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:
4 / 14
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,389 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.

2011 Hyundai Sonata fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2011 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 5 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #19

Apr 092016

Sonata

  • 70,140 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After losing power and getting horrible gas mileage, I took car into dealer. I was told it was the waste gate for the turbo and that it was not covered with my wrap around coverage that I paid extra for. With this comes the possibility of a firs as the car will heat up because the air can not escape. Hyundai should cover this under warranty and after reading all the other stories the same as mine, a recall needs to be done. I will never buy another Hyundai!!!

- Fridley, MN, USA

problem #18

Mar 282016

Sonata

  • 1 miles
When I was driving 70 mph with two bars left on the gas gauge (dashboard said distance to empty: 80 miles), the car suddenly lost power and engine was turned off. When I try to start the car, I noticed that it was out of gas. I put a gallon of tank and it worked. Hoping that it was just one time problem, I was driving it carefully filling gas when it had three bars left on the gauge. A week later, while driving 25 mph, the vehicle shut off without warning when there were 4 bars (130miles to empty on the dash). Took it to the dealership and they told me be replace the fuel pump for $1,000 which I declined at the moment. I had 63,000 miles on the car and found out that many Sonata 2011 are having the similar problem.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #17

Oct 042013

Sonata

  • miles
I was traveling to return my vehicle to southern states Hyundai on state highway 70 in durham, North Carolina when suddenly, and without any warning, my vehicle exploded. At the time of the explosion, I was traveling approximately 50 M.P.H. not able to see through the windshield and unable to breath because of the smoke, I pulled off the highway and jumped from the car.

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

problem #16

Jan 052016

Sonata

  • 57,543 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle shut off without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who, after diagnosing the failure, contacted a local dealer and reported that the pigtail on the fuel pump failed and burned. The dealer stated that the vehicle was out of warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not under warranty. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 57,543.

- Marshfield, WI, USA

problem #15

Sep 242015

Sonata

  • 75,000 miles
At random times the fuel gauge will show the car is totally empty and the fuel warning light starts flashing even if the car has over half a tank. After sometime it might go back to normal. When flashing empty and I get gas, the tank will trigger the pump that it's full after only a couple of gallons and the gauge will show the tank is full. I have started resetting the trip odometer after each gas station visit, and making sure I don't go over 150 miles.

- East Brunswick, NJ, USA

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problem #14

Mar 122014

Sonata

  • miles
Check engine light came on. Test shows it is the fuel sensor. Fuel gauge inside fluctuates.

- Fuquay Varina, NC, USA

problem #13

Sep 012015

Sonata

  • 67,656 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Gas guage not registering correctly was told by dealer it is a sensor, but then failed after testing. Mechanic retesting, says fuel unit not registering on cluster. Fault in "cluster" so gas guage is not working. Wants to charge $1482 to replace, says not warrantied

- Oxnard, CA, USA

problem #12

May 112015

Sonata

  • 78,000 miles
I started up my car and realized that my gas gauge wasn't correct especially when I filled the gas the night before. So I turned off the car and turned it back on and the numbers was just jumping around and the gas light would pop on etc. As of today my car is still doing it and it has me concerned

- Coconut Creek, FL, USA

problem #11

Oct 152014

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
Fuel gauge has stopped showing the proper amount of fuel in the car. Car was filled at a local station, entered the roadway, low fuel light began to flash. Fuel gauge has not worked properly since. Brought the car to the dealer, was told by dealer that this is a known issue but is not considered a recall item. Repair was quoted at over $600 to replace the fuel module.

- Tinton Falls , NJ, USA

problem #10

Dec 242014

Sonata

  • 144,000 miles
Oil light blinked on and off twice. Car was making a knocking noise. Stopped to check oil; absolutely no oil in the vehicle. No sign of leak; no smoking; no other indication of problem. Put 3 quarts of oil in the car. Knocking sound was worse. Drove car home and haven't driven it since. This is one of many problems I've had with this car. I get regular oil changes. I haven't had the car looked at yet due to cost and out of warranty. I've read other complaints of loss of oil resulting in complete engine failure. There was absolutely no indication that the oil was even low which I attribute to the faulty electrical system since I've had problems with that as well. It's my opinion that this car is unsafe to drive. I've read this year model has over 900 problems while other year models have average of 230 something problems. Obviously, this car should be completely recalled and replaced by Hyundai dealer.

- Vinton, LA, USA

problem #9

Sep 012014

Sonata

  • 69,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. When the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. In addition, the contact smelled a strong fuel odor. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.

- Shreveport, LA, USA

problem #8

Nov 122014

Sonata

  • 65,413 miles
I filled up my car on Thursday after filling it up the first time I started the car the gauge read full, later on while drive the fuel gauge said 3/4 full even though I had driven a few miles. The next day after taking my kids to school I stopped to run an errand. I get back in my car to start it up and the gas light is on and the fuel gauge says empty. After driving a few miles the gas gauges went up to 1/4 then eventually 1/2 tank. The gauge had been showing 3/4 full a few times in the past few weeks after filling up but this is the first time it's shown as empty.

- Smyrna, GA, USA

problem #7

Apr 152014

Sonata

  • 62,000 miles
Fuel gauge is not working properly. When gas is filled, it display the full tank gauge. But after ~ 100 mile drive, the fuel gauge drops to empty tank with alarm sign. At first it happened very rarely, but now (69000 mile), every time the fuel gauge drops to empty tank once it is drive >100 mile after full tank.

- North Grafton, MA, USA

problem #6

Mar 012011

Sonata

  • 10,000 miles
At various times, when filling the car with gas, a very strong gas smell is in the car cabin. I have not been able to determine any common precipitating factors. Happens sporadically when adding various amounts of gas.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #5

Sep 302011

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 26 miles
When filling the car, gas spills out of the neck filler. The issue with this S that is virally always results in spoiled gas and gas being placed on users clothes and/or shoes - causing a potentially sever fire hazard.

- Haslet, TX, USA

problem #4

Feb 072013

Sonata 4-cyl

  • miles
Since July 2010 this car continually gets an odor of gasoline inside. I have had it to the dealer and each time I am there they report that no one knows what the problem is. When this smell gets bad it gives me headaches. This is both a health issue and potentially a fire hazard. Just a few minutes ago I once again called the dealer, conicelli Hyundai of conshocken pa, and they said there was no solution yet. I would be surprised if others have not complained to you as there are many comments on-line about this situation.

- Ambler, PA, USA

problem #3

Jun 192010

Sonata

  • 20,000 miles
1) within three months of buying this car, starting issues began. Generally on the second start of the day. First start of the day usually involves high engine revving somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,500 RPM. After a short trip, ignition will no click over attempt to restart. Usually second or third try result in a start. Despite dealer replacement of starter, fuel pump and battery, the problem continues periodically. 2) rear brakes needed replacement at 24K miles. Wear was uneven: Left brake was grinding into rotor and right brake was only about 50 percent worn. Had dealership check for possible faulty calipers, but they claimed they found no issues and would not cover under warranty. In contrast, the car still has the original front brakes.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #2

Oct 022012

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 0 miles
Beginning of October 2012 I kept hearing rattling, clanking noise coming from under the hood. I took the car to a Hyundai dealer where I live October 26, 2012. They checked out the car and told me because the engine light didn't come on, they couldn't find a code to fix the car and to bring the car in when the engine light comes on. I kept driving the car and hearing the same noise. I took it to meineke to get an oil change November 14, 2012. Drove the car approximately 3 weeks and still heard the noise. I took it to another Hyundai dealer. They said the car didn't have any oil and meinke forgot to put the drain plug back in, therefore it messed up the engine, and that's why I heard the noise. I kept telling them, I heard the noise before the oil change. I took it back to meinke and showed them the paper Hyundai gave me, they gave me my money back and apologized. Still hearing the noise, I took it back to the first Hyundai dealer and they said it was engine problems and I had to pay the diagnostic fee because my warranty was voided due to meineke. I refused to pay the fee because my car is under warranty. They wouldn't give me my car back until I paid, we argued back and forth and I called the police and they gave me my car back, but told me not to come back on their property. I then took the car to where I purchased it and same thing. They said to try a gas additive 3 times, if that doesn't work, get an oil consumption test in my area where I live. I need my car fixed and no one will fix it. Hyundai blames meineke and meineke blames Hyundai. They're saying because of no engine light on, they can't see the problems, but one dealer said it was the engine another saying gas problems. Bottom line, if the first Hyundai dealer had kept my car, I wouldn't be going through this. How can I resolve this?

- Center Cross, VA, USA

problem #1

Jun 052012

Sonata

  • 22,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate as the contact depressed the acceleration pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer inspection where it was advised that there was a failure with the fuel pump. The fuel pump was replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle surged when driving and pulled to one side abnormally. The vehicle was taken to dealer who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 22,000 and the current mileage was 28,710.

- Edmond, OK, USA

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