This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Dash board air bag light came on and remained on. Took to a mechanic who stated it was an error code that was not longer active. A sensor must have set it off, but there was no longer a problem. A few weeks later airbag light came on again. Took vehicle to Hyundai dealership who stated occupant classification system (OCS) or sensor that was part of system registered an error at some point in the past few days and that is why the light went on. They stated there was no longer an error, but that the sensor must be going bad and would need to be replaced before it failed. Reason being, once the sensor failed, the air bags (at least passenger air bag, potentially whole system shut off so driver as well?) wouldn't deploy in the case of an accident because system would shut off as a result of a sensor failure. Dealership stated that sensor could not be replaced individually, but that the whole passenger seat cushion would have to be replaced. The sensor is part of the OCS system. The quoted cost for the part (seat cushion with electronic sensing system) would be around $1500 total ($1350 for the part, $150 for the labor). As of now air bag light not on, sensor hasn't failed yet. Once it does, need to replace if want air bag system to deploy. This seems like a very serious safety issue that should be addressed by a recall. I have read hundreds of customer complaints online that have the 2006 Hyundai Sonata with this problem and haven't had it fixed. As a result there are a lot of people driving around in a vehicle that some if not all of the air bags won't deploy in (and most if not all of them don't realize it disables the air bag). This design flaw could result in serious injury or death. All information I received in regards to airbag light issue was from the service department at a Hyundai dealership. This issue needs to be investigated and a recall needs to be issued.
2006 Sonata now has an intermittent electrical problem. These problems manifest themselves usually when the gas is not being applied, but not necessarily when the brakes are being applied. The headlights will go off and then come back on; the radio sometimes will go off and then come back on; the A/C fan sometimes sounds as if it has turned off and then comes back on; several times I noticed the ESC light and ABS light come on when the radio and lights and ac turned off and then came back on. At times these outages will occur when the turn signal is used. All these happenings have been reported to the Hyundai service department but they say they can't get it to repeat the symptoms or find a problem.
During cold starts battery & seat belt lights come on. Also, power steering seems to not work. This happened several times. The alternator & battery were replaced, but did not correct the problem. Dampener pulley replaced & corrected the problem.
I own a Hyundai Sonata 2006, and just before it got to 80,000 miles, the air bag light suddenly went on. It has stayed on for a week as of 9/25/10. I looked it up online and it seems many people have had this same issue with the Hyundai Sonatas and it is very costly to fix. I think this is a safety issue that should be looked into with Hyundai, if it happens repeatedly.
Lights across instrument cluster will not go off including: ESC off, check engine, airbags and ABS. There is also a visibility issue regarding the sun visor on the driver side. These are all issues that I have seen many other people are having as well and are potentially dangerous.
- Miami, FL, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph over a puddle of water, the battery warning light illuminated and she lost the ability to apply the brakes and the power steering assist malfunctioned. In addition, there was a slight hesitation as if the vehicle was attempting to stall. That was the second time the identical failure occurred. The dealer advised the contact that the failure could potentially have been caused by the belt getting wet but was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 66,000 and the current mileage was 67,000. Updated 09/16-10 the crank pulley was replaced on a separate occasions. Updated 09/20/10
Low note horn failed at 94K miles. High note horn works, but is much less easily heard. The low note horn was also replaced under warranty on my mother's car, same year/make/model, at about 32K miles.
Computer problems for several months now. My car will stop a turn mid-turn and the dash lights will flash on momentarily. The wheel will bind and I have to brake hard to regain control of the wheel so I can complete the turn. This is always at a moderate speed, below the speed limit posted for the on/off ramp, etc. This has happened at least a dozen times with each time almost resulting in a crash due to losing control of my steering wheel. I took it to the dealership, they blew me off and said I needed to change my automatic transmission fluid. I had 3 other shops look at it and no one could determine cause. I had the grease fittings inspected as well as tie rods/ball joints. All were reported good. My airbag light has been on since about 40,000 miles. I took my car in, they said there was a leak in my sunroof, fixed it under warranty and turned the airbag light off. It came on again after 50,000 miles (after the expiration of my warranty) and has been on ever since. I took it into the dealership and they said it was a faulty seat belt clip and I needed to pay about $300 to have it fixed. I've done a lot of research and I'm seeing that many many Hyundai Sonata owners are experiencing the same things....airbag lights and computer problems.
S10 appropriate handling re defective engine-malfunction indicator light and erratic RPM reading involving reduce acceleration fm owner of a 2006 Hyundai Sonata LX. The consumer stated the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealership several times, only to be told there was nothing wrong. The tail lights burned out, the passenger side air bag light illuminated when the passenger seat was occupied, the ESC light would blink while driving in the rain and due to the ESC light being on, the vehicle would become un-drivable.
2006 Hyundai Sonata 3rd brake light housing has a design problem which does not allow for the bulb to be replaced by the owner. Of course short life bulbs are used so the light burns out quickly. Hyundai's solution is to bring the car into a dealership and pay around $75 for them to take out the tray between the seat and window to get to the bulb to replace. Consequently, with the strains of the economy most people have to choose to not replace the bulb. A proper design would have allowed the car owner to replace the bulb. This problem started back in 2008.
The whole electric system in my 2006 Sonata is isn't working. Especially the lights over the last 3 year we have had this car, we can't count how many lights bulbs we have replaced. The dash board light comes on and off when ever it feels. We thought that we had warranty but we don't, it should be a recall on their electric system because I heard a lot of complaints about Hyundai.
At first it was the radio, turning on and off by itself when I would try to lower the volume it would be louder. My headlights would go out and turn on again, my emergency brake light will turn on as my car would stop in the middle of the street. Air bag deployment sign is on and the bag it is not deployed. The ABS, ESC and other glow lights will turn on; sometimes I cant roll down the windows or lock the car with the button. Now my car will not start, no power and it resets my clock. I have gone to the dealership twice and they are greedy money hungry '!@#$% who do not care for their customers, I replaced the battery and the alternator and its been through diagnostics and the alternator was the only thing found wrong. I have issues with the car at least twice a day and three times its died completely. This is an 2006 Hyundai Sonata it should not give me these problems.
That's the problem there is no serious event leading up to the problem. It is happening because theses cars are not built for safety. I have had my car for 5 months and there are some serious problems, Hyundai and you all may not think so but it is. If it was your car that had all of these problems you would be complaining also. Problems that I have with my Hyundai Sonata: Passenger airbag light on every time you crank up, airbag light in the dash board on, check engine light (sensors going bad in the car). If its not equipped for the car don't try something that's going to have people spending out of the pockets and then paying for a car also. Recalls on 06 Hyundai Sonata what's the purpose if it cant be fixed everything on the recall list is happening to my car. If I had a second chance I would not have bout that '!@#$% from Hyundai.
Replaced brakes with only 26,000 miles, then again at 37,000 miles, now im at 41,000 miles and my brakes are making noises again. I also had to have the motor replaced in the driver side door window, it stopped going up and down in the first year I had the car. I had to have the rear window replaced due to the antenna in the window being broken, when I turned the rear defroster on the radio had alot of static. Since the window has been replaced it no longer defrost, I brought it back to the dealer several times and they tell me it works fine. They tested it inside a warm building. I also have an issue which the dealer says there is no problem, when driving and either the air conditioner/heater is on and lights at same time, when you brake the lights dim and the conditioner/heater goes low, also the interior light will dim as well. I have taken the car back to the dealer several times they say there is no problem. Im very disgusted with the vehicle.
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. While driving approximately 45 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated intermittently on the instrument panel. When the front passenger seat was occupied, the warning light illuminated until the engine was turned off. The contact experienced failures identical to the ones mentioned in the recall. The authorized dealer stated that the failure must be duplicated on-site in order for recall repairs to be made. The contact was concerned that the air bags may deploy. The VIN and NHTSA campaign id number were unknown. The failure mileage was 37,000 and current mileage was 38,000.
After having the car for almost 2 years with no problem the engine started to show that it was getting hot. I found that you could make the temperature go up and down just by adjusting the temperature of the ac. The car would run fine then the temp would red line in about 10 seconds and drop back to normal. After this happened a few times I took it to my local Hyundai dealer ship. They changed every thing in the car from the dash cluster to the water sensor and every thing between. After 2.5 weeks they sent an engineer from there manufacturing facility to look at the problem and 2 days later they found the ground bad. I was given a loner car and they took car of all the issues under warranty.
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. While driving at night, the radio and the headlights shut off without warning. The dealer was able to duplicate the failure, but could not provide a remedy. They have inspected the vehicle on five different occasions. The following parts have been replaced: The alternator, fuse box, computer, electrical harness, and the battery. The failure continues to occur. The current mileage is 15,000 and failure mileage was 9,000.
- the contact stated that the 2006 Hyundai Sonata LX, had problems with the transmission slipping. While driving at 10 mph and trying to make a right turn the vehicle started to make a racing roaring noise. This has happened on two occasions. The vehicle continued to go 10 mph, but he couldn't stop it. He applied the brakes, and the vehicle wouldn't stop. The contact sat on the side of the road for a few minutes, turned off the vehicle let it sit. He started the vehicle, and drove home without any problems. The contact did take the vehicle to dealership and they did a diagnostic and found nothing wrong with the vehicle. The contact stated that this has happened on 2 occasions and the dealership did contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer told the dealership to make sure the motor mounts were tightened, and to check and clean all terminals. This was done in January 10, 2007. The contact hasn't had any other problems since. The contact wanted NHTSA to be aware of this problem, he has sent the manufacturer a letter regarding this problem on 01/20/07 and hadn't gotten any response. The current mileage was 7050.
Air bag off light illuminates intermittently when passenger (130+ lbs) is seated properly in front passenger seat, indicating the air bag would not go off. Have had this problem repeatedly and randomly since purchasing the vehicle 9/05, and have requested action at each warranty servicing. (22,500 mi currently) each time the dealer service department claims the diagnostics do not find a problem and the air bag sensor is working properly. They say there are no service bulletins or recalls from Hyundai on this problem. However there are at least 15 complaints on this website about this problem as of 12/06. I am very upset by this apparent lack of caring on Hyundai's part about the safety of their passengers. Just because the intermittent problem can't be reproduced at the dealer's does not mean that the passengers are not experiencing the problem. There has got to be a way to isolate the problem even if it can't be observed in the moment, even if it means replacing the parts in the sequence till the problem goes away.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oro Valley, AZ, USA