AutoUtility currently tracks 163 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Hyundai Sonata. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 84 complaints (51.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 9 filings cite a crash, 6 cite a fire, 7 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 163 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (84 reports • 51.5% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Exterior Lighting (18), Fuel & Propulsion System (13)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 9 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 7 injury filings • 0 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
163
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
9
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
6
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
7
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2019 Hyundai Sonata

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

#1 Problem Area 51.5% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

84 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🔥 4 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 11% of complaints

Exterior Lighting

18 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report
#3 Problem Area 8% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

13 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 1 fire report
#4 Problem Area 8% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

13 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🩹 4 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 8% of complaints

Electrical System

13 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 2 fire reports
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 2019 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 & Cooling 9.2% of complaints

Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak

15 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Powertrain & Transmission 2.5% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

4 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 2019 Hyundai Sonata

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

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11757693
Filed: 08/18/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced severe overheating and excessive oil consumption. The contact also stated that there was a misfire in the engine even though the spark plugs and ignition coils were..."

Incident Date: 07/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11757665
Filed: 08/18/2026

"The oil is low, went to get looked at by another mechanic besides Dealer cause they want to hit you over the head with prices. Was told car burning oil. Took to dealer for Oil Consumption Test. Had to pay for oil change. Came back a little before 1,000 miles and car failed. They charging me 900.00..."

Incident Date: 07/07/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11756831
Filed: 08/13/2026

"On January 26, 2026, my 2019 Hyundai Sonata SEL suddenly became inoperable overnight. The vehicle had been operating normally with no warning signs—no check-engine or oil-pressure light, abnormal engine noise, overheating, loss of power, or other indication of an impending failure. The following..."

Incident Date: 01/26/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11755086
Filed: 08/05/2026

"Vehicle stalled in traffic due to recall defect. Manufacturer recall remedy is delayed beyond reasonable timeframe, creating ongoing safety exposure."

Incident Date: 07/31/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11752343
Fire Cited Filed: 07/23/2026

"The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, smoke started coming from the hood and the vehicle was pulled over into a parking space. While opening the hood, the contact saw that fire was coming from the top of the engine. The contact stated..."

Incident Date: 07/16/2026 • 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 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 378 18 1 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Hyundai Sonata Current Page 163 9 0 Current
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 2019 Hyundai Sonata

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 42 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 55 0 3 1 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 16 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14 1 0 1 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 8 4 0 3 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 7 0 1 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 4 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 4 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 3 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,LANE DEPARTURE 2 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 2 1 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 1 0 1 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 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 (163). 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 (3)

3 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.
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 #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.