2002 Hyundai Sonata problems
Owners have filed 408 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Hyundai Sonata. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. Next are suspension (16%) and air bags (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 408 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 50 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 65 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 95,000 miles 297 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 | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 24 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 37 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 35 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 41 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 34 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 27 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 40 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 14 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 12 |
| 200k+ miles | 13 |
What the data shows
Of the 297 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 95,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 105,000 miles (77 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 50 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 65 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 84% 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 2002 ranks 16th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Hyundai Sonata with enough data (150 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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.
While driving 30-35 MPH vehicle was hit on driver side, between driver door and passenger door. Both front air bags deployed, side air bag on driver side did not. Driver hit his head on window. Damage to vehicle unknown at this time. Ts
Vehicle was hit on driver side door(s) - vehicle was rotated 180 degrees from the force of the impact. Neck and back injuries. Both front air bags deployed, side air bag did not deploy.
Driving at 25 - 30 MPH I was hit head on by another mid size vehicle. I sustained head, neck, and back injuries and my airbags did not deploy. My concern is that I have a 2003 hyundai sonata will those bags not deploy in a head on? My wife and child drive the 2003 . I am very concerned. My insurance company want to "repair" my vehicle that failed.
During inspection dealership informed the consumer of corroded front/rear brake rotors. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 hyundai sonata. The contact was refueling the vehicle as gasoline began to spew from the filler tube. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that she would need a replacement of the fuel tank valve. The vehicle was not repaired. An authorized dealer was notified and the contact was informed that her vehicle was not included in the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number: 04v178000 (fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly).