CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2011 Sonata has a seriously defective engine that seizes without warning. It was awarded the dubious honor of being the first CarTalk / CarComplaints Turd of the Week in late September 2015.
A class action lawsuit was filed in May 2015 against Hyundai that claims the 2.4L Sonata engine is defective. More info here.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
18 / 84
Injuries / Deaths:
15 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,895 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
I was driving the car and it made a noise from under the hood and shut off in traffic. I tried to restart it but it won't start the engine has completely shut down.
Since I bought this vehicle, they had replaced the engie due to, the recall, they had to, replace my fual sensors, steering column piece, and another part. But since they replaced my engine, my electrical in my car is, mever accurate. Speed sensoer is wrong, the radio shorts all the time, and my cruise control doesnt work. The problems countniue to get worse especially with the electrical. This car has costed me 1000's of dollars and it just countniues to have problems. I have taken it to Hyundai in redlands ca. They have all documentation on the vehicle.
- Yucaipa, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled in front of a tractor trailer while driving 50 mph on the highway. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle did not accelerate and all of the instrument panel indicators illuminated. Balise Hyundai of cape cod (556 yarmouth rd, hyannis, MA 02601, (508) 778-0500) performed an oil change, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted and did not have a record of the contact purchasing the vehicle. The contact believed that metal shavings were left when the engine was made, which caused the engine to seize. The failure mileage was 90,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While the contact's daughter was driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was towed to tuscaloosa Hyundai (3831 hargrove rd E, tuscaloosa, al 35405, (205) 752-8113) where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced after the rebuilt engine was removed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and did not assist. The failure mileage was 120,000. Consumer stated sudden engine failure and the car was towed to a local mechanic and engine replaced. Mechanic found there was a recall for sudden engine failure. Consumer found 12 other recalls.
Car engine is making knocking sounds, quickens and gets loud when I press on gas petal. Oil changed and fuids checked on regular bases. 168.000 miles on car. Had car checked out at fort mill hyundia which they said found nothing. Now car sitting in yard, scare to drive. I am a nursing student, mom and wife. We cant not afford this time or money wise. Please help
While driving on the interstate engine started making a knocking sound when acellerating on the gas, after passing the vehicle the car stalled on the interstate. I was able to get to a gas station. Car towed to a mechanic who states the engine is locked up. Told it would cost 2900-3500 to replace the engine. Single dad, two toddlers cannot afford this. Is this some sort of recall" engine as 125000 miles and has oil in it. What can be done about this"
We have had nothing but problems with our 2011 Hyundai Sonata. Less than a year ago our engine completely died while driving the vehicle. The dealership replaced the engine and since then we have had starting and electrical problems. When we went to pick up the car it didn't start right away and they told us we needed a new battery. We bought a new battery and about a week later it still wouldn't start on and off. Since we had the engine replaced, we have had to change the headlights and brake lights 4 times! we believe that when the engine died it caused an electrical issue. Fast forward about 9 months and now the car has 3 engine codes. P0017 P0014 and P0560. Crankshaft and camshaft position sensors and a system voltage malfunction. We will never buy a Hyundai again! they claim they totally replaced the engine but now I wonder if they salvaged old parts in the new engine and what exactly happened to the electrical system when the car shut off while driving.
The turbo charger stops working anytime I quickly step down on the gas pedal. I have to pull over, turn off the engine, restart in order to reset the turbo charger, otherwise there is no reasonable engine response without going through this process. Turbo charger motor unit was replaced, but there was no change in performance. It is a safety issue when attempting quick lane changes to avoid an obstacles in the roadway.
On December 24, 2018 I was driving on the freeway the car started to slow down like it wasn't getting fuel, I stopped the car and opened the hood because it was making a knocking sound, the entireengine was rocking... I turned the car off and had it towed.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and a humming noise was heard from the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact called lafontaine Hyundai at 866-568-6530 (located at 1847 S telegraph rd, dearborn, mi 48124) where a diagnostic test was recommended, but was not performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving 40 mph, the engine seized. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine seized. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000. The VIN was unknown.
Takata recall notice, steering control box, seat belt tensioer, dip stick, engine metal in crankcase, six recall to date, 12/25/2018, and the safety recalls have not been repaired due to "part not available" per dealer. Note-steering control box is irradical and loose. 130 miles rt to dealer and rental car while waiting ovenight for under carriage coating to cure.this car is a lemon, bought @ hart motors, dalhart, tx, 2015. Dealer put me into wells fargo finance at 8% (credit score 810) other banks charge 4% atm. This veteran got screwed and still paying.amarillo tx dealer does not have parts to repair safety equipment. How long can this go on? not safe to drive! 100usd/mo insurance wasted but required by dealer. Possible wreck damage indicated by wheel alignment. Et al in motion. Docs available on request.
Takata recall. Hello, I own a 2011 Hyundai Sonata and recently the engine was making a loud noise like someone was knocking but really hard and it was shaking. While driving I felt the car really weak. I was going about 45mph and slowed down to 25mph in a 55mph zone. After slowing down I got to a light and suddenly the car turns off. I tried to turn it back on but it wasn't responding. There was a lot of traffic and I was feared that if I got out to push the car to a safe point someone could run me over. I decided to call 911 to help me push the car. Before it was making the noise and shaking the car was doing fine. I had recently had a change of oil and had my next appointment next year in February. It has over 150,000 miles and I wanted to know if it has some type of guarantee or if Hyundai or someone can fix this problem because right now the car is on car shop and they told me that it doesn't have a fix. They told me that the solution would be to be a new engine because apparently it didn't have oil but I checked and it did have. If that would be the case they would charge me 2,800$ for everything. I'm a college student and I can hardly pay my classes. My parents had just bought me this used car for 5,000$ about 9 months ago. At first I was glad that I had a Hyundai car because it saved gas but right know I'm kind of disappointed. I would like a response. Thank you for your time.
My 2011 Hyundai Sonata' recalled engine seized while driving and was replaced by Hyundai motors America free of charge in August 2018, no one was injured. However, in less then 2 months the newly replaced engine once again seized up but this time on the freeway causing the vehicle to be hit by another driver traveling at 80 mph. The airbags, also recalled did not deploy. Fortunately, for myself, I was not driving the vehicle when the second engine seize up. The driver at 6'4 and 220 lbs suffered 10 fractured ribs, stitches in both front & back of the head as, well as, possible future back related issues. The drivers ribs and head hit the steering wheel at full force, myself at 5'7 and 145 lbs surely would have slammed my face into the steering wheel with such force, leaving little chance of survival. Hyundai motors America needs to be held accountable for replacing their faulty recalled engine with another of the same (faulty engine), failing to remedy the recalled airbags at the time of repair, removing these "death traps" off of the streets immediately, as well as, full compensation for the vehicle. Currently the other driver was found at fault for driving to fast and the vehicle has been stored and is being examined by all parties involved, insurance companies, as well as, several attorneys. I hope that this will help to ensure that this will never happen to another motorist, again. Thank you for your time. Pictures attached
I drove my 2011 Hyundai Sonata on the highway, while trying to accelerate my vehicle to match the flow of traffic I noticed that the vehicle would not accelerate past 40 mph. I pulled my vehicle over to the break down lane and engaged hazard lights. I released the hood latch and opened hood to engine compartment. I saw smoke and could smell burning plastic. I checked my oil levels and did a quick inspection of fluid levels. When I tried to restart my car the vehicle would not start. I had the car towed to a mechanic, the mechanic stated that the starter was burned out. He replaced the starter and when attempting to start the car the new starter began to smoke as well. He stated that it was good that I pull the car over so quickly cause the car could have caught on fire. This happened recently and he has stated it will require further investigation but he is pretty sure the engine has seized.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Waterford, NY, USA