Hyundai Sonata Reliability by Year
Best & Worst Years, Problems & Recalls — NHTSA Data
Comparing used Hyundai Sonata options? We analyzed 10 model years (2017–2026) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
Model-year trends show patterns. Run a VIN check for the exact Hyundai Sonata you plan to buy.
HYUNDAI SONATA (2017-2026) has 1765 NHTSA complaints, with engine issues accounting for 772. The 2017 model year alone has 754 complaints. 19 recalls have been issued. Source: NHTSA owner complaints and recall records.
- Make
- Hyundai
- Model
- Sonata
- Model years analyzed
- 2017–2026 (10 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 1,765
- Safety recall campaigns
- 19
- Crash-related complaints
- 79
- Fire-related complaints
- 29
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2017 (754 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2025 (15 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- ENGINE
- Reliability signal
- Below Average
Hyundai Sonata: Which Years to Avoid & Which to Buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
⭐ NHTSA NCAP Crash Test Ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
What the Complaint Data Suggests
Below AverageBased on NHTSA complaint data, the Hyundai Sonata (2017-2026) has 1765 total complaints and 19 recalls. The engine accounts for 772 complaints, the highest among components. Buyers should prioritize engine inspection and recall checks before purchase. Source: NHTSA owner complaints and recall records.
- Engine complaints total 772, the most of any component.
- The 2017 model year has 754 complaints, the highest among years analyzed.
- Crash-related complaints number 79, indicating some safety concerns.
- UNKNOWN OR OTHER component with 265 complaints, indicating unspecified issues.
- Engine failure or malfunction.
- Electrical system problems with 225 complaints.
The 2017 model year has 754 complaints, driven largely by engine issues. 2018 also shows elevated complaints (359).
The 2024-2026 model years have the fewest complaints (40, 15, 1 respectively), suggesting improved reliability or lower exposure.
- Investigate UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints by requesting service records.
- Verify all open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
- Request service records for engine, electrical, and steering components.
- Have a mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase.
🔔 NHTSA Safety Recalls
19 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
Safety Recall
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Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2017–2026. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
🔧 Most-Reported Problem Areas
Based on component keywords extracted from all 1,765 NHTSA complaints.
📋 NHTSA Complaint Reports
1,765 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
2026 hyundai sonata limited hybrid first owner. The sunroof above the driver's seat exploded while i was driving 70mph on the highway. Sounded like a gunshot. It was completely shattered but thankfully did not rain down on me. Local hyundai dealer inspected it and warranty denied from hyundai due to "caused by an outside influence." I did not see or hear any rocks or debris.
Bluelink remote start with climate control is defective. When initiated, the vehicle starts but the climate control system comes on in the OFF state and does not apply the saved preset, including front and rear defroster settings. This defeats the intended pre-conditioning function in winter conditions, where a remote-activated defroster is a meaningful visibility/safety feature. The defect has persisted since early December 2025 and is documented widely on Hyundai's owner forums and on Reddit across multiple model lines. A recent Hyundai-issued app update removed the standalone remote stop button that owners had been using as a workaround, making the defect materially worse. Hyundai Consumer Affairs Case #[XXX] has been opened. As of this filing, no resolution or response timeline has been provided by Hyundai. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
We were backing up and leaving a parking space when the emergency braking system overrode our driving and forced a stop. This has happened many times, once while turning at a red light (which we had the right-of-way) and our car stopped on the middle of the intersection. Another time was during a turn in a non-traffic light turn lane where timing is important. Our car was again completely stopped in the middle of the road in oncoming traffic.
Driver side window switch that controls all the windows intermittently fails to operate at times which causes the window to not open or not close back again randomly. When wanting to close any window from the drivers seat the switches don’t work causing a safety hazard in a situation where the windows would require to be rolled up or opened immediately. Issue not brought up with Hyundai or any dealer because warranty doesn’t apply to 2nd owner. No warning lamps or errors. First incident happened August 2025 and has kept on happening intermittently.
The horn on my vehicle completely stop working. There were no alert messages and I found out that it wasn't working when I needed to use it. I was driving 55 miles per hr in a highway and another vehicle was about to switch lane to merge into my lane and driver did not see me and almost got into an accident. When I try to use the horn to alert tge other vehicle, horn did not work. It still doesn't work. Took my vehicle to Millenium Hyunday Dealership in Hempstead, NY and was told by service advisor that horn is only covered up to 60,000 Mike's because is an electronic feature. I disagree with that assessment and believe this is a safety feature that needs to be reevaluated.
While driving on the highway on 4/4/26 at 10:40 pm the dashboard and the headlights went out. The outage lasted about 5 seconds and then they came back on. I drove another 40 minutes and did not have another problem. My safety was put at risk because I could not see the road and others could not see me! There were no warnings prior to the problem. This is the second time in a year that this incident has happened. The first time was in September 2025.
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Sonata. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt warning light intermittently illuminated with an audible chime while the driver’s and passenger's side seat belts were properly buckled. Additionally, on two separate occasions, the horn was inoperable, and the anti-collision warning light illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and two other dealers, Alexandria Hyundai (1707 Mt Vernon Ave, Alexandria, VA 22301) and Sheehy Hyundai of Waldorf (2910 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD 20601), who were unable to duplicate the seat belt failures. The third dealer, Sheehy Hyundai of Waldorf (2910 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD 20601), determined that the horn needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
Hello everyone. Since I purchased the vehicle new, the HVAC controls have never functioned properly. The A/C engages with the button off; this issue is only temporary solved by turning the button on and off again. The mode defaults to face and feet; this issue is only temporary solved by cycling through the modes until you reach your desired mode. Besides this being a very annoying problem, I found this to be dangerous for me because I like cool air blowing to my face, and I rarely catch this issue on time. Instead of cool air blowing to my face only as it's selected in my car, cool air is being blown to my face and feet instead. My feet get numb and my foot movements are slow when theyre too cold, and it takes a long time to warm back up. I usually pull over for a few minutes to warm my feet up to get back on the road, sometimes I'll get out of my car and walk back and forth to get the blood flow going. The dealership has inspected my vehicle twice to get it fixed under warranty, but so far their repairs have not solved the problem. In my opinion it is most likely a software bug that could be caused by a faulty module or program code, or something in the canbus system. I am almost certain that it is not a mechanical failure.
Sudden loss of acceleration. This occurred while making a left turn across traffic from a stop. At approximately 7mph the car would not accelerate any further. I was luckily able to coast the vehicle into a center turn lane. Upon coming to a stop I was unable to get any acceleration. The vehicle was turned off and turned back on again and operated normally. There were no trouble codes displayed.
While driving the vehicle the other night, the cars electrical system completely shut off for a few seconds before popping back on. The whole car inside and out went completely black. It was around 10pm on a dark country road. I had the seat heater on high and the defrost on high because it was cold. It appeared to happen when the auto high beams were supposed to engage. Instead of them engaging, the whole cars electrical system just shut off. No headlights, no instruments, interior lighting, console display, nothing worked. The car was in battery mode at the time, and it sounded like the whole car just shutoff. I took my foot off the accelerator wondering what happened, and before I could understand what was going on, everything came back on. It did not prompt me to start the vehicle again. The auto on/off brights never worked like they were supposed to again either. I had to manually engage and disengage them. Thankfully it was just me on that stretch of road going 30mph at the time or it could have ended badly.
While driving the dashboard headlights and all safety systems shut off for a brief period and then reset and if driving at night this leaves you completely in the dark till the system resets. All lights exterior and interior all the safety sensors, adaptive cruise control everything shuts off. Anything tied to the electrical system shuts off. The only thing that remains running is the engine.
The exterior lights such as head lights and brake lights aswell as all interior electronics shut off at random intervals while driving posing a serious danger early in the morning and at night.
The vehicle's emergency brack system is malfunctioning. There have been several instances where the car's emergency brack went on while no coalition was going to happen. Several instances as well happened while in reverse the emergency bracks went on without there being anything behind the vehicle.
I was sold a 2024 Hyundai Sonata SEL and while driving on the road multiple times the car completely shut off. By this all lights inside AND outside the car turned off (Headlights, interior lights and all) car was still rolling and I pulled over each time as all systems rebooted. It claimed that all seatbelts were off with the warning sign. Had to unbuckle and buckle all seatbelts for this warning to go away. Since the car completely shut off this put other drivers, my passengers, and myself at danger due to visibility. Luckily there was no traffic at the time but this keeps happening and it is worrying me.
In morning dew/foggy winshield, the systems will disable easily. You get pop ups such as: Inattentive Driving Disabled, Camera Obscured. And forward collision warning disabled, camera obscured. I’ve had many vehicles in the past and the safety systems never disable this easily over slight fog or slight morning dew. Even with a lot of fog on the winshield my other cars are still fine. I also have a 2023 Elantra that has NEVER done this before. It seems to be an issue in Hyundais new driver assistance systems in 2024+ vehicles.
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate to overtake another vehicle at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated to approximately 20 MPH instead. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the vehicle for approximately 20 minutes, before restarting and continuing to drive. There were no warning lights illuminated. The failure had occurred three times. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed that the transfer case had failed and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,500.
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the horn had become inoperable and no audible sound occurred while pressed. The cause of the failure was not yet determine and the failure was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 16,000.
Complaint ID: 11667442 Vehicle: 2024 Hyundai Sonata Mileage: 20,000 (approx.). Update Summary: This update concerns the persistent, severe Electronic Stability Control (ESC) steering malfunction previously reported. Current Status of Issue: The ESC steering defect remains unresolved. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Hyundai dealership on July 15, 2025, for re-diagnosis. The technician reported being unable to find any fault, despite the clear, dangerous, and recurring symptoms of steering control loss and near-collisions. The vehicle is still unsafe to operate due to this unaddressed safety hazard. Manufacturer's Response: During this recent service visit, Hyundai continued to refuse to provide a loaner vehicle for the diagnostic and repair period. This refusal places the driver at extreme risk due to the necessity of driving a vehicle with a known, uncorrected safety defect that has already failed a previous recall repair (performed June 6, 2025, RO 41686321 ). Impact: The vehicle's safety is severely compromised. The persistent ESC defect, combined with the manufacturer's inability to diagnose/repair it and refusal to provide safe alternative transportation, necessitates immediate intervention.
After a dealer-installed software update on my 2024 Hyundai Sonata sel awd, the car began jerking during acceleration and shifting. This happens at low and moderate speeds and creates an unsafe hesitation, especially in traffic. This issue did not exist before the update. I believe the software update affected the transmission or engine control calibration. The dealership has not resolved the issue, and it poses a safety concern. Please investigate whether this is linked to a faulty update affecting other Sonata vehicles.
My car tends to jerk very hard two to three times on cold start up and I’ve read that the previous years have had this issue. They are still the same mechanically so I do not know why my year does not have a recall for it
Showing 20 of 1,765 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Before You Buy, Check the Exact Hyundai Sonata
These pages show model-year patterns across 10years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
📖 Understanding This Data
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Hyundai Sonata has 1,765 complaints on record across 10 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Hyundai Sonata has 19 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 79 of the Hyundai Sonata's 1,765 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Below Average) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Hyundai Sonata vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Hyundai Sonata vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Hyundai Sonata has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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📍 Check a Hyundai Sonata by State
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used Hyundai Sonata.