I had been looking at buying a Sonata for the better part of 2 years and was well aware of the engine issues with the 2011 Sonata's. I noticed that most complaints seemed to be for the 2.4L non turbo version of the motor and as I did not notice the extensive number of complaints for the 2012 as the 2011 had and so I felt fairly comfortable purchasing this car with the 2.0T motor.

And so I purchased the car in November 2014 used with 36,000 miles. One previous owner on a lease with a solid maintenance history, practically good as new. At 43,500 miles as I was slowing down for a stoplight I suddenly noticed a knocking and clanking sound. At first I thought it was the Semi next to me using his jake brake, or even a motorcycle that was a little bit ahead of me but as I got away from both of them I realized it was my Sonata. I immediately pulled over off the highway and popped the hood to listen for the sound. During this time the engine seemed to be running normally despite sounding like it might blow up if I got it over 2000 rpm. I checked the oil and the dipstick showed a bit above full, last changed at 40,000. I quickly determined the best course of action was to have the car towed to the dealer as this car no longer sounded safe to drive. My best guess to the problem was either the high pressure fuel pump was going out, or that it spun a rod bearing. I was praying for it to be the pump....

Per the dealer upon hearing the engine they decided the engine needed to be replaced and ordered a new one immediately. They stated definitely not the fuel pump and most likely the rod or rod bearing. They submitted the claim to Hyundai also on the same day, and the following afternoon it was approved. Dealer states they are putting a "New" engine into it. I attempted to inquire as to the exact damage of the engine but was told little to no diagnosis was done. The dealer has had several of the same issue and in fact had two more in the shop with the same issue.

I'm grateful Hyundai is holding up their warranty in this case, and really love the car. Although given the severity, and cost of the issue I'm surprised to not be able to find not even one TSB much less a recall addressing this issue. In this day and age this car is entirely too new to have a motor that may or may not spontaneously self destruct with sub 100k mileage. My last car this site lists as a clunker and even it went 10 years, 98,000 miles before its head gasket blew. A relatively mild problem compared to what my Sonata just pulled. I was lucky that this occurred while slowing down for a stop, I imagine if I had been pushing high rpm's the result would of been a blown rod through the crankcase.

Before this problem occurred there was no warning what so ever. No check engine lights, no rough idling, no loss of power, no oil consumption, no leaking, no weird sounds, no smells, no smoke, nothing. Just one night BAM engine is gone. And aside from the knocking and clanking even after not even a check engine light.

With the warranty running out at 60k I now have to consider paying this car down sooner than expected as so I can at least break even on trade before this happens again. Should the engine blow again after 60k I am not going to be able to afford another motor priced around 6 - 7k. That money would be better spent acquiring a car that gives me better peace of mind.

For 3 years I drove this vehicle 375 miles daily...to/from work and NEVER had a problem. Oil changes were regular, varying between every 5K & 6.5K miles. The only thing besides the oil changes I had to do on this vehicle was to have new tires installed a year ago!

On January 15, 2015 a faint, barely audible tapping could be heard under the hood, it wasn't time for an oil change but I got one anyway. Three days later the tapping was louder and noticeable when accelerating so I called the service dept. of a Hyundai dealership for an appointment and took the car there on January 21, 2015.

When I described what I was hearing to the tech I was told there are 3 recalls on the vehicle that must be resolved before he can take a look at the car for anything else. When asked how long it would take I was told the wait is at least 3 hours. I told tech I was on my way to work and unable to wait 3 hours so he told me to "bring the car back when you can wait at least 3 hours or you can just drop it off and pick it up later". So I stopped driving the car until I was able to make an appointment with a Hyundai dealership closer to home.

I was on my way to the appointment when the vehicle just stopped in the middle of the street...no warning lights, no check engine light EVER came on!! I was finally able to get the car pushed back to my residence (2 blocks away) and contacted the dealership who sent their tow truck to pick the vehicle up. 2 days later I received a call from the service department informing me my engine needed to be replaced but the good news was the engine is still under warranty. 48 hours later I received another call from the service dept. manager informing me when the engine was opened it 'appears the vehicle did not receive oil changes every 3000 miles because there is a "sludge" buildup so Hyundai has denied the claim.' (Note: My oil changes were made in accordance with what the manual states...every 5000 miles).

After speaking to Hyundai (4 times) we were informed the dealership is the only entity able to honor/deny a warranty claim and they (Hyundai) had NOT denied my claim. The dealership states the exact opposite. The service manager forwarded photo's of what is supposed to be my engine although there is nothing in any of the photo's indicating this is the engine of my vehicle! I also noticed the photo's the service manager forwarded to my cell phone were forwarded to his cell phone by someone else! So who's engine is this? Bottom line is I don't have $5K to have an engine replaced and even if I did I shouldn't have to with a valid warranty. I had my car towed from the dealership back to my home and was told by the AAA tow truck driver my car is the 7th 2012 Sonata he has had to tow since the beginning of the year, the 3rd one today and the 3rd one from this particular dealership and he advised me to check this out because something is going on with this make/model that isn't being told to the owners. So I Googled it and found this web site. Whew...I needed to get that out! I am livid!!!

My niece and nephew are both attorneys so I'm planning on discussing this with them this weekend so I'll know what my next step should be. Thanks for allowing me to vent but I think this information needed to be posted because it appears Hyundai Sonata's may be experiencing a major problem that is not being acknowledged by Hyundai...yet.

Actually my son's car... Bought this 2012 Hyundai Sonata with just over 50K miles on it. He drove the car for about a year putting 14k miles on it... He had 2 oil changes in that amount of time. While waiting at a red light the engine just stopped. Had it towed to the dealer where he was notified that the engine seized. No warning... no lights, no knocks, no pings...Nothing!!!

When he bought the car he purchased a "platinum" extended warranty. The warranty company required the engine to be torn down before they would authorize payment for repairs... It cost $2600 to tear it apart only to find out the warranty company wouldn't cover the repair because of "sludge" build up in the engine. The car is still sitting at the dealer... He owes 13k on it and now has to come up with 5K to repair this car... It's not worth the $$$.

What kind of car dies at 60,000 miles. Did the dealer do an adequate check before they sold the car to my son? How can sludge build up after 14k miles with 2 oil changes? The sludge must have been there prior to him owning the car!!! We are getting zero help from anyone. The Dealer (DCH Acura in Temecula CA), The warranty company (Fidelity), or the manufacturer (Hyundai).