13th Jan 2020, 16:16
Oh, and the BSD part that needs replaced is a $2000 fix out of warranty (the car has two of these, so brace for when the second one goes as well). This happens on all Hyundai cars equipped with the Blind Spot Detection System.
6th Sep 2020, 15:53
Be aware that many 2.4 engines on all Hyundai cars from 2011-2019 have failed and there was a class action and recall: https://www.classaction.org/blog/what-hyundai-kia-drivers-need-to-know-about-the-758-million-engine-fire-settlement
6th Sep 2020, 16:17
About the engine recall, it actually covers all Hyundai engines from 2011-2019 on all Hyundai vehicle models (not just the Sonata). This is the PDF notice of the letter sent to Hyundai owners - whether they are the first or second owner of the car, describing the engine problem, recall, and what to do if a Check Engine light comes on and the car loses power - it seems if the owner had all engine oil change receipts and done in time, the engine block is covered by warranty up to 200,000km (125,000 miles) or 10 years. The recall number for our 2015 Sonata was R0153 (80CA08) and Transport Canada Number for the recall is 2019130.
This is the notice to owners explaining what to do if you have this problem - it's a downloadable PDF file (I hope it's OK to post this link on Carsurvey) - just copy then paste in browser address, press enter and download the PDF file.
1st Nov 2020, 22:20
Another problem: the hood struts had failed. The hood no longer stays open in cold weather.
26th Apr 2021, 16:53
The AGM battery failed with only 28000 miles. It still cranks the engine, but it only holds 12.2V. It's quite a large and expensive battery.
26th Apr 2021, 16:57
More information about the engine recall in Canada. Hyundai Canada requires from owners more frequent oil changes to honor an engine replacement under warranty. They want us to replace the engine oil every 6000 kilometers (around 3800 miles) or every 6 months, whichever comes first. You must use only the oil grades specified in the owners manual for your specific engine. And of course have all oil change bills - if you purchase a second hand Hyundai, make sure the owner has all maintenance bills.
10th May 2021, 04:47
As mentioned above, the bug AGM located right by the engine failed on us with little more than 28000 miles. If you search on forums, that's pretty much what the other owners got out of their original battery, between 3-5 years. The reason for this is the AGM battery is located right by the engine and directly exposed to engine heat. Heat is the worst enemy for an AGM battery, much more so than for the standard acid-lead batteries. The AGM batteries are very expensive to replace and the AGM battery is using a slightly higher voltage than an acid lead battery. While this particular car does not have a start/stop function, be aware that all modern vehicles with start/stop function must have AGM batteries in order to provide more cranking power for the engine.
13th May 2021, 16:49
Another update. I discovered a problem with a head gasket leak as shown in the video. I could also find coolant leaks on other Hyundai and Kia engines with very low miles on them. It seems the Hyundai quality control is quite loose at the factory.
https://www.hyundai-forums.com/threads/very-slow-coolant-loss.588233/
13th May 2021, 17:46
Original reviewer. I wanted to add that the original Kumho Solus TA31 tires have very low miles on them - less than 20,000 miles from being used only during the summer season (we put winter tires in winter), and have become too loud on long highway trips. They have correct pressure and good alignment, it's just that the noise is invasive inside the cabin. This is the very first time I'm complaining about tire noise on a car. It's not a loud noise like if you are running on all terrain tires, it's just a background noise that becomes tiring after a 30 minutes drive. It happens on all road surfaces, even on recent ones. I went to look at the insulation under the front floor carpet and while there is some material, it doesn't appear that thick and especially it doesn't cover all areas behind the wheel wells. I am going to add some sound dampening material, but it may be a good idea to replace the tires after purchasing the car - or may try to negotiate for a tire upgrade.
25th Jun 2022, 19:43
Another update. The car has now 35000 miles and no extra issues. I suggest reading on online forums about "Hyundai trunk latch failure". It's the kind of issue that will cause a lot of headache because the trunk latch fails all of a sudden and the trunk gets stuck closed and is impossible to open - owners will need to have the car at the dealership which will remove the rear seats to access the trunk from inside the car. Imagine if you are on a holiday trip. Some cars have been recalled, but not all of them.
13th Jan 2020, 15:15
What a garbage car. Now at 25000 we got a BSD system failure - this is the blind spot detection system. As we found out, the sensors inside the rear bumper (not to be confused with the parking sensors) do go bad - these are going to be expensive.
https://www.hyundai-forums.com/threads/check-bsd-system-warning.472586/
Not keeping the car after warranty. Perhaps not the worst car out there, but surely has troubles and it's going to be expensive to run. And please don't tell me we got a lemon, I found the same issues on forums from several other owners.