PROCEEDED TO BACK OUT OF PARKING SPACE. BRAKES BEGAN MAKING LOUD GRINDING NOISE. PULLED BACK INTO PARKING SPACE WHEN BRAKES FAILED. BRAKE FAILURE LIGHT AND CHIME WAS ACTIVATED. VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP AND HIT THE CONCRETE HANDICAP SIGN STOPPING THE CAR. PREVIOUSLY HAD PROBLEM WITH NAVIGATION UNIT WHICH WAS REPLACED ONCE AND READY FOR SECOND REPLACEMENT. TOLD SERVICE MANAGER WE THOUGHT IT MAY BE ELECTRICAL RELATED, NOT DEFECTIVE UNITS. BELIEVE THE PROBLEM WITH NAVIGATION UNIT IS RELATED TO THE BRAKE FAILURE. AFTER ACCIDENT, HYUNDAI HAD AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS EXAMINE CAR. HYUNDAI SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. HOWEVER, SERVICE MANAGER AT DEALER SAID THE CAR HAD MAIN HYDRAULIC FAILURE AND NEW PART WAS ORDERED. IF NOTHING WAS WRONG, WHY WAS HYDRAULIC UNIT REPLACED. HYUNDAI REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING. *TR
2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2012 record →
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE HYBRID BRAKE SYSTEM FAILED WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED AND WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO ENGAGE THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1,300...UPDATED 03-13-13 *BF THE DEALER WAS ABLE TO PULLED A BRAKE BOOSTER CODE, BUT SINCE THE CODE WAS NO LONGER ACTIVE, NO REPAIRS WERE MADE.
THE MOVING PORTION OF THE PANORAMIC SUNROOF SCATTERED RAINING GLASS SHARDS ONTO THE DRIVER AND OVER THE EXTERIOR OF THE CAR. *TR
WHILE SLOWLY MOVING DOWNHILL, ON THE FREEWAY, DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, I ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE LANES AND ACCELERATED QUICKLY. THE SWITCH FROM HYBRID TO GAS ENGINE INTERFACE ONLY CAUSED THE ENGINE TO REV (INCREASE RPM) WITHOUT ANY GEAR BEING ENGAGED. I QUICKLY LET OFF THE PEDDLE AND DEPRESSED IT AGAIN. IT THEN ENGAGED THE TRANSMISSION, NARROWLY AVERTING AN ACCIDENT. THIS HAS HAPPENED 5-6 TIMES SINCE PURCHASING THIS CAR WHEN TRAVELING SLOWLY AND THEN TRYING TO GET A BURST FROM THE GAS ENGINE. I SPOKE WITH THE DEALERSHIP, AND TOOK IT IN FOR A CHECK PER THEIR RECOMMENDATION. THEY FOUND NOTHING AND COULD NOT REPRODUCE IT, ALTHOUGH THEY DID NOT TRY THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCE. THEY ONLY ATTEMPTED TO STOP AND ACCELERATE AT WHICH I SAID THEY WOULDN'T GET IT TO HAPPEN THAT WAY.
PULLING INTO TRAFFIC THE CAR QUIT, LEAVING ME STARRING DOWN THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE AND GET IT RESTARTED. THIS HAPPENED TWICE DURING THE SAME DAY. IT WILL ALSO ONLY CHARGE THE BATTERIES TO 50%, AND SOMETIME THE CAR WON'T OPERATE ON ONLY BATTERY POWER. THIS IS A POTENTIAL VERY SERIOUS ITEM THEY NEED TO ADDRESS, OR START RETURNING MONEY TO THE OWNERS. I WILL NOT DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL THIS IS FIXED. IT IS A DANGEROUS CAR, NEVER KNOWING WHEN IT WILL QUIT. I HAVE SINCE DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE SONATA HYBRID. *TR
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid → · Every Sonata Hybrid year → · How the figures are calculated →