2019 HYUNDAI SONATA

What owners reported to NHTSA, ranked by how often and how seriously.

This is complaint data, not a random sample.

It only includes owners who chose to file a federal complaint, so it over-represents dramatic and safety-related problems and under-represents minor issues an owner just had fixed without reporting. Read this as what NHTSA complainants report most, not as this vehicle's true failure rate. Full methodology.

Component ranking

  1. #1

    engine oil consumption

    42 unsafe, 1 broken, 4 annoyance

    47
    incidents

    Commonly reported, insufficient mileage data - n=11, median 89,000 mi, no reliable range below 25 reports.

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that the check oil warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming 4-quarts of engin…"~45,000 mi, complaint #1991966
    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that oil was leaking onto the ground from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and stated that the drain plug needed to be replaced. The drain plug was replaced but…"~49,000 mi, complaint #1899039
    • "The contact owned a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light, smoke was present coming from the hood and a burning oil odor was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. Moments later while driving, flames were seen coming from…"~60,000 mi, complaint #1974533
    • "The vehicle consumes a gallon of oil weekly. The spark plugs are having to be replaced every three months. The Low beams have been replaced and are working but the headlights are completely out and flashes on the dash board. I have Hi beam’s only. There is an…"~125,681 mi, complaint #1987623
  2. #2

    lighting exterior

    15 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    16
    incidents

    Commonly reported, insufficient mileage data - n=15, median 1,500 mi, no reliable range below 25 reports.

    • "HEADLIGHTS PROJECT BRIGHT LIGHT ABOUT 20-30 FEET OUT ONLY UP TO ABOUT HOOD LEVEL THEN CUT OFF IN A STRAIGHT LINE COMPLETELY DARK ABOVE THAT AREA AND TO THE SIDE. TWO BLACK OUT SPOTS IN LINE OF VISION MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE WELL ENOUGH TO DRIVE SAFELY IN THE…"~800 mi, complaint #1571460
    • "THE LEFT HEADLIGHT HAS A LARGE BLACKOUT AREA THAT CREATES A SHADOW ON THE ROAD. WHEN DRIVING ON ANY STREET AND ESPECIALLY ON WINDING ROADS IT'S VERY DISTRACTING AND MAKES US THINK THAT THERE IS SOMETHING MOVING ACROSS THE ROAD. I AM DISTRACTED WHEN THIS HAPPE…"~1,600 mi, complaint #1597245
    • "THE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS NEW CARE HAVE SPOTS WITHOUT ANY LIGHTING. THERE ARE HAVE CIRCLES WITHOUT LIGHT AND ON DISTINCT BLACK LINE. MOSTLY WITH LOW BEAM. THERE ARE VERY DANGEROUS BLIND SPOTS. IT IS NOW AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE 2ND TIME TRYING TO REPAIR BUT…"~4,900 mi, complaint #1653930
    • "ON 7/15/2020, I PURCHASE A 2019 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED WITH 6,182 MILES. ON 7/25/20, I WAS OUT AFTER DARK AND USED MY HEADLIGHTS FOR THE FIRST TIME. I NOTICED A DARK LINE IN MY VISUAL FIELD AND 2 HALF CIRCLES PROTRUDING FROM BELOW THE DARK LINE WHILE DRIVING W…"~6,220 mi, complaint #1679963
    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at night at various speeds with the low beam headlights activated, there was a shadow reflecting on the roadway. The driver’s side headlight illumination was distorted. Additionally,…"~26,200 mi, complaint #1841849
  3. #3

    engine internal

    1 stranded, 14 unsafe

    15
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=8)

    • "2019 SONATA 2.0T WITH JUST OVER 11K MILES ON IT BEGAN TO SUDDENLY STUDDER AND WANT TO STALL AT LOW RPM OR AT THE STOP. OBDII ERROR CODE P0302. DEALERSHIP SAID CYLINDER 2 HAD LITTLE TO NO COMPRESSION AND NEEDED REPAIR. COULD BARELY LIMP VEHICLE TO DEALERSHI…"~11,000 mi, complaint #1576909
    • "The contact's mother-in-law owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. Minutes later, the failure reoccurred with the messages "Check Hybrid…"~32,000 mi, complaint #2171555
    • "What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Since april 2025 i’ve been having low oil readings in my vehicle despite regular oil changes I took it into the dealer since my vehicle was still under warranty,…"~115,000 mi, complaint #2050309
    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a knocking sound coming from under the hood. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. In addition, while attem…"~150,000 mi, complaint #2129709
  4. #4

    paint and clearcoat

    1 unsafe, 11 annoyance

    12
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "White paint bubbling up and chipping off of car. No abrasion beforehand."complaint #1880654
    • "Paint code WW8. Paint peeling from trunk and other areas of car. Have also seen numerous Hyundai and Kias around Jacksonville, FL with the same and often severe paint peel. Needs recall and HYUNDAI to fix."complaint #1909742
    • "This is not a safety issue but I feel it need to be recognized my vehicle is peeling paint from on top of roof and I see this happening on numerous amount of Hyundai Sonatas and Hyundai are not addressing the problems and I am still making payments on my car I…"complaint #1918893
    • "I have the White Pearl paint and it started peeling on the hood and drivers side door. "complaint #1929352
    • "The paint of my 2019 Pearl White Sonata is peeling off on the hood. I see that there was an extended warranty extension on the same car of 2017 and 2018. I would like to know why not including 2019 of the same color on the same car. "complaint #1950674
  5. #5

    engine stall or no start

    2 stranded, 6 unsafe

    8
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=4)

    • "I HAVE LEASE THIS CAR SINCE 1/16/2019 UNTIL 4/14/19 . START FIRST WITH LOWER THE SPEED AND POWER JUST A LITTLE BIT. THEN 4/14/19 THE CAR LOWER THE SPEED BY ITSELF,START SHAKING UP,LIMP,SHOWS THE ENGINE LIGHT AND THE SPEED CONTROL LIGH IN CONJUNCTION WITH SLIPP…"~2,786 mi, complaint #1558262
  6. #6

    airbag system

    6 unsafe

    6
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=6)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that he used a cushion or pillow while driving due to medical issues, and the air bag warning light failed to illuminate. While using the cushion or pillow in the passenger’s side seat, the air bag war…"~6,000 mi, complaint #1967434
    • "The contact's uncle owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while his uncle was driving approximately 20 MPH and going over a speed bump, the driver's side front and side air bags deployed. The contact stated that the passenger’s side air bags did not d…"~27,000 mi, complaint #1858852
    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving approximately 78 mph, a second vehicle crashed into the front passenger side causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a concrete median. During the crash, no…"~60,000 mi, complaint #1811557
  7. #7

    other

    3 unsafe, 1 annoyance

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=3)

    • "Everything was displayed in red on the front screen, it was automatically parked, and the steering wheel did not move. This happened late March/02/2024 last Saturday night, so I called AAA twice and had them toward to my house. March/04/2024 I called AAA on M…"~153,400 mi, complaint #1973349
  8. #8

    steering electric assist

    4 unsafe

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "In September 2021 my power steering went out at highway speed making it unsafe and difficult to steer. The power steering ECU was replaced. The same thing happen again in June 2022 this time more parts were replaced position / torque sensors and wiring harness…"complaint #1833566
    • "Steering will stay stuck in left or right position when turned slightly, a couple of inches. The wheel has to be jerked back to center. Vehicle will not go back to center. No lane assist of any kind are on. Excessive tire wear. Consistent issue especially when…"complaint #2174525
    • "Steering wheel panel glued/tampered (Safety Hazard) Motor/Pump assembly broken. Recall couldn't be done due to tampered parts."complaint #2179321
    • "after the car is driven for a while in warm weather, the steering can feel sticky after doing a slight turn doing more than 30 MPH. It takes extra force to return the steering wheel to the straight/neutral position. It acts as though the steering wheel is stu…"complaint #2214315
  9. #9

    hv system fault reduced power

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Unknown. This has happened a couple times now. I am driving and the HEV light, engine light and battery light turn on, car won’t brake properly and almost cause me to hit other cars and will shut off on its own on the highway. It will accelerate on its own eve…"complaint #1835897
    • "The hybrid power system has stopped all together twice while driving once back in May 2021 and again in December 2022, the car has just under 50,000 miles. Both times this has happened the car was actively being driven, and has caused us to pull over on the si…"complaint #1959610
    • "The check hybrid system malfunction light and the blind spot detection came on january 13 2024 for the forth time towed to dealship they attempted repair then again same issue for the fifth March 23 2024 and the last time was today June 7 2024 was towed in."complaint #1997792
  10. #10

    key fob and immobilizer

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "2019 HYUNDAI SONATA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO DEFECTIVE KEY FOB. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE ELECTRONIC FOB EASILY AND UNITENTIONALLY DETACHES FROM THE EMERGENCY KEY. *JS"complaint #1617968
    • "My vehicle was stolen from in front of my home. The "alarm" did not sound or go off at all. The area where my key should enter was removed, vandalized, and then an iphone charger was used to start my car via a USB port that is located somewhere within that ar…"complaint #1831394
    • "The car was stolen, one of the vehicles that Hyundai manufactured without an Engine Immobilizer, making it very easy to steal. Consumers didn't know about this defect, because the corrupt automaker kept us in the dark. I'm fairly certain that by breaking the…"complaint #1860513
  11. #11

    seatbelt and pretensioner

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while she was at a red light, another vehicle crashed into the back of her vehicle however, the seat belt failed to retract, causing the contact to suffer whiplash and a bump to her knees against the d…"~10,500 mi, complaint #1759874
  12. #12

    adas collision warning

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "AEB SYSTEM DOES NOT FUNCTION AT ALL. WILL NOT DETECT VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME NOR DETECT A PEDESTRIAN. IT GIVES NO STAGE 1,2 OR 3 WARNINGS WHILE IN MOTION ON CITY STREETS OR HIGHWAY. I HAVE CONTACTED THE HYUNDAI HEADQUARTERS AND HAVE YET TO RESOLVE THIS CONCERN."~3,850 mi, complaint #1656154
  13. #13

    engine head gasket

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle would not immediately start. After finally starting the vehicle the check engine light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine gas…"~25,000 mi, complaint #1989786
  14. #14

    timing belt or chain

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently revved and decelerated to 40 MPH while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The veh…"~220,000 mi, complaint #1907839
  15. #15

    transmission automatic

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "The transmission in my vehicle makes a whine when shifting at about 35-40 miles per hour. No other car I ever drove made that noise. Hyundai has replaced the transmission 3 times and they still could not fix it. After the third replacement they said it's norma…"complaint #1800317
    • "2019 Hyundai Sonata Sport. (Original owner). Problem: Transmission. [XXX] (9,912 miles). Lack of power, vehicle did not move when trying to merge onto freeway. Very unsafe. Also, hesitation and jerking. [XXX] (10,619 miles). Lack of power, hesitation, jerkin…"complaint #2218626
  16. #16

    adas blind spot

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Blind-spt warming system inoperable. When malfunctioning, cannot disengage the key from the ignition. Problem has been confirmed by dealer. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. Blind-spot warning ligh…"complaint #1944941
  17. #17

    adas lane keeping

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "THE DRIVING ASSIST FEATURE WHICH INDICATED IF A VEHICLE IS IN THE NEXT LANE IS SUPPOSED TO ENGAGE BUT IT HAS STOPPED WORKING. *TR"complaint #1658869
  18. #18

    backup camera

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I wanted to report the failure of my rear camera and/or the electrical circuit that is tied to it. It's my understanding that Hyundai has issued multiple recalls across different years/vehicles for issues in this area. My 2019 Sonata is NOT included in those…"complaint #2199897
  19. #19

    engine cooling

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "I PURCHASED A 2019 SONATA DEMO VEHICLE WITH 5,020 MILES IN JUNE 2019. I REMOVED THE TEMPORARY TAG AND REPLACED WITH PERMANENT TAG ON JULY 16. ON JULY 20, WHILE DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 65MPH, THE ENGINE OVERHEATING ALERT CAME ON AND THE TEMP…"~5,768 mi, complaint #1618262
  20. #20

    exhaust system

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "EXHAUST TIP UNDER RIGHT REAR BUMPER EXTENDS PAST END OF BUMPER. A FEW WEEKS AGO SOMEONE BURNED THEIR LEG WHILE ACCESSING THE TRUNK. YESTERDAY, A SEPARATE PERSON WAS ALSO BURNED FROM SAME EXHAUST TIP FROM STANDING CLOSE TO BUMPER TO ACCESS THE TRUNK. WE HAD 201…"~13,000 mi, complaint #1678190
  21. #21

    fuel pump

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Car has issues with fuel pump with only 64k miles. I was told by Hyundai that I need a new fuel pump. With such low mileage this appears most likely to be a manufacturing defect. Hyundai Sonata has had recall issues regarding this part in the past. "complaint #1906603
  22. #22

    glass and windshield

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Safety Concern — Damage to Windshield During Manufacturer Recall Repair (Z05) My vehicle was brought to an authorized Hyundai dealership on January 14, 2026 for a manufacturer-directed paint recall repair (Campaign Z05), which required removal and reinstallat…"complaint #2187922
  23. #23

    software or update

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE BRAND NEW WITH ONLY 18 ACTUAL MILES ON THE CAR AROUND 6/14/19. DURING A CALL TO DEALERSHIP CUSTOMER SERVICE CALL I WAS ADVISED THERE WAS A SOFTWARE UPDATE THAT NEEDED TO BE COMPLETED (SERVICE CAMPAIGN 953 - ECM & CLUSTER UPDATE-ENGINE…"~7,600 mi, complaint #1625520
  24. #24

    steering rack mechanical

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "Grinding noise coming from steering wheel when turning the steering wheel, left and right."complaint #1963754
  25. #25

    throttle and pedal

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AND WHEN I MOVED THE CAR IT TOOK OF AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED , FLEW PASSED 5 OTHER PARKING SPACES AND CAUSED ME TO HIT A PARKED VEHICLE"~1,804 mi, complaint #1565748
  26. #26

    tire failure

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I own a 2019 Hyundai Sonata with an original manufacturer set of 205/65 R16 95H Kumho Solus TA31 tires on it. I noticed around a month ago that all 4 of the tires have cracks in between the treads, mostly on the outer and inner treads of the 4 tread areas. T…"complaint #1988485
  27. #27

    unintended acceleration

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "For the past several years, this vehicle has experienced a recurring and unresolved engine malfunction that creates a safety hazard. The problem manifests as follows: Symptoms when check engine light illuminates: • Idle RPM elevation to approximately 1500 RPM…"complaint #2208085
  28. #28

    wheel bearing

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "I was on a weekend Road trip and my driver's side wheel bearing went out. My car was at 56,000 miles at the time. I was 2 hours away from home and the dealership was closed. I went to a local licensed/certified mechanic who verified it was dangerous to driv…"complaint #1965407

NHTSA investigations

Search NHTSA's own recall and complaint database for HYUNDAI SONATA directly.