Hyundai Sonata 2020–2025
8th generation (DN8)
NHTSA data through 13 August 2026817 complaints, 135 with mileageMethod
A DO NOT DRIVE recall covers part of this generation — check the VIN before driving it home.
- Reports with mileage
- 135
- Median of reported failures
- 15,000 mi
- Most-reported system
- Fuel and propulsion system (15.4%)
- Recalls
- 9
Before-you-buy checklist ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
On this generation, 47% of complaints that record mileage fall within the first 12,000 miles, against 1 reports per 1,000 miles between 20,000 and 80,000.
Figure 1 · Hyundai Sonata 2020–2025 · 135 reports with mileage
Mileage at failure
Complaints per 20,000-mile bin, 0 to 200,000 miles, equal bins on a linear scale. Tallest bar = 79 complaints.
- First 12,000 miles — 47% of all failures
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 10%
- 449
- 25%
- 1,400
- Median
- 14,698
- 75%
- 50,000
- 90%
- 89,000
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–20,000 | 79 | 58.5% |
| 20,000–40,000 | 10 | 7.4% |
| 40,000–60,000 | 16 | 11.9% |
| 60,000–80,000 | 8 | 5.9% |
| 80,000–100,000 | 14 | 10.4% |
| 100,000–120,000 | 4 | 3.0% |
| 120,000–140,000 | 2 | 1.5% |
| 140,000–160,000 | 2 | 1.5% |
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain. Complaint counts reflect what owners reported and are not a measure of failure rate per vehicle sold.
What this can and cannot tell you: these are complaints owners chose to file, not a failure rate. Popular models accumulate more of them simply by being common. How this is built.
Owners filed 817 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020–2025 Hyundai Sonata, and 135 of them record the mileage at which the failure happened. That is enough to show not just what fails, but when.
47% of complaints that record mileage fall within the first 12,000 miles, against 1 reports per 1,000 miles between 20,000 and 80,000. Failures clustered that early usually indicate a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear.
The most-reported areas are the engine (14.7% of complaints, typically around 15,000 miles), the transmission and driveline (11.4% of complaints, typically around 15,000 miles), the fuel system (4.3% of complaints, typically around 76,000 miles).
9 recall campaigns cover this generation. 1 of them carry a severe NHTSA advisory.
If you arrived asking “is it reliable?” — this page answers the version of that question the data can support: which problems owners reported, and at what mileage.
How many miles does a 2020–2025 Hyundai Sonata last?
Half of the failure reports on the 2020–2025 Hyundai Sonata were filed by 15,000 miles and 90% by 89,000 miles — figures drawn from 135 NHTSA complaints that record an odometer reading, so they time reported failures, not the cars whose owners never filed one.
Before you buy a 2020–2025 Sonata: the 3-minute check
Generated from 135 mileage-tagged complaints, 9 recall campaigns, 2 documented problem areas. Print this page — the checklist survives print.
- Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. 9 campaigns cover this generation; an open recall is a free repair you can make the seller's problem.
- Check brakes / electrical on 2020–2021 cars. ABS hydraulic control unit can short internally and ignite while parked; subject to recall with an interim instruction to park outdoors.
- Check anti-theft on 2020–2021 cars. Trims without an engine immobilizer are trivially hot-wired, producing a large theft loss pattern and insurer refusals. Hyundai issued a software countermeasure rather than a recall.
- Complaint reports are not spread evenly across model years here — see the by-model-year table below before you settle on a year.
- End with a pre-purchase inspection of this car. Aggregate data describes the population; the example in front of you has its own history.
For a buyer, an early-failure pattern is comparatively good news on a used example: 47% of the reported failures occur in the first 12,000 miles, which on a car of this age means they have already happened or they were never going to. Service history matters more than mileage here.
On inspection, the engine and the transmission and driveline are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. The engine in particular shows a median failure mileage of 15,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
What fails, and when
Figure 2 · Hyundai Sonata 2020–2025
When each system fails
Bar spans the middle half of reports; the notch inside each bar is the median. Miles at failure on a proportional scale — equal distances are equal ratios, not equal miles.
- Body structure32 reports1,500520–47,000Body structure: 32 reports, median 1,500 miles, middle half 520 to 47,000 miles.
- Engine120 reports15,0002,000–47,000Engine: 120 reports, median 15,000 miles, middle half 2,000 to 47,000 miles.
- Transmission and driveline93 reports15,0002,000–21,000Transmission and driveline: 93 reports, median 15,000 miles, middle half 2,000 to 21,000 miles.
- Fuel system35 reports76,00050,000–92,000Fuel system: 35 reports, median 76,000 miles, middle half 50,000 to 92,000 miles.
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it in “Where your car sits”
Ordered by median mileage, earliest first. The first 12,000 miles are shaded: that is the boundary this site uses between a manufacturing defect and ordinary wear, not a property of the world.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel and propulsion system | 126 | 15.4% | — | — |
| Engine | 120 | 14.7% | 15,000 | 2,000–47,000 |
| Electrical system | 98 | 12.0% | — | — |
| Transmission and driveline | 93 | 11.4% | 15,000 | 2,000–21,000 |
| Problems owners could not categorise | 86 | 10.5% | — | — |
| Forward collision avoidance | 49 | 6.0% | — | — |
| Fuel system | 35 | 4.3% | 76,000 | 50,000–92,000 |
| Body structure | 32 | 3.9% | 1,500 | 520–47,000 |
| Throttle and speed control | 31 | 3.8% | — | — |
| Seats | 20 | 2.4% | — | — |
Where your car sits
Failure reports by the odometer reading they were filed at. Pick the anchor nearest your car — or type the exact mileage: your marker lands on this curve and on the timing chart above.
Figure 3 · Hyundai Sonata 2020–2025 · 135 reports with mileage
Share of reports below each mileage
Share of mileage-tagged reports filed at or below each odometer reading. Steps rise only at bin edges, by exact counted shares.
- 60,000 mi — 78% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 97% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it below
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
At 60,000 miles
78% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Engine — median 15,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 15,000 mi
- Body structure — median 1,500 mi
In the reporting window
- Fuel system — middle half 50,000–92,000 mi
At 90,000 miles
91% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Engine — median 15,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 15,000 mi
- Body structure — median 1,500 mi
In the reporting window
- Fuel system — middle half 50,000–92,000 mi
At 120,000 miles
97% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Engine — median 15,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 15,000 mi
- Fuel system — median 76,000 mi
- Body structure — median 1,500 mi
Which systems, and when
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 14,698 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
The engine accounts for 14.7% of complaints (120 reports, 19 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 15,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 2,000 and 47,000 miles.
The transmission and driveline accounts for 11.4% of complaints (93 reports, 19 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 15,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 2,000 and 21,000 miles.
The fuel system accounts for 4.3% of complaints (35 reports, 28 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails late — a median of 76,000 miles, considerably beyond the vehicle's overall median. That pattern is consistent with normal service life rather than a defect, though it matters for anyone buying an example already near that mileage. The middle half of these reports falls between 50,000 and 92,000 miles.
Body structure accounts for 3.9% of complaints (32 reports, 11 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails early — a median of 1,500 miles, well before the vehicle's overall median. Failures clustered this far below the rest of the car usually point to a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear, because wear does not selectively target one system on low-mileage examples. The middle half of these reports falls between 520 and 47,000 miles.
Differences between model years
Within this generation, complaint volume is not constant across model years. The 2020 model year drew the most — 263 complaints — while 2025 drew the fewest at 20. The median year sits at 141.
The first year of the generation, 2020, sits above the median. That is a common pattern — early production of a redesigned vehicle tends to surface problems that later years do not repeat — and it is worth weighing when choosing between years.
Recalls and what they cover
NHTSA records 9 recall campaigns covering vehicles in this generation. A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator concluded there was a safety defect or a standard was not met, and that a free remedy is owed to owners — including second and later owners.
1 of these carry a severe advisory — NHTSA's do not drive or park outside warnings, which the agency applies only when it considers the risk immediate. If you own one of these vehicles, that is the first thing to check by VIN.
The campaigns cluster around the fuel system (2), the transmission and driveline (2), the exterior lighting (1). Repeated recalls against the same area of the car generally mean the first remedy did not fully resolve the underlying problem.
Recall status is specific to the individual vehicle, not the model. Checking a VIN against NHTSA's lookup is free and takes under a minute, and it is the only way to know whether a particular car has had the work done.
Reported severity
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 817 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 51 (6.2%)
- Fires
- 3
- Injury reports
- 16
- Fatality reports
- 0
These flags are self-reported by complainants and unverified by NHTSA; one report can carry several flags, so the counts overlap and do not sum to a total. They are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. No chart is drawn here on purpose: overlapping counts spanning very different magnitudes cannot be honestly encoded as lengths.
Documented problems
Brakes / Electrical 2020–2021
ABS hydraulic control unit can short internally and ignite while parked; subject to recall with an interim instruction to park outdoors.
Anti-Theft 2020–2021
Trims without an engine immobilizer are trivially hot-wired, producing a large theft loss pattern and insurer refusals. Hyundai issued a software countermeasure rather than a recall.
By model year
| Year | Complaints | With mileage |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 263 | 72 |
| 2021 | 179 | 27 |
| 2022 | 142 | 16 |
| 2023 | 140 | 12 |
| 2024 | 73 | 7 |
| 2025 | 20 | 1 |
Recalls (9) — is your car included?
Mar 2026 · 2020–2023 · Fuel System, GasolineA melted fuel tank can leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Sonata vehicles. A damaged check valve can allow air to enter the fuel tank, causing it to expand and contact hot exhaust components, melting the tank.
What can happen. A melted fuel tank can leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
The free fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the check valve. The fuel tank assembly will be inspected for damage and replaced if necessary. Additionally, dealers will inspect and update the engine control unit software. All repairs will be performed as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning March 13, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 286. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 19, 2025.
Sep 2024 · 2024 · Exterior LightingFlashing brake lights may cause confusion for other drivers on the road, increasing the risk of a crash.
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024 Hyundai Sonata vehicles. The software for the brake lights may cause the brake lights to flash and not illuminate properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
What can happen. Flashing brake lights may cause confusion for other drivers on the road, increasing the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Dealers will update the rear brake light software, free of charge. Additionally, Hyundai will release the software update over-the-air (OTA). Owner notification letters were mailed September 12, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 267.
Sep 2023 · 2023 · Power Train park outsideAn electric oil pump assembly that overheats increases the risk of a vehicle fire.
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Palisade Tucson, 2023 Sonata, Elantra, and Kona vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump controller to overheat.
What can happen. An electric oil pump assembly that overheats increases the risk of a vehicle fire.
The free fix. Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting September 7, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 246.
Jan 2023 · 2021–2022 · Power TrainLoss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The defect. Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.
What can happen. Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.
Jun 2022 · 2021 · VisibilityA windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash.
What can happen. A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
The free fix. Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
May 2022 · 2020 · Latches/Locks/LinkagesA person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
The 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."
What can happen. A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
The free 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.
Sep 2021 · 2021–2022 · Fuel System, GasolineA fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe and Sonata vehicles equipped with 2.5L turbocharged engines. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the high-pressure fuel pump and fuel rail.
What can happen. A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
The free fix. Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 207.
Jun 2020 · 2020 · Electrical SystemUnintended vehicle movement increases the risk of a crash.
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020 Nexo and Sonata vehicles. The Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA) software may fail to prevent vehicle movement upon detection of an RSPA system malfunction.
What can happen. Unintended vehicle movement increases the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the RSPA software, free of charge. The recall began June 3, 2020. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 191.
Apr 2020 · 2020 · EquipmentThe incorrect tire information may mislead the vehicle owner to install the wrong tire size, potentially…
The defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020 Sonata vehicles produced between October 22, 2019 and February 13, 2020. The tire pressure label inside the driver's door and the owner's manual state an incorrect tire size. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
What can happen. The incorrect tire information may mislead the vehicle owner to install the wrong tire size, potentially affecting vehicle handling, increasing the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will install new label stickers over the tire pressure label and in the owner's manual, free of charge. The recall began April 22, 2020. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 190.
What owners reported
Vehicle abruptly stopped in a traffic signal without giving any indications what so ever. When tried to restart it stalled pretty badly causing excessive vibrations. This had just 1900 miles on it. Vehicle didn't have any mil or any visible information about the issue. It created a huge traffic pile up due to the peak…
2020 · Engine
The contact leased a 2020 Hyundai Sonata. The contact state that the radar in the vehicle interacted with the radar in Ford vehicles. While parking in a parking spot there was a beeping sound detected. While at a stoplight with a vehicle in front to the side, the radar engaged when a Ford vehicle drove up. The contact…
2020 · 6 miles · Forward collision avoidance
The vehicle's fuel gauge (type c) does not accurately adjust for changes in the amount of gas in a timely manner. It normally takes 2-3 days for the gauge to move to full tank even though it is full. Same problem from 1/4 to 1/2 tank, etc. For example, i noticed the panel said i had 11 miles to empty on friday. The…
2020 · 449 miles · Electrical system
Built from 135 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-08-18 · open data · reproduce this page