Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Hyundai Sonata owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Passenger side sun visor suddenly rotated down and will not stay up. This blocks drivers view. A few weeks prior to total failure, the visor would not stay completely up but was only about 10 degrees down. There is a plastic tube with a metal tube inside which the visor pivots on. The plastic tube is broken allowing it to hang straight down. If/when the same breakage occurs on the drivers side it could cause an accident due to blocking vision.
The driver side sun visor on my 2008 hyundai sonata is defective. The visor will not stay up and hangs down obstructing the drivers vision. This is a serious safety issue! This seems to be an issue on many 2008 hyundai sonatas The only recall is for 2006-2007. Yet this dangerous issue is happening on other years. Please resolve this
While driving on the expressway, the sun visor fell in front of my face, impeding visibility. Fortunately, this did not result in a crash, but it could have. Now, the visor will not stay up. This defect is significant enough that there is a campaign for it, but it applies only to certain regions of the country. Visiting online forums, this appears to be a very common problem, even in locations that are not covered by the campaign. This campaign needs to be extended. This is clearly a safety issue but is being treated as a cosmetic issue.
Sun visor problems - driver's side sun visor fell to a downward position and would not hold any position adjustment, not even all the way up. Made driving unsafe because it impaired visibility. Hyundai replaced it under warranty. About a year later, the same thing happened with the sun visor on the passenger side. With the vehicle out of warranty, I had to purchase the part for nearly $100 and replace it myself. This should definitely be a safety recall, thankfully it didn't happen in dense traffic.
The driver side and passenger side sun visors both dropped to a downward position and will not hold thier place so they block view of road. The driver side dropped while driving which caused momentary inability to view the road. After reading other compliants this doesnt appear to be isolated and Hyundai should solicit a recall of these visors as they impair the drivers ability to see the road. This event happened randomly with no warning and I would consider a safety hazard.
The passenger sun visor will not stay up, at all. The driver side will suddenly fall and it's very unpleasant to suddenly not be able to see while driving. They are ridiculously expensive to replace ($200.00) and my understanding is that this is quite common with Hyundai vehicles. This has happened to me while driving on city streets. I have had the vehicle approx. 6 months and it has happened about 5 times. It really is startling. I'm really glad I wasn't on a freeway.
I hit a minor bump in the road, the sun visor suddenly dropped down in front of my face - blocking the view of the road. I pushed it back up into its normal "resting" location. Upon hitting another bump in the road it swung down again in front of my face. This is the second sun visor in this vehicle to do this. This one started failing around 10/1/2016, and is still doing so.
The headlights on my car are angled too low while using low-beams and the visibility at night is bad. This has been an issue for the entire time I have had this car and I am now aware that I can file a complaint against it. High-beams seem to function OK.
Driver side visor impairs visibility significantly. The visor hangs down in drivers view and stays there. We have hit our head on the visor many times, which hurts and causes more distraction from driving. We have not had luck in fixing it and do not have money to replace it due to job loss and high monthly payments. When I sit in the front passenger side, I get the "passenger airbag off" light which comes on randomly and I am way over the limit in weight for it to happen. I have sat correctly and still do as told by my dealer. (which was told to me was the cause of the light on/off randomly). The ESC light comes on right after starting to drive ex. Letting off emergency brake, and placing in 1st gear. This continues for several weeks maybe a month or more, then will randomly go away. …
I have a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. The sun visors continue to fall down or sag. I've had both visors replaced within the last year and half. Luckily, my car was still under warranty. However, they have failed again since then, and now my Sonata is out of warranty (I have exceeded 60K miles). My research shows that the visor tension rod loses tension over time and eventually fails resulting in visor sag. Obviously this is an ongoing problem because the replacement visors haven't been re-engineered, this according to a Hyundai rep. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see the hazard here -- the visor can block the driver's view or worse scalp you if in an accident. What does Hyundai do? They check your warranty status and replace it with same defective part, or worse, if out of warranty, they offer to sell you a replacement at $85.00. Really!! …
Window & Wiper complaints in other Sonata years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2008 Hyundai Sonata?
NHTSA has 96 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2008 Hyundai Sonata, 23% of the model year's 425 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2008 Hyundai Sonata window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2008 Hyundai Sonata, though it has 3 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 2008 Hyundai Sonata window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 57,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to windows, wipers & sunroof 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.