2010 Hyundai Sonata: problems, recalls and reliability
2 recalls and 345 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is structure (50% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · latest recall Aug 2013
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 345 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“I have had 3 door handles fall off in the last couple months I think this is safety concern i do not see any recalls.I do see that there is a lot of people complaining about this matter door handles should not be fallen off”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Sep 2025
“The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that upon attempting to turn the ignition key in the ignition switch to start the vehicle, the ignition switch failed to turn, and the steering wheel locked. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where the ignition switch was replaced; however, the vehicle failed to start. The mechanic determined that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The mechanic contacted the manufacturer for parts and was informed that the unknown part had been discontinued. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.”Owner report · Electrical System · May 2024
“The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel was constantly pulling to the right. The contact had to steer to the left to keep the vehicle centered. The failure persisted even after wheel adjustments had been made. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that an alignment was needed. The wheels were aligned. The manufacturer had been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.”Owner report · Steering · Mar 2023
Show 7 more owner reports
“Recently at the Hyundai Dealership in Plantation,Florida I had them repair 2 RECALLS which were the LAMPLIGHT SWITCH & CROSSMEMBER. These RECALLS were not done correctly and caused my ESC Light to come on and my car shakes while driving. I never had these items before until they worked on my RECALLS. Now the Hyundai Dealer service is refusing to fix the damage they caused. I need help right away. The RECALL repair appointment was on June 12, 2022 and had them check the RECALLS again on August 29, 2022. My car is still at the Hyundai Service in Plantation, Florida.”Owner report · Engine · Jun 2022
“I have several recalls on my vehicle and the dealership only scrub and they did not replace the crossmember and other parts. I need help to see if this is OK”Owner report · Exterior Lighting · May 2022
“Front subframe corrosion, cross member is rusted through at the weld line for the front sub frame. Discovered during annual safety inspection”Owner report · Suspension · Apr 2022
“In the last three months, both driver's side door handles have fallen off/broken. In the first incident (sept 2020), the driver's side rear door handle broke off the car when I tried to open the door. In the second incident (nov 2020), the driver's side front door handle remained on the car but broke so that it no longer functions. Both incidences occurred when the vehicle was stationary. It is unknown why the door handles broke; I did not use excessive force nor was there any indication of a problem prior to these incidences.”Owner report · Structure · Nov 2020
“My car check engine light is on for a while.it's yellow solid light seen on my car dashboard.I went repair center and he advice and changed my car vent valve and light goes out for some days and again appear. I change my car gas cap too but it didn't work. I spent a lot of money to fix that.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Oct 2020
“Last month, the door handle to the door behind the driver seat was broken. When I tried to open my door, it did not open. That is in the picture attached. On saturday, I opened my driver's door and the door handle broke in my hand. Now I have only tow doors that I can open. I looked online and many people are having issues with the hyundai sonata. I feel like customers should not pay for this because this a known safety issue. When this happened, my car was parked. I am going to hyundai to get this repaired because I am scared that I will not be able to get in my car if all the handles gets like this.”Owner report · Structure · Sep 2020
“Car has only 77,000 miles and was well maintained. On august 27, I had driven the car late afternoon, parked. Later after a couple of hours when I went to start it, it would not start, jump start did not work. Mechanic replaced the starter and still would not start. He checked the engine and told me that the engine has seized. I took it to the hyundai dealer who confirmed that engine has seized. I contacted hyundai as the complaint is similar to other car engines that seized when driven between 60,000 and 90,000 miles. Hyundai motors is not willing to fix this major issue.”Owner report · Engine · Aug 2020
When filing, owners marked a crash in 19 of these complaints and injuries in 19 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 2 campaigns
Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Sonata vehicles manufactured March 1, 2005, through January 21, 2010; and model year 2006-2011 Azera vehicles manufactured September 27, 2005, through November 22, 2010 originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. Road salt and water can enter portions of the rear crossmember, leading to corrosion of the crossmember steel. This may lead to detachment of one of the rear control arms.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will repair or replace the crossmember assembly. The recall began on October 8, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai Customer Care Center at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall number is 113.
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. The safety recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 110.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2010 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Sonata by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2010 Hyundai Sonata reliable?
NHTSA has 345 owner complaints and 2 recall campaigns on record for the 2010 Hyundai Sonata. The most complained-about area is structure (50% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2010 Hyundai Sonata problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 66,000 miles or less.
Does the 2010 Hyundai Sonata have open recalls?
2 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning suspension:rear. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.