Re: investigation seat belt buckle electrical malfunction NHTSA action number: PE14023 NHTSA closed this investigation 12/1/14 on the condition that Hyundai would extend the warranty to 15 years and 250,000 miles for this repair. Per the letter attached to the case I contacted Hyundai today to get reimbursed for the expense related to this issue ($380.75). I spoke to two different reps at Hyundai and neither had any idea what I was talking about. So it's been three months since this case closed and Hyundai is not honoring the new extended warranty.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

Airbag light went on again. Took to dealer for second time and they confirmed there was a fault in the seat belt buckle that trips up the airbag system. Quote is $310 to fix on top of $130 they charged me to determine reason for air bag light.

- Stockton, CA, USA

The drivers seat belt will not stay engaged, I have to take my hand & keep hitting until it will stay engaged.

- Vass, NC, USA

Our 2007 Sonata air bag red light came on for no reason, just as hundreds of others have said while researching the problem on the internet. Probably will not attempt to get help from Hyundai at this point since so many others have been charged $400 plus for repairs that only last for a short time, and need to be done again. Always liked this car till this issue started. Because of Hyundai's disregard for the safety of those who own their vehicles, I will be selling this car, never buy from Hyundai again and will inform others of this problem so they can avoid the danger and frustration of dealing with Hyundai.

- Beatrice, NE, USA

The 2007 Hyundai Sonata gls 4 cylinder 2.4 L, at 39 225 miles, the airbag warning light stayed on. I took it to the circle Hyundai dealer in shrewsbury NJ to check it out. The mechanic looked at the car and I was informed that the seat belt pre tensioner needed to be replaced and that it was not covered under warranty. The cost to me out of pocket would be $ $450 I did not have the repair completed. I have read many, close to 100 complaints on just this same issue, on just this same vehicle model and make being reported on this NHTSA website. It is overdue for a recall of this problem on the 2007 Hyundai Sonata. The owners of this make and model are a risk of injury to their persons should they be involved in a car crash and the airbag not responding and protecting the occupants.. I have also read that other owners of this year, make and model have had many of the same mechanical problems and posted them here on the NHTSA website and have paid out of their pockets to repair their vehicles. Repairs such as rear disc brakes that are staying onto the rear rotors, caliper not releasing and wearing out the disc pads and rotors prematurely, also the driver and passenger sun visors that drop down and block your line of sight, and nearly cause an accident. Loyal owners of these Hyundai vehicles should be reimbursed for the repair costs to them to keep the cars safe. Action should be taken to start a recall of these many manufacturing defects that can harm or injury to the occupants of these vehicles.

- Aberdeen, NJ, USA

The air bag warning light in the instrument cluster came on and stayed on. All I did was start the car. When I took it to the garage to have it diagnosed the error that the garage got was "B1706 - passenger buckle pretensioner voltage high". the cost to repair is going to be approximately $400.

- Groton, MA, USA

While driving I noticed that my air bag light came on, I immediately went to the dealer. They said that my passenger seat belt is defected. They said the cost of fixing is approximately $500, and the initial fee was $110. I looked online and there has been alot of complaints about this same issue.

- Miami , FL, USA

Air bag light stayed on at all times, with and without passenger present. Dealer claimed it was not related to ongoing recall, but driver side seatbelt pretensioner, which was replaced for $267. A half year later, the light came back on and stayed on, intermittently. Dealer checked it out, but on that occasion the light stayed turned off. However, when I drove out of the dealer's lot it turned back on and has stayed on since. I have tried to ignore it, but the recent recalls make me very nervous.

- Plymouth, MA, USA

Recently air bag light on the dash has been coming on. Since state inspection was around the corner had it inspected and the vehicle fail because of air bag light, code B1706, passenger buckle malfunction. Estimate of $400 to replace, that includes part and labor. I am forced to get this fixed for obvious safety issue but also my car will not pass state inspection with this light coming on. It's not often that someone sits in the front passenger seat so definitely not overused. After further online research I see this is a continuous problem people are reporting for this make and model. It would appear this should be part of a national recall since so many complaints about it but also because this kind of buckle malfunction does not seem to happen often with other vehicle types. First time I have experienced this with any make I have owned.

- Midlothian, VA, USA

Air bag warning light came on. The codes were run and revealed seat belt pretensioners were the issue. Estimated repair via the dealer was $500. The air bag light had come on previously last year approximately 4/2013. The codes were the exact same, but dealer was able to clear codes from computer.

- East Windsor , NJ, USA

The air bag warning light stays on. Took car to a Hyundai dealership and they said it the passenger seat belt assembly. It will cost about $400 to replace.

- Stony Point, NY, USA

Air bag came on, took to the dealer they tolld me the driver seat belt assy needs to be replaced $500. There is too many complaints on this pos. Shoulb B recall. Im not going to fix it.

- Saint Peters, MO, USA

I received a letter from Hyundai that my car was under recall (issue with the passenger air bag being de-activated) & urged me to visit the dealer if OCS light was on. Hence I took it to the dealership based on this safety recall notice. They checked the system and the front passenger seat and said there was no problem and that my system was fine. Less than 1 month later the red airbag light appeared on my dash board intermittently for about a week before it came on and stayed on permanently. I returned to the dealer to have them run a system check and was informed that the issue was a sensor was triggered due to a faulty passenger seat belt assembly and needed to be replaced at the cost of approximately $400!!! I informed the dealer that the airbag light did not come on until after they supposedly worked on or checked the airbag system due to the recall in the 1st place. I was told that this had nothing to do with the recall issue and that I would have to pay at my expense because it was not covered by warranty. Because I did not have $400 just laying around to spend, the problem has not been fixed yet and now my vehicle has failed the safety inspection due to the airbag issue!!! if Hyundai has a manufacturing defect should it not be their responsibility to inspect it to see if the recall is applicable instead of charging the customer for it" secondly, if this investigation proves that Hyundai has installed defective safety equipment in these vehicles across the board, shouldn't every customer who had to pay out of pocket expense to have the seat belts replaced be fully reimbursed"

- Worcester, MA, USA

Dealer found codes B1706 and B1102 present. Dealer tech stated driver seat belt buckle needs replacing, with an estimated cost of $344.56. The SRS module is not allowing codes to be reset, needs replacing also, with an estimated cost of $1,004. I see NHTSA has just started investigating the B1706 code -- my understanding from reading the other complaints is that a short circuit is causing the error code, and replacing the seat belt assembly is not permanently fixing the problem for most owners. Most owners mention repeat bills of about $350, but a few of the complaints mention much higher repair estimates, over $1,000. I suspect these estimates include replacement of the SRS module, like my estimate did. NHTSA should consider whether there is also a rash of SRS module failures due to the same short circuit. My B1102 code, indicating a high-voltage error, could also be more common and could also be caused by the same short circuit.

- Greenbelt, MD, USA

The air bag light came on so I took the car into the dealer for a diagnosis ($75). They told me there are two issues - the OCS which is already under recall so no charge and the other is the driver side seat belt issue reported by many others here. I was told that this $300+ repair is necessary for the airbag system to work properly. Clearly this should be a recall item or at least repaired at no charge if it occurs. Also, the dealer wouldn't even credit me for the diagnostic fee even though one of the issues is a recall and the other is going to be repaired by the dealer.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

Hyundai has changed my seat belt buckle numerous times because of an air bag related issue. Now that its out of warranty they will not cover it. Air bag light back on and they want, $400 to replace the bad seatbelt with any warranty. This is probably the 4th time since I had the vehicle brand new that im having this problem, I never in my life experienced so many airbag problems with a vehicle other then a Hyundai. Also now they are saying my brake light switch is bad yet again after they supposedly changed it out a few years ago for a recall, to many of the same problems with Hyundai. Scared to drive the car feels like I bought a lemon. Wish there was more that Hyundai could do for there customers but it seems like they don't care. What ever happened to Hyundai slogan about safety 1st..

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

Two weeks ago my air bag light came on. Brought the vehicle into the dealer this morning and they tell me that I need a new passenger seatbelt buckle. Failure to replace this incredibly expensive part would result in the failure of the airbags to deploy in the event of a crash. Also, the state I live in would not allow the vehicle to pass inspection with this light being on. So I can not wait for a recall, I have to replace this part now. Seeing as how many others have reported this problem and it directly relates to the safety of the vehicle I do not understand why this seatbelt buckle has not yet been recalled.

- St. Albans, ME, USA

While I was driving a couple days ago my air bag light came on. It has stayed on for 3 days now. I called Hyundai customer service and they stated that the seat belt issue is under investigation. I was informed that since this has not been recalled, I must pay $100 for a diagnostic check and then hundreds of more dollars to get it fixed with no guarantee that it will be reimbursed. This is ridiculous that I must pay for a known safety issue to be fixed because a government Agency is so slow moving in forcing a recall. This is a known issue that puts lives at risk. This needs to be recalled immediately and those of us that have paid for it be reimbursed.

- Dane, WI, USA

Passenger seatbelt gets tighter and will not get slack again. When you put it on, that's how it stays. If you take a deep breath it will tighten and only if you disengage the seat belt can you breath regularly again. We have taken it in to the dealership a couple of times and they state that the seat belts are working correctly. I have a 2007 Hyundai elantra and the seat belt does not work like this. My elantra allows the passenger seat belt to tighten or expand as needed but still locks in place. This Sonata passenger seat belt does not work correctly. No one likes to be a front passenger in this car. Forget picking something from the floor or turning to hand something to someone in the back seat-yank!! this can't be safe, yet we are told it is. We have our teenage daughter sitting in the front sometimes and I am worried, that this may not be safe. This happens at all speeds, at all times.

- Lemon Grove, CA, USA

I purchased a used 2007 Hyundai Sonata on 5/29/2009 with 26,923 miles from gettel Hyundai, sarasota Florida. I took it back to the dealership on 12/14/09 (34,151 miles) because the air bag light remained on. They found B1706 error (the passenger seat belt buckle resistance was high) so they replaced the passenger seat belt buckle assembly with no charge. On 6/8/12 (61,000 miles) I took the car back to the dealership for the same problem. The technician found codes: B1448, B1701 and B1706.the repairs were not cover by warranty and would cost $800. I declined the work. Before I left they told me that the airbags may not deploy if I were in an accident. Last month I found out that there was a recall of 2007 Hyundai Sonata back in April 2008 to replace the airbag sensor in the passenger seat cushion which caused the airbag light to remain on. Today (7/18/2014), (91,000 miles) I took my car in to the dealership for the recall repair and they told me the problem was with the front passenger cushion airbag sensor and with both seat belt buckle sensors. They will ship the front passenger cushion seat to California to fix the airbag sensor problem for free but it would cost $630 to replace both seat belt buckle assemblies. The service manager said if I declined to replace both seat belt sensors that the airbags would not deploy if I ever get into an accident. Well, I cannot afford the repair. It is a sad situation. Hyundai must know by now there is a problem with the seat belt assembly, it is all over the internet. It seems to be all about money and that Hyundai is paying for the cost of recall repairs for the seat cushion sensor by charging folks to have the seat belt assemblies replaced. I'm sure some lawyer will find out about this problem and find people injured due to the seat belt assembly malfunctions and file a lawsuit. I just hope no one dies because of it.

- Venice, FL, USA