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

The Worst 2011-2014 Sonata Hybrid Problems

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…

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.

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.

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

2012 Sonata Hybrid transmission failure 16 (100%)
2012 Sonata Hybrid engine siezed 9 (56%)
2011 Sonata Hybrid engine failure 8 (50%)
2013 Sonata Hybrid engine stalls/dies while driving 5 (31%)
2012 Sonata Hybrid safety stop and do not drive 5 (31%)

Worst Topics

Engine 48 (100%)
Transmission 33 (69%)
Electrical 15 (31%)
Interior 14 (29%)
Steering 9 (19%)

Worst Years

2012 72 (100%)
2013 32 (44%)
2011 27 (38%)
2014 12 (17%)

6th Generation Sonata Hybrid in the News

Hyundai Has Offered to Settle an Expoding Sunroof Lawsuit Settlement And It’s Good News for Owners

Posted on: February 2, 2019
Source: carcomplaints.com

Hyundai has proposed a settlement that would offer owners extended coverage in case their sunroofs explode. … continue reading

Sonata Seat Belt Investigation Has Been Closed

Posted on: October 28, 2017
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 … continue reading

Sonata and Sonata Hybrid Owners Face a Second Recall for the Same Seat Belt Problems

Posted on: October 19, 2017
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 w … continue reading

Massive Recall for Detaching Seat Belts in the 6th Generation Sonata and Sonata Hybrid

Posted on: March 15, 2017
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 par … continue reading

Lawsuit Says Blue Link Decreases the Vehicle’s Value

Posted on: February 19, 2015
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 Li … continue reading

By the Numbers

4 model years
Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.
143 complaints
Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.
44th in reliability
Overall reliability rank out of 50 eligible generations.