Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Hyundai Sonata owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the accelerator pedal became stuck and was unable to reduce speed while depressing the brake pedal or shifting into neutral. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder and place the vehicle into the park. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence where it was awaiting diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000. Consumer stated vehicle was inspected by contractor investigator.
On 5/30/23 while in traffic I pressed the brake to slow down and the car kept moving forward. I pressed the brake all the way down and I was still unable to stop the car from accelerating. I rear-ended the vehicle in front of me. My car is currently being inspected by a mechanic that my insurance company recommended.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. After the vehicle was shifted into reverse and the brake pedal was depressed, it experienced unintended accelerated. The contact stated that the vehicle did three rotations before crashing into three vehicles. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.
I was at a complete stop at a red light, with my foot securely on the brake, when my car engine revved, accelerated on it's own, and then lunged into the car in front of me. There were no injuries or damages but I am anxious and nervous about this safety issue happening again without warning.
On March 9th, 2015, I was driving home from work after picking up my infant daughter from daycare when several warning lights illuminated on the dashboard of my 2006 Hyundai Sonata; the airbag, ABS, and ESC off warning lights. In preparation for the upcoming left turn into my neighborhood, I tapped the brake pedal to disengage the cruise control and coast to the intersection. The cruise control did not disengage. I applied more pressure to the brake pedal to slow down, but upon releasing the brake the vehicle returned to the set cruise speed. I now applied as much pressure as I possibly could to the brake pedal and the cruise control set light did not disengage. The Sonata downshifted and revved up to 4K RPM attempting to overpower my braking. At this point it was too late to avoid the intersection. …
I was driving home and slowed to let someone in front of me turn left into a grocery parking lot. The car suddenly started surging mad I could not stop it with the brake pedal all the way to floor. However, I did hit the car in font of me, with no damage to her car. I had popped the front right side of the bumper on my car. So we went on with our business when she found no damage to her vehicle. I had to turn the car off to stop the car from moving. I called the dealer glenn Hyundai and told them of the incident, they in turn told me this would be nearly impossible for this to happen! It did happen!! They called me after receiving the vehicle via tow truck and told me the throttle was dirty and needed to be cleaned. So I told them go ahead and then about half hour later they called and said the car needed a throttle position assembly replaced. …
Sudden unexpected acceleration with no power brake. Acceleration of vehicle on it's own. When in park and neutral vehicle idles fine and power brakes work. With foot on brake and placing the vehicle in drive or reverse it accelerated immediately to uncontrollable speeds with no foot on the gas pedal. At the same time you lose power brake and it is impossible to control unless the driver puts the vehicle in neutral, then power brake engages and acceleration stops. This happened to my daughter's car on 4/24/18. Thankfully there was no accident. I also tested the car and it is uncontrollable. Experienced no problems or warnings prior to this. No check engine light before or after this incident. I had the car towed to my auto repair shop. Got the car on the lift and put it in drive. It immediately accelerated on it's own and reached 80 miles per hour quickly. …
The first thing I noticed was the engine was dying when I came to a stop at a red light, with the engine idling, the car in drive and my foot on the brake. I started to put the car in neutral when I had to come to a stop, so the engine wouldn't sputter, and then back in drive when I wanted to go. After about a day or 2, the engine started revving when I put it in drive or reverse, and the brake wasn't strong enough to stop the car. I took it to my Hyundai dealer, who said it needed a new transmission (specifically torque converter). I took it to a transmission shop, which rebuilt the transmission. But the car was still revving when it was put in drive and idling, with the brake on. The transmission shop researched the problem, which took about a month, and found that the control module had malfunctioned. …
Tl* - while driving up a hill at a speed of 30 MPH, the contact was applying the brake pedal to slow down, but the accelerator pedal became stuck, causing the engine to roar loudly. The vehicle accelerated unexpectedly and the contact tried to apply the brake pedal, but the pedal would only go down approximately an inch. The contact continued to apply brake pedal with both feet, but with no results. At this point contact went to the middle lane of the road changing the vehicle from automatic transmission to manual mode. The contact down shifted from 5 to 4 gear while the engine was still revving . At this point contact turn the ignition off, but the engine didn't go off causing the contact to rear end another vehicle at a speed of 30 MPH. Twice before this accident, the contact experience the battery losing power to the vehicle. …
On this date it was unusually cold weather for our state at a high of 7 degrees plus wind chill ("the polar vortex"). I was leaving for work and had let my car run for about 5 minutes before beginning to drive. I was not even a quarter of a mile away (actually only about a street over) from my home when I stopped at a red light. There was an SUV in front of me. When the light turned green and the SUV in front of me began to drift slightly forward, I did the same. When I went to put my foot on the gas pedal to drift forward at the pace of the SUV in front of me, it abruptly accelerated. There was about 5 feet in between the SUV and my car, but I was unable to stop fast enough and rear ended the SUV in front of me. There was minor damage, however this was completely unavoidable and unnecessary. …
NHTSA investigations
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
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.
Acceleration complaints in other Sonata years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2006 Hyundai Sonata?
NHTSA has 39 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, 4% of the model year's 1,047 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Hyundai Sonata acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2006 Hyundai Sonata acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 107,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 13 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.