There are 50 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2016 Hyundai Sonatain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Engine started rough idling and knocking. Took to a mechanic who found metal particulate in the oil and the engine spun a bearing.
The driver’s seat / passenger seat assembly, including seat rails, mounting brackets, and Smart Junction Box (SJB) connections if electrical adjustment was involved, completely failed during a crash. The seat lifted off the floor anchors and almost entirely came apart, including both the seat cushion (where you sit) and the backrest, leaving the occupant crushed within the collapsed seat structure, resulting in catastrophic injuries. During the crash, the seat collapsed and disassembled, exposing the occupant to extreme trauma. This caused: •Pelvic fracture •Broken femur, hip, and back •Collapsed lung and punctured liver •Foreign object from the seat mechanism punctured pelvic bone The failure directly contributed to life-threatening injuries that would not have occurred if the seat had remained securely anchored. The malfunction posed an immediate risk of death and permanent disability. Not yet reproduced under controlled conditions. The incident has been documented by police and medical personnel. The vehicle is currently in a tow yard, and we have not had access to it, but it remains available for inspection by Hyundai, NHTSA, or a qualified service center Police: Yes, crash scene documented. •Insurance: We are unsure whether the insurance company has inspected the seat. The vehicle remains in the tow yard and has not been repaired or altered. •Manufacturer (Hyundai): Not yet inspected; formal inspection requested. The vehicle and seat are preserved and ready for inspection by Hyundai, NHTSA, or other qualified representatives. There were no warning lamps, messages, or prior symptoms of seat failure. The seat functioned normally prior to the crash, and the malfunction occurred only during the impact, demonstrating a sudden and catastrophic failure under crash conditions.
Pushed acceleration at traffic light to cross and turn into neighborhood, car started beeping frantically, 'check hev system' flashed on dash as well as 'turn off engine' while car decelerated to 1-3 mph. Battery meter bar on left side of dash completely depleted showing no battery power supply at all. Turned vehicle off for a few minutes then restarted. Put the vehicle in drive gear and same warnings appear, car doesn't even accelerate when gas pedal is pressed fully, stays at 1-3 mph crawl. Vehicle stalls out after 30 seconds, vehicle turns on but cannot start.
Tengo este sonata ya 3 años a solo un mes de haberlo comprado empezó con los problemas de check hybrid system todo el tiempo el mecánico no sabe que pasa con eso además siempre cuando se enciende esa luz no se puede manejar el carro y le dice que tengo que apagarlo
The shark fin antennae on top of the vehicle was ripped off in a car wash; the antennae serves to transmit radio/GPS/data to & from the vehicle which will cease to function if it the cover is removed and components damaged. Hyundai description: The shark fin antenna will receive AM, FM broadcast signals and transmit data Multiple Hyundai dealers have been contacted for quotes on replacing the antennae which they claim will cost $1500+ since the top of the roof must be removed and electronics/circuit board/cables must be replaced; it appears to be a common issue with these shark fins according to the dealers and online research. The GPS and data transfer could be a major safety factor depending on the systems affected. These shark fins need to be replaced with a more resilient system. Owners are unable to 'store' the antennae when taking it to the car wash as it is not removable or retractable. It is a design flaw. I've read that many have lost them simply driving the vehicle --not agitated using a car wash.
My car burns through approximately 1qt of oil every 500 miles or less. There is a known oil consumption issue and I have left multiple messages with Key Hyundai of Milford CT and do not receive a call back. Additionally today I was driving 25mph and my car was reading 4000rpm and then completely locked and shut down I was stuck in the middle of the road.
While driving, the vehicle's engine light will randomly turn on and when it does, the car will lose power; meaning, when this occurs, and I press the accelerator pedal, it does not put out the normal, expected amount of acceleration. This problem will persist until I pull over, turn off the vehicle, and turn it back on. However, this does not always fix the issue. Sometimes, when I turn the car off and turn it back on, the check engine light will still be on and I will still encounter the issue. When I brought my vehicle into my local Hyundai dealership, they had the car for 3 days, and when I called to ask what was wrong with it or what they did to fix it, they told me they could not recreate the problem and therefore, did not do anything to the vehicle. So now, I'm at an impasse where this problem is not able to be recreated, thus, unable to get it fixed, but I don't feel completely safe to drive long distances. I also own a 2013 Hyundai Sonata that experienced the same type of issue, and that engine was recalled.
Vehicle suddenly shuts down while driving. This has happened several times and has cost lengthy repairs and towing fees but still keeps doing the same thing. After it shuts down once the car is reset it will work again for a little while and do the same thing over again.
Car is still driving good, but after I've had it for a little over a year now the first thing I noticed was my horn went out, then the headlights went out, then my temp gage is flashing and the engine light comes on & off. Certain dash lights come on & off. I just got an oil change. I've been taking my vehicles to Pep Boys for several years now. My last oil change on the Sanoto was the 3rd or 4th oil change . One of the reps told me that my car is now consuming oil. He said it's not leaking on the ground but something is causing the oil to burn. I don't know if you have a warranty on it but he suggested I take it to the dealership. Again I've only had it a little over a year. I'm financing the vehicle and have about 4 more years to go. HELP!
While driving (speed doesn’t matter, highway or city streets) the check hybrid system turn off engine message/code comes on. When u turn off the car and wait for a period of time the it’s not there anymore but the check engine light stays on and the car drive normal until the code comes back up. When the message comes up the engine loses power and and the car just slows down until the car is turned off. This is a safety hazard when you’re driving on a freeway and especially a freeway with no shoulder to pull over on or going through a read light with no speed. The car just does it periodically and when u take it to the dealership they say they can’t duplicate the problem. When all u do is hook a computer up and look for a code when the problem arises while driving you’re never going to find the issue. No the dealer hasn’t reproduced the problem because they didn’t drive the car just leaving it to sit up and checking codes doesn’t bring the problem to light. They wasn’t any warning signal or codes before this but not code p2600 and code p0401 are coming up. Spending $2000 for a part that will can’t be ordered anywhere but from the dealership and the problem still exist is not being logical. So many online reviews have the same problem and not one person has found out the problem from changing the electric water pump to transmission to the engine the warning sign still come back after some time. Me not being the 1st owner and the car out of warranty due to mileage is just robbing folks blinds with no solution.
FOR A YEAR THE RADIO WOULD NOT WORK OR PLAY AT TIMES OR YOU HEARD AUDIO BUT ABSOLUTELY NO VISUAL SCREEN AS FAR AS THE CHANNEL YOUR ON ETC. ALSO, THE SAME SCREEN FOR BACKUP CAMERA THE DEALER TOLD ME ON PHONE, ON THE FACE OF RADIO THERE IS A TINY PIN HOLE USE A PEN DEPRESS IT AND IT WILL REBOOT THE SYSTEM I DID AND IT WORKED. HOWEVER, AS TIME WENT ON IT STARTED TO HAPPEN MORE FREQUENTLY NOW THE RADIO OR SCREEN COMPLETELY DO NOT WORK INCLUDING BACK UP CAMERA. FINALLY, TODAY OFFICIALLY HAD FUSE CHECKED WHICH IS GOOD. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO BACK UP CAMERA PERIOD OR RADIO OR SCREEN DISPLAY OF ANY KIND. I HAVE DONE RESEARCH IT SEEMS TO BE COMMON ON THIS VEHICLE BUT NOW A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE FOR A CAR WITH ONLY 50 THOUSAND MILES RIDICULOUS
On February 6, around 3:46am, parked my vehicle on the driveway I noticed a smell like smoke, I looked at my dashboard but nothing was on, no warnings, so I entered my house a few minutes later Possibly 4 I heard a noise look outside from my window an noticed my car was on fire, immediately called 911 car garage door also cut on fire and the vehicle next to it. I m requesting an investigation Police report 24-031575, my vehicle was towed by insurance company Start Casualty claim # 2024-90001577.
The hood open sensor is displaying that the hood is open when it's been closed and is latched.
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V749000 (Exterior Lighting, Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
My husband (Scott) was driving the car on Florida highway 408 eastbound approaching the exit 21 on 10/12/2023 around 8 am. Scott heard something pop suddenly and saw fire shooting out from both sides of the car in the rearview mirrors. Upon noticing the fire, he tried to slow down to pull over the car, but brakes failed (went to the floor). A police officer on the road happened to see the fire so he drove next to my husband's car and Scott yelled at officer that he had no brakes. The officer went ahead of Scott to help Scott's car slow down. When approaching uphill slopes by the exit, Scott was finally able to use the emergency brakes to come to a complete stop. The fire engine came right away and put out the fire which took over 20 minutes. My husband is handicapped and him walking away from such car catastrophic fire unharmed was near miracle. Two weeks before the fire, I happened to take the car in for checkup at Greenway Hyundai Orlando and the 2.5 hour inspection found nothing wrong with my car. I wanted my car checked because my car stalled briefly pulling out of a parking space a few days earlier.
Car stalled check engine light came on took to auto zone said a engine problem
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, other drivers started beeping the horn and shouting that the vehicle was on fire. The contact immediately veered to the side of the road. The contact then noticed flames under the front end of the vehicle, near the engine location. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the fire was extinguished independently. There was no injury sustained. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to her son-in-law's repair shop, where it remained. There was no police report filed. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a repair fee would be charged for the engine replacement. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
The problem appeared on December 2020 in the middle of a Hwy 50 East in Washington DC. It was scary and dangerous. First it showed some malfunction sign on the screen and right way slowed down to 40 then 20 then zero. I push the gas pedal but didn't work. I have no idea what to do. I call Hyundai college park dealership agent explained what happened. She [XXX] told me to tow the car and suggested one of their partners tow truck driver. However when I turn off the car and turned on again it worked. The engine started to run. I begun to drive. After some time I took the car to the dealer and told me the car have safety recall. The repaired it and told me it will be ok. But in reality, it didn't. This happened again and again and again. Till this moment the engine continues to stalled in the middle of HWY . I got no solution from the dealership. When ever I visited they give me different issues that I need to fix. One time they said it is fuel pump and another day they said coolant pipe needs to get fixed. I am so tired of keep going to the dealer services. I put my life and my precious kids life at risk all the time while I am driving this car. It is frustration because I got no one to help me and understand why this issue is persistent. I don't want to end up being injured or got killed by an incident that caused by this problem. How awful it can be if a collision happens in the HWY. Driving this car every day with my kids are frightening and hard to imagine what could happen to us. So I am requesting an investigation on this car with the case number I got from the headquarters. Here is my case number [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
01/26/22 Brought 2016 Hyundai Sonata to Fremont Hyundai (Fremont CA) for "Smart Junction Box" recall. 08/12/22 Brought vehicle to Fremont Hyundai for intermittent turn signal recall. 04/10/23 Brought vehicle to Stevens Creek Hyundai for "A 993 HYIMMOA0 -Sonata (LF) S/W UPD & DECAL (23-01-014H-3) RECALL DEFAULT 31599 WH." Told the service dept the vehicle was still having turn signal issues. Refused to correct instead told us to need to bring back to Fremont Hynudai otherwise wanted to charge us $250 to correct it. We felt Steven Creek Hyundai should have corrected this instead of sending us back to Fremont CA.
Car was leaking oil I reported to Hyundai and service repair shop had to take it back 3 times due to them neglecting to listen to me oil got into other parts and I had to get 7 things fix also after having back for 1 day the brakes and electric is not working properly engine also fails to accelerate correctly
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026