1997 Hyundai Sonata problems
Owners have filed 74 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Hyundai Sonata. Fuel system is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. Next are air bags (12%) and transmission (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 74 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 86,000 miles 15 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 15 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 86,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 3 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 28th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Hyundai Sonata with enough data (52 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Passenger side air bag deployed at low speed, under 5 MPH, killing front seat passenger. The sonata hit the rear end of a vehicle deploying both the driver and passenger front bag. The consumer does not know for certain if the 5 year old child in the front passenger seat was belted. The consumer does not believe the child was. The child sustained lacerations to the neck, spinal cord injuries and brain damage. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.cw
Vehicle was involved in a frontal impact travelling about 15MPH, neither air bag deployed upon impact. Car was towed, insurance investigation pending.
Consumer rearend vehicle with a 25 MPH impact with applying brakes. Dual airbags did not deploy and shoulder seatbelt did not lock up, causing consumer to hit head against steering wheel. Consumer will contacted dealer to determine cause.
Recall regarding gas tank problem. While driving the consumer hit a pothole in the road. Shortly after all the fuel in the fuel tank leaked out. The dealer did not save the tank or inspect it further because the consumer hit a pothole. Sometime in 2001 the consumer received a recall (00v-314001) regarding a gas tank problem. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the recall work was done.
Recall 001v314001 concerning fuel tank. After having recall repairs done consumer smelled gasoline odors, and check engine light illuminated while driving. Vehicle was repaired on five separate times by the dealer, but problem recurred. Consumer complained that the dealer wanted to charge for the next repairs.