1997 HYUNDAI SONATA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 48 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (16 complaints · 33.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 5
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1996 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FUEL SYSTEM appears in 16 of 48 owner complaints (33.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 33.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 16 · 33.3% AIR BAGS: 7 complaints, 14.6% of reports AIR BAGS 7 · 14.6% · 4 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 7 complaints, 14.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 7 · 14.6% ENGINE: 4 complaints, 8.3% of reports ENGINE 4 · 8.3% VISIBILITY: 3 complaints, 6.3% of reports VISIBILITY 3 · 6.3% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 4.2% · 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 2.1% SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 2.1% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 2.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 41 complaints, 85.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 · 85.4% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FUEL SYSTEM 16 33.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 7 14.6% 4 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 7 14.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 4 8.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 3 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 2.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 85.4% 4 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 1996; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 1997. 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1996 Apr 2014 Recall campaign 97V026000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V026000 Recall campaign 00V314001 ◆ Recall campaign 00V314001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q1 Owner reports 3
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 2
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V026000
Recall campaign 1 00V314001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 00V314001

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL PRESSURE CHECK THE VEHICLE'S FUEL TANK TO DETERMINE IF IT HAS CRACKED. IF IT IS CRACKED, A NEW FUEL TANK WILL BE INSTALLED. A NEW FUEL FILLER CAP THAT DECREASES THE AMOUNT OF VACUUM INSIDE THE FUEL TANK WILL ALSO BE INSTALLED. NOTE: THE 1997-1998 SONATA FUEL TANKS HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED CRACKING. HOWEVER, AT THIS TIME, THE CAUSE FOR THE CRACKING HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED. THIS PORTION OF THE CAMPAIGN WILL BEGIN AFTER HYUNDAI HAS DETERMINED THE CAUSE AND CORRECTIVE PROCEDURE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V026000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    THIS CONTAMINATION INTERFERES WITH THE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONTINUITY AND PREVENTS THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FROM OPERATING. INOPERATIVE WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCED VISIBILITY DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE CONTAMINANTS FROM THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR CIRCUIT BREAKER CONTACTS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 48 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources