10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,569 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.

2012 Hyundai Sonata brakes problems

brakes problem

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2012 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 2 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #115

Sep 142023

Sonata

  • miles

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

While driving on the freeway, the Hybrid system warning, safely stop and do not drive will alternately flash with check brake and continuously the alarm sound with the park brake red light. The car would loose acceleration, and the brake pedal goes to the floor when applied. Once stopped, I restarted the car and the same things happen. The car can accelerate on and off for about 5mph. Brake pedal still goes to the floor. After restarting the car for 30-minutes- 1 hour, there are no warning lights or alarm. The car can be driven again. I brought to independent mechanic and found the code C1604 and there-??s a recall 251 on ABS brake system- recommended to bring to dealer. Brought to dealer, they say that recall 251 had no fix yet. They diagnosed that the safety plug relay needs to be replaced. Dealer replaced it and said that the car is fixed. Pick up the car from the dealer. After 20 miles of driving the same problem occurred- Hybrid system warning, safely stop and do not drive will alternately flash with check brake and continuously the alarm sound with the park brake red light. Had the car towed back to the dealer. After 2 days, the dealer says it-??s possibly a transmission issue. I asked how come it wasn-??t diagnosed the first time around? No clear response.issue occurred 4 times already.

- San Mateo, CA, USA

problem #114

Sep 212023

Sonata

  • miles
2012 hyundai sonta The car brakes out of no where.comes to a stop.

- Moreno Valley , CA, USA

problem #113

Aug 012023

Sonata

  • miles
i-??ve been having issues with the brake lights being sometimey sometime it works and sometimes not, and almost been in accidents once too many times. i-??ve also notice a lot of hyundais especially sonatas that-??s on the road have the same issue. i-??m at a loss in what to do with having to change light bulbs every month it acts up with both break lights. horn doesn-??t work. it stopped months ago and fused changes and still no horn work. the other day while driving it brought someone was blowing at me so i turned down the radio and heard my very own horn blow on it-??s own several times it does this off n on even at the light or while driving. i don-??t have money to fix all these issues with this car. hopefully we can get a recall and get this fixed!

- Forest Hill, TX, USA

problem #112

Jul 012023

Sonata

  • miles

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

Came Home Saw that the break lights were on in my Sonata. Tapped the brake pedal, they went off. Came home the next day same thing. I found a re call (google) for stuck brake lights. 2011 - 2012 Sonatas. I purchased the car used, and was informed that everything is working and in order. I'm just curios if there were any other reports concerning this matter?

- Springfield, PA, USA

problem #111

May 172023

Sonata

  • miles
My vehicle is experiencing several recall issues. The seat belt in driver seat randomly pops unlocked which is very dangerous while driving, the headlights and brakes lights go out once a month due to some electrical issues with the vehicle, the tire bearing clocks when the vehicle is turning

- Elkridge, MD, USA

problem #110

Apr 192023

Sonata

  • miles
The break light don-??t want to turn off Seat belts don-??t latch

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #109

Apr 052023

Sonata

  • miles

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

Brake light is stuck

- Sheridan , OR, USA

problem #108

Jan 062023

Sonata

  • miles
I recently purchased a Hyundai Sonata hybrid with 132K miles on it and it has been driving fine for at least two weeks until a few days back the car has been displaying a recurring alarm on the dashboard telling " hybrid system warming! Safely Stop and Do Not Drive " now as soon as I turn on the vehicle the alarm comes on immediately. It's been a week since the car is technically inoperable because if I attempt to drive the car it makes this horrible grinding sound which is terrifying considering if I drive like this it would probably cause more damage to the car, and I have look for information on this issue and have found many of these cases over the years that I can relate to but unfortunately there's no a recall of this problem. I'm taking the car to the dealership soon but I don't have any hopes that they will find a permanent fix for this since nobody has apparently. I'm just trying find some help with this issue. So far I just have lots of regrets about this purchase and just hoping I can find some help with this matter.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #107

Jan 262023

Sonata

  • miles
While driving with foot on accelerator, acceleration/ current speed will randomly just stop. 1-1- Once i fully release the accelerator and then reengage the accelerator problem goes away. This is very random as to when it happens, and will happen multiple times in a row some times... and other times happens once and doesn't the rest of the trip. This seems to be more amplified occurrences when it is cold. 2- Safety is put at risk. 3- Not gone to dealer yet. 4- No inspection yet. 5- No warning messages.

- Southern View, IL, USA

problem #106

Nov 302022

Sonata

  • miles
Vehicle doesn-??t stop hard pedal and brake light came on 144k

- Brownsville , TX, USA

problem #105

Dec 142022

Sonata

  • miles

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

Driving on freeway and traction control light came on and stays on. Then my car stalls. Additionally, I awakened at 6 am to find my breaks light had been on most the night at no fault of mine. I checked my vin# and being told my 2012 sonata is not part of the recall campaign 136. This is a danger to my life and Hyundai is refusing to correct the problem at their cost.

- Aberdeen, WA, USA

problem #104

Dec 052022

Sonata

  • miles
Break lights don-??t go off.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #103

Nov 122022

Sonata

  • miles
Driving on a freeway when check brake warning appeared. Car speed dropped down to drastically. Alarm was chirping and brakes made a bad grinding noise

- Houston , TX, USA

problem #102

Nov 072022

Sonata

  • miles
The car starts alarming out of nowhere while driving at 70 mph on the interstate and the Hybrid System Warning - Safely Stop and Do Not Drive along with the wrench, battery light and engine light all appearing on the dashboard to pull over and do not drive when this occurred I lost total control of the vehicle. The brake peddle goes all the way to the floor enabling me to stop and I lost the ability to steer the vehicle as the power steering went out as well while this was happening. I almost got killed as I was on the highway driving at 70 mph. I immediately put on my hazards lights to signal to other drivers that I was having mechanical problems. Thank GOD I was able to pull over without anyone hitting me from behind. I have had major major issues with this car since I purchased it the engine seized up on me in the same manner back in 2020 and the engine was replaced. Then there was an issue with the transmission and that was also replaced. Then the brake booster also failed and had to be replaced as well. Hyundai aught to be ashamed of the production of this vehicle as it is truly a severe risk to the lives of the consumers not just the person who is driving this vehicle but also to those who may be behind someone driving as this could cause a major accident and people could be killed. These cars need to be recalled and they need to get down to what is causing these issues in order to fix the problem. I pray that you all make Hyundai do a recall on this vehicle as I have googled and see that there has been many others that have encountered these same issues. I am filing this complaint in hopes of you all getting involved to do something about this. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

- Lithonia, GA, USA

problem #101

Aug 222022

Sonata

  • miles
My "Hyundai system warning safely stop and don't drive". light went off with my brake light on also, we were driving on the freeway going around 60 mph I was I'm the middle lane causing me to have to hurry and pull over as Car came to complete stop.i went to brake check to see if the breaks needed to be replaced and after inspection they said everything was fine, brakes, rotors and brake fluid was fine it's been doing this more often now..

- Spring, TX, USA

problem #100

Aug 292022

Sonata

  • miles
Brake lights stay on when the car is turned off. It is draining the battery and I cannot drive the car. No Hyundai dealers near me have availability until October or after.

- Glenside, PA, USA

problem #99

Jul 012022

Sonata

  • miles
My 2012 Hyundai Sonata, build date 10/31/2011, experienced the exact issue as described in NHTSA campaign number 15V759000. Note that the campaign covers Sonatas built before my vehicle's build date. The brake pedal stopper pad deteriorated and resulted in the brake lights falsely illuminating at random times. Furthermore, the condition - when occurring - resulted in the car overriding any throttle inputs, making for random inability to provide throttle inputs.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #98

Aug 012022

Sonata

  • miles
"Hybrid system warning, stop safely and do not drive" and "check brake" alarm. Car immediately went into limp mode (15mph top speed). Luckily, I was not on the highway, but on residential street. Alarm was not recoverable by restarting car. Dealer says its the hydraulic brake booster and will cost $3250 to fix. Vehicle at 80,000 miles.

- Ormond Beach , FL, USA

problem #97

Jun 012021

Sonata

  • miles
AHB Hydraulic Break Module Failure car only has 60k miles.

- Forney, TX, USA

problem #96

Jul 042022

Sonata

  • miles
The brakes lights (all three) wont shut off even when the vehicle is not on.

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

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