2013 HYUNDAI SONATA Complaints

JUST BOUGHT A HYUNDAI SONATA 2013 THAT THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS AND I CAN'T START THE CAR. I NEED ANOTHER PERSON TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL BECAUSE IT LOCKS SO HARD. I HAVE BEEN STRANDED TWICE WHERE I NEEDED HELP. JUST TODAY I HURT MY WRIST, HAND AND ARM TRYING TO START THE CAR, IT WOULDN'T TURN NEEDED HELP. HYUNDAI WON'T STAND BEHIND FIXING IT, THEY SAY IT IS THE WAY IT IS DESIGNED. HAD IT IN SERVICE A FEW TIMES. I HAVE A CAR THAT WILL NOT RUN. AND WHEN IT DOES IT HAS THE ROUGHEST RIDE OF ANY CAR I EVER HAD, ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAYS. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM. WHAT DO WE DO? [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I HAVE NOTICED THE FOLLOWING STEERING RELATED ISSUES FROM DAY ONE OF MY PURCHASE. THIS IS NOT RELATED TO ELECTRONIC STEERING THAT IS PRESENT IN NEW CARS AS SOME DEALERS WILL CLAIM. I HAVE DRIVEN SEVERAL OTHER 2013 MAKES-FORDS, NISSAN AND TOYOTA, ALL WITH ELECTRONIC STEERING THAT DO NOT DISPLAY THESE PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. THE VEHICLE DOES NOT DRIVE STRAIGHT WITHOUT CORRECTION BY THE DRIVER. THE CAR WANDERS ALL OVER THE ROAD. STEERING DOES NOT SELF-CENTER/RETURN TO CENTER. MOST VEHICLES HAVE A CENTER SPOT ON THEIR STEERING GEAR THAT ALLOWS THE VEHICLE TO COMFORTABLY STEER IN A STRAIGHT LINE, ESPECIALLY WHEN RETURNING FROM A LANE-CHANGE OR A TURN. PULLS TO THE LEFT AND/OR RIGHT. THE VEHICLE HAS A PRONOUNCED PULL TO THE LEFT AND /OR RIGHT WHILE DRIVING, REQUIRING CONSTANT DRIVER CORRECTION. DOES NOT DRIVE STRAIGHT. AS AN OVERALL, THE VEHICLE REQUIRES CONSTANT CORRECTION BY THE DRIVER TO KEEP THE VEHICLE GOING IN A STRAIGHT LINE. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS AND STRESSFUL TO DRIVE THE 2013 SONATA. I URGE THE USDOT ET AL TO HOLD HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS FAULTY MANUFACTURING AND IMPLEMENT A RECALL THAT WILL FORCE HYUNDAI TO CORRECT THE ISSUE. THIS ACTION IS IMPERATIVE FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL HYUNDAI SONATA OWNERS. *TR

WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS AFTER YOU TURN OFF THE CAR, A FAIR PERCENTAGE OF TIME YOU CAN'T TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO START THE CAR. IT SOMETIMES LOCKS DOWN SO HARD YOU NEED TWO PEOPLE TO TURN IT. I WAS STRANDED IN 105 DEGREE HEAT TRYING TO GET MY CAR STARTED, I AM 86 YEARS OLD IF MY SON DIDN'T COME BY I WOULD HAVE HAD SERIOUS PROBLEMS. HYUNDAI VERIFIED THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL TO UNLOCK THE CAR TO START IT BUT THEY ALL DO IT. I HAVE A CAR NOW I CAN'T DRIVE. WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK. SAFETY ISSUES THAT SHOULD INSTILL A RECALL ON THIS STEERING PROBLEM. *TR

I PURCHASED MY 2013 SONATA LTD WITH STANDARD ENGINE 08/17/12. AFTER THE FIRST 300 MI OR SO I NOTICED WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED THE VEHICLE "DRIFTS", WHICH REQUIRES CONSTANT STEERING CORRECTION TO MAINTAIN A STRAIGHT LINE. THE FASTER THE VEHICLE IS TRAVELING THE MORE PROMINENT THE DRIFTING, SO AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THIS CAN BECOME TIRING, WHICH COULD CAUSE LOSS OF CONTROL MOMENTARILY, WITH SEVERE CONSEQUENCES. THIS VEHICLE IS DESIGNED WITH ELECTRIC STEERING THAT FUNCTIONS NORMALLY FOR TURNING BUT THERE IS AN INHERENT DESIGN ERROR IN THE STEERING CONTROL THAT ALLOWS THERE TO BE PHYSICAL ?PLAY? IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THIS ?PLAY? IS SIMILAR TO AUTOS THAT HAVE MANY MILES ON THEM. THEY WOULD HAVE RACK TO PINION WEAR OR BAD STEERING BUSHINGS CAUSING A GAP IN THE STEERING MOVEMENT LEFT AND RIGHT FROM CENTER. THE SONATA'S ?GAP? ALSO OCCURS WHEN THE STEERING IS OFF CENTER DURING VEHICLE TURNING AND HAS TO BE PASSED THROUGH TO KEEP THE VEHICLE ON TRACK. THE GAP ON THE SONATA IS ABOUT 1/3?. THIS CAUSES THE "DRIFT". BY CONTRAST, I ALSO OWN A 2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA WITH CONVENTIONAL POWER STEERING AND THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO PLAY IN THE WHEEL, THUS THE VEHICLE GOES EXACTLY WHERE POINTED WITHOUT DRIFT. IN VA. WHERE I LIVE, GIVEN A SCENARIO WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS OLDER AND GOING THROUGH A STANDARD ANNUAL INSPECTION, THIS STEERING ?PLAY? WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO BE REJECTED AS HAVING A SAFETY ISSUE, WHICH WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BE REPAIRED. THE NHTSA SHOULD WITHOUT DELAY REQUIRE HYUNDAI TO RECALL AND REPAIR THIS ISSUE BY REMOVING THE STEERING ?PLAY?. HOW MANY OWNERS DOES IT TAKE WHO ACTUALLY COMPLAIN BEFORE ACTION WILL BE TAKEN? I WOULD VENTURE A GUESS THAT THIS ISSUE AFFECTS EVERY SONATA OF THIS DESIGN. I NOTED THIS SAME PROBLEM BEING REPORTED IN PREVIOUS YEARS OF THIS DESIGN AFTER THE RECALL WITH SOME REPORTS DESCRIBING POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS. THAT'S A LOT OF CARS! *TR

CAN'T KEEP CAR GOING IN STRAIGHT LINE. CONSTANTLY HAVE TO CORRECT STEERING, BUT CAN'T KEEP CAR FROM WANDERING INTO OTHER LANES. THIS IS EITHER GOING TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IN CLOSE PLACES OR PROVOKE A POLICE STOP FOR DRUNK DRIVING. I NOW HAVE 3,117 MILES ON THE CAR, AND IT IS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS IS WORSE IN FLORIDA DUE TO THE 70 MPH ON INTERSTATE I 75. UNCONTROLLABLE AT LEGAL SPEEDS. FOUND THAT HYUNDAI HAD THIS PROBLEM ON 2010 MODELS. WHY DOESN'T NHTSA DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE NEW MODELS THEY ARE BUILDING. *TR

LOTS OF PLAY IN THE STEERING DRIVING AT SLOWER SPEEDS IN RURAL AREAS. ON THE HIGHWAY THE STEERING PULLS IN BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT AT DIFFERENT TIMES, NOT LIKE AN ALIGNMENT ISSUE THAT IT WOULD PULL TO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER. I CALLED MY DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPT AND THEY SAY THAT THEY HAVE NOT HAD ANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE. MY TIRES HAVE BARELY ANY TREAD ON THEM FROM 18,000 MI TO NOW WHICH IT HAS ONLY 23,000 MILES ON IT. I NEED NEW TIRES BEFORE IT WILL PASS INSPECTION. THERE IS DEFINITELY A PROBLEM! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE ENGINE RPMS INCREASED EXCESSIVELY AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 3,000. *TR

I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE AND SHUT OFF THE ENGINE WITH MY PUSH BUTTON START, WITHOUT PUTTING THE SHIFTER INTO THE PARK POSITION. THE VEHICLE ALLOWED ME TO EXIT AND THE CAR STARTED ROLLING BACKWARDS. I TRIED TO RE-ENTER THE VEHICLE TO ENGAGE THE BRAKE AND WAS KNOCKED ONTO THE PAVEMENT BY THE DRIVER DOOR. I WAS FORCED BETWEEN THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR AND THE PAVEMENT AS THE VEHICLE ROLLED PAST ME AND ENTERED TRAFFIC, CROSSED TO LANES AND WAS STOPPED BY A CURB AND A SPEED LIMIT SIGN. VEHICLE BUMPER WAS DENTED. I SUFFERED SEVERAL BRUISES, A SPRAIN, A LARGE ABRASION, AND PULLED BACK MUSCLES. WENT TO THE ER AND MISSED A COUPLE DAYS OF WORK. INJURIES DO NOT APPEAR TO BE SERIOUS AT THIS TIME. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STEER IN THE DESIRED DIRECTION AND WANDERED OUT OF LANE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN DRIVING OVER 45 MPH. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150.

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO MY COMPLAINT FILED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. JUST A HEADS UP FOR ALL OF YOU THAT DO NOT LIKE THE AWFUL STEERING SENSITIVITY OF THE 2013 SONATA GLS. I WAS ABLE TO GET MY DEALER TO CHANGE THE STEERING SENSITIVITY TO SPORT MODE WHICH THEY SAY WILL TIGHTEN IT UP. *TR