NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2016 Hyundai Sonata.
| Trim | City | Hwy | Combined | Annual fuel $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6L 4 cyl Automatic (AM7) | 28 | 36 | 31 | $1,950 |
| 2.0L 4 cyl Automatic (S6) | 22 | 31 | 26 | $2,300 |
| 2.4L 4 cyl Automatic (S6) | 25 | 36 | 29 | $2,050 |
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash |
Component: VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Sonata Hybrid vehicles manufactured December 8, 2014, to August 18, 2015, and Hyundai Sonata vehicles manufactured May 28, 2014, to March 18, 2016, equipped with the panoramic sunroof option. Due to a bonding issue with the sunroof wind deflector, the sunroof panel on the affected vehicles may detach while driving.
Consequence: If the sunroof detaches from the vehicle it could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will repair the wind deflector anchor plate, free of charge. The recall began December 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 152.
Component: PARKING BRAKE:INDICATOR LIGHT
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Sonata and Genesis vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the warning light to indicate that the parking brake is applied may intermittently not illuminate in the dash due to corrosion in the switch.
Consequence: If the parking brake indicator is not illuminated when the parking brake is applied, the driver may operate the vehicle with the parking brake partially engaged, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the parking brake switch, free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for this recall is 164.
I am submitting this complaint regarding Hyundai Motor America’s denial of my request for engine replacement assistance. I own a 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid with approximately 106,000 miles. The vehicle experienced sudden engine failure while driving which put my daughter, in danger and is now inoperable. I still have a remaining loan balance, and the cost to replace the engine is significant. I am the second owner of this vehicle. Prior to my ownership, it was a government vehicle. Hyundai requested maintenance records from before I purchased the vehicle; however, I do not have access to those records, as they were not provided at the time of purchase. Since owning the vehicle, I have maintained it responsibly and submitted all available maintenance records from my period of ownership outside of work issued directly to the state. My request for assistance was denied based on a determination of “exceptional maintenance neglect.” I respectfully dispute/ disputed this conclusion. I do not believe the engine failure was due to neglect, and I was not provided with clear documentation or evidence supporting this determination.
*Engine failure-needs a new engine *The car turned off while I was driving it on the freeway, I managed to steer the car to the shoulder, almost caused an extremely dangerous accident due to traffic and speed limit. *Took it to a Hyundai dealership in Irving, TX 3x about 3 years about excessive oil consumption, they ignored the requests for a solution. I stopped going to the dealership due to time constraints, and them not wanting to acknowledge the issue. The engine was consuming 2-3 quarts every 2 weeks. Finally the engine gave out last week. Car has around 153k miles but the issue started when the vehicle had around 100k miles . * Engine oil would turn on sometimes for a short time. I had several mechanics inspect the vehicle and all would tell me that it was just oil consumption due to a known issue with Hyundai engines.
The 2016 Hyundai Sonata has 6 NHTSA recalls and 700 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. The high number of complaints suggests potential reliability concerns — review the complaint details above before purchasing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
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| Side Crash |
| Rollover |
Component: AIR BAGS
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2016 Sonata vehicles manufactured March 28, 2016 through April 12, 2016. The affected vehicles have a driver-side frontal air bag that may not adequately protect the driver's neck from injury in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence: A frontal air bag that does not adequately protect the driver's neck may increase their risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 148.
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Sonata vehicles manufactured May 29, 2014 to February 11, 2016, 2017 Elantra vehicles manufactured January 12, 2016 to February 22, 2016, and one 2016 Sonata Hybrid vehicle manufactured October 15, 2015. In these vehicles, the driver's frontal air bag may be missing a chemical enhancer required for the second stage air bag deployment, resulting in the second stage not deploying in certain crashes. The primary stage will deploy as intended.
Consequence: An air bag that does not inflate increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on May 5,2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 144.
Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Sonata vehicles manufactured May 28, 2014, to August 21, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with an Antilock Braking System (ABS) warning light intended to warn the driver if there is an ABS malfunction. In the event of an ABS malfunction, the Brake System warning light will illuminate, but the ABS warning light will not illuminate. Since the vehicles have ABS malfunction lights that do not illuminate, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Consequence: If the driver is alerted there is a brake system malfunction, but not specifically with the ABS system, the driver may operate the vehicle unaware that the vehicle's brakes may lock up during hard braking, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will update the ABS control unit software, free of charge. The recall is expected began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for this recall is 134.
Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Sonata, 2016-2017 Sonata Hybrid, and Sonata Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. The Smart Junction Box (SJB) software logic may not properly interpret the signals received from the multifunction switch, which could cause the turn signal to activate in the opposite direction of what the driver intended.
Consequence: A turn signal that activates in the opposite direction of what was intended by the driver increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the SJB software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 19, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 210.
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor inside the vehicle, with an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and determined that oil was blowing out of the top of the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 37,100.
The failure involves the engine, which has seized (locked up) and is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle became unsafe when it stopped operating in traffic, creating a potential hazard to myself and others due to the sudden loss of power and inability to move the vehicle. The issue has been confirmed by both a dealership and an independent service center, both of which determined that the engine has failed and requires repair or replacement. The vehicle has also been inspected by the manufacturer as part of the claim process. There were no prior warning lights, messages, or indicators before the failure occurred.
I contact the Hyundai dealer about my 2016 Hyundai sonata. for all I know those vehicles have recalls with engine failure/stalling due to premature rod bearing wear, fire risks from malfunctioning electric oil pumps. My car is having those exact problems with the abs lights being on and is also have problems with the VVT sprocket. And the oil I called Hyundai and they said my vehicle only has a recall with the JUNCTION BOX. But my car is unable to go over 60. And is unsafe to drive and the recalls with that type of model car is the same recalls I am having and soon as I've bought the car and had it for some time i am starting to have those problems so I would like to know what’s going on because it is unsafe and I can’t even drive my vehicle I also have a blinking check engine light. I’ve wanted to report this now incase risk of a fire because I’ve did my research and realize these cars that have these type of problems are known for catching on fire.
This complaint is NOT related to the existing recall associated with this vehicle. The vehicle is experiencing a serious loss of power and acceleration issue. The car is unable to accelerate past approximately 60 mph. When pressing the accelerator fully, the vehicle does not respond or increase speed. While attempting to accelerate, the engine RPM increases and then suddenly drops repeatedly, causing the vehicle to struggle to maintain speed. This behavior is consistent and occurs during normal driving conditions. This creates a dangerous situation, especially when merging onto highways or attempting to accelerate in traffic, as the vehicle cannot respond when needed. The issue has occurred multiple times and makes the vehicle unsafe and unreliable to operate.
Car burning oil and engine started knocking no warning lights ever came on prior to knocking noise. Brought to mechanic and engine has failed. Vehicle has less that 130,000 miles on it.
Both rear doors will not open. The door locks stopped functioning so we are not able to open and close both rear back doors. In addition, the right rear door window stopped rolling up and down.
code P1326 unable to accelerate, drive past 1st gear and knocking noise in engine area engine could stall out or lock up if problem is not fixed 3/14/2026- started engine light blinking warning light also code p1326 has had recalls for this particular car brand
i took my car in for an oil change and the tech wouldn’t even take my money because he said the car was a safety issue and it needed to be taken to a hyundai dealership ASAP as he has seen the engine fail or blow up on this model before. on the way to the dealer the engine completely seized in the middle of the road forcing us to stop traffic on the busy road and push it in a near by parking lot.
Vehicle started then stalled requiring tow. No initial illumination of warning lamps or messages. Findings upon inspection by independent service center: multiple cylinder misfires (P030100, P030300, P030400, P030200, P030000) and excessive debris buildup on vvt sensor screen. Car uses excess oil- a minimum of 3 qts per 600 miles. No warning lamps or messages occur when car is excessively low on oil.
While driving in normal traffic, the engine experienced a sudden and significant loss of power and went into a reduced-power “limp” mode. The check engine light illuminated and the vehicle stored an active P1326 diagnostic trouble code related to the engine/Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS). Because this occurred in live traffic, the sudden power loss created an unsafe situation that increased the risk of a collision, as the vehicle could not accelerate or keep pace with surrounding vehicles. This issue appears to be directly related to Hyundai Technical Service Bulletin 22-EM-001H-1, which addresses known engine defects and P1326 activation in this model and engine. The vehicle was taken to a Hyundai dealership in West Palm Beach, Florida for inspection, where the code was verified and documentation (including oil change records) was requested. The vehicle has approximately 89,000–90,000 miles. After the dealership inspection, I received an email from Hyundai Motor America Consumer Affairs [XXX] ) stating: “This is Hyundai’s final position in this matter, and we are unable to offer any assistance with regard to this claim.” I believe this position is incorrect, as the symptoms and P1326 activation align with the conditions outlined in TSB 22-EM-001H-1, which Hyundai is supposed to honor when these failures occur. To my knowledge, the vehicle/component has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. The check engine light and reduced power symptoms first appeared at the time of the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond or exceed 30 MPH. The contact stated that the speedometer reading was lagging. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal with more force. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the camshaft position sensor was replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that the starter was previously replaced due to the engine's failure to turn over while starting the vehicle. The contact stated that upon switching to Sport Mode and driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked and lost motive power. The contact shifted to neutral(N) and was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle was undrivable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the failure could be an electrical failure or that an engine replacement was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.
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