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:
20 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 1
Average Mileage:
50,849 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.
Steering wheel chicked when making turns. Noticable shake when driving. Dealer said not under warrenty. Dealer stated "coupling worn". $315 to repair. Based on complaints, can't understand why not recalled.
I own a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. When you turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel is loose and you notice an abnormal clunk feeling. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a the steering wheel coupler part in the steering needed to be replaced.the vehicle was not repaired. Approximate mileage of the vehicle: 90,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the steering wheel made an abnormal noise each time it was turned left or right. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 10V426000 (steering) and 10V457000 (steering). The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V568000 (engine) and the dealer indicated that the parts were not available. The contact was unable to determine when the recall repair would be completed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and could not provide a reasonable time frame to send the part to the dealer. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that there was an abnormal noise when the steering wheel was turned to the left or right. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 10V457000 (steering) and 10V426000 (steering). The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V568000 (engine) and the dealer indicated that the parts were not available. The contact was unable to determine when the recall repair would be completed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and pertaining to the recall they were not able to provide a reasonable time frame to send the part to the dealer. The failure mileage was not available. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Steering column coupler- potential to lose steering -I heard a clicking sound when the steering wheel was turning during normal steering of the vehicle. At times, the steering got loose and "flyaway". because of this, the steering column needed repair at a cost of $325. This problem is well known. The service advisor at Hyundai commented that he was surprised this is not a recall. My neighbor has a Hyundai and he was forced to get the same repair. Numerous posts exist on Hyundai forums about this problem. I contacted Hyundai and they advised there is no recall campaign at the present, but if one comes about, the money I spent for the repair will be refunded. This is a serious situation and I am besides myself that a recall doesn't exist for this. Thank you.
- Palm Coast, FL, USA
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2011 Sonata have clicking noise when you turn steering wheel. If I ride over a bumpy road it sounds like a piece of metal is clunking and steering wheel is loose.its totally unsafe on highway, at 65mph steering start vibrating and its scary, especially when there is a slight turn.I have done alignment, tire balance and tire rotation, but not helping with the problem.now dealer wants me to change the coupling or bearing for $250.most of 2011 Sonata have this issue, they have not done anything about it.I tired of spending money on this car.I request NHTSA to help us with this matter.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while the driving at approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel seized. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000.
There is a load rattle noise from the steering column at any speed while driving over rough roads or turning the steering wheel right and left. I took it to my regular maintenance facility to have them see what he problem was. They informed me that Hyundai has a technical service bulletin which verifies the issue. This bulletin describes the procedure to replace the worm shaft flexible coupling in the motor driven power steering (mdps) steering column to address this condition. www.myhyundaiforums.com/11-St-001.pdf
I have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata with approximately 65,000 miles. In 2015 the steering wheel locked twice while on but parked. The ESC and power steering indicators were on. After a while the issues spontaneously resolved in these instances and the vehicle able to be driven. In October 2015 the power steering locked up while driving the vehicle on a city street (speed <40mph). I was unable to turn the steering wheel and navigate resulting in several near misses with street parked vehicles before being able to stop the vehicle. Car towed to the dealership where they stated that they drove the vehicle around and "recalibrated it." Two months later while again traveling on city streets (<40mph) the steering wheel began to shake violently and I was unable to steer, again almost resulting in a significant crash. During this incident the same ecs and power steering indicators lit up. Unable to steer I was forced to stop and turn off my vehicle in the middle of a busy road. However, once the vehicle was turned off the steering wheel continued to shake violently until someone who came to assist me shut off the car battery. The car was towed to the dealership where upon showing them video the service manager stated he had never seen this occur in his 20 years of employment. The car is scheduled to be assessed on Monday. Internet searches show other videos of this make/model with the same violently shaking wheel and reports of accident close-calls. My specific car was part of an earlier recall (campaign 097) related to power steering that was reportedly fixed at that time, therefore this car clearly has known problems in this domain. I will never get back in this vehicle and will likely lose money on a trade in. There are clearly significant safety issues with this vehicle that have not been resolved by the earlier recall. Video link: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=msqe_quk50U updated 8/21/2017
The steering wheel feels loose and there is a clicking sound when the wheel moves from side to side. Occurs both stationary and in motion, city and highway. Note that there were two recalls for exactly this problem in 2010 but our VIN was not included. Recall numbers 10V426000 and 10V457000. First noticed around July but has gotten noticeably worse recently.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that when turning the steering wheel, it was loose and there was an abnormal motion. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown part in the steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate mileage was 110,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While the vehicle was being serviced, an independent mechanic observed that when the steering wheel was turned, a loud knocking sound was heard. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the bushings for the steering column had been worn down and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.....updated 01/13/16 the consumer stated the issue was resolved 01/22/16.
I have a Hyundai Sonata 2011 with ~ 70,000 miles on it. For more than a year, I started hearing obnoxious noise coming from the steering wheel when I drive on rough roads or take an exit on a freeway. The steering wheel will start vibrating and becoming harder to control. I voiced the concern to two Hyundai dealers (one in mi and another in ca) and told them I was worried about my safety and that riding in the car, but nothing was brought up about steering coupling, which as you will see turned out to be the problem. The problem continued worsening, until most recently I could hear obnoxious knocking noise by turning the steering wheel left and right, and on the freeway and rough roads, the steering wheel would vibrate and shake, and I could feel "looseness' when bypassing cars and exiting freeway. Worried about my safety, I took my car to a dealer and asked it to be fixed. For the first time, a Hyundai dealer recognized the problem to be the coupling. They fixed the car with $320, mostly labor with the part is less than $50 dollar (most other Hyundai dealers didn't want to do it for less than $380). The car has been fixed, and as of two days after the visit to the dealer, I no longer hear noise, and the car feels much safer to drive. This is a Hyundai problem and it is dangerous to the safety of people in the car and on the road. My dealer told me to keep the receipt in case a recall is issued. Seeing what turn my car took as a result of this problem, I strongly believe a recall is urgent. I hope NHTSA is listening, for the manufacturer is not.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While turning the steering wheel, the contact heard an abnormal noise. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 10V426000 (steering) and 10V457000 ( steering). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving at approximately 60 mph, the contact heard a clink noise and the steering failed without warning. The dealer diagnosed that the flex coupling needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel left or right, there was a clicking noise coming from the steering column and the vehicle would delay in making the turn. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,000.
Called Hyundai to find out steering column needs to be repaired. Employee then told me he wasn't sure why a recall hasn't been issued. He was currently working on a steering column for the same make and model as my vehicle. Engine has recall waiting on final results. Engine stalled and is loud.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. While driving approximately 35 mph, there was a clicking sound from the steering column. The failure recurred multiple times and at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was made aware of NHTSA campaign number: 10V462000 (steering); however, the VIN was not included. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Having severe shaking feedback in the steering wheel column, when driving the car when hitting bumps. Additionally, steering wheel has a loud clanking noise when turning the steering wheel at a stop and at while driving. Dealership told me it was the steering coupler which was made of plastic, and said there is a severe national shortage of these parts. Made 2 appointments to replace, both times part was said not be in stock even though they called me and said it was in for my repair. Severe feedback getting worse quickly, also worry about related damage it is causing with the defective coupler being bad. I work as a aviation safety inspector, and have a solid background in mechanical issues.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Moseley, VA, USA