3.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,924 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.

2017 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid engine problems

engine problem

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2017 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Owner Comments

problem #5

Sep 232021

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid

  • 76,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2017 HYUNDAI Sonata Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started making a loud knocking sound. The contact pulled over and noticed an excessive amount of oil underneath the front of the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that there was a hole in the engine block. The mechanic showed the contact a piece of metal that had fractured from the engine. The contact stated that three days later while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who confirmed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V727000 (Engine). The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.

- Bellevue, WA, USA

problem #4

Sep 042020

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai sonata plugin hybrid. The contact stated while driving 50 mph, she heard an abnormal sound. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove to her residence. The contact stated she had the vehicle towed to harrisonburg Ford, Inc. (3155 S main St, harrisonburg, va 22801; (540) 434-0700), where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

- Hebron, MD, USA

problem #3

May 262019

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid

  • 33,250 miles
I was driving my Hyundai 2017 sonata plugin hybrid on the high way in hev mode and suddenly I felt severe vibration in my car. Then I changed my engine to ev mode and it was fine. Engine light came on. Every time the gas engine came on the car started vibrating and non responsive to gas. I drove about 10 more km towards home on electric only engine and then got it towed to the dealership. It felt like engine lost its power. I recently changed the voltage protection device on the car as a recall. All services were done on time and car had only 33000 km.

- Scarborough, WA, USA

problem #2

Mar 142018

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid

  • 12,470 miles
14 March 2018 10:30 am, 70 mph on us 101 to san francisco, hev mode, rainy weather, 4 passengers for a business meeting. Car steering shuddered as if the tires slipped and spun on the wet pavement. ESC, brake, and auto hold lights turned yellow. Was able to drive the car normally to reach destination, parked, attended meeting, and started driving back home with my passengers at 3pm. ESC, brake, and auto hold lights were still on. Hev mode. 30 minutes later, I-280 at 65+ mph, engine power drastically reduced abruptly, car started to slow down and became unresponsive to the gas. Turned on emergency flashers and with great difficulty in the evening rush hour commute traffic, managed to shift right three lanes and take the next exit, went into a parking lot and stopped the car. Consulted manual for any meaningful actions. Started car back up. Mil light also came on along with message to take car to dealer. Ran vehicle diagnostics and got 'a possible condition with the ecs has been detected and a full system check is recommended soon'. started driving car again. Same lack of engine power. Drove through local roads and countless many traffic lights and reached home after 4 hours (normal = 1 1/2 hours). At home, plugged car in for charging. Charging started normally. Around 10pm, wanted to take a picture of all the lights, so pulled charging cable out and started car. All lights were off except mil! decided to test drive and found no loss of power. Took it to nearby freeway, floored gas pedal. Car responded with full power! next day morning, driving car to dealer, hev light and continuous warning beep came on, just a mile away from home.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 152017

Sonata Plug-in Hybrid

  • 2,900 miles
On 3/15/2017 around 8am, I started my car to leave for work and the car showed a warning "check hybrid system" and the corresponding warning light came on. The gasoline engine also started right away and stayed on, even though the ev battery was full. The engine remained on throughout my commute to work and back to home in the evening. I plugged the car in my garage for charging overnight with the timer set to start the charging at 10pm. Around 10:45pm, my wife and I opened the internal garage door from inside the house and immediately smelled exhaust fumes and heard the engine running. I opened the garage overhead door right away and unplugged the charging cable which turned the engine off. Just to be sure, I plugged the cable in again and turned off the timer to restart the charging immediately. As soon as the charging started, the engine came on and after a few seconds started revving up also. I immediately unplugged the charging cable and engine stopped. I took the car to the dealer today and am waiting to hear back from the dealer. I think this is a potentially serious safety issue and hence I am reporting it.

- San Jose, CA, USA

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