10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
38,921 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.

2013 Hyundai Sonata drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2013 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 2 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #63

Jan 202021

Sonata

  • 43,000 miles

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

Service engine light goes on and off load growling noise from engine

- Pine Bush, NY, USA

problem #62

May 072020

Sonata

  • 93,052 miles
Brake pedal went to the floor. Horrible grinding sound from all the wheels. Chiming. Hybrid system warning. Was driving and had to pull to the side of the street. Found out that the the hydraulic power unit is at fault and had to be replaced. My car is out of warranty and I had to pay over 2000 out of pocket. Complained to Hyundai costumer service and also to the BBB and they all told me to file a report with you. This is an ongoing issue with the Sonata hybrid since 2019. The information is found in Hyundai forum website. Https://www.Hyundai-forums.com/threads/brakes-failure-on-Sonata-hybrid.155580/page-5 this issue should please be investigated for recall purposes.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #61

Jan 212021

Sonata

  • miles
My 2013 Hyundai Sonata issues: 1. my horn & left side of my steering wheel buttons doesn't work. I was told it could be related to fuses or clockspring replacement. Trip A/B and other buttons doesn't work, I've been driving for over a year without a horn because this isn't a recall. This is a huge safety issue. 2. my gears are start to slip in the transmission. I was told it could be two things it's either the transmission or speed quality censor. These cars were made either very fast or very poorly or both and this is another safety issue. 3. electrical issues. I have to manually adjust by back light/break lights daily because they never stay in place. The whole wiring for this vehicle is horrible. Sometimes while driving the car suddenly starts to slow down. Every once in a while my radio is on but doesn't light up. Light bulbs are melting into light sockets. Electrical issues that are a safety issue for many with these model cars. Eitherway none of these issues were a problem until after Hyundai performed all of the recalls on my vehicle. They charge $200 for a diagnostic that I'm not willing to pay, theses issues came from the makers of this vehicle, these should also be added to the recall list. I'm sure if you look around online there's others who's dealing with these issue from 2013 - 2021 today. I don't think it's fair that I purchased a vehicle and have to come out of pocket for all of these repairs that should have been repaired from the beginning. These are safety issues that should be taken more serious. I've almost got into multiple accidents because my horn doesn't work. My vehicle worked fined before all of the previous recall repairs.my transmission slipping left me in the middle of nowhere until my car started functioning properly to get home.the electrical on this car is costing me money non stop. Hyundai needs to fix this! 2.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #60

Jan 082021

Sonata

  • 106,000 miles

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

While driving home I heard a ticking sound that had sounded like the ticking when the oil gets low, but I had got the oil change done about 2 months ago. The next morning I had a important appt and while driving on the freeway there I heard the clicking turned into a very hard clanking sound while I pulled off the freeway cause it was a scary noise I went to pull over and the power surged like it was going to shut off so I immediately turned it off. After a few mins I tried to turn it on and it was making the sound still when I pressed the gas pedal it only went louder, I then turned it off and had to walk to the closest store that sold oil and walk all the way back I recently had heart surgery and I had stroke 3 weeks ago I can not be over exherding myself like this when adding the oil it made no difference the clanking sound got worsen and now I'm without a car when I have important apps to go to along with my terminally ill child there is major issues that need repaired immediately

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #59

Dec 262020

Sonata

  • 78,000 miles
The engine needs to be replaced. Broke down while driving on a city street. The car has less than 80000 miles. I gave this car to my son so evidently the power train warranty is gone. My complaint is that this engine should have lasted longer. That is what Hyundai claims.

- Hamilton, OH, USA

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problem #58

Nov 132020

Sonata

  • 50,396 miles
Hybrid drive system alarmed and then failed on freeway causing car to roll to stop.. 12V system failed w/no emergency flashers, lights or 12 volt electrical systems. All non-operative.

- Nowalk, CA, USA

problem #57

Jul 152020

Sonata

  • miles

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

I sent a notice before explaining what happen but I was mcdonald's line my car was in park and when I try to put it in drive I heard a click noise my car wouldn't move out of park and after holding the line up over an hour I had someone to help me move it. It was after 9pm so I had to sleep in my car until midnight waiting for help I finally was able to get the car towed to my home and it was a $90 fee I missed 3 days of work to find a local mechanic to fix it because Hyundai said my car wasn't under warranty it had expire so now I barely drive it but still have to make payment it still not fixed correctly now when I try to shift gears it takes a while before the computer reads it. My light issues in the car the front headlight keeps going out I spent over $100 in the past month. Nothing is showing it's over heating or melting I had to pay someone to look at it and they can't seem to figure it out this had cause me to get pulled over more than once because I work overnight. Please help

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #56

Oct 052020

Sonata

  • 56,270 miles
I have a 2013 Hyundai Sonata hybrid with automatic transmission. My Sonata after driving about an hour or so looses acceleration power. When I come to a stop at a light or stop sign it does not want to accelerate. Sometimes the rpms will peak out if I depress the acceleration pedal to the floor but the vehicle will still only crawl or move very slowly 2-3mph. It is so bad that say if I'm on an incline headed upwards the vehicle will roll backwards as I'm trying to accelerate and I have to roll all the way down and shut the vehicle off and restart and try again until I can get back to the hill and over it and sometimes I have to allow the car to sit a few hours and come back to get it to make it work. This is a very serious issue that can and will eventually cause an accident or death. Also at a stop light to make a left or right turn I never know if it will accelerate as it should therefore I have to wait until there is no traffic at all before attempting to make my turn and get back into traffic. There is no check engine or any warning lights or sounds when this occurs. I have consulted with the dealer and several Hyundai specialist in my area as well as researched the problem on the internet which I found it seems to be a common problem but no one has any answers as there is no way to scan the vehicle without a check engine or warning light. This is terrible as my vehicle only has 56275 miles on it and I can not get it to work correctly or even identify the problem. I am unwilling to continue to pay money to dealerships with no answers and because of this issue the car is unsafe to drive. If anyone has any answers please help as I don't even want to sell the vehicle as it is unsafe to drive. Thank you.

- Homeland, CA, USA

problem #55

Oct 052020

Sonata

  • miles
I have a 2013 Hyundai Sonata hybrid with automatic transmission. My Sonata after driving about an hour or so looses acceleration power. When I come to a stop at a light or stop sign it does not want to accelerate. Sometimes the rpms will peak out if I depress the acceleration pedal to the floor but the vehicle will still only crawl or move very slowly 2-3mph. It is so bad that say if I'm on an incline headed upwards the vehicle will roll backwards as I'm trying to accelerate and I have to roll all the way down and shut the vehicle off and restart and try again until I can get back to the hill and over it and sometimes I have to allow the car to sit a few hours and come back to get it to make it work. This is a very serious issue that can and will eventually cause an accident or death. Also at a stop light to make a left or right turn I never know if it will accelerate as it should therefore I have to wait until there is no traffic at all before attempting to make my turn and get back into traffic. There is no check engine or any warning lights or sounds when this occurs. I have consulted with the dealer and several Hyundai specialist in my area as well as researched the problem on the internet which I found seems to be a common problem but no one has any answers as there is no way to scan the vehicle without a check engine or warning light. This is terrible as my vehicle only has 56275 miles on it and I can not get it to work correctly or even identify the problem. I am unwilling to continue to pay money to dealerships with no answers and because of this issue the car is unsafe to drive. If anyone has any answers please help as I don't even want to sell the vehicle as it is unsafe to drive. Thank you.

- Homeland, CA, USA

problem #54

Aug 012018

Sonata

  • miles
A recall has been settled. We are entitled to engine repair or replacement. I have made 14 payments on a car sitting at a Hyundai dealership, in a recall that is officially settled, and it won't/doesn't run and they won't help at all. They replaced my dipstick....light came on...replaced my oil fill cap...repeat....

- Damascus, MD, USA

problem #53

Jul 272020

Sonata

  • 168,092 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, they heard an abnormal noise and the vehicle decelerated without warning. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to her residence. The contact stated an independent mechanic came to the residence and she was informed the engine needed to replaced. The VIN was associated with NHTSA campaign number: 20V121000 (fuel system, gasoline) and NHTSA campaign number: 17V226000 (engine and engine cooling). A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 168,092.

- Ruston, LA, USA

problem #52

Jun 052020

Sonata

  • 148,000 miles
I was at a fast food drive thru I had my car in park because the line was long once I tried to pull up my wouldnt move the gears was sliding up and down and I didnt understand why. I had my kids in the car 4 hours later a tow truck came and tow the car and it cost me $100 bucks its been two months and my car still do not shift

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #51

Jul 042020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 193,000 miles
Out of no where the transmission started to give me issues. It now takes longer for the gear to change from a stop, reving my car past 4,000 RPM's to 5,000rpm's. when breaking the gears jerk when lowering, and when driving with cruise control, my car will not stay the same pace. It wil lag or it will kick higher, either way making my car jerk.

- Hutto, TX, USA

problem #50

Jun 152020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 113,200 miles
Suddenly car stats jerking while changing gears and engine shakes badly. Additionally, check engine light came on and when diagnosed showed a code P0713 for bed transmission temperature sensor.

- Hilliard, OH, USA

problem #49

Apr 122020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 84,000 miles
Was slowly pulling into restaurant parking space with slight pressure on brake the car just shot forward hitting wall of restaurant.causeing damage to both car&wall seems as though it jumped gears been driving for years the most scarest thing to happen to me!!!

- Harrington, DE, USA

problem #48

Mar 032020

Sonata

  • 107,000 miles
The engine in this particular model is Hyundai's 2.4L gdi (theta II). The engine seized without warning even though it had the software update that detects engine wear and prevents engine failure while driving. Hyundai did well and replaced the engine under warranty and provided me a rental vehicle. 8,000 miles later with the same vehicle now the check engine light is flashing and acceleration is dramatically reduced. I was able to take some backroads with little traffic to a local Hyundai dealership and am waiting for diagnosis again.this started on a very busy local highway.

- Butler, PA, USA

problem #47

Dec 152019

Sonata

  • 70,510 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. While driving at various speeds, the steering wheel ceased. Additionally, while driving at low speeds the vehicle shifted roughly. The check engine warning indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed the temperature sensor and wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to young Hyundai 3333 wall ave, ogden, ut 84401801) 821-2737 where diagnosed the wiring harness and temperature control unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 70,510.

- Morgan, UT, USA

problem #46

May 262019

Sonata

  • 103,000 miles
I was driving my car home from work and all of a sudden my car jerked and the RPM guage went to zero and the air conditioner stopped and the loss of traction light came on upon killing the car and restarting it it drove fine with no problem. Took it to dealer to inspect and to check and fix recalls and was told that they changed the oil for the recall on my vehichle and they could not find anything wrong with car since it was not acting up at that time. Week later it done it again and took to dealership to check and was told it came with code for crankshaft sensor and 10 minutes later was told that was not the problem it was a faulty ECM and replaced it. A week later done the exact same thing and they could not find anything wrong after keeping it for a month. Took the car to another auto mechanic and was told they could not figure out what was wrong with car unless it was acting up. Now here I am driving a car that will act up occasionally and now it seems that it getting worse when I stopped and started up a hill it sounded like metal on metal clanging and have very suspicious feeling it has something to do with the gdi engine recall but cant get anyone to figure out what it is since it's so hard to drive a car acting up in city limits when it does not want to go unless you got the gas pedal to the floor. Unsure if it is recall or something else and dealership dont know how to fix

- Marietta, MS, USA

problem #45

Sep 082019

Sonata

  • 74,111 miles
Very similar to htsa id number: 10607383. Car refuses to accelerate reliably. In addition on braking the car will lurch forward for 1-2 seconds. No loss of brake pedal feel but could cause accident in close circumstances.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #44

May 272019

Sonata

  • 65,000 miles
While driving on a highway 60 mph my vehicle began to stall and turn off. The vehicle mileage decrease and the car completely turned off I was unable to place hazards lights on or signals because the power on the vehicle had turned off. Upon pulling over the following day trying to start vehicle it began to smoke. It did not crank or make any noise just smoke coming up from the hood. This an result to safety recall NHTSA # 17V226000 or safety recall # 162. Which is wear within the engine. Engine failure may result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash. Thankfully I did not crash but my vehicle stalled and completely shut off with no power to dash/radio etc which is a very dangerous occurrence.

- Sunrise, FL, USA

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