10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
38,299 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 1 of 8)

problem #143

Dec 292024

Sonata

  • miles

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

In October of 2023, I was driving my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid to the laundry mat about a quarter of a mile from my home. I stopped at a stop light and all of a sudden, a warning sound burst from my dasher board. The message stated, "Hybrid Warning-DO NOT DRIVE: CHECK BRAKES". The brakes completely stopped working, the pedal was to the floor and the accelerator was stalling. After managing to get the vehicle back to my home, naturally I went to the Dealership (Langdale Hyundai of Valdosta) and informed them of the issue. They informed me there was no issue, charged me for a diagnostic and sent me on my way. Once I provided proof of my car stopping mid-drive, they began to check wiring and such. What they told me the issue was is a Hydraulic Power Unit. I had it replaced, still the same issue "CHECK BRAKES". I only have 116k miles on this car, bought it with 72K in 2021, so I haven't driven it much. It spent 8 months in Hyundai Dealership in Holiday, FL for a brand-new Hybrid Battery in 2022. I have been looking online for anyone that knows more about this issue so I can get it resolved. It turns out there are thousands of people who are just like me. I believe this is indeed a recall issue. I believe this is an issue is an emergency issue, brakes giving out while driving is an issue that needs to be addressed. This has been happening for years, and Hyundai has not done one thing on it. It's happening with newer vehicles as well as older. Langdale Hyundai of Valdosta was not much of a help at all, to be honest, I don't trust their workers at all. I believe they do nothing and charge customers for the max that they can.

- Valdosta, GA, USA

problem #142

Nov 122024

Sonata

  • miles
ACTIVE HYDRAULIC BOOSTER failed while driving. 2012 with 114,000 miles on it. Brand new engine and transmission installed from prior recalls. Hyundai dealership said it was covered under anything and would cost $5K to get fixed.

- Brookhaven, GA, USA

problem #141

Sep 152024

Sonata

  • miles
The driver side seat belt wont click and stay in almost half the time i drive my car-?? after reading other complaints its looking like this is a common thing. Within the past year ive noticed lots of times that when im going to lock my car with my fob, it wont lock and its because the passenger side lock button on the inside of door is in a stuck between lock/unlock position-?? resulting in me having to lean over to manually unlock the door even when I-??ve unlocked my car with both the fob and inside button-?? all the sudden i noticed too that my speed control will not work at all and be completely unresponsive most times. It will RANDOMLY work when i try checking it on highway. ive had SO many issues with my taillights going/burning out constantly and now my headlights have gotten really dim. Im scared to drive at night now. They are much more dimmer than a cars should look like usually. Within the past week i just noticed a random big crack in the dashboard on the passenger side as well-?? noticed that seems to be a common thing and concern of safety with lots of others who own and drive this same vehicle-?? my first thought was -??what if this crack will effect the airbag and make it deploy?-?? The crack is literally right over and above where the airbag is-?? plan on trying to take my car to place on OKC that did the anti-theft system software update on my car-?? but my car has gotten so bad when driving ill be lucky if it makes it there in one piece. My car has started to shake SO bad when im driving!!! Almost -??jumping-?? at times it feels like. This car has been a pretty good car but when there are MULTIPLE complaints of the SAME issues that continuously keep costing us money and its not because of our doing and in fact the manufacturers FAULTY equipment and parts that they used to make these cars-?? they should most definitely be doing recalls and fixing these problems at no cost!

- Shawnee, OK, USA

problem #140

Aug 012023

Sonata

  • miles

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

The grid warning light is coming on and telling me to stop the car. When this occurs the car will lose power and the brakes will start making a grinding noise. My safety was at risk when I was driving on [XXX], Chula Vista, California by Southwestern Community College approaching behind cars at a red light intersection on the second lane to the right going east and the warning light came on. The car started making a grinding noise and to lose power. The intersection was busy and I was barely able to get the vehicle to the right lane to get out of the way of traffic going east. I was blocking the right turn lane onto [XXX] in Chula Vista, Ca I took the vehicle to the dealer and has been confirmed. It first appeared approximately in July / August of 2023. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

problem #139

Sep 142024

Sonata

  • miles
I believe this is the same issue as the Hyundai recall #170 (activation of the engine management system's brake pedal override feature). While pressing the accelerator, my car will stop accelerating until I let off the gas pedal and then press it again. This is an intermittent issue and unrelated to any fuel delivery system. I confirmed it was a brake pedal issue because my brake lights would not turn off and I could shift out of Park WITHOUT my foot being on the brake pedal. I feel like this could be a pretty big issue for properly signally drivers behind me as well as when I-??m trying to drive in heavy or speedy traffic, e.g., merging onto or within interstate traffic.

- Indianapolis , IN, USA

problem #138

Sep 052024

Sonata

  • miles
Brake system warning, puts car in limp mode on freeway nearly causing rear end collisions.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #137

Jul 292024

Sonata

  • miles

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

On July 29, 2024, my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid was parked in our driveway. About 10 minutes later an engine fire started that consumed the car. The local Fire Departmemt put out the fire but the car was totaled. The fire also destroyed a storage shed and some windows were damaged. The car was taken to the Hyundai Dealer for servicing when the engine light came on on March of 2024. The car was left for a few days with the dealer. The NHTSA Recall Number 23V651000 was not repaired during that service call.

- Vernon, AZ, USA

problem #136

May 032024

Sonata

  • miles
Check engine light comes on, brake system malfunction warning message appears and says to pull over, vehicle goes into limp mode. Hyundai dealership says $150 to diagnose problem.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #135

Jun 242024

Sonata

  • miles
Emergency brake started engaging while the car is in motion. Usually, 10-15 minutes after starting the car. We were told the hydraulik brake booster pump needs to be replaced. The car is at only 60K miles.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #134

Jan 242023

Sonata

  • miles
The car has been meticulously maintained -?" I am glad to provide all records of regular service upon request -?" and lovingly cared for. It came to us in great shape. Until, that is, I drove it for the first time and the brakes failed. I rolled into an intersection. Luckily, there was no traffic and no one was harmed. But I had a very helpless feeling, and I feel incredibly grateful no one was hurt. After taking the vehicle to two mechanics, they independently confirmed that a sensor in the ABS module was failing, leading to a sudden loss of braking. After a cursory internet search, I found that many owners of this model and year of vehicle have encountered this dangerous problem.

- Guilford, CT, USA

problem #133

May 212024

Sonata

  • miles

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

while i was driving after picking up my daughters from school the car start giving me a hybrid system warning and a brake message on the dash with brakes not working properly so i stop and get the car tow to my mechanic it was scary since i have my 2 daughter with me my mechanic said the problem is the HECU AND NEEDS REPLACEMENT he tell me there is a recall #251 I call the dealer but they said only cover a fuse no the actual defected part that doesn't make sense I seen a lot of complain of this part going bad hopefully Hyundai do something to make right and fix the actual problem and dont put life on risk like happen to me and my daughters

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #132

Apr 232024

Sonata

  • miles
Saying check brakes and safely pull over hybrid battery failure

- Westfield , MA, USA

problem #131

Jan 052024

Sonata

  • miles
Brake light appeared intermittently while I'm in the middle of traffic.my vehicle's hybrid system warning light came on aside from the brake light and tells me to pull over and not to drive the vehicle.i towed my car to the dealership for inspection.after inspection done, the service advisor tells me that they need to change the abs module due to possible internal leaking besides the fuse.they quoted me $3574.71 to fix the abs module excluding other brake components.i asked them to change the fuse only.Abs problem and brake light are still on and vehicle is not drivable.

- Carmichael, CA, USA

problem #130

Mar 192024

Sonata

  • miles
-??brake failure -??this has happened at indiscriminate times including the highway, suddenly the car tells me to stop driving and the brakes don-??t work as they should, no telling this would happen until it occurs. When pressing brakes, a loud noise rumbles through the car and I am no longer able to drive at any speed higher than 5 mph (an issue for being on the road) risk of possible collision as this happens suddenly and gives short time to take action -??UKNOWN -??was inspected by local dealer, they said it was the primary pressure sensor which is a part of the Hydraulic brake booster pump. They wanted to replace the entire hydraulic unit even though it was only the sensor that was faulty and it would cost me $3,503.61 which is an ABSURD price for an electrical issue that I did not see coming at all and it is a robbery of regular people who need their cars to get to the places they need to be (work and family) this is NOT a luxury, I need my car -??no warning signs or lights until the issue actually occurred. The only light that showed was the ABS lights, maybe it-??s linked to the recall about the brake fluid leaking causing fires?

- Alsip, IL, USA

problem #129

Feb 022024

Sonata

  • miles
my sonata 2012 the engine was replaced it seized up on the highway. since then ive had multiple issues; 1. my brake pedal seems to get pulled to the floor all the way at random times i have to pump the brake for it to release itself. 2. ive replaced the purge valve 3 going on 4 times as well as the cadilac converter due to it being clogged. 3. my car is so loud it makes a hissing noise and a winding sound people say its my transmission going out but no one can pinpoint the problem. 4. my brake lights and head lights go out all the time been replaced bout 100 times. lights on the dash r on; airbag, check engine tire pressure. please i need my vehicle looked over by a professional and or help replacing these issues ASAP

- Garland , TX, USA

problem #128

Jan 012024

Sonata

  • miles
Hyundai states this vehicle may catch fire while parked or while driving. They have advised not parking inside due to fire risk. We do not feel safe driving the vehicle any more than on local low speed city streets, as it might be impossible to safely pull over should it catch fire while driving at high speeds on a highway. We have been waiting months for Hyundai to fix this, cannot get a straight answer as to when that will happen. They have refused to provide a loaner or rental car, so we are currently stuck with a car that is close to completely useless and apparently presents a fire hazard even while sitting in our driveway. Can NHTSA assist?

- Anacortes, WA, USA

problem #127

Jan 242024

Sonata

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" Hybrid Warning System: Safely Stop and Do Not Drive. Yes it is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I lost complete control of braking when the alarm went off, the brake pedal went to the floor, made a grinding sound, was driving at a slow speed and able to pull over and stop the car. Turned car of and turned back on alert went away, slowing started driving and alert returned and loss of brake Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Car is currently at a Hyundai dealership being evaluated, they are unable to reproduce error as of today 1/26/2024 Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Not as of today. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" 1/24/2024 this was the 1st time this error occured.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #126

Dec 282023

Sonata

  • 93,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the brakes failed to respond intermittently. The contact was unaware if any warning lights had been illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

- Oak Park, MI, USA

problem #125

Sep 202023

Sonata

  • miles
It has been 4 months that I was instructed to park vehicle outside. This is frustrating. I think they should replace the Module and get it over with.

- Bremen, AL, USA

problem #124

Dec 262023

Sonata

  • 92,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to immediately stop, causing the stopping distance to be extended. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,000.

- Oak Park, MI, USA

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