2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid problems
NHTSA has received 190 complaints about the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, and 40% of them involve engine. After that come electrical system (19%) and drivetrain & axles (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 190 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 40% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 66,000 miles 112 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 22 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 13 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 17 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 17 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 112 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 66,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 84,000 miles (44 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 83% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid with enough data (114 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The contact owned a 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the steering wheel became firm while navigating a turn, and the vehicle crashed into a tree. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was unconscious and woke up to being treated by an EMT. The contact sustained injuries to his chest and fractured ribs. Medical attention was provided at the hospital. The air bags deployed as needed. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot.
On 5/11 my wife was driving when she heard a clicking sound. She was not far from the dealership and decided to drive the car in to get looked at. As she got close to the dealership the vehicle started to smoke. She pulled over to a safe location where she could get out and as she was pulling over the vehicle started to flame. She immediately grabbed the dog and jumped out of the car and called 911. Withinjust a couple minutes of exiting the vehicle it was fully engulfed in flames and exploded.
On 4 separate occasions while traveling on highways at highway speed in ev mode, getting a warning "check hybrid system turn off engine" along with a check engine light; these are the occurrence dates 12/01/2017, 12/11/2017, 12/23/2017, 01/06/2018. Each time has been accompanied by a complete loss of gasoline engine availability resulting in a significant and unsafe drop in vehicle speed due to the car only being able to continue running on battery power.
In june of 2020 I got an emergency warning on my vehicle's dash that there was a problem with the hybrid system and should stop my car immediately and take it to the dealership. The vehicle slowed to 20 m.p.h. Then came to a stop, I took the car to the dealer where it was kept for 10 days, I was told they could not duplicate the problem and I picked up the vehicle. Half a block from the dealer it happened again, I returned the vehicle to the dealer they said it was a spark plug which was replaced.