1996 Hyundai Sonata
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Have the VIN?
Vehicles › Hyundai › Sonata › 1996
These records cover every 1996 Hyundai Sonata. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 1996 Hyundai Sonata. Newest first.
The windshield wiper motor circuit breaker electrical contacts were contaminated during assembly.
Risk and remedy
Risk
This contamination interferes with the electrical circuit continuity and prevents the windshield wiper motor from operating. inoperative windshield wipers can contribute to reduced visibility during inclement weather increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Dealers will remove the contaminants from the windshield wiper motor circuit breaker contacts.
Owner complaints
23 complaints1 deaths
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Air bags
A consumer?s five year step daughter was killed by the air bag that deployed in a 5 mph collision accident. The consumer indicated that the air bag was defective, this report was written in by clarence ditlow, executive director for the center for auto safety, 202-328-7700, 1825 connecticut ave nw, ste 330, washington, dc 20009. *yh
- Air bags
While traveling on highway and without prior warning airbag light appeared on dashboard. dealership IS aware of problem.*ak
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline
My engine quite at a light. there was no warning, the car had been running fine. it had been about 4,000 miles since my last oil change. *ak
- Structure › Body › Door · Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer › Motor
Front passenger door handle broke. nlm
- Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
Door lock would keep locking on its own. When either in or out of vehicle locks would either keep driver/passenger in/or locked out. Had door locks repaired 5 times, but problem keeps reappearing. Mechanic indicated to bring it in when it happens, but it's not resolved. Dealer urged consumer to take vehicle to another dealership for repairs. *ak
- Electrical system › Alternator/generator/regulator · Equipment › Electrical › Radio/tape deck/cd etc. · Power train › Automatic transmission · Power train › Axle assembly · Visibility › Defroster/defogger/hvac system
When driving on the highway at 65 mph transmission stopped changing gears, causing vehicle to decelerate, and losing all power. Consumer has contacted dealer. dealer replaced transmission. Also, having other problems with the starter and alternator. *ak axle broke , defrost malfunctions and cassette player failed. *yh
- Power train › Automatic transmission · Vehicle speed control
Car wants to lurch forward when stopped at a trafic light .new transmission in car . Problem still appears.*ak
- Electrical system › Alternator/generator/regulator · Steering › Hydraulic power assist › Power steering fluid
The power-steering pump s leaking down into the alternator, and shorting it out. dealer looked at it three times and replaced the high psi line going into the pump, as well as the crush washers. that was accomplished the second time it happened. the third time they replaced the high psi line…
The power-steering pump s leaking down into the alternator, and shorting it out. dealer looked at it three times and replaced the high psi line going into the pump, as well as the crush washers. that was accomplished the second time it happened. the third time they replaced the high psi line again, and it occurred three more times and they told us there was nothing that they could do because the vehicle was out of warranty. therefore we have replaced the alternator three more times to correct the problem. i, the owner, built a guard over the alternator to prevent the fluid from leaking into the alternator. since then we have had no problems, but it took the engineering of myself to fix the problem. *ak
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Vehicle has been back to auto repair center for the same reoccurring problem at least 10 different times. Car cuts off at cruise speeds car/ bucks and restarts, car dies when you turn corners at low speeds and you must put car in nutrel to restart. *Ak
- Electrical system › Ignition › Switch
Ignition switch short-circuited.
- Power train › Automatic transmission
Transmission has failed two times.
- Air bags
The vehicle has been serviced 3 times in the last year because the air bag warning light continued to come on. One of the air bags was replaced, but the air bag warning light continues to come on. The vehicle will be serviced the 4TH time for the same problem. *ak
- Equipment › Appliance › Air conditioner
Air conditioning compressor failed.
- Structure › Body
Water leaks from underhood into the inside of the vehicle. Cause unknown. please give any further details. *ak
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
When the brakes are applied the vehicle shimmies and shakes . the dealer has not been able to correct the problem. The manufacturer has been notified. *ak
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline · Equipment › Appliance › Air conditioner
Vehicle would stall every time a/c IS used. Dealer notified and the problem still has not been resolved at this time. *ak
- Suspension › Front
Vehicle would vibrate while driving. As soon as consumer shifted from park to drive, the vehicle would start to vibrate. Dealer notified. *ak
- Electrical system › 12v/24v/48v battery
Consumer experienced battery blowing up while sitting in vehicle and the engine was idling. Consumer heard a loud noise, look under the hood and found the battery in pieces. dealer notified. *ak
- Exterior lighting › Tail lights
Consumer experiencing problem with right tail light failure. Bulb would last eight month or less. dealer notified and replacing bulb at the cost to consumer.*ak
- Unknown or other
Consumer experiencing problem with engine check light intermittently coming on. Vehicle been in/out of dealer shop and problem cannot be resolved. Dealer notified. *ak
- Electrical system › Ignition · Engine and engine cooling › Engine · Power train › Automatic transmission · Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components · Tires
Valve cover gaskets failed.
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline · Power train › Manual transmission · Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Transmission, brake, engine, and air conditioner failure.
- Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline
When vehicle IS driven 65mph and turns corners the car stalls. Owner would have to put the car in neutral to start it up again. the car has been to the dealer for repair, and there IS still stalling. *ak
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10230904This bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to the accumulated moisture in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (DRL), or fog lamp. This TSB illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. Lamp assembly replacement is NOT necessary in most cases. This condition can be eliminated by turning on the lamps with the engine running for several minutes or during normal driving operation.
- 10189989This bulletin provides the inspection procedure and repair guidelines for certain vehicles listed below.
- 10183963This bulletin describes the procedure to inspect and identify fluid which may appear around the brake caliper area.
- 10183960This bulletin provides tire vibration service procedures, including how to optimize vehicle vibration performance. For all wheel/tire balance claims, the Tire Balance Data Sheet must be fully completed including imbalance and Road Force Variation (RFV) data. The Data Sheet can be found at the end of this bulletin.
- 10178175This bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to moisture accumulation in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (DRL), or fog lamp. The TSB illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. Lamp assembly replacement is NOT necessary in most cases. This condition can be eliminated by turning on the lamps with the engine running for several minutes, or during normal driving operation.
- 10176182This bulletin provides information on tire maintenance best practices and procedures for dealers and customers to maximize tire life and performance.
- 10176178This bulletin describes the general guidelines to help disinfect and protect vehicle exterior/interior surfaces using recommended safe chemical products.
- 10174808This bulletin provides information on identifying dealer stock vehicles with either: A Battery SOC alert - low Battery State of Charge (SOC) at or below 50%. A 30 Day alert - vehicle has not started and reported an SOC in 30 days.
- 10174807The automatic transmission warranty repair policy authorizes in-dealership repairs of the following components for both OEM (new) and remanufactured automatic transmissions:
- 10173546This bulletin describes the general guidelines to disinfect and protect vehicle interior surfaces using certain safe chemical products.
- 10172142This bulletin describes the requirements for all wheel alignment and/or vehicle tracking claims and best practices when diagnosing and conducting alignment-related repairs for all models and model years.
- 10170883This bulletin provides guidelines to inspect the USB, head unit, and multi-box for common connection conditions. 2. This bulletin presents guidelines to inspect for common Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connection conditions. 3. This bulletin provides physical differences between the USB 2.0 port and USB 3.0 port.
- 10169370The Blind Spot Detection (BSD) or Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW) is a system that measures the speed of and distance from the following vehicles by using two magnetic wave radar sensors attached in the rear bumper. The BSD/BCW detects vehicles within the blind spot zone and gives off an alarm (visual and audible). The two magnetic radar sensors provide these functions for BSD/BCW: ? Senses other vehicles in the BSD/BCW zone and turns on the BSD/BCW warning lamp for the driver. The warning lamp starts blinking, along with an audible sound, when the driver turns on the turn signal lamp to enter the lane where another vehicle is driving.
- 10167253This bulletin provides instruction detailing the proper methodology for scanning and uploading captured GDS data files to the Techline Repository. Compliance with this bulletin ensures that the GDS data files are correctly transferred and matched with a Techline Case number.
- 10082725This bulletin provides information on components, attributes, and precautions of the 7-speed dry-type dual clutch transmission (dct).
- 10040957Hyundai: all sonata hybrids. Brake bleeding procedure.
- 10020878Exhaust gas recirculation (egr) system diagnosis.
- 10003225Pre-conditions for readiness monitors.
- 10000710Obd-ii readiness test drive cycle.
- 633884Subject regarding diagnostic guide for clifford and dei security system.
- 631997Information on exhaust gas recirculation. *Slc
- 605660Information concerning fault codes caused by the transaxle tester.
- 605659Experiencing mild engine surge at highway speeds.
- 605658Customer may experience harsh shifting under various conditions.
- 604210Subject on airbag repair kit part numbers.
- 604011Information on fuel injector configuration.
- 601635Shop manual on DOHC spark plug wire routing.
- 601628Vehicles may experience a wind noise in the area around the right
- 54312Throttle position sensor and idle switch adjustment procedure.
- 54311Modified transaxle control modules.
- 54309Subject pertaining to the crankshaft and camshaft position sensor location.
- 54161Provided procedures for the installation of a block heater.
- 54113Shop manual correction on cylinder head bolt torque specification.
- 52649Audio system connector replacement.
- 52648Idle speed control actuator (shop manual correction).
- 51905Shift condition caused by short circuit in inhibitor switch.
- 51903Throttle position sensor adjustment procedure.
- 51894Modified transaxle control modules.
- 51307The cylinder head torque sequence for in-line 4 cylinder engines noted in the listed shop manuals IS incorrect.
- 51304Recall 97v-026 - the windshield wiper motor thermal switch circuit contact points must be cleaned on certain hyundai vehicles which fall into the following prodution ranges to correct a possible intermittent interruption of wiper operation- a wiper motor service kit (part #00305-cmp00-30) will be sent to each dealership containing the supplies required to perform this procedure- each kit can service up to ten (10) vehicles- additional kits can be ordered from your facing pdc- model/production date range: accent 3/04/96 through 10/18/96- elantra (sadan & wagon) 11/20/95 through 10/18/96- sonata 12/18/95 through 10/18/96- tiburon through 10/18/96- 97v-026.
Every Hyundai Sonata model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.