10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 29
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
36,552 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #53

Mar 092015

Sonata

  • miles
I purchased new '15 Sonata, my 8th one, but I have not nothing but problems with it. This dealership did all maintenance & repairs & had car a total of 7 times for the same complaint of the car 'bucking, ' like it is hard to shift into the next gear.I was told it was a computer part & it had been replaced, yet the problem continued, other times I was told there nothing could be detected as wrong. My 7th trip, the dealership kept it for 6-7 weeks when they determined the transmission clutch was defective, then they 'lost' the new transmission, before finally fixed it. I drive 100 miles daily to & from work am fearful that something would be wrong. I was almost rear ended by a far away 18 wheeler when the car would not forward. I reported all of this to the dealership. I requested to speak with general manager at least 3 times & was always told he was out, the last time I saw him leave after saying he was not there. So, after the transmission was 'fixed' in February. I called corporate & was told this is the way this vehicle drives as it has a semi-automatic transmission. I am driving a rental with same engine & does not behave like my mine. Within a few days, the car began stalling when trying to excel and the 'check engine light' came on. On the interstate, we slowed down and again it would not go forward. I brought it to another dealership & it has been in the shop for two weeks (March 25th) & they cannot figure out the problem. Corporate offered me $500 in 'free' service due to it the problems. I do not think that is compensation. Corp has agreed to buy car back approx. 2-3 wks ago due to continued problems. I was told the entire process would take 6-8 weeks. I have emailed/called since it is in the shop to expedite the process without response.

- St. Amant, LA, USA

problem #52

Mar 222017

Sonata

  • 27,000 miles
Complete engine failure while driving. No warning and it did not trigger the check engine light

- Proctorville, OH, USA

problem #51

Mar 012017

Sonata

  • 50 miles
Car hesitates almost stalls from a stopped position. Almost caused someone to rear end me.

- Citrus Heights, CA, USA

problem #50

Feb 162017

Sonata

  • 30,540 miles
My vehicle shut down in September 2016 while I was driving it on the highway. I pulled off the road immediately and had it towed to the dealer. After numerous attempts they told me it needed a new engine. The entire process took a month and a half. After getting my vehicle back it was driving fine until 2 months later when it shut down while I was driving again. I pulled off the main road, turned it off, and when I turned it back on it worked fine so I drove it straight to the dealer. They told me there was a recall and so I left it there overnight. After getting my vehicle returned to me for the second time, I had it for about three weeks until it broke down again. Again while I was driving it and again on a main road. I pulled off to the side, turned it off and on, and drove it straight to the dealer. They said this time it was the "throttle body" and they would need it for one to two days. Not only do I feel completely unsafe driving this car as it could shut down any minute and cause an accident, but this marks the third time having the same issue with the vehicle. It causes me to take time out of my day and miss work causing me to lose money. It is extremely inconvenient and very frustrating. I do not use this car to drive with my kids anymore as I do not trust it with their lives.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #49

Jan 262017

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 15,030 miles
I was driving at 6:20 am on the New Jersey turnpike. I was in the left lane and going approximately 70 mph using the scc (smart cruise control). All of the sudden, the lights start flashing and the car completely turns off. Since it was before sunrise, everything was black and I couldn't even see where I was driving, not to mention that the steering wheel became locked. 10 seconds later, the care came back to "life". it did that same intro with the "system check" thing as it does when the car is started from a park position- only I was on the highway going 70 mph. I have never heard of something so absurd, but I guarantee that if this was during rush hour or a busier time during the day- there would have been a major accident!

- Highland Park, NJ, USA

problem #48

Aug 012016

Sonata

  • 22,560 miles
Heat from turbo melted air intake tube

- Walnut, CA, USA

problem #47

Jan 142017

Sonata

  • 11,640 miles
The hose leading to the turbo has melted off. The clamp with hose rubber remain firmly attached to the turbo with the remainder of the hose has fallen below the turbo air inlet. The issue occurred suddenly from one night to the next morning. Under load, the turbo operational noise was extremely loud compared to usual.

- Peachtree City, GA, USA

problem #46

Jan 082017

Sonata

  • 22,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate over 40 mph. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed several times with oil leaking into the housing. The seals were resealed and the housing was replaced several times, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer again where it was diagnosed that oil was leaking into the housing unit and caused acceleration failure. The gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 22,000.

- Jonesboro, ME, USA

problem #45

Dec 092016

Sonata

  • 13,300 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. While backing out of a parking space, the engine suddenly revved and the vehicle accelerated approximately 25 feet. The contact's vehicle crashed into a Jeep and damaged three other vehicle. The failure occurred multiple times prior to this incident and the manufacturer was notified. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The approximate failure mileage was 13,300.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #44

Dec 212016

Sonata 4WD 4-cyl

  • 17,448 miles
White driving either in motion or stopped behind a light, engine starts to shake and stall. This make the car share heavily and nudge forwards and backwards until the call stalls out. Then the dash gets lit up with all the check engine lights. Then, pressing the start button multiple times until the vehicles starts. The car does this every so often. You drive off, it shakes and stalls, it has a hard time starting. Then it starts and everything seems normal. This happens at least 1 or 2 times a month. Currently vehicle at deal service to see what is going on. Google search resulted in other with similar issues. See link below if necessary. "www.carcomplaints.com/Hyundai/Sonata/2015/engine/engine.shtml"

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #43

Dec 172016

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
Me and my wife were driving to southern California on a road trip. When accelerating uphill, the transmission downshifted to above 3,500 RPM's. immediately the fuel cutoff and the car would not accelerate. I tried several times but noticed the car would not accelerate past 3,500 RPM's. I immediately went to manual mode and selected a gear that was below 3,500 to make it up the "grapevine" hill. Soon after the check engine light came on. I went to the dealer the next day and they said it was the vcm motor- code P0200A. It was replaced under warranty. The dealer service was great. We were lucky this malfunction didn't happen when my wife was driving alone and needed to pass another vehicle or drive uphill. She would not have been able to accelerate.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #42

Dec 032016

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 19,800 miles
While stationary I noticed the car's engine sounded like it was ticking. I drove off about 35 miles per hour when my 2015 Hyundai Sonata limited stalled while driving. The car started shaking while attempting to speed up to keep the vehicle running. I had my passenger who witnessed the incident and we recorded using the cell phone to record the incident. The engine light came on then off again. Eventually it cut off completely. I had to restart and the speed of the vehicle would not go past 50 mph. The engine shook the entire car and sounded like the gears did not want to shift. The dealer was not able to replicate the issue or find any codes on their system. This same thing happen to my 2011 Sonata in which Hyundai refuse to pay in a class action lawsuit because I traded out of the vehicle a year after they replaced the engine. The engine also stalled while traveling at highway speed and started smelling like an electrical fire while smoke came from under the engine. I had to have it towed back to the dealership.

- Forestville, MD, USA

problem #41

Nov 272016

Sonata

  • 13,500 miles
Shortly after exiting interstate and slowdown for signal, I attempted to accelerate and the vehicle was totally unresponsive, like I wasn't even giving it gas. I have had it serviced twice and towed once for stalling while driving, shuddering, sputtering. Took waiting and numerous attempts to get it restarted. The second time, the dealer kept it for a week in October and could not find anything. (this is my second complaint as I want all this documented). Doesn't mean it doesn't exist. They replaced the fuel pump. I just drove it back from out of town this weekend (300 miles) and I noticed the acceleration was quite sluggish especially when trying to accelerate to pass. It was like the passing gear would not engage. Afraid my car would just stall again, I did not pursue heavy acceleration or passing gear attempts any further. Then this happened today. I feel there is something definitely wrong with this vehicle, and that every time I drive it, I am at some kind of risk. Saw some other complaints about ECM. The problem needs to be identified and corrected; this is definitely a safety issue, especially at high speeds or heavy traffic. There is definitely something wrong here.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #40

Aug 172016

Sonata

  • 27,000 miles
The contact owned a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the vehicle stalled and smoke started to emit from underneath the hood and the air conditioning vents. The vehicle was pulled to the side and the contact quickly jumped out of the vehicle just before the engine compartment exploded and the hood flew open. The contact stated that the fire department came to the scene and extinguished the fire. A police report was filed but there was no fire report. The contact stated that there were no injuries. The remains of the vehicle was towed to a junk yard. The failure mileage was 27,000.

- Lauder Lakes, FL, USA

problem #39

Oct 242016

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 3,000 miles
I got my car with 15 miles on it, before I even had 10 thousand miles the car had a transmission heat up. Took it to the dealer they run a test nothing was found. A week later same thing happen, now the car is at 31 thousand miles im so scared driving the car stalling like a manual car everytime I accelerate. The car keep on vibrating hard at 40-up mph.

- Newark, NJ, USA

problem #38

Apr 282016

Sonata

  • 7,000 miles
At about 7000 mi. The engine began burning oil at 13 K mi.it has been to the dealer twice they say it is normal burning 3/4 qt in less than 3K miles is more pollution than normal I would think

- Omaha, AR, USA

problem #37

Apr 282016

Sonata

  • 9,000 miles
The car at about 7K miles started using oil a qt, every 2500 mi. They are telling me it is normal. It is polluting more than than normal plus fouling the plugs over time

- Omaha, AR, USA

problem #36

Oct 202016

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 13,950 miles
Leased 2015 Hyundai Sonata SE trim in 05/2015. 1) in 02/16 --> sluggish acceleration reported to dealer and he applied software update to ECM. 2) 10/05/2016 ---> while driving car started to sputter, shudder and heavy smoke (mostly white) coming from tail pipe. Car was not accelerating at all. It was very dangerous situation and felt that car was not under control. Finally it came to stop. After few minutes, tried to start and succeeded in 3rd/4th attempt. Took it to nearby Hyundai dealer, and as per them, they updated ECM (engine control module) software. 3) 10/20/2016 --> issue appeared again with same symptoms.car is with dealer and he is looking into it. I am very concerned about safety.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #35

Oct 162016

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 12,400 miles
Vehicle has just over 12000 miles. On 10/16/2016 vehicle just stalled while driving it. I had backed out of a parking spot, put in drive, car moved forward about 15 feet and then it shook and made horrible noises and stalled. Took 3 attempts to restart. Brought to dealer, diagnostics revealed nothing and car was released. On 10/19/2016 car stalled again while driving. I was driving through apartment parking lot and it just stalled. Oil and battery lights came on. This time had it towed to dealer (too scared to drive it in rush hour traffic). Dealer ran diagnostics with no results. They are trying to duplicate episodes. How long does this mean they need to keep the vehicle" gave me free rental day 1, but after that? this is a serious safety issue. And from what I can see visiting websites, also a commonly occurring problem. Can the ntsb help before many people are killed? I don't want to drive my car anymore. I traded in an 8 year old car because I wanted something new and reliable. Not sure this was such a good idea. Dealer has been working diligently to identify the problem so they can remedy it, but without any diagnostic errors, they are forced to return the car to me. I really don't want to drive it until I know the problem has been identified and corrected. What if I were in the middle of nowhere and this happened, by myself, and after hours" this is what occurred 10/16/16 and I was lucky I got it restarted.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #34

Sep 242016

Sonata

  • 24,800 miles
I was driving about at 50 mph on a highway with my kids and had only 1 to 2 miles left to exit. Suddenly, I felt something wrong in the engine or powertrain as I couldn't accelerate my car. When I tried to hit hard on the acceleration pedal, my car would accelerate a little bit, but not that much. While I stepped down on the pedal, I felt my car was rolling up and down. Anyway, my speed was being reduced as it didn't accelerate. Finally, I exited the highway. I had to stop at the intersection and then tried to start, but my car moved very slowly and hard with the rolling. It is only 1-mile distance to my home from the intersection, but I had to pull over my car to a shoulder as I found that I couldn't no longer drive my car without interrupting the traffic. I also could see white/black smoke coming out from my car through my room mirror and smell something burnt in the engine room. Lastly, I had to call a towing company for pick-up.

- Portland, OR, USA

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