AutoUtility currently tracks 1192 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 622 complaints (52.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 38 filings cite a crash, 50 cite a fire, 26 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 1192 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (622 reports • 52.2% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (190), Powertrain & Transmission (140)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 38 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 50 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 26 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
1192
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
38
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
50
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
26
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
1
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2015 Hyundai Sonata

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 52.2% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

622 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 3 crash reports 🔥 34 fire reports 🩹 7 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 15.9% of complaints

Electrical System

190 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🔥 16 fire reports 🩹 10 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 11.7% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

140 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 4 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 8.7% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

104 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 13 crash reports 🔥 7 fire reports 🩹 11 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 7.3% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

87 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🔥 5 fire reports 🩹 4 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Hyundai Sonata

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 6.7% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

80 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 2.6% of complaints

Engine Stalling / Sudden Shutdown

31 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 2% of complaints

Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak

24 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Fuel & Propulsion System 0.7% of complaints

Fuel Pump Failure / Fuel Leak & Odor

8 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Steering System 0.6% of complaints

Steering Sticking, Binding or Assist Loss

7 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Hyundai Sonata

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11759964
Filed: 08/27/2026

"Engine locked up, crank bearing failure, found out there is known failures with this problem and Hyundai had a class action suit against them in the past and issued lifetime warranty for this engine due to this problem. Took car to local dealer, Clay Cooley in Sherman TX, they have been great but..."

Incident Date: 07/28/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11759071
Filed: 08/24/2026

"I bought this car new in 2015, when I was at 97000 miles they had to replace the motor and turbo, I am now at 155844 and they are telling me that basically all 4 cylinders have low compression, cylinder 3 is the worst. They are telling me that this car has to have a new motor. I have not done..."

Incident Date: 07/21/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11757985
Filed: 08/19/2026

"Issue- fuel pump/supply line causing fuel to leak and fuel smell around the outside of the car. This can cause a major fire, explosion, death for myself and others around me. Problem has been confirmed by auto repair shop. No warning messages on car dash board, just strong smell of gas. Replaced..."

Incident Date: 08/03/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11757315
Filed: 08/16/2026

"Brake lights not working properly."

Incident Date: 08/16/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SERVICE BRAKES
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11755866
Filed: 08/10/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the vehicle lost power, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be..."

Incident Date: 06/29/2019 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Hyundai Sonata

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Hyundai Sonata Current Page 1192 38 12 Current
2016 Hyundai Sonata 850 23 8 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Hyundai Sonata 840 29 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Hyundai Sonata 378 18 1 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Hyundai Sonata 163 9 0 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Hyundai Sonata 189 5 4 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Hyundai Sonata 182 8 4 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Hyundai Sonata 110 8 3 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Hyundai Sonata 100 8 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Hyundai Sonata 54 1 1 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Hyundai Sonata 27 1 0 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Hyundai Sonata 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2015 Hyundai Sonata

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 177 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 398 2 20 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 79 0 6 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 43 3 0 4 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 40 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 37 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 35 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 35 0 3 1 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 29 4 1 3 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 28 1 0 1 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 25 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 19 0 1 1 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 17 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 16 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 15 0 3 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 14 1 0 3 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 13 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 12 4 0 4 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 4 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 11 0 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 10 0 3 3 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 10 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 8 2 2 1 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8 0 2 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 7 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 7 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 7 0 0 1 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 7 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 7 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 6 0 2 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 0 1 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 6 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 5 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 4 1 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 2 1 0 2 2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
EQUIPMENT,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 1 0 2 0
SEAT BELTS,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
SEATS,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2 0 1 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 2 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 3 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 1 0 0
ENGINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
PARKING BRAKE,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 2 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 1 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,STRUCTURE,WHEELS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,SEATS,FIRERELATED 1 0 1 0 0
STRUCTURE,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 1 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SEAT BELTS,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (1192). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (6)

1 OPEN 5 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Audit Query (AQ) ODI Action #AQ23002
Opened: 2023-11-17 • Currently Active

Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires

Affected Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions fo...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07

Pedestrian alert sounds

Affected Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 22V063000 Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22003
Opened: 2022-09-12 • Closed: 2023-12-12

Loss of Motive Power

Affected Component: ENGINE

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021. The Petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experienc...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA21003
Opened: 2021-12-22 • Closed: 2024-02-05

Engine Fires

Affected Component: ENGINE

On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles.  During the PE investigations, Hyundai and Kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, including those due to engine failures involving variou...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 23V877 Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP21003
Opened: 2021-11-12 • Closed: 2023-06-20

Throttle control system vulnerabilities

Affected Component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:THROTTLE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated October 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (ETC) system on certain Kia vehicles resulting in the opening of DP21-003. Accordingly, Model Year (MY) 2005-2016 Kia Optima/K5, MY 2006-2015 Kia Sorento, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Elantra, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Santa...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA19001
Opened: 2019-04-19 • Closed: 2024-09-19

Electrical overstress

Affected Component: AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (AC...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 20V024 Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.