10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
94,592 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #8

May 252016

Sonata

  • 151,946 miles
The vehicle started making a noise and driving weird. It looked like one tire was pointed straight and the other tire turned slightly. I stopped at a gas station to see what was wrong and they said the a frame was almost rusted into. I had already had the metal in the rear of the car replaced from being rusted out near were the shock attaches. I have researched and seen where several Sonatas have been recalled due to severe rust issues. The body even has been rusting badly. The bigger concern is the frame. I am afraid to drive it now. Do not know what recourse I have. This happened while driving. The car is now parked and am afraid to move it, even to a garage.

- Langley, KY, USA

problem #7

May 302015

Sonata

  • 81,000 miles
I backed out of the driveway and the subframe on the passenger side collapsed and the tie rod and cv joint came loose. The steering went out. A certified frame mechanic said the sub frame rusted out.

- Lexington, KY, USA

problem #6

Jul 302012

Sonata 6-cyl

  • 165,000 miles
My son was driving the vehicle at 45 mph and heard a loud pop in the right front end of the vehicle and immediately afterwards the vehicle veered of to the right and on to the side of the road he was able to maintain control somewhat but if there had been pedestrians in that area I am not sure there would have not been serious consequences, the car was driven slowly to the nearest Hyundai dealer for assessment and after assessment the dealer stated that the sub-frame has rusted out to the point that the right front wheel could become detached thereby possibly causing a potential catastrophic failure or loss of control of the vehicle and unknown consequences, dealer has submitted information to Hyundai Corp, the vehicle has an active recall on this particular safety defect. Recall #089 issued in April 2008. We are awaiting Hyundai response as to the status of our recall request as of 08/01/12.

- Conway, SC, USA

problem #5

Feb 222012

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 104,000 miles
2002 Hyundai Sonata failed at 6 mph turning a city street corner. The axle and ball joint fell off, taking the right front wheel with it. This car was 'repaired' a few years earlier when it was recalled for undercarriage rust. They sprayed a rubberized coating on the undercarriage, and told me I was good to go! we all know, there is no way to stop rust.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #4

Jan 182010

Sonata

  • 91,590 miles
On Monday evening 01/18/2010 my wife and I left our home with our 2002 Hyundai Sonata we drove no more then 3 tenths of a mile when the steering wheel starting pulling very hard to the right we then turned around and drove back toward home but only made it about 2 tenths of a mile before the front right wheel collapsed bringing us to a dead stop in the middle of the road. Thankfully we were only going about 20-25 mph the police were called for traffic and the car was towed to R.J shore automotive branford ct 06405 the next morning the owner of R.J.auto informed me that my front engine sub-frame had failed due to corrosion, and showed me a print-out of a recall from Hyundai dated April 14, 2009 then stated he called the Hyundai dealer in branford ct 06405 but the dealer refused to pick up the car so I had to pay $81.41 to have the car towed to branford Hyundai. The staff at the Hyundai had no answers and continued to state you will have to call the corporate office, so I did. The employee chris stated that there were 200.000 vehicles involved in this recall campaign #089 or #09V124000 and we have not mailed out all of the notices (shame on them because it's been almost a year and if we were on the highway we could have died) the employee then called the branford Hyundai and was told that the car would take 1 or 2 weeks to fix and no loaner or rental vehicle will be provided I said that is unacceptable and demanded a loaner still the answer was no but somehow they managed to fix my car on 01/20/2010 when I picked my vehicle up at 420pm on 01/20/2010 my wife and I were not allowed to view what was repaired and was told that they bent over backwards to fix this car quickly because of my call to Hyundai corporate I stated (bent over backwards, someone could have died, from this accident) the manager bob guevera, and a chris vailette then called the police and told us to never come back again, to have the corporate office fix my car next time.

- Branford, CT, USA

problem #3

Jun 122009

Sonata

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Sonata. After driving 55 mph, the driver arrived at her destination and discovered that the wheel was at a 45 degree angle. The driver had to use excessive force to turn the steering wheel to the right. She noticed that the frame on the front end, which houses the supports for the wheels, was rusted out completely. The contact took the vehicle to a tire dealer for an alignment inspection. The results indicated that there were holes in the frame holding the steering, which had to be replaced at the cost of $1,600. The vehicle was repaired and is currently able to be driven. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 125,000.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #2

Sep 192004

Sonata 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 38,200 miles
Bf goodrich tires (20565H15) on a 2002 Hyundai Sonata. After less than 50 miles front left tire went flag due to a severed valve stem. Stem was severed by hub cap movement. Remounted tire, and tire leaked while driving on highway. Removed all hub caps for now. Hyundai blaming tire manufacturer, but size is recommended size as stated on auto specifications. This is a potentially dangerous situation for anyone who changes tire brands on this model. Tire dealers shoul dbe made aware of this problem before someone is needlessly injured.

- Hazlet, NJ, USA

problem #1

Apr 012002

Sonata

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Vehicle has problems with front vibration. The vehicle veered left and the consumer lost control of steering. The cause was found to be broken U-bolt. The vehicle began to vibrate from front end while the consumer was driving and the cause was determined to be front left axle failure, which was replaced. Brakes constantly squeak and pulsate, but the dealer could not duplicate the problem.

- Worcester, MA, USA