What's Wrong with the 6th Generation Sonata Hybrid?

Front 3/4 view of a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

The 6th generation Sonata Hybrid spans the 2011 to 2014 model years.

It has accumulated 143 owner complaints over those year and ranks 44th in reliability out of 50 eligible Hyundai generations.

Our reliability rank is based on our PainRank™ system. A higher number means you can expect more significant problems. The average Hyundai score is 6.88 while this generation comes in at 17.3.

Compare With Other Sonata Hybrid Generations

The Worst 2011-2014 Sonata Hybrid Problems

  1. Seat Belts Detatch During Crash

    Cars these days have airbags, sensors, crumple zones, tempered glass, and other safety features. But the OG, and arguably the most important, safety feature is the seat belt. Only trouble is, Hyundai's seem to be detatching from the body of…

    Continue

  2. Blue Link Standard Feature?

    Messages that self-destruct and dastardly extortion – it all sounds like the plot to Mission Impossible, right? But it’s actually the story of Hyundai’s Blue Link systems. Pay up, or it’ll blow up ... or at least shut off.

    Continue

  3. Panoramic Sunroof Explodes

    Hyundai refuses to acknowledge that their sunroofs have been exploding under normal driving conditions, but they’re offering plenty of coverage to owners if (or when) it happens thanks to a 2019 lawsuit settlement.

    Continue

What Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

Worst Topics

Worst Years

6th Generation Sonata Hybrid Key Numbers

  1. 4 model years

    Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.

  2. 143 complaints

    Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.

  3. 44th in reliability

    Overall reliability rank out of 50 eligible generations.

Recent 6th Generation Sonata Hybrid News

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters. We try to boil down it to the most important bits about things that actually help you with your car problem. Interested in getting these stories in an email? Signup for free email alerts over at CarComplaints.com.

  2. Tagged
    #investigation
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    Apparently Hyundai’s latest seat belt recall did enough to satisfy the government, who announced they’re closing their recall.

    NHTSA continued the investigation after the first recall because safety regulators believed a better fix should be applied by dealers. Regulators were concerned about how the connectors were built to be removed from the pretensioners when working on the cars. But the connectors could release in a crash if they weren't properly reconnected during maintenance.

    The second recall added a label to the connector with graphics and instructions how to properly lock the connector if someone works on the car. No word on if that label said for the love of everything, don’t forget to put this thing back to together.

  3. Tagged
    #recall
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    Back in March, Hyundai recalled 978,000 cars to inspect and fix seat belt linkages and the pretensioner.

    Now those vehicles have been recalled again for the same problems.

    Although the condition of a partially latched anchor pretensioner was fixed through the recall campaign, the condition could potentially happen again if the anchor pretensioner was intentionally disconnected and then improperly reconnected by consumers or repair facilities.

    After the first recall Hyundai and their supplier talked with NHTSA about possible problems from the recall repairs.

  5. Tagged
    #recall
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    Nearly 978,000 Hyundai Sonata and Sonata Hybrid cars have been recalled to fix seat belts that have been detaching from their anchor pretensioners.

    Hyundai and the seat belt supplier inspected the vehicle and the supplier recovered the parts in December 2016. Both companies started internal investigations, but neither has been able to determine what is causing the seat belt failures … The automaker says to ensure the safety of consumers, the recall will include 2011-2014 Sonata and 2011-2015 Sonata Hybrid cars.

    The recall, which covers most of the 6th generation Sonata and Sonata Hybrid, follows an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened earlier this year.

  6. Tagged
    #lawsuit
    Posted on
    Source
    carcomplaints.com

    Hyundai is being sued for permanently disabling Blue Link systems if a subscription has been inactive for more than one year.

    The plaintiff claims on or about January 7, 2015, Hyundai notified owners of its Blue Link vehicles whose Blue Link subscriptions had been inactive for more than one year. Hyundai told owners, “If you do not reactivate your Blue Link services by January 28, 2015, your current Blue Link system in your vehicle will be permanently disabled.

    Except, permanent didn’t mean forever if you’re willing to pony up the cash. The Blue Link handbook mentioned that disconnected services could be easily restored for a “nominal reconnection fee.” They just didn’t say what it was.…