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 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,639 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.
Takata recall my head lights flicker and go out when every I use my blinkers to make a turn. If my head lights are on and I don't use my blinkers when I turn I don't have a problem. I happens mostly when I use the left blinker. Also, the lights on the dash flicker at the same time.
In 2015, 305,000 sedans 2011 and 2012 recalled due to issue with brake assembly that prevent the brake lights from shutting off and causing the bulbs to blow quicker than normal.
Had my 2 front tires changed, after they were charged the brake paddle locked up and the push button starter will not start the car and I have no brake lights. The only way to start the car is to press down on the brakes while pushing and holding the starter at the same time for about 60 seconds, the car will not move out of gear unless the shift release lock is pushed. I have no brake lights
Low beam headlights stopped working without warning while driving vehicle in rural area. Was not noticed initially because was driving on well traveled road (2 lanes, main artery of city) with other vehicles and their lights illuminated the road way. However, when on a less traveled road that is when unable to see highway or surrounding areas. As a result, this forced me to momentarily pull off the highway. The high beam fortunately was working so utilized for remainder of drive home. Posed potential risks - driving for a while with no lights on, turns, when getting back on the road, blinding cars in the opposite direction, making a U-turn to turn into my housing area on a multi-lane highway at 10:00 pm as this was discovered in the evening. It is unclear if this was associated with the sporadic clicking noise heard for some time which appears to originate from the front area of the car. The sound can be heard on the inside of the car and is not audible when standing outside. Reported sporadic noise on several occasions to dealership for repair. Was informed that they didn't know where the sound was coming from but it did not appear to effect the car; maybe a snake (actually told by dealership). No recall, or could not duplicate sound and therefore unable to address ticking.
Heard a noise in the trunk of my car while I was driving on the I was on the interstate. Checked the back of the car and the right tail light assembly was hanging from the car. The only thing keeping it from falling off were the light wires. The plastic bolts were completely broken off. Checked the left rear assembly and was the same. The plastic is broken and brittle. This could be a major safety issue for me and the other drivers on the roadway. Called Hyundai and of course they were not interested in assisting in anyway. Never buy another Hyundai.
- Columbia, SC, USA
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The plastic housing for the brake light bulb melted and deformed on both the driver and passenger side. The brake light bulbs burned out and could not be replaced causing a dangerous no brake light situation. I had to replace the complete tail light assembly on both sides. From speaking with the dealer and researching online I discovered this is a very common problem.
At night time when my headlights are on they will flick on and off when I use my turn signals, when I turn on my brights and sometimes when I move between park and drive/reverse. Sometimes it'll do it a lot and other times not so much. It is a 2011 with 114,000 miles and only started in the last few months. I wonder if this is what's causing my battery to die quicker? since I've replaced it twice in the last 4 years I've had it.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving the vehicle, the driver's side tail light separated from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to glasden Hyundai (located at 28000 telegraph rd, southfield, mi 48034, (877) 814-3153) where it was diagnosed that the tail light support melted. The vehicle was repaired. Several months later, the passenger side tail light experienced a similar failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. Updated 09/01/17 the consumer paid to have the first light failure repaired. The failure recurred in both rear tail lights.
2011 Hyundai Sonata is very unsafe. I have had to have brake light recall fixed at least 3 times and the brake lights are still going out. The horn has completely gone out. The engine shuts off at random times leaving me stranded in unsafe situations. The takata airbags still have not been replaced. Car is very unsafe to drive; Hyundai needs to buy back all these vehicles.
Rear passenger side tail light wasn't working and when I tried to replace it, the plastic housing where the light bulb goes had melted. Now the light bulb doesn't fit in the hole. A google search of this problem indicates there are many others that have the same problem. Sounds like a defect to me.
The back drivers side brake light keeps burning out. This has been occurring for several months and I have replaced the bulb too many times to count. I finally took the car to the dealership who told me the wiring was bad and can cause the light to melt or fuse together. I researched this problem online and note is a common problem among the Hyundai cars. I have 2 kids, still in car seats, and can't take the risk of the brake light wires catching fire. I am hoping this issue will be researched and a recall implemented.
Purchased this car in September 2016, replaced rear drivers side tail light, two weeks later the same tail light blew out and I replaced it again. I have replaced this same tail light every month now since I purchased the car. I have also changed the oil faithfully since I purchased the car in September of 2016. The oil light started illuminating last month(March)then it would go out, I had the oil changed,3 weeks later the light illuminated and the check engine light illuminated again, again, I had the oil changed first week of April.I was driving home from running errands, car would not pick up speed on the interstate so I pulled off to the shoulder got out checked under the hood because the check engine light had illuminated again and the car had a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment, I check the oil dipstick, it was bone dry, I had just had the oil changed maybe two weeks prior. I had the car towed home, put a couple of quarts of oil in the car, started it up and it stalled out in the driveway. April 26, I had it towed to my mechanic shop to diagnose the issue.today April 28,2017 he tells me that the oil bearing is losing oil pressure and now I need a new engine.
When driving at night dash lights flicker and go out intermittently as well as head lights flickering. Then the headlights come on full bright and cannot be controlled with the interior light dimmer. Not a good thing to happen at night. This does not happen all the time.
I was picking up my stepdaughter up and she shut the door, so I started to drive and my dome light stayed on then it started flickering. I was on a city street driving. It has happened multiple times so I just keep it off now.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the stop lamp on the vehicle melted into the lighting structure, which caused the brake lamp not to illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the tail lamp assembly needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the tail lamp assembly was replaced on three separate occasions; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
Brake light went out, opened break light compartment, light bulb was melted inside of socket, took to dealer said it was normal. How can this be normal" " could this have started a fire, was told not covered under my warranty, $250 later
My inside lights seem to have some sort of defect. They have stopped working several times and I have to take the covers off and move the bulb around to get it to work.
When driving at night with the lights on, when I turn the turn signal on, the headlights turn off, come back on, and flicker on and off, as well as the interior lights. This is an ongoing issue not something has happened just once. It's extremely dangerous as they may just go out completely and somebody could crash into the front of me or not see that I'm trying to turn there's also been numerous reports of this on blogs and such forth.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Greenville, NC, USA