AutoUtility currently tracks 378 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Hyundai Sonata. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 199 complaints (52.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 18 filings cite a crash, 13 cite a fire, 10 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 378 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (199 reports • 52.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (62), Powertrain & Transmission (41)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 18 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 13 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 10 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Hyundai Sonata
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Fuel & Propulsion System
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 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.
Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Hyundai Sonata
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Since I had Service Campaign 9C2 completed, the car hesitates to start, does a mini-lurch upon cold start and runs rough. Two weeks ago, it was put in park, lurched backwards, then died. The starter and battery have been replaced but this has not helped. The car ran fine before this update was done."
"The paint on all parts of the car is completely coming off down to bare metal. It’s as if the car wasn’t prepped to receive paint. Every Hyundai I pass that’s white the paint is coming off. There is also an internal engine oil leak where I’m losing 4qts of oil a week."
"I recently had the 9C2 Emissions recall update performed on my car, and since the update my car drives like total garbage after a cold start. It hesitates to accelerate, it bucks when trying to accelerate, and it’s to the point the engine is about to stall. I took it back to the Hyundai dealership..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and was diagnosed with an inoperable low-pressure fuel pump. The contact was informed that the low-pressure fuel..."
"The lower aluminum engine oil pan developed a structural hairline fracture ("micro-crack") directly along the factory casting ridge adjacent to the drain plug. The component failed without any external impact, road hazard, scraping, or underbody damage. The failure was officially confirmed and..."
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 | 1192 | 38 | 12 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Hyundai Sonata | 850 | 23 | 8 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Hyundai Sonata | 840 | 29 | 4 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Hyundai Sonata Current Page | 378 | 18 | 1 | Current |
| 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 → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Hyundai Sonata
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 77 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 | 118 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,ENGINE | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STEERING,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,TIRES,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FIRERELATED | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,SEATS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 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 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Pedestrian alert sounds
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...
Loss of Motive Power
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...
Electrical overstress
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...
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.