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.
Engine died while driving. The cause was alternator failure due to oil leak from front valve cover. This is a 2008 Hyundai Sonata 2008 with 3.3 liters V6.
Approximately 3 months ago I tried starting my car (with no previous warnings that this would happen) and it would not start, the engine would not turn over, there was no sound (although I did have power through the battery as I had lights, the lights worked, radio etc) -- I called my father and he suggested that I put the car in neutral and try starting it which it started right away at that time. Now three months later I had the same problem, turned the key and nothing -- no sound (except radio, lights etc -- new battery not that) -- I tried repeating putting it in neutral and didn't work -- I tried moving back and forth from park to neutral and tried starting the car each time to no avail. I stopped for a short time and called my father again for any additional advice which he had none at that time. When I tried starting the car again it finally started. I drove right to the dealership and they said it was probably the starter going bad and would be a minimum of $350 -- I later spoke to another mechanic who mentioned that if the starter were going bad that there would be a "clicking" noise when I tried starting the car with no start. This was not happening. It appears by blogs in the internet that this is a common problem with the 2008 Sonata yet all the dealership wants to do is charge me a lot of money.
Since buying my vehicle in Feb 2013. I've had nothing but problems with it. Air bag light, tire pressure light and check engine light came on and car has broken down on me. Took care to get fixed from dealership within in my 30 days warranty. Robertsons Honda fixed the battery problem and the check engine light but not that other 2. they stated to me that they didn't have the correct equipment to fix it. Which is not my problem.
My 2008 Hyundai Sonata was parked in my driveway on November 24, 2013 at around 11 am. I opened my trunk with the remote key and the trunk opened up so fast, the hinge tops on both sides that support and guide the trunk lid broke off at the top. Just disintegrated. These are defectively manufactured plastic caps/covers on the two hydraulic hinges.
Trunk opens by itself. Will enter car and see that" trunk open" signal on dash is on. Has happened dozens of times. I cannot figure out what is causing it. One time the trunk was open but the latch was in the closed position and I could not close the trunk until I manually opened the latch, but all other times I was able to simply close the trunk. The dealer says I must be unintentionally pushing the remote trunk button, but that is not the case for dozens of incidents. They say I must leave the car so they can create the problem, even though this issue is all over the internet in car forums. In fact my friend has same car and same problem.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
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Would not start, lights worked. Tow truck driver checked battery, alternator, suspected starter. Towed over 100 miles home. (contacted Hyundai road service, only tows to dealer.) called dealer to check if covered under warranty. Informed it was not. Towed to local mechanic who checked charging system and found alternator and battery good, but starter was bad. Removed and installed a new Hyundai starter. Re the America's best warranty 60/000-100,000: One would think that Hyundai would have covered this replacement with only 52 miles over 60,000.
Trunk was opening on its own intermittantly. This was our 55000 mile scheduled service so we reported it. They checked and found nothing wrong but told us they greased the trunk latch and it should be fixed. A few weeks later it is happening again. We think its an electronic defect, but by the time they figure it out we'll be out of warranty. We don't dare put anything of value in the car.
Both the rear brake lights and the rear dash lights stopped illuminating (11-12-2011). I also have the ESC indicator light going on and off (past 6 months) there was a warranty replacement on the stop lamp switch done on 10-23-2009. Service department invoice states ESC off light on caused by: Recovered C1513 due to faulty brake lamp switch. Work performed: Installed 93810-3K000-qqh stop lamp assembly switch. Problem still occurring!!!!
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. While driving approximately 65 mph, the contact heard a very loud clicking noise coming from the vehicle. She approached a traffic light and proceeding through it by depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle hesitated severely and was pulled off the road. The occupants exited the vehicle. The contact opened the hood and noticed flames. The fire spread to the roof and the interior front end of the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel prior to the failure. The police and fire departments were called to the scene. The fire department representative stated that the failure was caused by an electrical breakdown. The passenger was injured and transported to the hospital by an ambulance. The insurance company has not yet determined if the vehicle was destroyed. The failure and current mileages were 15,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Round Lake, IL, USA