2003 Hyundai Sonata problems
Owners have filed 249 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Hyundai Sonata. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 18% of complaints. Next are body & structure (16%) and electrical system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 249 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 28 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 60 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 184 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 | 29 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 23 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 28 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 19 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 18 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 18 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 9 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 184 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 71,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 65,000 miles (36 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 28 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 60 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 89% 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 2003 ranks 22nd most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Hyundai Sonata with enough data (108 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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.
Car stopped in front of us to turn left with no brake lights and no blinker. When we realized he was stopped we immediately hit the brakes. The surface (concrete) on the bridge was slick and did not allow us to have traction. We skidded approx 65 feet and rear-ended the car at approx. 40-45 MPH. Passenger front air bad failed to deploy. Drivers side deployed.
While driving south on us68, an oncoming northbound concrete truck turned directly in front of us. When we hit, the passenger's shoulder harness of my 2003 hyundai sonata failed to "lock". I was thrown against the dash and then the airbag deployed directly against my chest. My wife's airbag (she was driving) deployed slightly faster, but late enough that it opened under her chin and popped her head back. She has three damaged disks in her neck (two herniated and one bulging).
Stopped at red light, when time to go, engine stalled. Attempted to restart unsucessfully. A/C was not running. Car was able to start after 30 minutes. Car was towed to dealership. Dealership was unable to dublicate problem after 15 miles.
While driving I realized the steering was getting more and more difficult to turn upon pulling aside I noticed a fluid leaking near the right axel upon further investigation I realized the power steering fluid reservoir was empty. I refilled it and turned the steering and the fluid just gushed out. If I continued driving this could have been fatal if I did not have the strength to steer the vehicle correctly as the steering wheel got stiffer and stiffer, the entire power steering line failed in new york due to…