2004 HYUNDAI SONATA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 200 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: SUSPENSION (45 complaints · 22.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 22
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 31
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2003 →
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 SUSPENSION appears in 45 of 200 owner complaints (22.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. SUSPENSION: 45 complaints, 22.5% of reports SUSPENSION 45 · 22.5% AIR BAGS: 35 complaints, 17.5% of reports AIR BAGS 35 · 17.5% · 10 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 32 complaints, 16.0% of reports STRUCTURE 32 · 16.0% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 11 complaints, 5.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 5.5% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 9 complaints, 4.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 · 4.5% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports WHEELS: 9 complaints, 4.5% of reports WHEELS 9 · 4.5% POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 4.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 4.0% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 7 complaints, 3.5% of reports ENGINE 7 · 3.5% FUEL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 3.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 7 · 3.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 77 complaints, 38.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 77 · 38.5% · 9 crash 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)
SUSPENSION 45 22.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 35 17.5% 10 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 32 16.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 11 5.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 9 4.5% 1 crashes · 1 fires
WHEELS 9 4.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 4.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 7 3.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 7 3.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 77 38.5% 9 crashes · 0 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 2004; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2009. 2004-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2009-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2015-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2004 Apr 2026 Recall campaign 09V124000 ◆ Recall campaign 09V124000 Investigation EA08016 ● Investigation EA08016
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2004-Q3 Owner reports 3
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 3
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 4
2008-Q4 Owner reports 4
2009-Q2 Owner reports 7
2009-Q3 Owner reports 8
2009-Q4 Owner reports 6
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q3 Owner reports 6
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 3
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 3
2012-Q1 Owner reports 3
2012-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q1 Owner reports 4
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 5
2014-Q2 Owner reports 4
2014-Q3 Owner reports 7
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 6
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 5
2015-Q4 Owner reports 4
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 7
2016-Q4 Owner reports 5
2017-Q1 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 5
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 5
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 2
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 2
2023-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
2026-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 09V124000
Defect investigation 1 EA08016
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09V124000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THAT HAPPENS, THE VEHICLE MAY LOSE DRIVE POWER TO THE WHEELS, AND THE FRONT WHEEL MAY MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FENDER OR WHEEL WELL, THEREBY INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL MEASURE THE THICKNESS OF THE FRONT SUB-FRAME AND INSPECT THE FRONT SUB-FRAME FOR CORROSION DAMAGE AND, IF NECESSARY, THE FRONT SUB-FRAME WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW SUB-FRAME THAT INCORPORATES ADDITIONAL HOLES IN THE UPPER AND LOWER PANELS. IF THE FRONT SUB-FRAME DOES NOT REQUIRE REPLACEMENT, THE DEALER WILL ADD DRAINAGE HOLES TO THE SUB-FRAME AND WILL TREAT THE SUB-FRAME WITH RUST-PROOFING MATERIAL TO STOP THE CORROSION PROCESS. THIS PROCEDURE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE HYUNDAI CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.
    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 200 complaints · page 1 of 8

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