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.
2011 Hyundai Sonata Engine Failure Class Action Investigation - Chimicles & Tikellis is investigating a proposed class action lawsuit against Hyundai for alleged premature engine failure in certain 2011 Hyundai Sonata vehicles. These models may contain a defect predisposing the engines to experience engine bearing failure, overheating, oil consumption, piston ring land failure and/or connecting rod knock. These issues may result in catastrophic engine failure along with safety issues and expensive repairs.
This Saturday following a night run to the gas station, I noticed my engine begin to knock. Upon returning to my car, I attempted to turn on my car before noticing that it refused to crank. NO SIGNS WHATSOEVER. Smoke began to bellow underneath my engine. I am pretty confident that my engine has seized. Tomorrow I am taking it to the dealership to get it formally diagnosed. I cannot dish out 5k for a new engine as I am a struggling college student. I am aware of the extended 120k mile warranty but my vehicle has 137k. Has anyone received compensation with their vehicle outside of the covered warranty? Please, anyone HELP!
A class action suit was filed by many people who had a 2011 Sonata. When I went in on the website to file my claim, it said the class action file date was over in January of 2017. How could I file a claim before the incident occurred. I was traveling home at night, by myself, and the engine seized. It took over 2 hours before AAA got out to rescue me. They had to tow me to a closed repair shop and I had to arrange a ride to my home in Reno. It took someone 1.5 hours to get to me. The engine had blown up and was not repairable. My car was, seemingly, in great shape and only had 63,000 miles on it. I was forced to buy a new car. I deserve to be compensated for the loss of this car!!!! How can I get in on the Class Action suit compensation???
I'm the second owner of a 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS. I wish I had known that Hyundai's had so much problems and recalls or else I wouldn't have purchased the car from a private party in the first place (I should have done more research).
During the test drive prior to purchasing the vehicle, there were no problems that popped up on the dashboard; the car ran really smooth, brakes worked fine, oil looked clean, no weird noises from the engine.The previous owner said the car was used to travel to warmer states during the winter in WI, so there were no rust on the body of the car; but, because of that the mileage was pretty high for a 2011 year vehicle.
Two weeks into purchasing the vehicle and driving it mainly on small roads and a few times on the highway, I started to hear a rattling noise from underneath the hood of the car whenever I accelerated, and when letting go of the gas pedal the sound was as loud as fingers tapping on a wood surface. There were no warning lights on the dashboard.
Two days after that, while driving on a 55mph road, the rattling noise (which I now assume it to be engine knocking) got loud again and then without any warning on the dashboard, the vehicle just stopped working. It was as if the gear was switched into neutral; no throttle was responding. I checked the oil and noticed it was very low and black.
Once the vehicle was towed back home, I tried jump starting the car to see if it was maybe a battery problem. I tried turning on the car and it sounded like the engine was going to turn over but it didn't. I took it to a local car shop and they informed me that it was an engine problem; however, they do not service engine malfunctions so I have to take it to a dealership.
Right now I'm in the process of taking it to a Hyundai dealership in hopes that the extended warranty on the engine will cover the cost.
Update from Jan 30, 2018: After the Hyundai dealership diagnosed the engine, they sent the information to Hyundai headquarters & my engine was thankfully replaced with a brand new one(zero mileage). The dealership offered me free car rental during the time my car was still in the shop but I didn't need one so I declined the offer. My vehicle was fixed relatively quickly (within 1 week from the dealership ordering a new engine & replacing it). I did not need to pay anything except for towing my vehicle to the dealership which my car insurance was able to cover a portion of the cost.
When picking up my Sonata, I checked the engine oil & it was crystal clear & clean. One thing I must say though is CHECK THE LEVEL OF YOUR COOLANT. A week after I drove my vehicle home, I noticed there was coolant leaking & the coolant in the resevoir was below the 'Low' indicator line. There's no leaking coming from the radiator & don't see any noticable holes in the coolant hose either so I suspect it's because there may be a bad clamp or the hose wasn't properly placed. You would think that when replacing the engine of my car, they'd make sure everything was sealed tight & working as it should be. I just poured some coolant into the resevoir & it seems to be ok for now.
Since it's winter, I haven't seen any leaking but did notice while driving my vehicle for about 15-20 minutes, a faint knocking noise like something was loose. It doesn't sound like the engine knocking I had heard before my car died. After storing my car in the garage for a few weeks without driving it, I haven't heard the knocking noise when I drove it again but then, I haven't been driving the Sonata as much this winter. I don't plan to drive my car until it gets warmer & I'm able to check the coolant hose & clamp. If the knocking noise comes back, I will be taking the car in. If it's an engine problem again, according to the service consultant who I spoke with when picking up my car, the engine warranty should still cover it as long as it hasn't gone past the 20,000 mile mark.
Dropped of my son at his girls hours and started to drive away half way down the street
the engine just stopped. Luckily I was able to cruise to the end of the street and pull over.
I tried to start it and then I smelled the scent of an electrical smell and then shortly after the smoke started
billowing up from the engine. I immediately checked the oil and noticed there was evidence of oil in the engine. I checked that because just 2 days earlier I noticed the oil light flicker but never came on fully.
I had it towed to my mechanic who initially said it was the starter. I had the starter replaced and at that point the mechanic then told me my engine seized. He was baffled as there was oil in the engine, He told me indeed the start was blown only because I tried to start it while the engine was already seized.
I called Hyundai USA and they instructed me to get it to a Hyundai Dealer so they can diagnose it themselves. UGH
My car is literally on its way to a Hyundai dealership here in Massachusetts. I will keep you all abreast on my saga.
I can see all through the internet people with the same EXACT issue as mine. I just received word that they settled the law suit extending the short block power train but I am not sure whether I qualify or not.
If anyone has gotten Hyundai of USA to fix their car with this issue and can give me any help please contact me, I really need the help as I still oe about 8k on the car.
LOL Put me up on the Board for ones who have a 2011 Sonata limited with a POS motor now, I was fortunate that i was able to pull into a vacant driveway after losing control of everything and no one got hurt or had an accident. Tried to start it up once in the parking lot and the damn engine started Smoking hahahaha. I popped the hood all Fluid levels were fine, Can't wait to get it fixed and get rid of this POS, Way too many RECALLS on these cars, I have had it for 4 years and have had over 8 recalls, now the car is a big paper weight waiting to be fixed lmfao,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,STAY AWAY FROM SONATA"S !!!!!!!!
- Nicholas Y.,
Mchenry, IL, US
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Well, I've NEVER had a Sonata in my LIFE. When i got my 2001 hyundai sonata 4 months ago I was in love with my car. Well of course i had the brake switch replace a month after i purchased the car. Drove it for 2 more months and low and behold last friday im driving in traffic and my car just dies. dash lights come on and im stuck in the middle of traffic. i tried to start my car NOTHING.. Called my brother to give me a jump still nothing. thank god he had a truck because he pulled my car to my moms house. Lifted the hood and it was a burning smell. Lord i just got this car and it's my only means of transportation. Brand new starter and brand new battery (replaced yesterday) went to start the car still NOTHING but a sizzling noise coming from underneath the engine with which smelled like burning metal. Called hyundai told them the problem guy says sounds like your engine locked up. I said wow i only been driving this car for 4 months. ok whatever anywho i had the car towed to hyundai because due to A LOT of engine failure my engine had a warranty on it. But first they start asking if the oil was changed can you show receipts and all of that. look im a mother of 5 i DO NOT keep receipts for anything like that. i have so much paper from them i can barely keep up. So as of today im waiting on that call from hyundai to tell me what the problem is (WHICH I ALREADY KNOW). mY ENGINE IS SUPPOSED TO BE BROKEN DOWN TODAY. I HAVE MISSED A WEEK OF WORK DUE TO ME NOT HAVING A CAR AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT HEADACHE I HAVE THE FINANCE COMPANY CALLING ABOUT A DAMN CAR NOTE. UMMM NO THANK YOU I NEED TO SEE WHAT HYUNDAI IS GONNA SAY BEFORE I GIVE YOU MY MONEY BECAUSE THAT MONEY MIGHT HAVE TO GO TOWARDS ANOTHER CAR THAT I CAN PHYSICALLY DRIVE. I KNOW THAT THIS IS A LOT BUT THIS CRAP IS CRAZY. YOU THINK YOU"RE GETTING A BEAUTIFUL FULLY FUNCTIONAL CAR AND YOU'RE NOT. yOU'RE BASICALLY PAYING FOR THE LOOKS OF THE CAR BECAUSE THE ENGINE AND THINGS ARE CRAP. SO IM PRAYING THAT THEY GIVE ME A CALL TODAY BEFORE I END UP LOSING MY JOB AND MY MIND AT THE SAME DAMN TIME. I'LL KEEP YOU ALL UPDATED.
2011 Hyundai Sonata engine seized without warning. As my son was driving the engine stopped. We had two different mechanics/dealerships to look at the problem and they both said the engine seized and that we needed to replace the engine. Both quoted prices over $4000. I do not feel comfortable replacing an engine when this can possibly happen again. I've been the only owner of the car. The car received constant oil changes because I purchased the extended care package with the dealership that automatically took care of that. My car had the car's oil change two weeks before this happened. I'm very disappointed, frustrated and disgusted!!! I will never purchase another Hyundai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My 2011 Sonata had the engine stall in the middle of the road. I had taken it to the dealer about a week earlier but Hyundai corp had them make me do a two week oil consumption test. This lasted six days when I stalled. :-)
Initially I was told it could take up to two months but I just got it back within three weeks.
The problem I have is finding out what the new warranty is for this engine. I have read 10yrs - 100,000 miles,
Hyundai Corp Customer Serv says two things depending how it was coded by dealer: additional 26,000 miles or ten yrs from purchase - whichever comes first. 2: up to 1000,000 miles. The dealer says 12 months - 12,000 miles.
Traveling at highway speeds and all of a sudden, engine began making this rapid ticking noise while under load with acceleration. Power seemed to be slightly affected. Continued driving at high speeds until I was forced to slow down and take the car out of gear due to traffic, at which point the engine just quit and refused to engage starter upon trying to restart. I'm thinking that the higher rpms was the only reason the engine stayed unseized for as long as it did.
The short block has an extended warranty which is good because I am the second owner. Car was towed to dealership. They tore down the block and sent pictures to Hyundai to determine whether they would cover it. They were looking for any sign of owner neglect such as sludge or excessive wear. Since they found none, they approved an engine replacement on their dime with a rental car for me to use. Approval took one week. Apparently, the average replacement time is 45 days due to time for delivery of new engine. They did find metal shavings in the bottom of the oil pan, but never really could determine the exact cause whether it be a rod, valve, or bearing.
Never had one problem with this car since I got her with 34k miles on her. I love her engine and the 6 speed manual transmission makes that engine come alive. It was a bad day. Anyway, I'm glad they are making this right and not screwing me.
Similar problem to others, but better outcome. Responded to Hyundai service bulletin several months ago about possible engine failure due to metal fragments accumulating in oil pan. Passed inspection, dealer replaced dipstick to indicate the engine warranty now was extended to 120K.
On June 26, 2017, the engine seized and died (all the dashboard lights came on). I was northbound on I-65 headed home to suburban Chicago. Thankfully I was already pointed at an exit ramp and was able to coast to a safer shoulder location.
After a AAA tow to the Hyundai dealer closest to home (5 miles), happy to report that Hyundai has stood up and stood behind their product, and will replace the engine at no cost to us. They have provided a loaner vehicle (brand-spankin'-new Sonata) to drive for the predicted 3-4 months it will take to get the new engine, due to the backlog demand caused by the engineering/ manufacturing failure which has affected many of the 2011 Sonatas.
This has been a really good car for us; Hyundai has promptly corrected the few warranty issues which have arisen in the 60K miles we've driven it in 2.5 years. Happy to report good outcomes. Yes, it is a hassle but things could be much worse. We just had to replace the CVT transmission on a Nissan Maxima (to which Nissan gave a yawning "meh" and a half-shrug).
The one dark spot, relatively minor, is that we encountered the "mixed bag" of "Service Advisors" at the Hyundai dealer in the process, including one with a profound don't-know-don't-care-don't-bother-me Attitude, counterbalanced by the one actually handling the case for us, who has been a model of courteous helpfulness and a good liaison with Hyundai Corporate. So far, so good!
All the dashboard lights came on, the car made a loud noise and then it simply stopped. I could not get it to start and had to have it towed to the dealership.
Hyundai Dealer took a week to get approval from Hyundai Corp to cover the cost. Dealer complained about Hyundai not providing enough cars for loaners even though they know the problem is common. So they stuck me in a compact loaner. It's been three weeks.
On the Capital Beltway in morning traffic the car just stopped running. I had to coast to the right lane and almost crashed. Emergency flashers were on! Nobody yielded. Car started up and I continued. That afternoon car started knocking then the dashboard lights came on, engine stopped, and it left me stranded for 2.5+ hours waiting for a tow. Dealer let me know the engine is dead. They are working on getting the paperwork to see if Hyundai will cover it. I've had to PAY for the steering to be fixed -(another 2011 issue) and I just recently (last month) paid $300+ to have a rebuilt starter put in because the $8 plastic lever broke. This car looks nice but it is garbage.
TAKATA RECALL. MY HYUNDAI SONATA COMPLETELY DIED ON ME WITHOUT ANY WARNING. ONE DAY WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY 2011 HYUNDAI SONATA ON THE HIGHWAY ALL THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS CAME ON. NEXT THINNG I KNOW THE CAR CUT OFF WHILE I WAS DOING 65 MPH WITH MY 2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER IN THE VEHICLE. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR STOPPED. LUCKILY I WAS CLOSE TO HOME AND MANAGED TO MAKE IT SAFELY. THE NEXT DAY WHEN I CUT THE VEHICLE ON I STARTED HEARING A KNOCKING SOUND FROM THE VEHICLE. ON MY WAY TO WORK THE CAR CUT OFF TWO MORE TIMES AND WHEN I TRIED TO CUT IT ON AGAIN IT WOULD NOT MOVE. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO HYUNDAI AND I WAS GIVEN THE COMPLETE RUN AROUND ABOUT REPARING MY VEHICLE. I INFORMED THE MANAGER J THAT I HAD A RECALL ON THE ENGINE AND HE SAID NO WORK IS GOING TO BE DONE WITHOUT HYUNDAIS APPROVAL. SO NOW IM STUCK HERE WITH NO CAR TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO GO TO WORK EVERYDAY AND SCHOOL AND TRANSPORT MY KID TO AND FROM SCHOOL. IM AWAITING TO SEE WHETHER HYUNDAI WILL HONOR ITS RECALL AND FIX MY CAR. IM A VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER AND LOST ALL TRUST I HAD IN MY VEHICLE.
Traveling highway speed in the left lane when the engine seized and all of the dash lights came on. It was tricky, but I was lucky to maneuver over to the right lane and coast into a rest stop. Waited almost two hours for a tow to the dealer.
These cars are dropping like flies, the dealership complained about the volume. It's mostly 2.4L engines having this problem, but mine is the 2.0L Turbo, and the "event" required replacement of my engine, turbo, AND starter. Thankfully, Hyundai covered it all under warranty, including the rental car.
But this is not the kind of problem you should have to deal with when you have a 6-year-old modern car with only 86,000 miles! Do yourself a favor and just avoid Hyundai's.
I was lucky, the repairs "only" took three weeks because the 2.0 engines are not as "backed up" with repairs as the 2.4's - otherwise it may have taken months - but overall it's the same engine with the same problem and it's only a matter of time before it happens to yours.
Received engine recall notice months ago - took my car to my local dealer to have the test. They said it passed test and I didn't need to have the new engine.
Fast forward to last night, May 17, 2017, and driving home from work all my dash lights came on and my engine seized. Had it towed to dealer...waiting to hear the bad news. I'm hoping against all odds that I'll now qualify for the engine replacement.
Update from Jun 8, 2017: The day after dropping my car off at the dealer, they had the ok from Hyundai for the new engine. They put me in a rental and said it'd be about 2.5 months til I heard from them again. So, almost a month in now. I'll update as progress is made.
I am in the same boat. Went in a few months ago. They looked at the engine and said OK. Yesterday, it seized up in the middle of traffic. Kind police officer helped me push it to a safe place. Towed at my expense to dealer. Still waiting to hear if Hyundai will stand behind this car and replace the defective engine. Called service manager - crickets. I don't think that the dealer has much say in this. If they want $5K for a new engine that is much more than the present value of the car.
Update from Jun 1, 2017: So Hyundai is REFUSING to stand behind its car in any way. Dealer cost for new engine is $6300 plus tax, plus extra parts that might be needed. So my car is a brick. Dealer mentioned that it was just under 5000 miles since last oil change, but my manual says 7500 miles not 3000 miles!
The dealer made a mercy-trade-in offer (I think that the dealer is pretty much in good faith here) of $1500. I sent a NASTY letter to Hyundai, clearly telling them that I intend to bring lawsuit for fraud, and perhaps a contempt-of-court action in the class action. They intentionally designed the "evaluation" to NOT detect latent engine problems, in the hope that the car would outlast the 120,000 mile threshold before blowing up in the users' faces.
If they want to avoid a long nasty court fight (which I will fight as a primary mission in life), they can replace the engine or throw that $6300 plus tax into the deal on a new car (NOT a Sonata I guarantee you!!)
I can be added to the list of saps who have been bitten by the Hyundai Sonata engine failures. I brought my car into the dealer a couple months ago for the engine recall campaign and was sent on my way with a no problem yet message. Now two days ago my engine just seized up while driving. Hyundai has not yet given me the verdict on whether it will be covered under the warranty but they are already hinting about oil change records. This of course as we can see from the plethora of post on line is the game being played by Hyundai to escape major repair costs that is clear they are responsible for. Meanwhile rental car bill is already piling up and have no word yet on outcome. Fingers crossed Hyundai steps up and warranties repairs.
Car died on hwy in fast moving traffic on a two lane section of road with minimal shoulder, a Jersey barrier down the center line, and water on both sides during rush hour. Fortunately, I was able to coast to the narrow shoulder and wait for a tow. We thought it was battery or electrical, but was informed after inspection that engine had seized.
Called Hyundai and they had me tow it to a dealer (at my expense) and they will have it inspected to see if anything can be done since the enhanced warranty for this is for 10 years (made that) and 120k (missed it). Don't know how this will turn out, but given what I have seen about this problem, I hope they will do something at their cost to correct this. We were lucky that no one was hurt and that no one hit us while we were waiting for rescue.
I received a mailer stating there was a recall on the engine of my car. I took it in for the check up and Hyundai told me it was fine. Three months later my engine stalled and started making noises that sounded like metal hitting metal. I was going 75mph and almost didn't make it off the road to safety. The engine repair was determined to be associated with the recall so it was fixed for free, however it took them 2 months to fix it. Now I have another issue that could have been addressed when they had my car for 2 months but because they did not Hyundai is now trying to charge me for a repair that they could have done for free when they had my car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This Saturday following a night run to the gas station, I noticed my engine begin to knock. Upon returning to my car, I attempted to turn on my car before noticing that it refused to crank. NO SIGNS WHATSOEVER. Smoke began to bellow underneath my engine. I am pretty confident that my engine has seized. Tomorrow I am taking it to the dealership to get it formally diagnosed. I cannot dish out 5k for a new engine as I am a struggling college student. I am aware of the extended 120k mile warranty but my vehicle has 137k. Has anyone received compensation with their vehicle outside of the covered warranty? Please, anyone HELP!
- James R., Harvest, US