2016 Hyundai Sonata problems
Owners have filed 1,004 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Hyundai Sonata. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 47% of complaints. Next are electrical system (9%) and drivetrain & axles (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,004 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 47% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 37 and 42
- Injuries and deaths
- 35 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 63,000 miles 356 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 | 67 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 48 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 46 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 56 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 47 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 45 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 23 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 18 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 356 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 63,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (140 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 37 complaints mention a crash; 42 complaints mention a fire; 35 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Hyundai Sonata with enough data (410 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.
Head on collision with a deer, going 70MPH on highway 49. No air bags released. After taking car to dealership, from receiving a letter of recall in the mail. Motor would shut down when reaching 65 MPH, before taking car to dealership for recal. Car was in motion on the highway.
On february 19 2019 I was driving a car rental from hertz driving on the freeway in southern ca driving only 25 MPH I crashed trying to avoid crashing into car in front of me kept putting on my breaks and the car would not stopped the breaks malfunction I tried to changing lane I still crashed I was going 25 MPH the car was totaled bumper was plastic or fiber glass the air bag "exploded" not deployed.
2016 sonata engine failure. Vehicle's engine seized while in motion driving down the highway. Cylinder #4 penetrated the engine block and damaged the bell housing of the transmission. Both engine and transmission are having to be replaced.