Body Problems of Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

On April 8, 2026, I returned to my brand-new 2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid limited (purchased as a new ccar on February 10th 2026)_after being away from March 31 to April 6, 2026 (approximately 7 days of normal parking). The vehicle was completely dead — the 12v auxiliary battery had fully discharged. The car remained fully locked. The hood release lever and the 12v battery reset button are both located inside the cabin and were therefore inaccessible. Following the instructions in the owner’s manual, three adults attempted to remove the plastic cover over the mechanical keyhole on the driver’s door handle. None of us could pry or slide the cover off. Hyundai roadside assistance dispatched a locksmith. The locksmith had to use an air-inflation wedge tool to force the door open. Once inside, he pressed the interior 12v reset button and the vehicle then operated normally. This incident demonstrates a complete failure mode: the 12v system can die after only a short period of inactivity, and the mechanical emergency-access design makes it extremely difficult (or impossible for multiple people) to enter the vehicle without professional forced entry or risk of damage. The combination left me stranded with no practical way to regain access to my new car. I believe this is a safety-related defect because it creates an unreasonable risk of the driver being unable to enter or operate the vehicle after normal parking, potentially in emergency or critical situations. Hyundai has issued service campaign teba / TSB 25-01-076h for battery drain on 2025 Sonata Hybrids, but it does not address the mechanical key-cover access failure that turned the drain into a total lockout. It is also not clear the the teba is a complete solution to the battery drain problem.

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My husband and I were driving on interstate 81 south near woodstock, va on Sunday morning, June 24, 2018. The car began making a knocking sound, then we lost power. By the time we were able to pull over, the engine was on fire. The entire car ended up burning. The va state police, vdot, and fire department responded and I-81 south was shut down for a time. I purchased my car new and did all required maintenance per factory recommendation including oil changes, tire rotations, etc. By the Hyundai dealer in bowie, MD. I have copies of all my receipts from the dealer and they have the records on their computer system. My car had 91,000 miles on it. We contacted the insurance company and the car is a total loss.

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On July 10th, 2017 around 6:30 pm pst; while driving on highway 5 west around tracy, CA, the panoramic sunroof shattered with a very loud noise. Glass pieces scattered all over. Remaining piece of the glass around the roof is clearly visible raised outward (convex shaped) as it blew up. Evidently there has been similar incidents/complaints. Hyundai motors must not have sold this car to us as they knew about this problem with their cars. My family could have got into serious accident. I am still shaken up as a result of this incident.

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On sat, oct 1, at about 1 pm I was about to complete parking the vehicle in the parking lot of the huntington beach branch of chase bank. I fortunately selected a site on front of a planter section with bushes, as otherwise there could have been injuries or property damage. I was almost stopped and was about to put the gear in park, the car suddenly revved up the engine and accelerated violently and with great force, propelling the car over the cement curbs of the planter and landed in the bushes. The car could not be reversed out of the bushes as the wheels were lodged inside the planter area. The front bumper, position lights and undercarriage were seriously damaged. Aaa road assistance had to be called to pull the car out of the planter. The incident is extremely similar to other such incidents of sudden unwanted acceleration documented in youtube videos. We have opened a claim with Hyundai, case # 962 9876.

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On 19 Jul 2013, an insured driver on my auto policy was driving in north dakota and hit a deer. The right fender, right headlight, hood and bumper were damaged. She called me & I told her if it was safe to drive, to continue driving. She kept driving and then the overheating light came on. She pulled the car over in less than a minute. She called me again & I told her to call Hyundai roadside assistance. The vehicle was towed to abra in bismarck, nd. They repaired the vehicle. The cost was $9760. 00. They were in the process of moving it from the repair shop to the paint shop, which was right next door. They turned on the engine & as it was sitting there, it started spewing radiator fluid. They turned it off and took the car to Hyundai of bismarck. They determined that the heads were warped and the engine was destroyed. After the cost of the new engine was added to the cost of repairs, the car was totaled. I don't think that if a person pulls over within a minute of the overheating light coming on. That it will warp the heads. The whole reason for the light is to warn the driver. . I believe that either the motor was defective or the computer within the vehicle was defective & didn't come on early enough before there was damage to the heads & was not caused by the person diriving. This insurance claim went too fast and usaa signed off and totaled the vehicle just on numbers, not on any inverstigation of the reason why the heads were warped and destroyed the engine. The 414 number is the driver. The 262 number is my number in rehab and I can be reached at any time. Very respectfully, tony.

We were traveling down highway 125 when my 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid caught on fire. It completely burned to the ground. We had about 5 seconds to jump out of car. All 4 occupants got out of car thank you god.

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I was driving south on interstate 79 in pennsylvania near the wexford exit. It was approximately 8:15am. No one else was around me and the sunroof on my vehicle exploded. That is the only way I can describe it. Nothing hit it, no rock, nothing from an overpass nothing. I was in the open and no vehicle was in front of me or behind me. It was extremely frightening. The noise it made was the loudest noise I had ever heard. I did research on this happening before and it seems to have happened to other drivers with the same car. I haven't found any recalls. I do not feel safe in the care any longer.

I was traveling home returning from a doctors visit and pulled into a restaurant. When backing out of the parking lot I heard a scrape or drag under the right front wheel. I straightened the wheels and left the parking lot. I traveled a short distance and heard the noise again. I stopped and looked at the right front wheel and under the fender. I found that a piece of the plastic undercover under the wheel well had come loose and was dragging and pulled loose. I looked again and the complete underside plastic material of the fender well was loose and the fender had separated from the bumper. I aligned the pieces up and drove to the Hyundai dealer in mcdonough, georgia. The service department told me the vehicle had been in an accident. They said Hyundai would not cover this under their warranty. I questioned this because my wife and I drive the vehicle and it had not been in an accident. Their one (1) mechanic told the service manager that it had to go to the body shop as he could not repair it. The service manager also said the car had been hit in the right front. I questioned this and he said even a shopping cart in a parking lot could hit the fender and cause the damage. The vehicle was taken to the body shop and the supervisor said the vehicle was not in an accident. The fender and bumper had no scratches or any outward signs of where it had been hit. He said the vehicle fender and bumper clips that hold the fender to the bumper together had separated and broke and let the plastic piece under the wheel drop. He said the damage could not be repaired because the clips were broken and the bumper would have to be replaced.

Whilst during down highway rear portion of panoramic sunroof exploded with loud bang. Pulled over and stopped could hear glass continuing to crack. Observation showed hole in roof approximately 2x4 inches, with edges bowed upwards.

See all problems of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 🔎.

Front section of panoramic glass roof exploded while driving on highway. Immediately pulled over and looked at roof, after recovering from the shock of the sound from explosion, and found that the glass had a hole in the center, approximately 8" x 8". Glass appears to have blown up, instead of downward. Remainder of the glass was caught by the interior shade, which, luckily, was closed at the time. At the time of the explosion no vehicles were directly in front of my vehicle. Vehicle was being passed, in the left lane of a 4-lane major highway, by a new passenger car, which was approximately 1 car-length ahead. Another vehicle was in the left lane, approximately 6 cars behind that car. Unsure if any glass was blown on the vehicle trailing us, in the left lane. I am thankful that this occurred while I was driving as I am not sure that my wife would have reacted as calmly as I did.

The moving portion of the panoramic sunroof scattered raining glass shards onto the driver and over the exterior of the car.