2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (7) · Electrical System (3) · Wheels (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Sonata Hybrid model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Latches/Locks/Linkages:trunk Lid:latch 2022-03-28 · campaign 22V196000 · 63,461 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020 Sonata and Sonata Hybrid, and 2019 Genesis G70 vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
Risk: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the trunk latch and replace the trunk latch base, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 221/010G.
Service bulletins (61)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2026-10-27 · 26-GI-003H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information related to the navigation and head unit software changes introduced in the 2026 2nd navigation map and software update. the changes may vary depending on vehicle type, model, and navigation system. refer to the 2026 2nd navigation map and software update key improv
Engine 2026-10-08 · 26-EM-016H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning procedure for vehicles diagnosed with this condition. all internal combustion engines consume some engine oil during normal operatio
Engine 2026-10-07 · 26-EM-015H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures for vehicles exhibiting this condition. all internal combustion engines consume engine oil as part of normal engine operatio
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DL · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn). these inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehi
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DCS · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn), that have been identified in u.s. vehicles following prior
Engine 2025-12-18 · 25-EM-007H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some elantra (cn7, cn7a), kona (os, sx2), and sonata hybrid (dn8 hev) vehicles equipped with 2.0l engines may illuminate a warning lamp for dtc p218100 (cooling system performance) related to the integrated thermal-management module (itm). follow the service procedure in this bulletin to install a s
Showing the 6 most recent of 61 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-10-01 · Electrical System“over the last 3 months at least a dozen times the 12v auxiliary battery is completely dead after parking the car outdoors for an hour or so. this poses a safety issue, especially at night because you cannot easily access the car. you have to fumble around trying to get the key hole cover off in order to use the key supplied in the fob. once you get…”
2024-08-22 · Fuel/Propulsion System“on july 15th i was driving away from work and my car suddenly stopped accelerating. i was able to get it towed to a body shop i previously had it repaired at. they said the battery system was blowing a fuse when it would become undrivable. they took it to the local hyundai dealership where they applied a new software update related to the battery m…”
2024-08-19 · Electrical System“sudden failure of the electrical system with warning that the hybrid battery was in operable. i parked the car, turned it off, reset the 12 v battery, and the car restarted and operated normally. this problem with the 12 v battery needing reset has happened dozens of times while i was parked. this is the first time it has happened while i was driv…”
2024-07-16 · Unknown Or Other“car shutdown (stops) in the highway driving 3 times last couple of weeks. - it first shows battery warning light first and car shutdown on highway driving, and slowly park the side. it restarts with jump (it is hybrid system and allows jump inside the car). - when visited hyundai kirkland wa dealership, they found that there was an error in the h…”
2023-12-27 · Engine“case synopsis: my ownership includes three hyundai hybrid vehicles: two 2020 sonata hybrids and one 2022 tucson hybrid. each of these cars has consistently manifested engineering defects, predominantly overheating, within a year of purchase. these persistent malfunctions have led to the vehicles being inoperable and beyond repair. as a result, we h…”
2023-11-15 · Unknown Or Other“my car's battery dies 2 or 3 times every week. i have to enter into the the car with the manual key that is inside the key fob then hit the 12v rest button to start my car. i have been to two hyundai dealerships and they both tell me nothing is wrong. i just picked it up a week a go and it has died twice since i picked up. i see many complaints on …”
2023-10-12 · Engine“starting in july 2023, my car has exhibited a recurring problem that seriously hampers its functionality and reliability. specifically, the car intermittently fails to respond to unlock commands from both the key fobs and the hyundai cellphone app. initially, this issue occurred infrequently, happening about once a month. however, the situation has…”
2023-10-10 · Engine“i went to work at 5 in the morning, i turned the heater for the first time after last winter. i noticed that the heater was struggling to warm the cabin. after 10 minutes driven i got an overheating alert on the dashboard. i pulled over on the freeway shoulder and it started to notice a lot of steam coming from the exhaust and a really strong coola…”
2023-08-08 · Unknown Or Other“i have a 2020 hyundai sonata limited, recently at 68,089 miles on the odometer my wife was driving and got an engine overheat light and noticed thick white smoke puffing out the exhaust pipe. i told her to pull over when she called me and have it towed to the dealer. soon after i went to the dealer to look at it because they were saying it would be…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.