2006 HYUNDAI SONATA Complaints

WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH, I NOTICED THE WHITE LINE ON RIGHT SIDE OF ROAD CURVE SHARPLY INWARD TOWARD VEHICLE. THIS STARTLED ME. AT FIRST I THOUGHT THE ROAD CURVED, THEN IT MADE ME DIZZY. THOSE TWO FEELINGS LASTED ABOUT 5 SECONDS TOTAL, MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME TO CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. IT TURNS OUT THE WINDSHIELD HAS VISUAL DISTORTIONS ALONG THE LOWER AND SIDE EDGES. I HAVE NOTICED THIS EFFECT IN ANOTHER SONATA AS WELL. *JS

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT-REMAINS ON. SEPARATELY THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT SENSOR LIGHT FLASHES UNTIL THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT IS CONNECTED-CINCHED. MY AUTO MECHANIC REPORTS THAT HYUNDAI VEHICLES HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE SEAT BELT CONNECTION SENSOR. ANOTHER MECHANIC REPORTS THAT A DEFECTIVE SEAT OCCUPANT SENSOR MAY BE DEFECTIVE. BOTH MECHANICS ADVISE THAT THIS SHOULD BE A HYUNDAI SAFETY RECALL. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT I HAVE HAD DEFECTIVE AIR BAGS SINCE PRIOR TO 10/8/12 AT WHICH TIME I REPORTED TO HYUNDAI MOTORS USA AND A LOCAL DEALER THAT THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINS ON. HYUNDAI MOTORS USA AT THAT TIME DENIED RESPONSIBILITY. HYUNDAI MOTORS TODAY 7/23/12 CONTINUED TO DENY RESPONSIBILITY. THIS NOW HAS COME TO SPECIAL ATTENTION AS THE VEHICLE, REGISTERED IN VERMONT, DUE TO THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINING ON, WILL NOT PASS NEW VERMONT INSPECTION REGULATIONS. A COMPLAINT TODAY HAS ALSO BEEN FILED WITH HYUNDAI MOTORS USA; CASE #[XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

MY CAR STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS IN MAY THAT WHEN I LOOK THEM UP, ARE LISTED AS ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN RECALLED BY HYUNDAI YET WHEN I CONTACTED HYUNDAI THESE WERE NOT OPEN RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE. MY ABS/ESC LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF. IF I TURN MY CAR OFF AND RE-START IT THEN THE LIGHT WILL BE GONE, ONLY TO COME ON AGAIN AT SOME POINT WHEN I'M DRIVING. I JUST GOT NEW BRAKES IN JANUARY AND MY BRAKES SEEM TO BE WORKING FINE. THE ONLY TIME I WAS CONCERNED WAS DURING A ROAD TRIP WHEN THE LIGHT WAS OFF, BUT CAME ON WHEN I SLAMMED ON MY BRAKES ON THE HIGHWAY. MY AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AROUND THE SAME TIME THE BRAKE LIGHT STARTED CONSISTENTLY COMING ON. THIS LIGHT DOES NOT GO AWAY. I HAVE ALSO BEEN TOLD THAT I HAVE A BACK BREAK LIGHT THAT IS OUT YET WHEN I TOOK IT TO GET A NEW BULB IT WAS WORKING JUST FINE. THEN THE NEXT DAY WHEN BACKING UP, I COULD SEE MY CAR'S REFLECTION IN A WINDOW AND THAT LIGHT WAS OUT, INDICATING SOME SORT OF ELECTRICAL SHORT. TO TOP IT ALL OFF, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TODAY AND I WILL BE TAKING MY CAR IN THIS AFTERNOON TO SEE WHAT THAT IS. MY CAR IS UP TO DATE ON ALL MAINTENANCE. IN THE LAST 7 MONTHS I HAVE HAD NEW BRAKES, NEW SPARK PLUGS, AND A NEW BATTERY. I'M NOT SURE WHY THESE LIGHTS ARE ON BUT IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING TO SEE RECALLS FOR SOME OF THESE ISSUES, AND THEY JUST AREN'T ON MY CAR SPECIFICALLY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER WHILE TURNING RIGHT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT WATER GOT ONTO THE STEERING BELT AND CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT FELT THAT THERE WAS MORE OF AN ISSUE BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE OUT OF DRIVE AND INTO PARK WHEN THEY ATTEMPTED TO PARK. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 25,651... UPDATED 08/15/12 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE BATTERY LIGHT ILLUMINATED AS WELL. UPDATED 08/21/12

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG SENSOR MALFUNCTIONED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE DEFECTIVE AIR BAG SENSOR COULD PREVENT THE AIR BAG FROM DEPLOYING IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. ALSO, THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHEN A PASSENGER HAD THE SEAT BELT BUCKLED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THE DEALER RESET THE CODES TO THE AIR BAG SENSOR, BUT THAT DID NOT REMEDY THE FAILURE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE AIR BAG SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,000. UPDATED 08/27/12

WHILE ON HIGHWAY, DASH BOARD AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED IN EARLY APRIL. DID NOT GO OUT. TOOK IT TO DEALER IN EARLY MAY, THEY GAVE ME A CODE B1448. SAID NEEDED TO HAVE $2200 REPAIR DONE. FOUND TECH SERVICE BULLETIN ON LINE THAT GOT THE SEAT REPROGRAMMED IN MID-MAY AT DEALER COST. "FIX" WAS TO REMOVE SEAT AND SEND IT BACK FOR REPROGRAMMING. EARLY JUNE: NOW, BOTH DASH AIR BAG LIGHT AND FLASHING PASSENGER SEAT LIGHT ARE ON WHEN NO ONE IS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. ONLY WAY TO GET THE FLASHING TO STOP IS TO HOOK THE SEAT BELT. SECOND VISIT TO DEALER DOCUMENTED THAT CODE IS THE SAME FOR THE DASH LIGHT. NO EXPLANATION FOR PASSENGER LIGHT. NO PATH FORWARD FROM HYUNDAI CORPORATE, ACCORDING TO DEALER. NOW WHAT?. *TR

SUNVISOR BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER RETENTION CLIPS GAVE OUT. SUNVISORS NOW HANG DOWN AND WONT STAY IN PLACE. THE DEALER AND HYUNDAI REFUSE TO FIX A DESIGN DEFECT. *TR

I JUST HAD TO GET THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT BUCKLE REPLACED BECAUSE THE CHECK AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ON. I'VE SEEN MANY OTHER REPORTS SIMILAR TO THE ONE I'M REPORTING HERE. A YEAR AND A HALF AGO I HAD TO GET THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT BUCKLE REPLACED FOR THE SAME ISSUE. I WAS TOLD THAT WITHOUT GETTING THESE REPLACED WHEN I DID THE AIR BAG WOULD NOT DEPLOY, WHICH IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. SEARCHING NHTSA FOUND QUITE A FEW SIMILAR REPORTS, AND SEARCHING THE INTERNET FOUND A TON MORE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A DEFECT IMPACTING THE SAFETY OF AT LEAST THIS CAR'S MAKE AND MODEL AS THE AIR BAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY, AND POTENTIALLY OTHER MAKES OR MODELS (I ONLY CHECKED MY OWN). I URGE THE NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE DUE TO THE FREQUENCY OF COMPLAINTS AND THE IMPACT TO THE PASSENGERS' SAFETY. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THE VEHICLE BEING OPERATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THEY WERE NOT OBLIGATED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE AND REFERRED HIM TO THE DEALER WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO ASK FOR A DISCOUNT ON REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 66,000.

AIRBAG LIGHT ON DASHBOARD WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL HYUNDAL DEALER SHOP . THE TECHNICIAN PERFORMED DIAGNOSTICS AND FOUND THAT OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) IN PASSENGER SEAT WAS DEFECTED. TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THIS CAN BE FIXED BY REPLACING A WHOLE PASSENGER SEAT, WHICH WILL COST ABOUT $1100. I DON'T SEE WHY I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT DUE TO WEAR. 85% OF THE TIME, PASSENGER SEAT IS NOT IN USE. I FIND IT CURIOUS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS EXACT PROBLEM, ON THIS MODEL, AND THAT THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED FOR MANY AT BETWEEN 50K AND 75K MILES. PLEASE INVESTIGATE! *TR