Complaint volume
358 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Hyundai Sonata Complaints
358 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Hyundai Sonata, grouped by component category.
358 Total complaints
18 Crash reports
12 Fire reports
9 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, unknown or other, electrical system,engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 18 crash reports, 12 fire reports, 9 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 135 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 37,255 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, unknown or other, electrical system,engine?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Hyundai Sonata?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Hyundai Sonata
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Hyundai Sonata complaints?
18 Crash
12 Fire
9 Injury
1 Fatality
28 Towed
6 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Hyundai Sonata complaint categories?
ENGINE 113
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 32
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 15
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 15
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 11
STRUCTURE 11
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7
358 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2023 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The paint if pealing off in large sections due to a manufacturer defect in the primer. The flakes can fly onto the windshields of other vehicles causing collisions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start in cold weather, below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The contact stated that the vehicle would start as needed whenever the weather was warmer. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Dec 2023 | ENGINE | I own a 2018 Hyundai Sonata SEL. I purchased the car in 2020 with ~17,000 miles on it. At ~50,000 miles the engine begin burning oil. It has progressively gotten worse. I can’t bring myself to have anyone drive my car because of this issue. It is all to likely that the result of the car burning so much oil in a short period of time. That it can pose a serious risk to anyone driving the car if the oil wasn’t checked. This is not a common problem with many cars, this is a problem with Hyundai vehicles. The negligence of not issuing a recall for this is horrible. I have taken my car to private mechanics and Hyundai service centers. The response I get is “oh yeah they’re know for burning oil and there’s not much to do about it.” That’s a ridiculous response to situation like this for the thousands of owners. How long will it take to issue a recall, until a life is taken? When the issue could have been fixed by issuing a recall. Complete negligence on Hyundai and the NHTSA. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | ENGINE | Purchased this vehicle with about 64K miles. Vehicle, as per CarFax report, has been meticulously maintained. Upon delivery, we changed the oil and filter with full-synthetic Amsoil. We ensured oil levels were appropriate prior to returning to service. No more than 1,000 miles later, roughly incurred in about a month, we checked oil levels again. This time, it required about 1.25 quarts to return it to the appropriate level .We did research and apparently, there is a class-action lawsuit filed by owners of Hyundai vehicles with this specific engine, the Theta II 2.4L 4-cylinder engine. Here's an article making reference to apparently your organization already looking into these complaints. [XXX] Could you please advise if the NHTSA will take the necessary steps to request Hyundai to issue a recall? I have found multiple articles where Hyundai is rejecting to take any action on their own, in most cases, advising their customers that such level of oil consumption is 'normal'. That clearly contradicts their own owner's manual guidelines. I own a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500LT with 302K miles and the vehicle will go nearly 5K miles between oil changes while requiring no more than 1/2 quart of oil to keep it at the appropriate levels. I also own a 2019 Honda Accord 2.0T that normally requires oil changes every 10K miles and it seldom requires more than 1/8 of a quart to keep at the appropriate oil levels. There is definitely something definitely wrong with this engine type and requires governmental involvement to hold the manufacturer to provide adequate remediation. Thanks, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode and lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the side of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that cylinder #1 was misfiring on every cycle due to damage to the piston. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 107,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 107,000 |
| Nov 2023 | SUSPENSION,SEATS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | ABS module stopped working and the ABS module light is on. Car automatically brakes by its self sometimes or locks up at stop lights creating dangerous driving situations | Crash: No Fire: No | 157,000 |
| Nov 2023 | ENGINE | My 2018 Hyundai Sonata began running low on oil around May 2022 when the car had 86,400 miles on it. I informed the local dealership where I bought the car and had all maintenance completed. The dealership and myself contacted Hyundai Corp. Hyundai Corp approved oil consumption testing which resulted in an induction cleaning in Sept. 2022. This did not resolve the oil burning issue. The dealership service staff informed me that I was given a lifetime warranty on the engine and to keep driving it and putting oil in as needed until the engine failed and then to bring it to the dealership for replacement engine. There evidently was not a fix for the problem. Most recently I have been putting oil in the car every Sunday. I sent an email message to Hyundai Corp about a month ago to request to talk with a case manager regarding this excessive oil issue. In the meantime I have taken my car to the dealership for all suggested maintenance and informed them of the continued oil consumption. Before I received a response from Hyundai, my engine failed. I pulled out of my drive way and my car was stalling and would not accelerate properly then my engine light came on. I drove the car about a quarter mile down the road and turned around and came home in this very scary condition. This is a safety issue due to pulling out on a road with no power to accelerate. I had it towed to the dealership. I was give a case manager from Hyundai. My car has burnt valves and excessive carbon build up from excessive oil burning. Hyundai will not cover engine replacement costs, or buy back the vehicle. This vehicle is available for inspection. I'm not sure if I should leave it at dealership or have it towed home. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Warning lights keep coming on for ABS and Blind Spot Detection. Please help as I know this has been recalled in other 2018 Sonatas. So why is my VIN # not included in these recent recalls?? I FEAR for mine and my daughter's safety as she turned 16 in February 2023 and started driving this car in August 2023. PLEASE HELP!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | SEATS | The drivers seat operation is going berserk. I can not get it to move at times and at other times it only partially operates. It also may do the opposite of what control direction I move it! I had to drive home today not being able to to the gas pedal well...very dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | ENGINE | Engine is failing, stalls frequently. Dealership where I bought the car will not help, other dealership advised us to drive the car until the engine fails. I do not feel safe driving this car with my children. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ENGINE | I was driving and when I made a left turn I heard a sucking type of noise coming from the engine. I immediately made an appointment at my local Hyundai dealership, however they were booked for another month so I made it at my local mechanic shop. After inspection by the mechanic I was told and confirmed that the noise was a result of having barely ANY OIL LEFT IN MY ENGINE!!! Because the oil pan had a hairline crack in it and had leaked the oil out. My check engine light had never come on through this process. This is so dangerous because my engine could have eventually seized while being in traffic with potential harm to both myself, people in my car and other vehicle traffic!!! Also, WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS DONE TO MY ENGINE AS A RESULT OF THIS!!! My engine can be ruined!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | For now the fifth time in the last 16 months the HEV light and engine light has lit up while the car jerks and sputters and dies. Below is the incident report that I filed on or about August 8, 2022. Again at the end of the day yesterday on October 20, 2023 the same issues still arise for the fifth time. See below for a re-cap of the issues I am once again experiencing after Hyundai claims to have fixed the issues: For the fourth time the HEV light (and others) has come on and the dash has lit up while I was driving, with the last three times leaving us stranded in dangerous road situations with little or no power. The light first came on in July 2020 at 40,089 miles. A dealership reset the codes and I had no problems until June 7, 2022 when the lights lit up on the dash again and the car died and I had to have it towed to a local dealership. They could find nothing wrong with it and checked all the wiring and said none of the codes were coming up and that the car ran fine for them when test driving a day or two after I had it towed. So they released the car back to me deeming it good to go. Then only 19 days later on June 26, 2022 the HEV light among other lit up again and the dash indicated to pull over and cut the car off due to the hybrid system. I had it towed to the nearest dealership again. The then looked at it and said they reset all the codes and everything looked to be good to go. Then AGAIN on Aug 8, 2022 (3rd time in two months), we were put in a dangerous situation trying to get the car off a busy highway when the HEV light (and others) again lit up the dash and our power went almost completely out while the engine jerked violently as we tried to avoid being hit by cars while trying to get off the highway before it completely died on us. Four times now Hyundai dealers have shrugged this off saying "we reset the codes" and we can't find an issue. We have been put in dangerous traffic conditions three of these times. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH uphill, the vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light and low oil pressure warning light were illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where an oil change was performed, and the spark plugs were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: DP22003 (Engine). The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,347. | Crash: No Fire: No | 77,347 |
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | My car is misfiring, hesitating accelerating, severely shaking and vibrating which you can feel in the pedals and steering wheel, and the check engine light is on. This issue has been ongoing for over a week already. When the engine light first came on on 9/7, i pulled over on the side of the road and had a mobile mechanic check it out. The code was coming up as a bad ignition coil in cylinder 1. When he took out the coil and spark plugs, he saw scoring on the spark plug from oil as well as oil being consumed in the cylinder itself which has been causing my vehicle to misfire. The mobile mechanic stated on his invoice that I need a new engine. I took my car to Faulkner Hyundai on 9/11 and they said the best they can do is an oil consumption test even though they personally know I need an engine as well. I have not been able to drive the vehicle due to the ongoing issues, I am afraid for my life and safety that god forbid the car stalls out on the highway while I am traveling to or from work I could get into a major accident. They are putting my life in jeopardy. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who retrieved DTC Code: P1326 and related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 20-01-024H-1 (Theta GDI Engine DTC P1326 - Engine Inspection / Replacement); however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 59,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 59,000 |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH the vehicle suddenly began sputtering and then completely stalled. The contact had to coast to the side of the road and noticed the check engine light illuminated. After approximately 10 minutes, the vehicle was able to restart. When starting the vehicle there would be a sputtering followed by the vehicle shutting off. The failure began to occur while idle as well. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse out of a parking spot the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward instead. As a result, the vehicle ended up crashing into a concrete light post. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries or medical attention needed. The vehicle was able to be driven after. No police report was filed. The vehicle had been towed to the dealer who had stated that the starter relay issue may be the cause, however, because of not being able to duplicate the failure they were unable to give an official diagnosis. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 86,000 |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | UNKNOWN. I noticed that there was a check engine light on and I took it to autozone to have it checked out, they told me that it was coming back with the code of an o2 sensor. I thought nothing of it until it started not wanting to start right. On July 1, 2023 I took my car in to the dealership for an oil change and they never said anything about why my car was doing a delayed start. It would eventually start but it took at least a minute. I bought a new battery from walmart to put in my car so that it would not do the delayed start, but it kept doing it anyway. Finally decided to take it to a mechanic and the first time that he started it took at least a minute, he realized that he didn't have his computer (code reader) with him so he turned it off. When he returned with the code reader he plugged it in and started the car then it started smoking, smoking turned into fire that caused the entire underside of my hood to melt including engine, electrical harness, belts, battery and much more. If it wasn't for the mechanic's quick thinking by putting out the fire while calling 9-1-1, the fire would have gone to the fuel tank and exploded. Yes, the safety of others was put at risk. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | Oil leaking, replaced gaskets Oil continues to burn at a fast rate. Putting up to 6qt oil extra every month. Oil changes have been regular. Dealership only cleaned engine and told me that was all they could do. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | RIGHT WHEEL SPEED SENSOR FAILED IN FEB 2023 NOW LEFT REAR WHEEL SENSOR HAS FAILED IN AUG HAS 50486 MILES | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | While I was driving the car shut off by itself. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | transmition problem , stop and go high rev engine sutck in geer angine stals in stop and go tslow moving trafic | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Car consumes TOO much oil. Even after I get an oil change I have to add more oil weeks later and the oil is always black. Several times the sensor has gone out on me on the hwy and I’m not able to accelerate or go over 35 miles which is extremely dangerous . | Crash: No Fire: No | 127,961 |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | This vehicle consumes one quart of oil every 1000 miles. I have documentation to prove it. Hyundai has done their own asessments and claimed that it consumes less. There was a class action lawsuit filed in California for this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ENGINE | My engine was burning oil, I was/ am up to date with my oil changes. The oil suddenly kept being dirty. My car broke down twice. One time oil was shooting out of the top of my engine and it was smoking. Hyundai claimed it was neglect and only accepted my paper copy of oil changes but not the ones on my debit card statement. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | TIRES | the Kumho 205/65 R16 treads are losing chucks of rubber on 3 tires with just under 17000 miles as of this date 7/24/23 and under 6 years old. ( their warranty states 60K or 6 yrs) Kumho will not warrant the tires in any way shape or form. Have tried to get some help from them since Jan of this year (2023) with no results. Also the service dept at the dealership tried to get me help but was not successful. Even after taking many pictures and information and sending them to Kumho. No help. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |