10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
27,401 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.

2016 Hyundai Sonata drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Hyundai Sonata Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #32

Mar 232022

Sonata

  • miles

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

Contact was driving on city streets, received Hybrid System Warning, turn off engine alert. Car slowed to dangerous speed in heavy traffic, would only drive under electric system. Car pulled over when safe, restarted, same issue recurred. Car brought to local repair shop, where trouble code #P261F recorded- "Coolant Pump A Control Circuit Stuck On." Mechanic discussed with dealer who said it should be under warranty. Towed to Keyes Mission Hills Hyundai in Mission Hills, CA. Fault diagnosed as electric water pump. Per Mission Hills, not covered under 10 year warranty, only 5 year warranty. Car 5 years, 7 month old,19,000 miles, out of warranty. Owner notified dealer about recall campaign 16-01-020 for this specific component. Awaiting consideration for goodwill repair from Hyundai as per the TSB for the campaign.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #31

Feb 012022

Sonata

  • miles
On Tuesday February 1st 2022, I was driving home from work on the interstate doing 70mph when my engine shut off. There was no warning lights...nothing. By the grace of God I was able to pull over on the right shoulder without getting in an accident. That was TOTALLY unacceptable! Scared me to death! Come to find out the the engine blew! I babied this car which only had 104,000 miles. Hyundai knows about this problem and have done nothing to help compensate the owners of these. I have five kids and it is going to cost me 6,000 dollars for another engine. That cost includes labor as well. If you ever wanted to fight for the little guy, now is the time! Thank you in advance!

- Warrenton, MO, USA

problem #30

Oct 052021

Sonata

  • miles
Oil light came on when vehicle was almost out of oil. Engine could have seized Dealer says it is out of warranty because I am 2nd owner. 100,000 power train warrenty defaults to 60,000 for 2nd owner. Problem occurred just under 70,000. Warning oil light came on for the first time ever at 69,000 miles. Came on again after getting an oil change at 3,000 miles. Took 3 quarts to fill back to full. Engine now burns oil and must be refilled with nearly 2 quarts every 1000 miles.

- Round Rock, TX, USA

problem #29

Dec 012021

Sonata

  • miles

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

Car unexpectedly stopped working and became disabled while trveling 40 - 50 mph on the freeway. Complete loss of power. Danger of a collision on the freeway. All dash lights and warning lights came on. Car would not shift and would not accelerate. It was unsafe to drive and could hardly move off the road. The first year I had the car the engine light came on and loss of power. I took it to the dealership immediately. Whenever I took the car to the dealer they said there were no codes and the car was was fine. The entire time I owned the car I would lose power on inclined roads and engine light would come on and off. Last week November 18 the car stalled and could not drive uphill again risk of a collision from the rear. I took the car to the dealer they said the car was fine. The dealership has never tried to fix the problem and claimed they could not duplicate the problem. Today 12/1/2021 the car stopped operating on the freeway completely and I had to tow it to the dealership. This car has been a safety hazard within the first year and Hyundai has done anything to address the problem.

- Phelan, CA, USA

problem #28

Jun 272021

Sonata

  • miles
The parking mechanism in the transmission failed. The car was parked in my garage. The lever was in the "Park" position when the car drove backwards out of my garage and crashed into the fence. It continued driving into the street and into the neighbors yard. Two people were out walking and saw it happen. I know I did not leave my car in neutral or reverse when I parked it in my garage. When I tested this later sitting in my car, in my garage, the car immediately began moving backwards instantly, while i was still at the wheel. Had the car been in neutral or reverse at the time this incident occurred, I would have known it was moving immediately and shifted it into park right away. When this incident happened I put the car into park, and I got out of my car, I got things from my trunk and went inside the house. Then I went back to the car to get more things. This is when I witnessed it driving out of my garage backwards. I was standing on my back step. Then I ran across the street to my car and got in the drivers seat to attempt driving it back to my garage. I had to yank it out of park and then shove it back into park to get it to start correctly. Then I was able to get it running again and drove it back across the street to my house. thank God no one including myself got hurt. The possibility of this happening shook me up for days. I reported this to Hyundai and waited 3 months for them to make a determination, they said they cant prove it, that it is my word against theirs. I looked online, and saw reports of this happening to other vehicles as late as 2017 even tho the recall for this was 2011-2014. I started using the electronic parking brake because i read online that other people who have had this happen said to do it. I need to buy a new car dont feel safe in this one.

- Springfield, MO, USA

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problem #27

Aug 192019

Sonata

  • miles
The engine keeps stalling and the engine light is flashing. The engine burns oil every 1,000 miles and the oil light will illuminate and go away. The dealership has said they fixed the issue but the issue keeps arising with no resolution. This issues is known for all Hyundai's and they are not doing anything about it. My car has stalled out on highways and I don't feel comfortable driving it out of the state.

- Bristow, VA, USA

problem #26

Dec 152020

Sonata

  • 70,000 miles

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

I received a safety recall (198) from Hyundai in Dec about a potentially dangerous problem with the connecting rod bearings on my car, yet they still do not have a remedy or an estimated time for a remedy. This is too long.

- Soddy Daisy, TN, USA

problem #25

Mar 022021

Sonata

  • 62,000 miles
While driving car loses power, foot is on the gas car will not move. Then jerks. Car is in reverse and it still moves forward

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #24

Feb 212021

Sonata

  • 30,600 miles
This vehicle is a hybrid with 30,000 miles on it and no previous issues. While driving, it lost all acceleration and an hev warning light illuminated indicating that I must immediately shut down the engine. This happened at a fairly busy intersection and I was able to drift slowly to the side of a road to call a tow. After being "repaired" by the dealer, this same issue happened again. After being "fixed" by the dealer again, this process repeated itself a couple more times and the car is currently at the dealer after needing to be towed for a fourth time. Each of the times that this issue has occurred, it has nearly caused an accident because there is no warning before the car malfunctions. Each of the times it has been fixed so far, they have indicated a faulty generator connector and have tried to repair and replace it to no avail. After this latest "fix" I drove the car over 300 miles before the issue returned. As I said, when this issue occurs, the car randomly loses acceleration without warning and drifts to a stop. The first incident of this failure occurred on January 2nd 2021. After the dealer fixed a connector, the car was returned to me later that week. The second incident of this failure occurred on January 6th. Again the same connector was identified as the cause and was fixed. The third incident of this failure occurred on January 16th. I again got towed, and the dealer supposedly replaced the connector. The fourth incident of this failure occurred on February 21st. I am still waiting for the diagnosis however the failure while driving was the same as the previous occurrences. I didn't feel safe driving the car after the second and third time and now having it happen a fourth time has really got me scared.

- Longmeadow, MA, USA

problem #23

Nov 112020

Sonata

  • 75,000 miles
At about 75,000 miles my 2016 Sonata limited 2.4L started needing oil added between regular oil changes (all mileage and maintenance by one driver). The vehicle is now 85,000 miles and I am adding 2 qts. There are no leaks from the engine so it must be burning through the exhaust, which can't be good for the emissions system and any future smog check - or the environment. The dashboard warning lights do not come on when the oil is low. This could result in catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle also experiences engine knocking and hesitating when accelerating from 30mph. This has been a safety issue when merging onto the highway, which is almost all of my driving.

- Brentwood, CA, USA

problem #22

Jan 112021

Sonata

  • 41,000 miles

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

Car engine will rev up at low speeds (30 miles and under) and get stuck. I have to press the brake and hold it down, put the car in park and hit gas pedal to get it to go into lower gear. Has happened several times. I have told the Hyundai service dept about it a few times but they cannot repair it because they cannot simulate it happening. First happened approx. 2 years ago; did not happen again for several months. But now it is happening more often. 4 times in the last month. Most recent time was 1/11/21.

- Smyrna, DE, USA

problem #21

Dec 072020

Sonata

  • 84,000 miles
2016 Hyundai Sonata hybrid ignition issue the engine is rattling while idling and under acceleration and the check engine light is coming on. Believe it is an issue with either spark plugs or ignition coil. Service dept said both components looked free of damage upon inspection.

- Akron, OH, USA

problem #20

Nov 062020

Sonata

  • miles
While the vehicle is moving the check hybrid system warning light beeps and comes on. The message request to turn engine off. The gas engine sometimes will cut the power to the vehicle causing the vehicle to loss power on the road.

- Scarborough, NY, USA

problem #19

Sep 112020

Sonata

  • 70,000 miles
Car runs out of oil well before 2000 miles/2 months. When accelerating the car is sluggish the engine is ticking and feels like the engine is going to seize, no matter if the car is moving 5mph or 70 mph.

- Bolingbrook, IL, USA

problem #18

Sep 112020

Sonata

  • 70,000 miles
When accelerating there is a ticking noise coming from engine. This has been happening for a while after I got the update and new wiring harness from the campaign. I'm scared to drive my car, I accelerate slowly because I get nervous it will blow up. I took this car to a Hyundai dealership and they quoted me over 500 dollars for this repair and it might not even fix it.

- Bolingbrook, IL, USA

problem #17

Jul 172020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • miles
Car stopped going into reverse, was told that it needed a new clutch actuator, but new actuator would not work in car so they reprogrammed it and put old one back in car, 500 miles later car is doing same thing again with not working in reverse!

- Tompkinsville, KY, USA

problem #16

Jul 102020

Sonata 4-cyl

  • 57,000 miles
Engine is using 3 quarts of oil per 2,000 miles and transmission keeps have shifting problems that they just keep reprogramming it to fix, engine stalls.

- Tompkinsville, KY, USA

problem #15

Apr 202020

Sonata

  • 62,100 miles
After a period of driving, which is random at best, the check engine light will appear and the vehicle will start to shudder and lose its ability to accelerate. This happens when the vehicle is in motion and happens both on the freeway at high speeds, as well as on city streets in low speeds. The only way to get this to stop is try and get to a safe space of the road and turn off the vehicle. It is very scary and dangerous especially in southern California freeway traffic and in mountain passes as you lose the ability to maintain speed in the middle of traffic. This could very easily cause an accident. This has happened to me on 7 different occasions over the past 2 months at random times.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #14

Oct 012019

Sonata

  • miles
My vehicle is under warranty. I have a transmission issue. I have taken to the dealership 3 times and they confirmed the transmission failure and told me the call the manufacturer to get an approval. Its been 3 months and still no answer, when I called them they opened a case # 16722184 and speaking to a woman named angie. She says shes waiting to be approved. She confirmed with the service manager of the transmission failure. That the Hyundai dealership in doral Florida.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #13

Oct 312019

Sonata

  • 42,000 miles
The automatic transmission on the 2016 Hyundai Sonata hybrid went out on the car Oct 31, 2019. My wife was driving the car, when she lost drivability of the car. The car would not go, she was able to park it on a side street. She restarted the car but would not go into gear, the engine was running. The car was towed to the closest dealership, when scanned, indicating of a transmission problem. The car has been at the dealership since Oct 31, 2019 with no eta of when a new transmission will be available to repair the car. At this point I can not sale the car because it needs a transmission. Hyundai needs to give a date when the transmission will be available. The dealership has no time frame when they will get a transmission from Hyundai.

- Frederick, MD, USA

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