did not deploy.
I have had to replace all 4 brake calipers on my 2011 Hyundai Sonata gls due to not releasing and wearing out brake pads and rotars. Has there been any recalls in regards to this matter?
The engine has seized. The brake lights were always on and it melted the harness the holds the bulb in the receptacle area. I cannot place the bulb in the seating for it anymore and then successfully place in the area for it. The area just beneath the glove box began emitting smoke and I smelled rubber melting. The language of the car is in spanish cannot be changed back to english. The buttons don't control what they are intended to. The center instrument panel, radio, A/C and the other functions occasionally are not operable, no light nothing.
Our car was in the number 2 lane of a 5 lane freeway when it all of a sudden lost power and the gas pedal didn't work and then a very sudden, hard jolt in the car. I wanted to downshift, but the shift lever went to park with no effect. I turned on my turn signal to get to the shoulder on the right. I let the wheels drag along the asphalt curb of the shoulder until I applied the emergency brake and turned off the ignition, by then, the smoke was filling the cabin coming through all of the air vents and my wife and I got out as quickly as we could. It wasn't until then that I found that we had been followed by a tow truck with its emergency lights on and blocked the slow lane of traffic for us and who had his dispatcher call the fire department. The engine in this car had been replaced in March, 2018 under a recall for engine knocking noise. The tow truck driver tried his fire extinguisher, but it had no effect and he stated it would not work because it was a gasoline fire. No injuries were sustained.in order to install the new engine they have to bend the fuel lines out of the way and a fuel line could have been kinked, or was never installed properly. No one had done any work on the engine since it was installed by the Hyundai dealer. I have a fire report, but it is 8 pages. Highway patrol was present, but they do not make a report when only 1 car is involved.
Replaced rear brake pads, rotors twice within 2 months. Replacing hoses, calipers, even though no sign of leak and calipers easily move in and out. Manufacture problem/ABS? out of warranty and dealer wants nothing to do with it.
My brake lights all of a sudden went out, my shift lock locks everytime I put my car in park I have to use something to press the button to unlock my gear shift. Got it checked and it turned out to be the brake light switch
My brake lights remained illuminated when I was not pressing the brake. I discovered this after they stayed on even while the car was off and parked, and drained the battery so the car would not start. The mechanic replaced the brake light switch and rubber stopper pad.
The brake lights stays on as if pressure is being apply to them. Car be at 60 plus miles per hours and the car comes to a slow stop while I'm applying pressure to the gas; having other drivers almost to hit me in the back.
Takata recall - in 2016 there was a recall for the brake light switch to be fixed on my car. They said that they fixed it but now I am having the same issues as my brake light switch is still malfunctioning. My brake light stays on the whole time when I am driving which I have had to replace the bulbs as they were blown and one of them had melted. As far as I can see, if this was properly repaired then none of this would have been happening. I have to constantly lift my brake pedal to turn them off before I get out of the car so that they will not be on. This happens while in motion and stationary
I have several complaints with my Sonata as it relates to brakes and tail lights. I have had to replace the brake stopper as it was making the car randomly slow down in when I was driving on the highway at speeds in excess of 70 mph.. when this was happening the traction control light also remained on in the dashboard. I also had brake calibers that were locked in place on my front brakes causing an issue having metal against metal. At this same time, my tail lights were remaining on even when the car was off. The stopper fixed this issue but I was also advised that I had to replace the whole rear light module because the wires had melted together this time it was the left side. In October I relaxed the whole right side rear lighting module because the wires had melted together in that light too! all of these repairs took place within a years timeframe. I have documentation but not with me right at this moment. All of these scenarios are pretty scary and put me and my son at risk. Not too mention my car is currently under an oil consumption test becaus we have no idea where the engine oil is going. The car has 140,000 miles
Brake lights stay on, after you leave off brake pedal. Could result in serious rear end accident if person following you doesn't know when you really are applying brakes. This is believed to be the brake light stopper pad. I am a mechanic and the stopper pad is crumbling. Per dealer it was replaced 1/2016 at 70000 mile now 2years later and 14000 mile later it is bad again. This problem could impact all 2011 and other year models. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'
I went to the nearest Hyundai dealership to get some open recalls that I had done and I had like 5 or 6, many of which were very critical. I got a call next day asking me to come and pick up my car, which I was very skeptical about. They asked me to sign a paper indicating that everything is done. I asked if I can speak to someone to explain why this happened so quickly and if there's anything to worry about and they couldn't connect me with anyone neither did they ask for my information to contact me when that expert is available. Now about a month since taking the car to the dealership, I check my VIN online and to my surprise 4 of the most critical open recalls are still not closed or remedied. They involve problems with the engine, transmission, seatbelt, and brake pedal. There are all issues that could result in a fatal accident. I don't really know what to do because this is a matter of honesty. I should not have had to check for them to begin with. This Hyundai dealer is sunbury motors Hyundai.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brooklyn, NY, USA