2021 HYUNDAI SONATA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 180 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (36 complaints · 20.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 14
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2020 →
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 36 of 180 owner complaints (20.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 36 complaints, 20.0% of reports ENGINE 36 · 20.0% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 31 complaints, 17.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 31 · 17.2% FUEL SYSTEM: 26 complaints, 14.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 26 · 14.4% POWER TRAIN: 22 complaints, 12.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 22 · 12.2% VISIBILITY: 10 complaints, 5.6% of reports VISIBILITY 10 · 5.6% FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 8 complaints, 4.4% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 · 4.4% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 3 complaints, 1.7% of reports STRUCTURE 3 · 1.7% LANE DEPARTURE: 2 complaints, 1.1% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 1.1% STEERING: 2 complaints, 1.1% of reports STEERING 2 · 1.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 66 complaints, 36.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 66 · 36.7% · 6 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)
ENGINE 36 20.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 31 17.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 26 14.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 22 12.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 10 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 4.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 3 1.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 2 1.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 1.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 66 36.7% 6 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 Jan 2021; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 2021. 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2023-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2023-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2024-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2024-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2024-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2025-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2025-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2025-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2026-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2026-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2026-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 Owner reports Jan 2021 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 21V524000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V524000 Recall campaign 21V00M000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V00M000 Recall campaign 22V746000 ◆ Recall campaign 22V746000 Recall campaign 25V796000 ◆ Recall campaign 25V796000 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 21V00M000 was reported 277 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 22V746000 was reported 69 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q4 Owner reports 6
2022-Q1 Owner reports 4
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 4
2022-Q4 Owner reports 8
2023-Q1 Owner reports 9
2023-Q2 Owner reports 10
2023-Q3 Owner reports 8
2023-Q4 Owner reports 11
2024-Q1 Owner reports 6
2024-Q2 Owner reports 10
2024-Q3 Owner reports 13
2024-Q4 Owner reports 7
2025-Q1 Owner reports 13
2025-Q2 Owner reports 9
2025-Q3 Owner reports 8
2025-Q4 Owner reports 9
2026-Q1 Owner reports 17
2026-Q2 Owner reports 12
2026-Q3 Owner reports 10
Recall campaign 1 21V524000
Recall campaign 1 21V00M000
Recall campaign 1 22V746000
Recall campaign 1 25V796000
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 21V00M000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 21V524000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 207.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 22V746000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 25V796000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A melted fuel tank can leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and replace the check valve. The fuel tank assembly will be inspected for damage and replaced if necessary. Additionally, dealers will inspect and update the engine control unit software. All repairs will be performed as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning March 13, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 286. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 19, 2025.
    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 180 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