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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Hyundai Sonata — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 1,915 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

1,915

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

77 / 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

1,558 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

766 complaints

2018 Hyundai Sonata

374 complaints

2019 Hyundai Sonata

162 complaints

2020 Hyundai Sonata

180 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 738 reports

Steering 342 reports

Electrical System 260 reports

Exterior Lighting 197 reports

Unknown Or Other 175 reports

Service Brakes 150 reports

Fuel/propulsion System 135 reports

Air Bags 104 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Exterior Lighting ODI 11292325 12/31/2019

THE PASSENGER TAIL LIGHT ROUTINELY BURNS OUT MELTING THE PLASTIC TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY

Steering ODI 11164156 12/31/2018

STREERING WHEEL MAKING A THUMPING SOUND WHEN ITS TURNED TO LEFT OR RIGHT WHILE CAR IS ON. MECHANIC SUGGESTED IT WAS POSSIBLY THE BUSHINGS AND MENTIONED THEIR MAY HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE.

Exterior Lighting ODI 11164257 12/31/2018

AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON. I CAN RESET IT AND THE LIGHT GOES AWAY BUT COMES BACK LATER.

Steering ODI 10817289 12/31/2015

I AM UNABLE TO ACCESS THE HYUNDAI BLUE LINK SOFTWARE WHICH CONTROLS REMOTE START, ENGINE STOP, VEHICLE TRACKING AND OTHET ITEMS. HYUNDAI DEALER AND HYUNDAI MOTOR CORP REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING MAKING NTHIS VEHICLE AND ANY OTHERS WITH THE SAME FEATURE A HAZARD. IF SOMEONE HACKS INTO MY OLD EMAILACCOUNT THEY CAN REMOTELY START THE CAR IN OUR GARAGE KILLING US, OR REMOTELY START AN…

Fuel/propulsion System ODI 11707934 12/30/2025

I started smelling a little gas in the 20th. And on the 21st it got a lot worse so I took it to the dealership. This is the same place that replaced the engine because it failed and it was a recall. I let them know of the recall and they said it is not covered. They told me it was the high-pressure fuel line that connects to the pump. I have provided a picture of what the tech…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 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 2013 Hyundai Sonata reliable?

Owners have filed 1,915 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 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.