2013 Hyundai Sonata problems
Owners have filed 2,668 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Hyundai Sonata. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 29% of complaints. Next are steering (13%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 2,668 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 141 and 164
- Injuries and deaths
- 119 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 79,000 miles 1,496 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 | 261 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 111 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 164 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 224 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 251 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 195 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 132 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 79 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 43 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 21 |
| 200k+ miles | 15 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,496 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 79,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 96,000 miles (431 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 141 complaints mention a crash; 164 complaints mention a fire; 119 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Hyundai Sonata with enough data (1,070 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 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.
Takata recal: female was involved in accident where there was an apparent issue with steering or veering into the left lane resulting in the death of female. No other variants where able to be found during investigation. Vehicle was in motion. Crash report div315049359. After review of a large number of complaints in reference to the issue I began reviewing the case notes.
I was driving to work on a highway, approximately 7:15am I started smelling something burning. My car was bucking. I went to pull over when my car turned a sharp right into trees. The car was completely consumed by flames.
My steering coupler is danadged and my steering is shifting while driving due to this defect. Hyundai is asking me to pay $300 to fix it. Even my car is just 3 years old they are not covering the issue under warranty.
While driving down a residential street, I received a notification that my car essentially was no longer charger and would cut off. I was prompted to pull over and stop the car. I cut the car off. When trying to restart, it would not cut back on. After about 20 minutes, it did restart but the check engine light was on. I ahve not driven it since. There is an outstanding recall on this car that has yet to be remedied and thus far hyundai has not provided any solutions.