10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,069 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 Hybrid engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Owner Comments

problem #15

Jul 242018

Sonata Hybrid

  • 78,369 miles

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

Takata recall, my car was totaled out in a car accident on July 24, 2018. As the result of the person in front of me was driving and had to come to a complete stop multiple times attempting to find the turn she was looking for. It was a unit in between us allowing me to make a complete stop without hitting her. In the process of me hitting breaks my engine reved really high causing my car to speed up instead of stop. The back tired were even spinning with my foot on the breaks. As a result my car slammed into her rear end without me having any control period. There was no damage to her vehicle other than a scratch from the impact of my car, however my car was totaled completely out. I'm faulted for the accident bc I'm suppose to have control over my own car. In this case I did not. I was told by my insurance company to investigate if there was a recall on my car dealing with these issues causing my accident, and sure enough there is 2 recalls I was never informed about. The only one I knew about was the seatbelt and I took it to the dealship for that and it still didn't fix the problem. I need to know since these recalls play a part in my accident how I can be compensated. It clearly was not my fault that the car had manufacture issues I knew nothing about. It's had this issue for some time now but I was told it's bc it's a hybrid me knowing it was something not safe about it. I was in motion on a city street getting ready to get in the left lane once the lady turned to take my son to school. She almost missed her turn and hit her brakes. My car did not respond to me hitting my brakes it just kept going. #162

- Dothan, AL, USA

problem #14

Aug 072018

Sonata Hybrid

  • 148,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata hybrid. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle decelerated and stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (braman miami Hyundai, 2001 ne 2nd ave, miami, fl 33137, (305) 571-1200), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and opened case number: 11506645. The failure mileage was 148,000. The VIN was not available.

- Miami Beach, FL, USA

problem #13

Jun 242018

Sonata Hybrid

  • 91,000 miles
My husband and I were driving on interstate 81 South near woodstock, va on Sunday morning, June 24, 2018. The car began making a knocking sound, then we lost power. By the time we were able to pull over, the engine was on fire. The entire car ended up burning. The va state police, vdot, and fire department responded and I-81 South was shut down for a time. I purchased my car new and did all required maintenance per factory recommendation including oil changes, tire rotations, etc. By the Hyundai dealer in bowie, md. I have copies of all my receipts from the dealer and they have the records on their computer system. My car had 91,000 miles on it. We contacted the insurance company and the car is a total loss.

- Edgewater, MD, USA

problem #12

May 312018

Sonata Hybrid

  • 90,000 miles

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

When the temperature outside is high (upper 90S and more), after coming to a stop or slowing down, the engine seizes. It seems the engine doesn't engage or the transfer from the battery to the engine power doesn't engage or something. Also sometimes when coming to a stop and the brake is engaged, the car lurches forward like it won't stop. This started last summer and I took it in and they worked on it and it was better for a little while, not completely fixed, but now it has started again (with the heat) and it is worse than before.

- Midland, TX, USA

problem #11

Feb 192018

Sonata Hybrid

  • 101,000 miles
Engine piston fail and resulted in hole in bottom engine while driving at 30 mph. Witness is mechanic, his phone is: 661-251-4288

- Canyon Country, CA, USA

problem #10

Oct 282017

Sonata Hybrid

  • 72,000 miles
On October 28, 2017, I was injured in an automobile collision, which was caused solely by a malfunction by my 2013 Hyundai sonata. On that date, I was driving my vehicle safely and carefully, like I always do. I was proceeding slowly in my car, and traveling between 10 miles per hour. I stepped on the brake pedal and tried to bring my vehicle to a complete stop. However, when I stepped on the brake pedal, the brakes would not engage, and the car kept moving forward and the shifting gears got stuck. Despite my multiple efforts to apply sufficient force to the brakes, the car would not stop. I then tried to disengage the transmission by placing the shift selector to 'neutral, ' but I could not move shifter or move the shifter from 'drive' to 'neutral.' Despite pressing firmly on the button and shifter, I was unable to put the car in neutral, and it proceeded forwarded until it struck a street sign, whereupon my vehicle came to rest. This is not the first time I had these problems with my car. I purchased my vehicle on or about October 15, 2014 from mission hills Hyundai ('dealer'), and have always had it serviced there. Earlier this year, on or about May 18, 2017, I took my car to the dealer to have the brakes and transmission inspected and serviced. At that time, I explained to the dealer service department that I was having difficulty with the brakes and shifter when putting the car into reverse.

- North Hills, CA, USA

problem #9

Nov 212017

Sonata Hybrid

  • 118,700 miles

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

We bought this car used from the dealer early on we had hybrid warning system issues we have been stuck on the side of the road several times having to have the car towed to the dealer recharged and service each time we were told they don't find anything wrong the dealer charges the battery and gives the car back. Now 3 years later we got the oil changed as normal, it's thanksgiving week and we are headed to vacation 3 hours from home we ar E an hour away from destination and the car loses power going up hill the oil pan light comes on, we pull over in the middle of the mountains and sit on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck to find us. We tow the car to the dealer hoping something wasn't done right with the oil changed however dealer says the engine seized and the car is outside of warranty and extended warranty so we will need to pay $6600 to replace with used engine. This car is 4 years old we regularly had the oil changed. We are not given any reason for the seized engine. Please look into this. This car has been nothing but problems since the day we got it and the dealer has never provided much help as were asked to take pictures which we did but still nothing.

- Antioch, CA, USA

problem #8

May 132017

Sonata Hybrid

  • 5 miles
Was driving vehicle and "check charging system" message displayed on the console. The vehicle lost power, I could not accelerate so I had to manevour to the far right of the freeway to come to a stop. Turned off the vehicle then re started. Check engine light remained on.

- Encino, CA, USA

problem #7

Feb 262017

Sonata Hybrid

  • 44,602 miles
I was driving on a interstate and suddenly I see "hybrid system warning message" + "check charging system" with continuous alarm beep sounds. I had to immediately move to the right most shoulder on the interstate (which I was able to as car was still on with engine running). Once, I moved to the shoulder, I turned off the engine and restarted the car with check engine light. It would turn on fine but wouldn't move and immediately it throws up the error. I have attached the pics for reference. Since car didn't turn off in the middle of highway, I was safely able to move it to the curb. I cannot imagine what would have happened if car had shut off. I had it towed to the nearest dealer and there are working on it. I just had a 45000 miles factory servicing with same dealership where the car got towed to and they checked on all the green boxes. Within a week, I had this issue. This is what troubling me.

- Cincinncati, OH, USA

problem #6

Oct 012016

Sonata Hybrid

  • 62,000 miles
The Hyundai Sonata hybrids have a belt called "hsg belt" which broke in my vehicle, causing the car to die while on a very busy highway. I was on the side of this highway for 5 hours waiting to be towed. The dealer communicated that the hsg belt broke and is a part that is recommended to be changed every 30,000 miles. That is rediculous! this should be a recall as owners are unaware of this part going bad in such a short time. It also causes significant damage when it brakes ($1600). Most importantly it put me in a very dangerous situation. At minimum Hyundai should be required to send all owners a notice communicating this part should be replaced so often! Hyundai now considers this part a "maintenance" part, thus it isn't covered under any warrantee. In my opinion this is Hyundai making an issue go away by calling it a "maintenance part". it is dangerous and the issue or replacement is not adequately communicated to the Sonata hybrid owners/buyers.

- Islamorada, FL, USA

problem #5

Sep 162015

Sonata Hybrid

  • 64,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata hybrid. While driving 25 mph, a loud knocking sound was heard from the hood of the vehicle. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed, but the cause of the failure was not found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #4

Jan 132016

Sonata Hybrid

  • 52,765 miles
Car stopped in the middle of local street road and not able to be driven to move to side of road. Car towed to delaer for repair. Want to warn about this danger to other owners. We were lucky since no one was behind us when the car immediately stopped in the middle of the road. Car was repaired by delaer as follows. Tech scan codes and found codes U1007, P1775, P1774. Tech check A/T fluid, red color, smell normal. Reset codes, codes come back. Tsb provided by tech line. Tech follow tsb#14-hc-003, result to replace oil pump control unit and recheck. After replacing oil pump control unit, same problem present. Tech replace oil pump, and found open yellow wire from oil pump unit to oil pump. Car runs normal and no codes present at this time. Tech try to put the old oil pump and pump module back in, problem happened again. Tech confirm the pump and module are bad. New oil pump and module reinstalled. Car under warranty and repair was successful. Delaer did a good job keeping me informed on the progress, even though it took longer than expected to repair the car.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 192015

Sonata Hybrid

  • 28,000 miles
On 19 Jul 2013, an insured driver on my auto policy was driving in North Dakota and hit a deer. The right fender, right headlight, hood and bumper were damaged. She called me & I told her if it was safe to drive, to continue driving. She kept driving and then the overheating light came on. She pulled the car over in less than a minute. She called me again & I told her to call Hyundai roadside assistance. The vehicle was towed to abra in bismarck, nd. They repaired the vehicle. The cost was $9760. They were in the process of moving it from the repair shop to the paint shop, which was right next door. They turned on the engine & as it was sitting there, it started spewing radiator fluid. They turned it off and took the car to Hyundai of bismarck. They determined that the heads were warped and the engine was destroyed. After the cost of the new engine was added to the cost of repairs, the car was totaled. I don't think that if a person pulls over within a minute of the overheating light coming on. That it will warp the heads. The whole reason for the light is to warn the driver.. I believe that either the motor was defective or the computer within the vehicle was defective & didn't come on early enough before there was damage to the heads & was not caused by the person diriving. This insurance claim went too fast and usaa signed off and totaled the vehicle just on numbers, not on any inverstigation of the reason why the heads were warped and destroyed the engine. The 414 number is the driver. The 262 number is my number in rehab and I can be reached at any time. Very respectfully, tony

- Kenosha, WI, USA

problem #2

Nov 012013

Sonata Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 5,600 miles
The vehicle lurches forward during deceleration thus pulling pressure off of the brake pedal and causing you to put even more pressure on the brakes to compensate. Vehicle will slide on icy roads at this point. Vehicle also has little to no acceleration on electric motor after the vehicle is hot. Making a left turn from a stop with oncoming traffic is hazardous since the vehicle can take up to 7 seconds before it accelerates enough to complete the turn and clear the oncoming lane. Both problems seem related. The first would appear to be free wheeling with no engine type braking applied while switching from engine to electric. The second would be from no electric motor engagement during initial acceleration from a stop or slow to turn maneuver.

- Stow, OH, USA

problem #1

Sep 122013

Sonata Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 5,000 miles
Engine shut off and battery only lets you go 1/4 mile pulled into parking lot turned car off waited 5 minutes and car started back up. Took car to dealer but could not find anything wrong told me to drive it. It happened again in April they had car for 7 days but could not find anything. Told me to drive it. It started again on june17th they say there is nothing wrong.

- Beverly, NJ, USA

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