10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
14 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,219 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.

2013 Hyundai Sonata engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #79

Feb 152024

Sonata

  • miles

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

I see that the recall notice was issued in September of 2023 but I have to say that for no recall remedy to be available yet is disheartening. I drive my car every day and it is the only car I have, because of that I risk my life everyday. My car loses power because of this recall daily and it ranges from 3-6 times a day. I lose power on the highway, the main roads and back roads, it does not matter the speed or time of day. I would like them to push out a fix now. Eventually I will end up in an accident because sadly I cannot afford to get into a new car or a used car.

- Mount Juliet, TN, USA

problem #78

Oct 212023

Sonata

  • miles
I was driving and the car slowed down in mid street on a busy road and started to stop then it sped up very fast then it slowed down again and sped up very fast again I had to drive all the way home 15 minutes without barley pressing the gas I went to AutoZone to get a code reader to see if what had happened would pop up on it and they said nothing but that incident was very strange because it has never happened before and it happened out of nowhere on a very busy street

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #77

Sep 132023

Sonata

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" The Car continues to have inconsistent acceleration, hesitation, and sometimes lurches forward. On two occasions, the car felt like it was just going to turn off while driving. I was driving about 75 mph on I295 and driving about 15 mph on a residential road during the second occurrence. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk" I feel as though I am not in complete control of the acceleration but am mostly concerned with the car stopping on it's own. I am very scared I'm going to be hit by the car(s) behind me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center" Yes. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I have an appointment in October for the car to be evaluated by a dealer. I hope it doesn't happen again before then. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" The only time a warning lamp came on was during the second episode when the car felt like it was going to turn off; the engine light came on and immediately off.

- Lawrence Township, NJ, USA

problem #76

Aug 232023

Sonata

  • miles

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

This incident singled happen in a 20 or so miles on my way home commute, no freeway drive. I was driving pulling out of a parking street when I notice the vehicle tendency to pull me forward, even though I was preparing to stop. It continue to have this issue at a stop sign and traffic light. at first it was mild pull as if you are being towed. Sporadic pushing forward, but when I turned to the left I notice that the engine pick up speed on its own and the issue was exacerbated on turns to left and right. The issue continue to the point I stayed at a safety distance from other cars and the pull began to be more aggressive. I was driving slow at that point. With hazards lights on. On arrival to my home driveway and upon putting the car on park the engine RMP jump so high that scared me! The car sounded as if it would take off by its self. I had the foot on my brake and did not pump at that point. I took car to the dealership the next day and it continue to pull at sporadic times I drove slow and cautiously. Noticing that the pull got worse driving on a straight street versus the day before only on turns having more aggressive forward acceleration pulls. The dealer has check the car and has not been able to detect the problem with computer codes and apparently have not been able to reproduce the issue after driving the car. The mechanic, told me to take pictures of engine light if when I drive it has issues, and the light comes up. But not other solution was given.

- El Dorado Hills, CA, USA

problem #75

Jun 082023

Sonata

  • miles
Car has been knocking for a couple of months now, check engine started flashing and it lost acceleration. Towed to shop and code for knock sensor was reading bad. Shop replaced knock sensor, I picked car up and drove away and it happened again. Engine light flashing and lost acceleration, took back to shop and the next day which would be today they said take to the dealer cause it's still reading for knock sensor. My 2013 hyundai sonata 2.0 is now at the dealership in line with the rest of the seized engines. So I have spent $800 ($613 for shop and $200 rental car) and my car is still not drivable. Now I'm back in a rental at$300 a week until hyundai diagnose, test, and approve the process of fixing the issue with my 2013 hyundai sonata 2.0, it has a life time warranty! This will be the second 2013 hyundai sonata I have owned with the engine seizing up! Back in Nov. 2021 I went thru this very same thing!

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

problem #74

Nov 012022

Sonata

  • miles
I have been contacting Hyundai since before November 2022 on an issue with the engine. At this point, the engine was spuddering, hard to acclerate, lags, shuts off yet no warning lights were on. I was told about the engine recall which is why I went there. Set an appt and when I got in, he said it does not SOUND like a rod knock and sent me home even though there is an active recall on the car that is IMPORTANT to fix, the fuel line. He did not care to fix that. I wrote Hyundai and they sent me another dealer and that was that. No cares in the world at how we were treated. Its been now 3 months and the car has been sitting because Hyundai refuses to help. The car only has 105,000 miles on a 2013. I have a case manager assigned that is avoiding my calls and finance company yelling at me for maintenance receipts of the car. Maintenance receipts are not listed anywhere. I have barely had the car a year! The fact that they sent my family home in an unsafe car is not cool! Then on my travels, the car starts knocking loudly and the check engine AND oil light both come on but the check engine light was flashing. NOONE IS HELPING US. My fiance lost his job because we had to rely on uber or lyft for him to get to work and he was late a few times due to those services not being reliable. There is a recall on the engine with the same specifications that I am having AND an OPEN recall for the very very hazardous fuel line on the car to be replaced. I am tired of the run around. I need help! I have seen the numerous complaints on this car so why is it so hard to get help? When I start my car it sounds like a helicopter but with metal, not air so LOUD and is a rod knock. Another call to the case manager made today and again ignored. I cannot post a video

- Litchfield Park , AZ, USA

problem #73

Feb 102023

Sonata

  • miles

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

The Engine Light is on and when you first take off, you can-€™t press the gas pedal as much as the engine start shaking

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

problem #72

Dec 012022

Sonata

  • miles
The air bag light is on. None of the functions/buttons on the right side of my steering wheel are working. It has not been inspected by anyone.

- Lexington, AL, USA

problem #71

Oct 162022

Sonata

  • miles
I was driving my daughter-€™s 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid to the gym early one Sunday morning. I pulled into the parking lot to park the car. When I stopped to put the car in park the car suddenly accelerated and I drove through the glass wall of the gym. The car accelerated through the gym, hit a metal pole, and crashed into a wall on the far side of the gym. The front end of the driver-€™s side corner was smashed in and my airbags did not go off.

- Buford, GA, USA

problem #70

Aug 232021

Sonata

  • miles
When accelerating to 65 mph, the check engine light came on, and the vehicle stopped accelerating. Took the vehicle in to a mechanic, who stated there was poor acceleration at high RPM's and the car had jerking symptoms during hard throttle. For the engine diagnosis there was a fault code for the knock sensor found. Very low oil levels were in crankcase, no additional fault codes found, abnormal noises. Signs of internal engine problem low oil pressure suspected, no apparent lubricant to upper part of the engine. Recommended replacing the engine. The mechanic estimated the car was also losing oil faster than it should've. Prior to this incident occuring, the car has been regularly maintenanced at the dealership. Car was taken in to an independent mechanic to be looked at because dealership service repair did not have an opening for 2 weeks to look at the car. The lower acceleration could cause an accident on the freeway if driving at high speeds and the acceleration malfunctions without warning. No other persons have looked at the car yet. There was no lights, symptoms, or messages indicating a problem prior to this incident happening. This was the first time this incident has happened with the vehicle.

- Merced, CA, USA

problem #69

Aug 182021

Sonata

  • miles

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

The brake pedal bushing has completely deteriorated and caused my car to be able to shift gears without touching the brake. It also caused me to be unable to use cruise control (which I found out driving down the interstate thank god I wasn-€™t in an accident) and caused me to be unable to park my car. Caused my battery to die and left me stranded at work. No pieces to remedy to issue are available. And Hyundai has said there was a recall with earlier models (up to year 2011) my car is 2013 and is obviously effected. I have now had a recall on y seat belts, air bags, engine, seat belt anchors, fuel line transmission fluid sensor and now my brakes. I-€™m not sure what is actually ok with this model at this point!!!

- Cordele, GA, USA

problem #68

May 022021

Sonata

  • miles
I do notice sometimes when I press on the gas, the car looses energy, don't accelerate. It's like the car mph goes down to zero while I'm driving the car which is scary. I step on gas, and it don't move, then it picks up and speed off.

- Stonemountain, GA, USA

problem #67

Apr 052021

Sonata

  • 169,925 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. I just dropped it off at pohanka Hyundai (1770 ritchie station ct, capitol heights, md; (301) 423-1100) dealership regarding issues I suspect to be related to the recall on the engine. About three and half weeks ago, I started experiencing the following signs upon start-up in the morning and driving throughout the day. A loud knocking sound and vibration from the engine for 3-4 seconds when I start the car in the morning. Heavy smoking(more than the usual morning smoke on cold days) sometimes up to five or more minutes. Acceleration and rpmthat don't pass 2000 issues when driving at 60 mph. Random and intermittent stalling when driving, sometimes almost completely stopping or refusing to move after a momentary stop. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 169,925.

- Landover, MD, USA

problem #66

Feb 222021

Sonata

  • 99,000 miles
5 hours into a 6 hours highway drive, no issues have occurred, approaching a flyover at I-10E and the beltway East I was doing 70mph, about halfway up northbound approach I lost acceleration, all warning lights on dash appeared to illuminate, the radio continued to play, appears that power steering continued to work. After coasting down flyover I pulled to the right, put the car in park and it started up fine, I drove off the beltway to the feeder/service road and this happened once more. I pulled into parking lot and was able to put in park and start with no issue. Neither time did I ever see a constant warning light of any kind on my dash. The car has 99K miles and I am the only owner, taken to dealer 95 percent of time for maintenance.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #65

Sep 152020

Sonata

  • 30 miles
While driving the car, sometimes it does not respond to the pushing of the accelerator thereby either slowing down or hesitating creating scary and hazardous conditions on the road. This happens while driving on the interstate at high speeds or on the city roads in slow traffic. The behavior is unpredictable and uncontrollable. Also, the brake light stays on even when the brake pedal is not touched which is dangerous while driving. Upon research on line, this is not an isolated case but has happened to a number of Hyundai vehicles. It seems this has to do with either the rubber stopper of the brake switch or the failure of the brake switch or both. I called Hyundai and was informed that no recalls have been issued to fix this problem but the warranty on the stopper has been extended to 15 years and unlimited miles. They should extend this warranty not just to the stopper but to the whole switch assembly. It is obvious that Hyundai has acknowledged the problem with the brake switch assembly but is not informing the owners of the potential safety hazard caused by the failure of this assembly. In reality they should issue a recall to replace this assembly.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #64

Aug 012018

Sonata

  • miles
A recall has been settled. We are entitled to engine repair or replacement. I have made 14 payments on a car sitting at a Hyundai dealership, in a recall that is officially settled, and it won't/doesn't run and they won't help at all. They replaced my dipstick....light came on...replaced my oil fill cap...repeat....

- Damascus, MD, USA

problem #63

Jul 042020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 193,000 miles
Out of no where the transmission started to give me issues. It now takes longer for the gear to change from a stop, reving my car past 4,000 RPM's to 5,000rpm's. when breaking the gears jerk when lowering, and when driving with cruise control, my car will not stay the same pace. It wil lag or it will kick higher, either way making my car jerk.

- Hutto, TX, USA

problem #62

Jul 052020

Sonata

  • 91,993 miles
Beginning at around 90K miles, there was intermittent stuttering, about 2 seconds apart, whereby the vehicle would lose power while in motion; at various speeds, both on acceleration and deceleration or coasting. The episodes were only happening after the car had been driven for more than an hour. Now, at 92K miles the stuttering has increased in frequency and today I received a "hybrid system warning! safely stop and do not drive" message with audible warning chimes and a "wrench" icon illuminated. This trip was only a ten mile trip, in the morning, outside temperature was about 65F. The car hadn't been driven at all this day prior to this event. The warnings happened twice, less than one mile to my home, and I barely made it to my driveway, where it's now parked.

- Kirtland, NM, USA

problem #61

Feb 282019

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
Feburary 28 2019 coming home from my mothers birthday dinner my 2013 Hyundai Sonata accelerated on it's own. The vehicle went from 35mph to 65mph in a few seconds. Between the rain and sudden acceleration the vehicle lost traction. I tried the brakes, emergency brake and tried to put the car in neutral and failed.I was able to keep the vehicle from going off the side of the mountain with my 5 year old daughter. I was able to drift into a rock wall instead. We hit at approximately 40 to 45 mph. My 2013 Hyundai Sonata was totaled. I was finally able to get the gear shift to go in park and turn off the vehicle. Police report shows mechanical malfunction. We are lucky to be alive. This happened in helen white county Georgia. When the tow company arrived they turned the car on and it went to full acceleration. Emt police officer and tow truck driver witnessed. I also have pictures in addition I have 2 videos from my husbands ase certified shop of the car being turned on and accelerating on it's own in park.

- Hayesville, NC, USA

problem #60

Mar 122020

Sonata

  • 130,000 miles
The car will shut off randomly while driving and will not drive. It has happened multiple times on the interstate. Moving at 55+ miles per hour. It will not turn the engine on.

- Gastonia, NC, USA

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