5.7

fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
51,800 miles
Total Complaints:
6 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (6 reports)
2013 Hyundai Sonata steering problems

steering problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Hyundai Sonata:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2013 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments

problem #6

Jul 072023

Sonata Limited 2.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 63,300 miles

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

Steering sticks at top dead center. 2013 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.4 L engine (63K original miles, still under warranty until end of 2023). Steering column coupler was recalled, then replaced under warranty in 2019. When driving at any speed, steering wheel "sticks" at top dead center. When you go to correct steering (as road path changes), you have to over-correct to get steering to respond. This begins a repeating cycle of adjusting the steering (say, to the left,) only to have to then adjust the wheel to the right.

It is not an alignment problem. I took the vehicle to the Wilson County Hyundai dealership. Two important take-aways: #1) the Dealer advised this steering issue is NOT covered under Warranty, PERIOD. #2) Dealer advised that the "play" in the steering wheel is considered "normal wear & tear" (for a car with 63K miles). Further, if I wanted to get the steering back to what was once the original/best & easy steering ("one-finger" steering), I would have to replace the steering column at 100% my own cost. Although this issue has been reported by many others, it has yet to be declared a factory defect (thus, not yet a recall issue). I was advised by the Dealer (Service Desk, 'Chris") that it was not a safety issue. To his credit, I was NOT charged for the inspection (originally, I was told it would cost $175 to diagnose). Kudos to the Dealer for not making matters worse by charging me. It will surprise me if this problem is not eventually deemed a recall issue.

- Michael G., Mount Juliet, TN, US

problem #5

Jul 182018

Sonata

  • Automatic transmission
  • 37,000 miles

Had this sticking problem while turning the wheel. Constant fight to steer. Took to dealer and coupling was replaced- still have the same issue with sticky steering wheel! Low miles on my 2013-- 38,000. Dealer did not know what to do next.

- Rod H., Salt Lake City, UT, US

problem #4

Jan 152018

Sonata SE 2.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 72,000 miles

First time I drove the car on the interstate to work, I noticed when trying to keep the car centered, the steering wheel would kind of stop. When I kept pulling the steering wheel, it would let go and create oversteer, which makes the car jerk to the side. This is VERY dangerous as your trying to adjust to the pull and have to jerk back. Could cause an accident. Please Hyundai, I just got this car and love everything about it except this. Which is serious enough to me that I would consider getting rid of it already. Please do something about this. Didn't see any recall on this but there should be. Thanks.

- Robert M., Lebanon, US

problem #3

May 012015

Sonata GLS 2.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,000 miles

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

I purchased my 2013 Hyundai Sonata used in 2015 with approx 36k miles on it. I love the car except for the steering while on the freeway or highway. I don't notice the problem so much while driving on the streets. The problem is that the steering sticks at freeway speeds. As one drives down the road, you are always making little adjustments to keep the car going straight or while in a long sweeping bend or turn. My car will catch or stick in the straight up steering position or when making long sweeping turns. Instead of the steering wheel moving smoothly while make these adjustments, the steering will stick and cause you to over steer be you have to use force to get the wheel to move out of its stuck position. On long sweeping turns the wheel will stay in that turning position. If I didn't turn the wheel back, it would continue to turn indefinably. I ask the dealership a couple of times about. They "Check" the steering and said that it was fine. Problem is that they hook it up to a machine to diagnose rather than actually taking it out for a drive. This problem is very annoying on long drives. It tends to wear you out because you're constantly fighting with the steering. Kind of take the joy out of a rode trip. I have read numerous complaints on other sites as well. Come on Hyundai! Take responsibility for this and take care of the problem.

Update from Jun 19, 2017: I contacted Hyundai directly about this problem. Within a couple of days I received an email and phone call. An appointment was sent up with my local dealership by the corp Hyundai. The steering was electronically checked out and showed no issues. But this time the tech took the car for a drive and did experience the same issues I have been. Apparently when the tech check more into the problem with Hyundai, there was 3 reports in regards to this issue or something similar. The fix was to change the steering mode from "Sport" to a softer mode. It seems to have taken care of the problem. The steering is smoother and less stiff as well. I havent had the chance to take the car on an extended drive yet to really check it out. But it seems to be much better.

- mike r., Azusa, US

problem #2

Jan 012017

Sonata GLS 2.4L 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles

Just very annoying and hard to explain to the people at the dealership. I thought I was being paranoid and doubted myself that there was an issue then my son's girlfriend drove the car and when she came home said "your steering wheel sticks" I realized I wasn't crazy. I think its getting slowly worse.

- cjthom23, Dillsburg, US

problem #1

Oct 082016

Sonata

  • Automatic transmission
  • 42,500 miles

Bought the 2013 Sonata used with 28k miles. The steering always "wandered" a little, requiring constant steering correction on the highway. Next, at about 38k miles it got very "sticky" at top dead center, could have caused a crash. I had the coupler replaced and it improved some. The problem persisted so I took it to the Hyundai dealer in Hoover, AL and they deemed it "normal operation". They reset the mode to GLS but it had no positive effect on my problem. Driving on the highway requires constant correction to keep it between the lines, even with the new coupler. It sticks, most notable at highway speeds, but also at slower speeds. The correction to keep it centered causes it to jerk to the left or right as being corrected. I've been driving for 37 years and many cars, some with electronic assist steering,,, none have been this poorly designed or built. This is not normal, period.

I had the car appraised at CarMax and I learned the value has bottomed out, not sure exactly why it depreciated more than the norm, maybe the dis-functional steering system. My educated guess is the design of this system is an engineering failure and it would cost millions to recall and replace so Hyundai is just waiting until/if they are forced to recall.

- Clay R., Trussville, AL, US

Not what you are looking for?