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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Hyundai Sonata — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 1,557 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

1,557
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
51
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
95
Involved Fire
owner-reported
38 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Hyundai Sonata — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Hyundai Sonata

345 complaints

2011 Hyundai Sonata AVOID

3,378 complaints

2012 Hyundai Sonata

1,557 complaints

2013 Hyundai Sonata

1,915 complaints

2014 Hyundai Sonata

751 complaints

2015 Hyundai Sonata

1,153 complaints

2016 Hyundai Sonata

725 complaints

2017 Hyundai Sonata

765 complaints

2018 Hyundai Sonata

374 complaints

2019 Hyundai Sonata

162 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 567 reports
Steering 301 reports
Electrical System 234 reports
Air Bags 170 reports
Service Brakes 158 reports
Exterior Lighting 141 reports
Unknown Or Other 122 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 99 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 11499631 12/31/2022

My tail and brake lights sometimes work sometimes doesn't. Rear window brake light stays illuminated when car is turned off causing battery to drain. This problem has been on going for years. I can sometimes wiggle bulbs and make them work for a while but problem has been persistent for too many years. Tired of replacing bulbs.

Service Brakes ODI 11499636 12/31/2022

Vehicle doesn’t stop hard pedal and brake light came on 144k

Electrical System ODI 11385933 12/31/2020

DRIVING VEHICLE AND SPUTTERS AS IF LOSING POWER WHILE DRIVING. STARTED SMALL NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON WHILE ON FREEWAY. THEN CONTINUED WHEN GOT OFF EXIT AND REDUCED SPEED THEN STOP CAR WARNING LIGHT APPEARS. TURNED CAR OFF WAITED THEN PROBLEM WENT AWAY AFTER TAKING TO DEALERSHIP THEY SAID COULD NOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM NOW IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. SAME ISSUE THIS TIME WAS WITH MY W…

Engine ODI 11385958 12/31/2020

I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET WHEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STARTED FLASHING. THE CAR STARTED KNOCKING NOT RUNNING WELL. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE REPAIR SHOP THEY STATED I WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENGINE BECAUSE IT HAD SEIZED. THE REPAIR SHOP ALSO STATED THEY HAD REPLACED 20 OF THE SAME MODEL WITHIN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE EXTENDED WARRANTY COMPANY T…

Steering ODI 11292244 12/31/2019

WHILE DRIVING AT ALMOST ANY SPEED, AS LONG AS IT IS IN A FAIRLY STRAIGHT LINE, THE STEERING HAS A CATCH IN IT WHEN YOU TRY TO EASE THE CAR TO THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT. IT FEELS LIKE IT IS STUCK IN A RUT AND YOU HAVE TO TURN HARDER THAN EXPECTED TO BREAK IT OUT OF THAT RUT. THIS CAUSES INSTANCES OF OVERSTEERING. THIS CAN'T BE SAFE AT ALL!!

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Hyundai Sonata, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Hyundai Sonata reliable?
Owners have filed 1,557 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Hyundai Sonata, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Hyundai Sonata years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.