10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 1
Average Mileage:
87,761 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2010 Hyundai Sonata:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #14

Aug 102010

Sonata

  • miles
3 out of 4 of my door handles all broke within a year's time. The car runs great if only you could get into it!

- Glendale, NY, USA

problem #13

Feb 012017

Sonata

  • 19,000 miles
My car has accelerated at least 10 times in the last 3 years when you put your foot on the brake the car bolts forward and keep going. It is a intermit problem and last time I almost got seriously hurt. The car won't stop when you hit the brakes. It happens driving and parking.

- New York, NY, USA

problem #12

Feb 122017

Sonata

  • miles
Broken door handles. This is the third one. First was front passenger door. 2 months later the passenger rear door. Now 3 months later the drivers door handle just dropped off in my hand yesterday morning

- Wilmington, NC, USA

problem #11

Sep 102016

Sonata

  • miles
All of my door handles are defected now the other 2 in the back door came off broken from the inside of the door

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #10

Sep 082016

Sonata

  • 25,000 miles
Exterior door handles have broken 6 times on several doors. Hhtsa may feel this is cosmetic but emergency personal may have difficulty making entry in an emergency situation. According to my mechanic, he sees this in more 2010 Hyundai's than any other vehicle. Simple web search found 100S of other complaints. At one point, 3 of 4 of my handles were broke at once. Average price to fix one door is $250. There should be a recall for this!

- Stuart, FL, USA

problem #9

Aug 202016

Sonata

  • 80,000 miles
My 2010 Hyundai sonota's door handles broke and were replaced on the passengers front and rear side by the previous owner a few days before we purchased the vehicle. They told us they were given a voucher from Hyundai to replace the handles and this was done at the dealership. After purchasing the vehicle a third door handle broke on the rear drivers side. The dealer would not cover the repairs for the third handle. While trying to resolve the third handle breakage, a fourth handle broke on the passengers front door. Note that this passengers front door handle was replaced 5 months ago at the dealer. I would like these handles looked into as a safety issue and would like a recall to fix these hazardous door handles. I have a small child in a car seat and need to be able to open the door to get them out.

- Palm Coast, FL, USA

problem #8

Mar 012016

Sonata

  • 20,000 miles
When driving over uneven road, potholes, bumpy roads, etc., both front suspension system, emits a rumbling, knocking, like a lose part sound. On the highway it sometimes car becomes un-stable, and loses control. Car is only 21,000 miles, suspension seems like an old 100,000 miles car. Hyundai should be accountable for this defect, since it is life threatening issue.

- Albany, CA, USA

problem #7

Feb 182016

Sonata

  • 64,000 miles
Twice the car was parked in the driveway. Once it was going through an auto bell car wash. The passenger side front door completely came off about two years ago when my wife opened the door, as we were getting into the car. The entire handle came off in her hand. She opened the door the same as she normally does. We took it to the dealership and were told that there were no recalls. At the time we could not afford to get it fixed. Six months ago while going through auto bell car wash the driver side rear door handle came loose and was no longer operational. Now this evening I opened the rear passenger side door to take grocery's out of the car and the door opened. However when I went to close the door I noticed that the handle was protruding. I took a closer look and attempted to open the door. There is too much movement in the door handle and it is not opening the door. I now have 3 doors that are not usable. I am disabled and it is going to make life very difficult to put groceries and other items in the car. I do not know how I am going to afford to fix 3 doors since I couldn't afford to replace even one door. These doors are cheaply made and this should be corrected by Hyundai. Shame on Hyundai for making such a poor product that is essential especially in today's world when needing to get into the car fast for safety reasons is imperative. If I wasn't disabled I could crawl inside to open the other doors, however I am not mobile enough to reach or climb to the back. Luckily I can roll down the windows but what is going to happen if my windows ever fail. The interior door handles are not in the best locations either. This will be the last Hyundai I buy and it's a shame just because of the cheap door handles.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #6

Dec 152015

Sonata

  • 34,000 miles
My wife and I purchased this vehicle new. The problem we have had in the last week is that the rear passenger out sise door handle just broke for no apparent reason. I figured this was somthing that just sometimes happens. I got on thd internet to buy a replacement and there are tons of people with the same problem. So I thought this is a safety problem for anyone in the car in case of an accident. No one can get in the car to help if these door handles break off when someone is trying to rescue you. Last night my wife came home and said that her passenger door did the same thing. Two door handles broke off in less then one week. This car has only 34000 miles on it and I think there needs to be a recall on these handles. My wife has our gran children riding in the back at times and since these children our in car seats its imperative that if she has an accident or other emergency people can get in the car.

- Topeka, KS, USA

problem #5

Nov 022015

Sonata

  • 100,000 miles
When my car is being sitting for long periods of time like more than two hours and when I start driving and I have to break or reduce speed feels kind of rough or hard to break but after a while driving start braking like normal I think is a safety issue because it start doing it after I took the car to universal Hyundai in orlando they recommended new brake pad in rear and tires I replace them but car still doing it also the dealer said thats not in the recall I do have the documents when I took the car to be inspected. I would like to know what I have to do to correct this problem.

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #4

Oct 172015

Sonata

  • 119 miles
The back passenger exterior door handle fell off while I attempted to open the door. The back doors are rarely used. This is a safety concern for passengers that may ride in the back seat in the event of an accident.

- Bethesda, MD, USA

problem #3

Jul 292014

Sonata

  • 50,000 miles
This is on behalf of my elderly mother who S now had 2 different outside handles fall off upon trying to open the doors. Exact dates are unknown, but we'd estimate the 1st handle fell off early 2014 or even 2013--the back driver-side door. As so many others have reported here, it simply fell off in her hand without opening the door. She was told by the dealer there was no fix avl. From the mfr standpoint--and due to the prohibitive cost of nearly $200 to fix it, living on a fixed income, she's gone without this repair. The driver's door outside handle likewise fell off a short time later, which caused much more nuisance since she was required to get in the car on the passenger side and crawl across the front seat to the driver's side. Finding that difficult to say the least, she paid $182.63 to get that handle replaced at the dealer. Aside from being a major nuisance, this could present a safety issue since in an accident or similar situation, it could cause a delay of several minutes for emergency responders to reach someone inside. In many decades, weve never had any other car door handles break-but with so many complaints about these handles, it seems Hyundai must be using inferior products for these particular parts. Could NHTSA consider forcing Hyundai to replace these handles as part of a recalland perhaps even provide reimbursement for repairs already made? NHTSA just reported an "engine recall" this morning for this same Hyundai model, along with several other model years, which will apparently result in engines needing to be replacedperhaps they could do a joint recall to fix both issues. Although affected VIN numbers are not "out" yet for that recall, when I saw there were already 17 other complaints just since January about this same door handle issue, we decided to add our voices. Thanks for your consideration.

- Camp Hill, PA, USA

problem #2

Aug 022015

Sonata

  • 13,000 miles
The car is equip with child safety lock, I stop to let out a passenger on the driver side, and the door handle came off in my hand, went back to the dealer and was told that I would have to pay $400 to have it replace, look on line and the direct fit handle cost is only $34 the car is still under warranty, the handle is just a peace of poorly made plastic, the door cannot be open now.

- New Rochelle, NY, USA

problem #1

Aug 092014

Sonata

  • 43,700 miles
Driver side - outside door handle just fell off in hand. This is the 3rd handle that has fallen off in less than 4 years - when it does there is no way to open the door from the outside. You ask why it is a safety hazzard - when there is only one person and you go some where in the car - the only way you can get in is to open another door and release the broken handle door by the inside and then walk around and get in - this is not safe in parking lots at this day and time - by that time some one else can slide into the car with you - please look at how many people are having problems with this - most of us have had more that one break - this is way to many and the car manufacturer needs to do a recall and get this straight - a door handle that you use to get in and out of everyday (the hinge) being made out of plastic - to me if feel like they designed it to break

- West Columbia, SC, USA