2015 Hyundai SONATA

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2015 Hyundai SONATA has 1634 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 20.4x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is engine problems (38% of all complaints), specifically: this is a new hyundai sonata 2015. the engine check light came on and the engine started running erratically. the following symptoms can be a safety concerns: 1. sometimes when idling at intersection the engine rpm goes up all of a sudden and the car starts moving forward and only a stronger push o. ⚠️ 75 fire reports filed.

75 fire reports 40 crash reports 42 injuries

1634

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

20.4x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ENGINE

626 complaints

38%

• THIS IS A NEW HYUNDAI SONATA 2015. THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE STARTED RUNNING ERRATICALLY. THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS CAN BE A SAFETY CONCERNS: 1. SOMETIMES WHEN IDLING AT INTERSECTION THE ENGINE RPM GOES UP ALL OF A SUDDEN AND THE CAR STARTS MOVING FORWARD AND ONLY A STRONGER PUSH O
• I PURCHASED MY HYUNDAI SONATA ON 1/05/2015 WITH ONLY 6 MILES FROM SHEEHY HYUNDAI OF WALDOR IN MARYLAND AFTER 11 DAYS OF PURCHASE ON JANUARY 16 2015 AT APPROXIMATELY 5:45 PM (RUSH HOUR IN THE DC METRO AREA) MY SONATA CAME TO AN ABRUPT STOP WITHOUT ANY WARNING SIGNS ON THE HIGHWAY IN MIDDLE LANE
• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 HYUNDAI SONATA. WHILE TRAVELING ON A ROADWAY OR A HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE'S SPEED WOULD REDUCE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE BECAME SLOW TO RESPOND WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER MORE THAN FIVE TIMES, BUT THEY COULD NOT

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 36 fire reports💥 4 crashes

“THIS IS A NEW HYUNDAI SONATA 2015. THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE STARTED RUNNING ERRATICALLY. THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS CAN BE A SAFETY CONCERNS: 1. SOMETIMES WHEN IDLING AT INTERSECTION THE ENGINE RPM GOES UP ALL OF A SUDDEN AND THE CAR STARTS MOVING FORWARD AND ONLY A STRONGER PUSH O”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

172 complaints

11%

• SINCE LEASING THE VEHICLE ON AUGUST 1 I CONSTANTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE GAS MILEAGE WHICH HYUNDAI INDICATED WOULD BE RESOLVED ON THE FOLLOWING OIL CHANGE. THE OIL CHANGE BARELY EFFECTED THE MILEAGE EFFICIENCY WHICH LEADS TO THE SECOND ISSUE WHEN THE GAS GAUGE SHOWS BELOW A QUARTER ON THE TANK THE CR
• I BOUGHT THIS NEW CAR A FEW MONTHS AGO. AT 1089 MILES ENGINE OVERHEATED WHILE IN TRAFFIC. I MANAGE TO STOP SAFELY AND I CALLED ROADSIDE TO TOW THE CAR TO SERVICE. SECOND DAY THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE ACCORDING TO HYUNDAI TECH LINE. THIS FOR ME WAS A RED FLAG THAT SOMETHING IS
• I AM WRITING IN REGARDS TO MY NEW 2015 HYUNDAI SONATA ECO THAT I PURCHASED IN MAY 2015 FROM MCCARTHY HYUNDAI AUTOMOTIVE IN OLATHE, KANSAS. SHORTLY AFTER BRINGING IT HOME, I NOTICED THAT EACH TIME THE CAR WAS STARTED ON A COLD START, IT WOULD HESITATE AND PAUSE UPON ACCELERATION WHEN I WOULD TAKE OFF

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 13 fire reports💥 5 crashes

“SINCE LEASING THE VEHICLE ON AUGUST 1 I CONSTANTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE GAS MILEAGE WHICH HYUNDAI INDICATED WOULD BE RESOLVED ON THE FOLLOWING OIL CHANGE. THE OIL CHANGE BARELY EFFECTED THE MILEAGE EFFICIENCY WHICH LEADS TO THE SECOND ISSUE WHEN THE GAS GAUGE SHOWS BELOW A QUARTER ON THE TANK THE CR”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

165 complaints

10%

• BRAND NEW CAR PURCHASED AND FEW ISSUES. 1. GAS GAUGE ONLY GOES UP TO 7/8 EVEN WITH FULL TANK FILL UP. 2. GAS MILEAGE DOES NOT SEEM TO INDICATE CORRECT MILEAGE. WITH FULL TANK GAS, THE INDICATOR SHOWS 450+ MILES, BUT ACTUAL MILEAGE IS 300~350 MILES. 3. ERROR OCCURS WHEN PLAYING SONGS FROM IPHONE 6
• AT 1540 MILES 2015 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED ENGINE CAM ADVANCE SENSOR FAILED. THIS CAUSED ENGINE RUNNING ROUGH AND LIMITED POWER WITH INABILITY TO CLIMB HILLS WITHOUT CONSTANTLY DOWNSHIFTING. HIGHWAY DRIVING IS DANGEROUS DUE TO INABILITY TO ACCELERATE AND MERGE AND LOSS OF POWER ON HILLS. OTHER OWNER
• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 HYUNDAI SONATA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE MADE A VERY LOUD SOUND AND STALLED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRE

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 16 fire reports💥 3 crashes

“BRAND NEW CAR PURCHASED AND FEW ISSUES. 1. GAS GAUGE ONLY GOES UP TO 7/8 EVEN WITH FULL TANK FILL UP. 2. GAS MILEAGE DOES NOT SEEM TO INDICATE CORRECT MILEAGE. WITH FULL TANK GAS, THE INDICATOR SHOWS 450+ MILES, BUT ACTUAL MILEAGE IS 300~350 MILES. 3. ERROR OCCURS WHEN PLAYING SONGS FROM IPHONE 6”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

131 complaints

• I WENT TO ACCELERATE, BY DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, AND THE ENGINE REVVED HIGH, BUT, THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE AND THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE POWER AT THE WHEELS. IT ACTED AS IF THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING. I LET OFF OF THE PEDAL AND IT DOWNSHIFTED AND POWER TO THE WHEELS WAS RESTORED. I REPEATED
• ON 04/06/2016, THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH AND HESITATED. LACK OF ACCELERATION, EVEN AT 4000 RPMS (TOP SPEED 20 MPH AT 4000 RPMS). THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO STALL AND REQUIRED THE GAS PEDAL TO BE PRESSED DUE TO LOW RPMS AT IDLE. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT, WITH NO WARNING TO THE OPERATOR,
• BOUGHT 2 BRAND NEW SONATA WITH TOP TECHNOLOGY PACKAGE ON 4/15/2015. THE PROBLEM HAPPENED ON BOTH NEW CARS. WHENEVER THE GAS PEDAL IS OFF, THE COMPUTER/SOFTWARE TAKE CONTROL OF SLOWING THE CAR DOWN EVEN WITH OPEN ROAD AHEAD, ON FLAT SURFACE, ON CORNERS, UP OR DOWN HILL. THIS HAPPENED WHETHER IT IS

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“I WENT TO ACCELERATE, BY DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, AND THE ENGINE REVVED HIGH, BUT, THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE AND THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE POWER AT THE WHEELS. IT ACTED AS IF THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING. I LET OFF OF THE PEDAL AND IT DOWNSHIFTED AND POWER TO THE WHEELS WAS RESTORED. I REPEATED”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

82 complaints

• SINCE LEASING THE VEHICLE ON AUGUST 1 I CONSTANTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE GAS MILEAGE WHICH HYUNDAI INDICATED WOULD BE RESOLVED ON THE FOLLOWING OIL CHANGE. THE OIL CHANGE BARELY EFFECTED THE MILEAGE EFFICIENCY WHICH LEADS TO THE SECOND ISSUE WHEN THE GAS GAUGE SHOWS BELOW A QUARTER ON THE TANK THE CR
• BRAND NEW CAR PURCHASED AND FEW ISSUES. 1. GAS GAUGE ONLY GOES UP TO 7/8 EVEN WITH FULL TANK FILL UP. 2. GAS MILEAGE DOES NOT SEEM TO INDICATE CORRECT MILEAGE. WITH FULL TANK GAS, THE INDICATOR SHOWS 450+ MILES, BUT ACTUAL MILEAGE IS 300~350 MILES. 3. ERROR OCCURS WHEN PLAYING SONGS FROM IPHONE 6
• SONATA COMES WITH A 18.5 GAL GAS TANK. UPON FILL UP CAR WILL ONLY TAKE A MAXIMUM OF 12 GALLONS. THE SUPPOSED "RANGE" OF THE CARS COMPUTER SHOW MAYBE 50 MILES WHEN REGISTERING NEAR EMPTY. EVEN SO, ONLY 12 GALLONS CAN BE PUT INTO TANK. WITH APPROXIMATELY 6 GALLONS THAT HAVE TO BE STILL IN TANK, I

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 5 fire reports💥 3 crashes

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 1634 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ENGINE: THIS IS A NEW HYUNDAI SONATA 2015. THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE STARTED RUNNING ERRATICALLY. THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS CAN BE A SAFETY CONCERNS: 1. SOMETIMES WHEN IDLING AT INTERSECTION THE ENGINE RPM GOES UP ALL OF A SUDDEN AND THE CAR STARTS MOVING FORWARD AND ONLY A STRONGER PUSH O
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: SINCE LEASING THE VEHICLE ON AUGUST 1 I CONSTANTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE GAS MILEAGE WHICH HYUNDAI INDICATED WOULD BE RESOLVED ON THE FOLLOWING OIL CHANGE. THE OIL CHANGE BARELY EFFECTED THE MILEAGE EFFICIENCY WHICH LEADS TO THE SECOND ISSUE WHEN THE GAS GAUGE SHOWS BELOW A QUARTER ON THE TANK THE CR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: BRAND NEW CAR PURCHASED AND FEW ISSUES. 1. GAS GAUGE ONLY GOES UP TO 7/8 EVEN WITH FULL TANK FILL UP. 2. GAS MILEAGE DOES NOT SEEM TO INDICATE CORRECT MILEAGE. WITH FULL TANK GAS, THE INDICATOR SHOWS 450+ MILES, BUT ACTUAL MILEAGE IS 300~350 MILES. 3. ERROR OCCURS WHEN PLAYING SONGS FROM IPHONE 6
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
TRANSMISSION: I WENT TO ACCELERATE, BY DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, AND THE ENGINE REVVED HIGH, BUT, THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE AND THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE POWER AT THE WHEELS. IT ACTED AS IF THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING. I LET OFF OF THE PEDAL AND IT DOWNSHIFTED AND POWER TO THE WHEELS WAS RESTORED. I REPEATED
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)