Complaint volume
168 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
2020 Hyundai Sonata Complaints
168 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, grouped by component category.
168 Total complaints
4 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
4 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 fuel/propulsion system, unknown or other, electrical system. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 4 crash reports, 1 fire report, 4 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 54 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 26,013 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to fuel/propulsion system, unknown or other, electrical system?
- 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 2020 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.
2020 Hyundai Sonata
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Hyundai Sonata complaints?
4 Crash
1 Fire
4 Injury
0 Fatality
8 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Hyundai Sonata complaint categories?
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 21
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 15
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 8
ENGINE 7
STRUCTURE 7
POWER TRAIN 6
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 6
AIR BAGS 5
BACK OVER PREVENTION 5
168 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2023 | ENGINE | In May of 2023 my check engine light came on. Took the car to the dealer and the diagnosis was that the egr cooler was the culprit so they replaced it and everything was fine until 12/21/2023. I am driving on the highway and suddenly I hear a loud alarm and upon checking my instrument cluster I see a warning for engine overheating, the heat was on but suddenly the smell of something burning covered the entire cabin of the vehicle. I had to pull over to the side in the middle of a busy highway in freezing conditions and shut my engine down to avoid further damage. I believe the egr cooler has failed once again inly this time leading to a more terrifying experience. My car was towed to the dealership but I am worried for myself and others with similar vehicles I would not like anyone to experience what I did. I have seen multiple online forums with people complaining about the same situation. Mileage was around 57,900 miles when this occured. I bought the car with 30,000 miles as a certified preowned model. I kindly request for a recall for affected sonatas manufactured from the year 2020 to ensure our safety on the road. If it was not for warranty I would not be able to pay for the repairs | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was driving Home from work and I fell a sleep behind the wheel and Hit a park car. The police report states that my impact speed was 50mph. My insurance company is very concerned that my Air Bags or sensors are defective and that I contact you immediately. Due to the damage and impact of the accident. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Defrost doesn’t work because harness melted and blew a fuse | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | SEATS | While exiting the vehicle there was a loud pop from under the drivers seat. Upon inspection the left front weld attaching the drivers seat to the positioning bar to raise and lower the seat bottom had failed and separated completely. This causes the front seat bottom to sit at an angle and not fully attached to the structure of the car, causing a severe safety issue in the event of an accident as the driver is not properly aligned for the airbag, the seat belt no longer aligns correctly on the body, and there is a greater risk of full seat detachment in a collision or while simply driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Sunroof shattered/exploded for no known reason while driving. Resulted in glass falling towards cabin of vehicle as well as loud bang. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | malfunction cause unanticipated acceleration in sport driving mode. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Tonight on 7/29/2023 after driving between 5-10 miles at night with very light traffic, my dashboard flashed a message telling me "Forward Safety system disabled. Radar blocked." After receiving this message and it clearing from the digital instrument cluster, a small triangle appeared with a exclamation mark. After driving between 1 to 5 miles further down the interstate the triangle cleared from the screen. There is no damage to the grill, or sensor, and no indication of mechanical issues as I was driving down the road. The grill and sensor both also have little to no dirt as I routinely wash my car each weekI have read through multiple other comments like me stating nothing whatsoever is on the front grill that could be obstructing the sensor. And like the other complaints, if there is no warning light, there is no code stored! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Engine leaks oil. I went to the dealer and they blamed the other Hyundai dealer saying they stripped out the drain bolt. After all the back and forth they told me they will replace the drain pan. I scheduled to have the car dropped off and wasn’t given a loaner. When I went to pick up the car they told me the ac bolt and bracket are broken and to come on Monday but the drain pan has been replaced. I went home and the car continued to leak oil and when I went back to the dealer and called them out they came up with every excuse in the books. Bolt is stripped, impact to pan, and so on. Long story short I went to fix the oil pan and they damaged the ac bolt so instead of telling me to come back to do everything they said they did the drain pan but the bolt would have to be done another day. I am waiting on a loaner car as I waisted a whole day without a car and the issue wasn’t fixed. I have a receipt showing the work was done but it never was. The dealer is dishonest and unprofessional. Not sure how they get away with this. They need to be held accountable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Hyundai updated the software for the display and made the font smaller which makes it difficult to read and a safety issue especially when driving at night. I contacted Hyundai and they say that if it is not in the owners manual there is nothing they can do. I have tried to explain to them it is a software issue that came about when their software engineers updated the software and it makes this a safety issue and they have no way to revert back to previous versions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STRUCTURE | Exterior paint is peeling and stripping. Hood, doors, front and rear bumper, side skirts, and front lip. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Paint on hood of car is peeling off, down to bare metal | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | While driving my cars a light starting blinking and my engine light came on and the car lost power This has happened on at least 3 occasions and I had to pull over upon starting the car after a few hours all returned to normal I reported this to dealer and they could not find a problem | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | I took my vehicle into the dealership when it was under 12,000 miles for another issue and mentioned a problem with the headlight on the right fogging up with moisture. I was immediately told that this had to be seen with their eyes because light cost more than $1,000. It has continued for over 1 1/2 years. Early this month, I took a picture at night and in the morning. The service manager wanted to add another hoop; can you get a picture of the water in it? The water is droplets on the light, decreasing visibility on the road. Pictures are attached. There is one picture that shows the left headlight with no issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ENGINE,STRUCTURE | 2020 HYUNDAI SONATA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO GRINDING NOISE WHILE DRIVING. THE CONSUMER STATED UPON INSPECTION BY TOYOTA, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE UNDERSHIELD HAD COME LOOSE AND DRAGGING. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | STEERING | 2020 Sonata......Steering wheel has started to make a raspy, rubbing noise when turned. When researching this problem on U tube, it is apparently a fairly common problem with Hyundai vehicles. The fix requires that a bearing in the steering be replaced. If not replaced I would imagine that the bearing would eventually seize up and the car could not be steered. I checked with local dealership and they were not aware of the problem and couldn't tell me if it would be covered by my warranty. I only have 9500 miles on the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | VISIBILITY | The Panoramic sunroof has a line fracture crack which exploded for unknown reasons. A rock or any foreign object DID NOT hit the sunroof to cause it to shatter. Residue from the glass shattering got into my eyes. Freeman Hyundai stated that an object hit the sunroof it would not be covered under their warranty. A object did not hit the sunroof and it looks like Hyundai has a history of sunroof shattering unexpectedly. There were no warning signs prior to the sunroof shattering. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The AC Fan in my car quit working. Took it to a repair shop where I was told that the AC Blower Motor went bad. The blower motor was drawing too much amps and caused the blower motor fuse to melt into the wiring harness for the blower motor along with melting several other fuses nearby including the fuse box. The cost to repair this correctly fixing and addressing all parts damaged was $5000. Because my vehicle is out of warranty due to mileage I contacted Hyundai who stated that I had to go and pay another diagnostic fee at a Hyundai Dealership to have them look at it. They continued to tell me that the vehicle was out of warranty but would not assist in providing information to get the issue resolved at no cost to me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | STEERING,ENGINE | Steering parts being replaced many times, and the engine oil is low after I just got an oil change a week ago. Excessive engine oil usage with no idea where it is going. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 75 MPH, the brake warning light appeared on the instrument panel as the vehicle began to hesitate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the vehicle decelerated to 20 MPH as her husband pulled to the side of the highway and turned off the vehicle. The contact called the dealer and was given suggestions on how to correct the failure; however, none of the options worked. After some time, her husband restarted the vehicle and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The next day, the contact stated that the brake light returned upon start of the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 19,000 |
| Aug 2022 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | When accelerating hard (pedal to the floor) from approximately 55 mph, the transmission may not downshift correctly and loses power causing a safety issue. When attempting to continue accelerate at full throttle, the RPMs hang while simultaneously losing vehicle speed. Other symptoms noticed were slight vehicle jerkiness from RPMs bouncing up and down a couple of hundred RPMs. When letting off of the accelerator to a "normal" depression level, the vehicle upshifts into an appropriate gear and will gain speed (though sluggish). In the same drive (meaning the ignition was not turned off then back on) , if attempting to push accelerator to the floor, the same results happen as stated before. Also in the same drive (after exiting the highway), from a stop at a red light I tested the issue again with the same results. No warning lights, messages, or other symptoms were present to indicate a malfunction. My safety was at risk because I merged onto the highway and noticed another vehicle approaching me at an unsafe pace. Due to the issue, the car had to hit their brakes hard to avoid a crash. This is also a safety risk because if it happens from a stop, the car may fail to accelerate appropriately when turning in front of traffic. The problem has not be reproduced, confirmed or inspected by anyone besides myself. A video of the issue as it occurred was recorded. This issue is not consistent and has happened twice in approximately 3 months. My Hyundai dealership's service department suggested the car may have went into "limp mode." Given the inconsistent nature of the issue, I did not schedule an appointment to have it looked at because I would have been charged if nothing was found. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I first begin having an issue with the idle speed. It would jump up to 1,500 RPM, which is twice the normal 750 RPM level It started almost from the very beginning when I purchased this car new in early 2020. I mentioned it at first oil change at dealer at 3,500 miles. I was told it was normal. In the beginning it would come and go. Sometimes not happening for weeks in-between episodes. Then it started to have the check engine light come on after it would happen and stay on. I took it back while light was still on and they kept the car for several days. Said it was the EPV valve and replaced it. Car operated fine for a few days then started up again. It also started to idle up and down from 1500 down to 500 in a rapid succession. I was able to get it to stop sometimes by turning engine off and them back on. Again I contacted dealership and took car back in. They gave me a loaner car and kept my car for over a month. This time they replaced the computer they told me. I did not have car for more than a week before it started doing it again. It has gradually gotten worse and happens more often now. It has also started to have the Forward Collision Avoidance warning come on in addition to check engine light as well. Just this week it actually just died on me while driving and forced me to pull to side of road. Turn off the engine and restart the engine. This happen 3 times in succession. Dealership does not seem to have any idea on what is going on and have been not very helpful. 3 week wait to get an appointment to bring in and no loaner cars available. This problem with the 2020 vehicle is very dangerous. It can idle up at anytime and car will lurch, requiring forceful brakeing . Car dying while driving and losing power as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | while driving to work on 05.20.2022 my sunroof exploded for no apparent reason. I called my insurance company and they told me to take it to my dealership. so I did. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | Whenever I am close to a Tesla in traffic or at a stoplight, my parking sensors go off. I believe that the frequency of my Sonata parking sensors is being interfered with by Tesla sensors. This could lead to unexpected braking in traffic. This problem has not been reproduced by a dealer or independent service center. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. Warning sensors go off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Car is 20 months old and in that period the car has experienced on at least 3 occasions a problem with acceleration. After stopping and then attempting to accelerate the transmission had a problem engaging and increasing speed. It took probably 30-40 seconds to get from zero to 25 or so then engaged back to normal. Obviously dangerous if getting onto highway or turning in traffic. Dealership cannot replicate problem so they cannot analyze. Last instance was about 2 months ago March 2022. Similar to other incidents posted here. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | - Shifter system malfunction - Unable to use the shift buttons - Received system error on dashboard that read, "Shifter malfunction! Service immediately." Visited two dealership, who saw a photo of the system error message. Vehicle was inspected by the dealership; however, no support could be given due to the dealership not having a code for the issue. - Dealership was made aware of the issue back in November 2021; however, first available appointment with technician was not until January 2022. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |