Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Hyundai Sonata owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Hyundai break switch, Hyundai break lights, sunroof, air conditioning break switch gone out four times. Took to savannah Hyundai to be fixed. No fix as car continually does not accelerate in the middle of nowhere - on the highway or when getting ready to pull out in front of traffic - very unsafe. I have contacted Hyundai corp concerning this issue since 2015. Savannah Hyundai service manager mike told us that we were not allowed to return for repairs because they got frustrated trying to figure out. Break light never works. Had this repaired 3 times. Savannah Hyundai put new sunroof on. Four months later it wont open or close. We have paid for everything over and over and over using our extended warranty and copays. Even if Hyundai or savannah Hyundai previously fixed something and it was even within 90 to 120 days that the repair was bad, they never offered to fix without charge. …
Last week, my power steering suddenly stopped working while driving on a city street making it very difficult to maneuver. The EPS dashboard trouble light as well as the airbag and ESC lamps all illuminated at the same time. Thankfully, there was light traffic at the time so was able to pull off to the side to regain my composure. Using extreme caution, I drove the next few miles back home carefully avoiding any sudden situations where I was forced to make sharp turns. I had an extremely hard time steering. Yesterday, I took the veh into the local dealership. After a couple of hours, they said the steering column had to be replaced and that somehow it was also causing all the other unrelated trouble lamps to light at the same time!. Approx. $1200 repair cost. The veh is 2012 with 82,000 miles. I asked if it was covered by the 100K mile warranty. They said no. …
I'm not sure if this is an engine problem. When I would take off in my car, I accelerate and after I started going, I could push the pedal all the way to the floor and it had no power, it would almost completely stall in the road. I let off gas and push again and it would regain power and drive. No check engine light came on, no low oil, no service lights at all. All of the gauges in the dash red great and everything was normal. I started my car one day and it started making this chirping noise, almost like a bird chirping when I accelerate, but once I got up in speed the chirping stopped. I then started my car and there was a clicking, ticking type noise that got worse after 2 days. I took the car to a shop and was told it needed a new engine. Again, all gauges are completely normal, no check engine light at all to warn me there might be a problem with my car and now it cant be driven. …
As I was driving home after work on Friday around 2130, I was driving on the expressway about 65-70mph when I noticed that the car was declining in speed without me letting up on the gas pedal. I was in a fair amount of traffic with a semi behind me, I pressed down further on the gas pedal to try and increase speed while looking for a way to safely get off of the expressway. The car initially did not speed back up, after approximately 10-15 seconds, it sped back up. The car did this three times during my, normally 25 minute, drive home. This was extremely scary, especially being in heavy chicago traffic. I called the dealership first thing Saturday morning and made an appointment to get it checked. The first available appointment was today, Tuesday, and I had the vehicle there at 0700. …
****buyer beware*****purchased this car in feb 2014 with only 230miles on it and in sept 2014 I pulled out of my home turned right and had no issues...although about 50 feet later I stopped at a red light on a fairly busy street with mid to high traffic, I stopped and once in motion, immediate my ets light came on the dash and my steering completely froze up and steering wheel lock up. I was in motion going about 40 MPH, not yet up to the 45 speed limit. There were cars all around me and I had to physically force my car to right with my emergency lights on. I was lucky this didn't happen on my way to get my child from school, or after. Otherwise it would have been a completely different situation. The Hyundai corporation, has refused to buy back their default death trap of a vehicle and had the nerve to offer a "month car payment". …
In July 2019 I noticed that the brake lights came on in the middle of the night, although there is nobody in the car at that time. For the next few days the brake light were tuning on even when I was not pressing the brake pedal. In the same time the electronic stability control started to take over and it refused to accelerate when I pressed the gas pedal. The only way I was able to make it work was to depress the gas pedal and then press it again. I took the car to the mechanic because it was behaving very strange. The mechanic told me that the problem is a rubber stopper that kept the break pedal in place. When it is worn, it behaves as if somebody tried to hit the break. After the problem was resolved I discovered that there is recall 136 the accurately describes my problem for my car model. I contacted Hyundai about a possible recall but I got no response.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. While operating the vehicle, the front passenger side seat belt sensor light would intermittently flash off and on although the passenger seat was unoccupied. Eventually, the front passenger side air bag sensor light would also flash off and on when a passenger was not present. The check engine light also illuminated. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the stability control ESC sensor light illuminated and the vehicle would not accelerate. After shutting the vehicle off and restarting the engine, the vehicle operated as normal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. No additional information was available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 18,000.
I have now had two major issues with my hybrid. The first was 5 months ago. My husband was driving the car on the interstate, when all of the sudden he lost power and the engen started smoking and make horrible noises. We had a rod thrown through the engine and had to replace it ($3200). Then on Friday morning I was driving to work on the interstate when I lost all acceleration and the hybrid warning system started going off. I had my mechanic look at it and he told me I will need to replace my transmission, he also said this is a know problem with the Hyundai Sonata hybrids. It is about a $4000 replacement. Please help those of us that put our trust in this vehicle and are now paying for it.
I bought my car in 2015. Recently I have been having issues with my accelerator I will be driving down the road and it just stops accelerating if I take my foot off the gas and press down again it kicks back in, it did that several times. The other day I was at a stop sign and when I turned the corner it would not accelerate, took my foot off the gas pressed back down and it went. I searched the issue and I believe it is my wastegate actuator sensor. I've read several forums that many people have this issue and I have also seen several people say that it was a recall on their vehicle. I called today and searched recalls on my car. It is not listed as a recall.
I purchased a 2012 Hyundai Sonata from smitty's auto sales in des moines iowa on 2-24-2017 and was told car had clean title and 70,000 miles. I noticed the odo said 26, and asked the dealer he said it was the trip not actual miles. I was sceptical about car so I called back the next day to see if this car had salvage title their craiglist ad said clean title which was false. I was informed it was a salvage by flood and that the air bags didn't work. I was angry asked for my money back for false advertising and auto fraud they knew air bags were not working and the vehicle had outstanding recalls and didn't disclose any of this in writing. What can I do?
Traction Control complaints in other Sonata years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2012 Hyundai Sonata?
NHTSA has 38 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2012 Hyundai Sonata, 2% of the model year's 1,558 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Hyundai Sonata traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2012 Hyundai Sonata, though it has 8 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 2012 Hyundai Sonata traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 82,000 miles, and 27% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to stability & traction control 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.