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:
50 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
53 / 2
Average Mileage:
74,310 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 seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2011 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 3 of 21)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #365

Jun 122020

Sonata

  • 108,433 miles

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

My engine light has been on for 6 months and I had the timer sensor replaced twice. And it is still on. My car steering wheel vibrates at times. The steering wheel makes a cracking noise while parking or pulling out. Also my airbag light has been on continuous for 6 months over the steering wheel. Keep taking it to the shop and told to check recalls but my car is never listed.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #364

Nov 102020

Sonata

  • miles
Air bag dash light is on at all times that the engine is running.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #363

Oct 222020

Sonata

  • miles
My steering wheel shakes and my radio blew out and the airbag light is on and won't go out. I'm

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #362

Sep 152020

Sonata

  • 65,000 miles

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

The airbag light has been on and the steering has slowly gotten really loose and making clicking sounds. It now almost hitches when you turn it and our mechanic said it was unsafe to drive. The buttons on the steering wheel do not work either. We had our personal mechanic look at it and he found the extended warranty info from old recalls. He also called the dealer and they confirmed the extended warranty info on both the steering and the airbag. We then took it from our personal mechanic to the dealer and the dealer said it was not covered under the extended warranty due to the incorrect code during diagnostics. The charge is going to be $1950 to fix it as it needs a whole new steering column and coupler and something else. We have had so many recalls fixed on this car that it's getting ridiculous. I love how they "recall" and pay for the little things, but not this big things that is serious and dangerous. We have received a letter stating that the engine could seize so just waiting for that to happen.... not a very happy Hyundai customer at the moment. We will not pay the $1950 and I will for sure keep fighting this battle. Hyundai should stand behind their products and it's obvious something is wrong as so many people have documented the same problems. They need to make this right and fix it before someone gets seriously injured.

- Billings, MT, USA

problem #361

Oct 012020

Sonata

  • 175,000 miles
My car changed to cruise control on its own. I couldn't get out of it until I parked. My lights don't work the constantly flick on and off while I'm driving. The dealership also failed to replace my airbag deployment sensor after I reported that they never fixed it. They put it in the database that it was repaired but I was still waiting on a part I never received

- Huntsville, TX, USA

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problem #360

Feb 112019

Sonata

  • 150,000 miles
Back lights always going out not working during braking, air bag light won't go off, fuel gauge doesn't work, noted rattling noise under the front end, always having to replace tires.

- Petersburg, VA, USA

problem #359

Aug 212020

Sonata

  • 121,150 miles

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

Air bag light went on and won't go off.after a gas station fill up the light went on when we started to move

- Hamilton, NJ, USA

problem #358

Sep 022020

Sonata

  • 84,388 miles
My airbag light is on and also it says airbag off. This came on Sept. 2nd 2020 approximately 10:00am while driving to the grocery store a few miles from my house. It has remained on ever since that date and time. I don't feel safe. If something happens my airbag will not deploy. This is dangerous and I feel it is a default of the manufacturer Hyundai. This light came on for no reason. This occurred on a city street.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

problem #357

Aug 222020

Sonata

  • miles
My air bag keeps getting real hot per dealer there's no recall but your air bag should not be hot

- Ferndale, FL, USA

problem #356

Aug 252020

Sonata

  • 110,000 miles
Recently my airbag warning light comes on then after 6 seconds goes off like it should then comes back on and remains on. Nothing has change with the vehicle. I am looking to Hyundai to fix this malfunction on a recall. Is there a recall on this problem?

- Elkhorn, NE, USA

problem #355

Aug 222020

Sonata

  • 100,000 miles

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

The airbag lights come on when going around a corner or hitting a bump in the road. Goes on and off randomly

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #354

Aug 102020

Sonata

  • 54,000 miles
Air bag dashboard light came on. I see there is a recall #174 for 2011 Hyundai, NHTSA campaign # 18V137000, but I don't see my car's VIN as part of the campaign.

- Evanston, IL, USA

problem #353

Aug 062020

Sonata

  • 72,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact called the college park Hyundai dealer located at 9500 baltimore ave, college park, md 20740, and was told that there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 72,000.

- Lanham, MD, USA

problem #352

May 282020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 110,000 miles
My car has 110,000 miles and suddenly the air bag light will not go off. I know I had recall #174 that was serviced in July of 2019. Less then a year later the dealer is suggesting I make an appointment for a $125 diagnostic check!!!!

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

problem #351

May 122020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • miles
The airbag light turned on and doesn't go away I have kids and I don't feel safe driving with this light on.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #350

Jun 102019

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 110,000 miles
The airbags have been disabled for an unknown reason. The warning light will not turn off. The car has not been involved in an accident. This began in approximately of June 2019 and the car had approximately 110,000 miles. Another issue is the seat belt locking mechanism does not latch properly to secure the seat belt. It usually requires multiple efforts to be secured. Additionally, the seat belt does not retract properly either. That also takes several efforts to get it retracted. This began when the car had approximately 32,000 miles on it. I had an extended warranty on the vehicle and due to personal circumstances, was unable to bring it to the dealer until the car had approximately 37,000 miles. The dealer refused to address the issue under the warranty. The first issue occurs when the car is started and the airbag light stays on until the car is turned off. The seat belt issue occurs when putting the seat belt on and taking it off.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

problem #349

Sep 012019

Sonata 4-cyl

  • miles
Well, very simply I was merging onto a parkway and pushing down on the accelerator, car was speeding up then I noticed that it seemed like I wasn't getting any acceleration. Looked at the dashboard and saw that it seemed all the lights were on and realized that the engine had shut itself down. Pulled off to the shoulder and tried to restart it (head kind of a whirring noise), but it wouldn't start.

- Social Circle, GA, USA

problem #348

Mar 232020

Sonata

  • 147,000 miles
Was driving about 30 mph when the car began accelerating without me applying pressure to the gas. I was coming to a light to make a red turn and when I applied the brakes they would not slow down my vehicle so my speed increased. The steering wheel then locked and before I knew it a car had collided with me crossing in front of me. My car was totalled.

- Sheridan, AR, USA

problem #347

Feb 192020

Sonata

  • 111,100 miles
Horn cover presses down on airbag connector causing the airbag to light to come on. This could cause the airbag to fail to inflate in a crash.

- Grove City, OH, USA

problem #346

Feb 162020

Sonata

  • miles
The air bag warning has become constant randomly and doesn't go away after seatbelt are buckled

- Orlando, FL, USA

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