2016 HYUNDAI SONATA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 871 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (426 complaints · 48.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 23
  • Fires 31
  • Injuries 20
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2015 →
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 ENGINE appears in 426 of 871 owner complaints (48.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 426 complaints, 48.9% of reports ENGINE 426 · 48.9% · 14 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 55 complaints, 6.3% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 55 · 6.3% · 4 crash reports 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 49 complaints, 5.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 49 · 5.6% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 34 complaints, 3.9% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 34 · 3.9% · 3 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 33 complaints, 3.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 33 · 3.8% · 3 crash reports 3 fire reports STEERING: 32 complaints, 3.7% of reports STEERING 32 · 3.7% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 26 complaints, 3.0% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 26 · 3.0% · 5 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 22 complaints, 2.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 22 · 2.5% STRUCTURE: 22 complaints, 2.5% of reports STRUCTURE 22 · 2.5% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 183 complaints, 21.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 183 · 21.0% · 8 crash reports 8 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)
ENGINE 426 48.9% 0 crashes · 14 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 55 6.3% 4 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 49 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 34 3.9% 0 crashes · 3 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 33 3.8% 3 crashes · 3 fires
STEERING 32 3.7% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 26 3.0% 5 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 22 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 22 2.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 183 21.0% 8 crashes · 8 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 Jan 2016. 2016-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2017-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2017-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2018-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2018-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2019-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2019-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2019-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2019-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2020-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2020-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2020-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2020-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2021-Q1: 42 owner reports 42 2021-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2021-Q3: 20 owner reports 20 2021-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2022-Q1: 45 owner reports 45 2022-Q2: 34 owner reports 34 2022-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2022-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2023-Q1: 44 owner reports 44 2023-Q2: 51 owner reports 51 2023-Q3: 41 owner reports 41 2023-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 2024-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2024-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2024-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2024-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2025-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2025-Q2: 32 owner reports 32 2025-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2025-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2026-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2026-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2026-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 Owner reports Jan 2016 Jul 2026 Investigation PE16010 ● Investigation PE16010 Investigation EA19001 ● Investigation EA19001 Investigation EA19001 ● Investigation EA19001 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2016-Q1 Owner reports 3
2016-Q2 Owner reports 7
2016-Q3 Owner reports 8
2016-Q4 Owner reports 15
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q2 Owner reports 12
2017-Q3 Owner reports 13
2017-Q4 Owner reports 10
2018-Q1 Owner reports 9
2018-Q2 Owner reports 11
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 14
2019-Q1 Owner reports 18
2019-Q2 Owner reports 18
2019-Q3 Owner reports 13
2019-Q4 Owner reports 18
2020-Q1 Owner reports 13
2020-Q2 Owner reports 10
2020-Q3 Owner reports 18
2020-Q4 Owner reports 22
2021-Q1 Owner reports 42
2021-Q2 Owner reports 18
2021-Q3 Owner reports 20
2021-Q4 Owner reports 35
2022-Q1 Owner reports 45
2022-Q2 Owner reports 34
2022-Q3 Owner reports 38
2022-Q4 Owner reports 21
2023-Q1 Owner reports 44
2023-Q2 Owner reports 51
2023-Q3 Owner reports 41
2023-Q4 Owner reports 30
2024-Q1 Owner reports 25
2024-Q2 Owner reports 18
2024-Q3 Owner reports 14
2024-Q4 Owner reports 15
2025-Q1 Owner reports 17
2025-Q2 Owner reports 32
2025-Q3 Owner reports 25
2025-Q4 Owner reports 22
2026-Q1 Owner reports 22
2026-Q2 Owner reports 17
2026-Q3 Owner reports 5
Defect investigation 1 PE16010
Defect investigation 1 EA19001
Defect investigation 1 EA19001
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 871 complaints · page 1 of 35

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 Aug 21, 2026
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