The driver side seat belt wont click and stay in almost half the time i drive my car… after reading other complaints its looking like this is a common thing. Within the past year ive noticed lots of times that when im going to lock my car with my fob, it wont lock and its because the passenger side lock button on the inside of door is in a stuck between lock/unlock position… resulting in me having to lean over to manually unlock the door even when I’ve unlocked my car with both the fob and inside button… all the sudden i noticed too that my speed control will not work at all and be completely unresponsive most times. It will RANDOMLY work when i try checking it on highway. ive had SO many issues with my taillights going/burning out constantly and now my headlights have gotten really dim. Im scared to drive at night now. They are much more dimmer than a cars should look like usually. Within the past week i just noticed a random big crack in the dashboard on the passenger side as well… noticed that seems to be a common thing and concern of safety with lots of others who own and drive this same vehicle… my first thought was “what if this crack will effect the airbag and make it deploy?” The crack is literally right over and above where the airbag is… plan on trying to take my car to place on OKC that did the anti-theft system software update on my car… but my car has gotten so bad when driving ill be lucky if it makes it there in one piece. My car has started to shake SO bad when im driving!!! Almost “jumping” at times it feels like. This car has been a pretty good car but when there are MULTIPLE complaints of the SAME issues that continuously keep costing us money and its not because of our doing and in fact the manufacturers FAULTY equipment and parts that they used to make these cars… they should most definitely be doing recalls and fixing these problems at no cost!
2012 Hyundai Sonata acceleration problems
84 complaints (5% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 57,000. 9 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 84
- of this car's complaints
- 5%
- typical mileage
- 57,000
- crashes
- 9
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Accelerator pedal4
- Cruise control1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Hyundai Sonata acceleration problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Hyundai Sonata acceleration
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the federal safety agency received a petition letter dated October 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (ETC) system on certain Kia vehicles resulting in the opening of DP21-003. Accordingly, Model Year (MY) 2005-2016 Kia Optima/K5, MY 2006-2015 Kia Sorento, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Elantra, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Santa Fe, MY 2006-2015 Hyundai Sonatas are all part of the subject population. The petition was originally filed as a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire that can be reviewed at under reference (ODI) number 11439675.On November 12, 2021, ODI opened Defect Petition DP21-003 to evaluate the petitioner?s request. ODI performed trend analyses of the VOQs related to vehicle speed control issues for all the subject vehicles and found that none of the 52 Model/Model Year Hyundai/Kia vehicles demonstrated any actionable trend that warranted an investigation.Petitioners submitted 1119 VOQs and non-VOQ cases in which sudden uncommanded acceleration (SUA) or loss of motive power (LOMP) incidents were alleged.For the 1119 reports, 220 were incidents involving crashes, from which 69 subject Hyundai-Kia vehicles were inspected by Hyundai/Kia dealer technicians, Hyundai/Kia engineers, and/or third-party representatives.ODI found the inspections identified no vehicle defects related to the ETC system.Of the 220 crash-involved reports, 13 Event Data Recorder (EDR) records were downloaded successfully and 11 of those indicated driver error: (i.e.) pedal misapplication.A condition where the accelerator pedal is mistakenly applied instead of the brake pedal when the driver wants to stop the vehicle.In addition, ODI reviewed a scientific journal paper published in Forensic Science International in 2016 by Mr. Park et al ., as well as related test videos. ODI does not believe there is any evidence of uncontrollable SUA occurrences in any of the tests reviewed. the federal safety agency's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) reviewed the allegations regarding the potential noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 124.Based on the information provided, the Agency concludes there is insufficient information for us to determine if a possible non-compliance exists.Finally, both Hyundai and Kia informed ODI that all their vehicles manufactured after 2012 were equipped with an ETC management system, in which the engine speed will go to idle when the system sees signals from both the brake pedal and accelerator pedal at the same time; this is commonly known as the brake-throttle override system.After thoroughly assessing the material submitted by the petitioner, information already in the federal safety agency's possession, information submitted by Hyundai and Kia in response to an Information Request letter, and the potential risks to safety implicated by the petitioner's allegation, the federal safety agency does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. After full consideration of appropriate factors, the petition is denied. A Federal Register Notice (FRN) further detailing the federal safety agency?s reasons for denial of the petition will be published.
DP21003
What 2012 Hyundai Sonata owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. The passenger's side front tire was extremely hot. The contact stated that the RPM increased to high, and the vehicle lost motive power while driving. The contact stated that while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle was slow to respond. There was an abnormal electrical burning odor detected. The vehicle was hard to start. The contact stated that the check engine and ABS warning lights were illuminated. On several occasions, the vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to retrieve any DTC trouble codes. The bearing was fine but was replaced at the owner's request. The mechanic test-drove the vehicle for five hundred miles but was unable to duplicate the failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the ECM was fried. The ECM was replaced, but no update was provided. Additionally, the mechanic informed the contact that the wiring harness had a short circuit and that the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the the passengers side tail light failed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the tail light needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however the failure reoccurred and was taken back to the independent mechanic where they stated the harness had melted and advised that he go to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the passenger's side tail light harness was charred and deformed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer for a second time where it was informed that the harness or housing had been scorched and the tail light socket melted. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the accelerator had been depressed but the vehicle was slowing down. The contact managed to drive home safely. The following day the vehicle did not start. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic where it was confirmed that the battery failed due to the tail light being illuminated all night. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.
Daughter was driving her car on interstate, doing 75, in the middle of traffic when the car would jerk and then loose power. The gas petal stopped working and the check engine light would come on. She had to make her way over to the shoulder, without causing an accident. Once car gets shut off and you wait a few minutes, you can start it and drive it home. This has happened about 4 times now. We are lucky that this hasn't caused an accident! This last time (yesterday), the check engine light stayed on and we were able to hook up the dianostic reader and it read the code for the crankshaft positioning sensor A circut. It says online that this is a common problem with that car and is very dangerous. How is this not up for a recall? My daughter is scared to drive her car.
When I start the vehicle in the morning I leave the neighborhood going around 15mph and the car loses power. I have to let off the gas completely then reapply but it still continues to studder. I applied the slapstick sift mode and noticed it does this in first and fourth gear. In automatic you can’t see it
Driving on a freeway when check brake warning appeared. Car speed dropped down to drastically. Alarm was chirping and brakes made a bad grinding noise
B pillar separated from the frame during collision causing catastrophic intrusion into the cabin upon impact leading to death of the driver. No other occupants in the vehicle. Multiple investigators noted the B pillar failure upon inspection. Independent, certified crash reconstruction expert also noticed immediately that the B pillar had failed which caused cabin intrusion to an extraordinary degree considering the 2 vehicles involved were going less than 40mph. Vehicle is available for inspection. In addition, edr data reveals that although throttle was engaged, rpm's remained at idle up to the time of impact. Driver pushing on the gas and vehicle not responding.
The car starts alarming out of nowhere while driving at 70 mph on the interstate and the Hybrid System Warning - Safely Stop and Do Not Drive along with the wrench, battery light and engine light all appearing on the dashboard to pull over and do not drive when this occurred I lost total control of the vehicle. The brake peddle goes all the way to the floor enabling me to stop and I lost the ability to steer the vehicle as the power steering went out as well while this was happening. I almost got killed as I was on the highway driving at 70 mph. I immediately put on my hazards lights to signal to other drivers that I was having mechanical problems. Thank GOD I was able to pull over without anyone hitting me from behind. I have had major major issues with this car since I purchased it the engine seized up on me in the same manner back in 2020 and the engine was replaced. Then there was an issue with the transmission and that was also replaced. Then the brake booster also failed and had to be replaced as well. Hyundai aught to be ashamed of the production of this vehicle as it is truly a severe risk to the lives of the consumers not just the person who is driving this vehicle but also to those who may be behind someone driving as this could cause a major accident and people could be killed. These cars need to be recalled and they need to get down to what is causing these issues in order to fix the problem. I pray that you all make Hyundai do a recall on this vehicle as I have googled and see that there has been many others that have encountered these same issues. I am filing this complaint in hopes of you all getting involved to do something about this. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.
Approx july 2022 My sonata began to malfunction, first the steering wheel buttons stopped working intermittently off and on unable to turn on and set cruise control, unable to use hands free phone options as well as unable to navigate cluster features, as the time goes on the problem gets worse and eventually do not function ever. I replaced the steering wheel buttons which fixed the issue temporarily only now the vehicle will engage cruise control, accelerate dramatically and continue to gain speed. I am unable to disengage cruise control via the brake pedal, or cancel option or steering wheel. If I depress the brake pedal it will begin to decelerate but once I let off the brake pedal the engine will revv high and gain speed again. Buttons begin to function in a reverse order meaning press cancel, cruise turns on, press set button, cruise will set, press set button cruise will disengage etc. The only way to disengage cruise and rapid acceleration in this dangerous scenario is to Press the on off cruise control button. Immediately stopped vehicle had it towed to dealership, they stated that they could not replicate the problem, however their diagnosis for the problem was due to incorrect brake fluid put in the vehicle and suggested to completely replace the entire brake system of the vehicle I declined as I felt that was not the problem in fact bizarre diagnosis. Only hyundai dealership has ever put any brake fluid in my vehicle... this is completely dangerous as when vehicle suddenly accelerated I was unable to turn it off I almost rear ended a vehicle on the freeway going 70 mph. I no longer feel safe in the vehicle and it sits collecting dust while I make monthly payments.
I purchased my 2012 Hyundai Sonata on 4-7-22. The car has had no mechanical work, no accidents and has less than 1000 miles. On 9-16-22 i was driving my car home and was less than five minutes away on the highway. My car began to decelerate, I attempted to stop at a red light but my car would not give me control and the brake was rock solid and would not push down. I also could not turn the car off via the start button as the car would not let me. My engine ESC light came on the dashboard in red and the engine completely halted. To get to safety as i was on the highway with oncoming traffic i steered the car to the right on the ramp .I exited the vehicle as it began to smoke ,i thought it would catch fire so i moved far away and called my boyfriend for help and a tow truck to get the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to College park Hyundai 9500 Baltimore Ave., College park, MD 20740.I looked up my car and noticed there are recalls for this engine and a few other recalls as i told the dealership. The car is currently being inspected and the dealer said they would get back to me. Once the service department received the car they told me the recall most likely will not effect my vehicle. I don't believe that to be true and i was put in danger because of this engine issue with Hyundai.
Questions about the 2012 Hyundai Sonata acceleration
Does the 2012 Hyundai Sonata have acceleration problems?
Owners have filed 84 complaints about the acceleration of the 2012 Hyundai Sonata, 5% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2012 Hyundai Sonata acceleration problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 57,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Hyundai Sonata acceleration?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Hyundai Sonata have the most acceleration problems?
The Hyundai Sonata model years with the most acceleration complaints are 2011 (95 complaints), 2013 (86 complaints) and 2012 (84 complaints).
Other 2012 Hyundai Sonata problems
Engine 578Steering 301Electrical 235Airbags 170Brakes 158Lights 141Fuel system 117Transmission 97Seat belts 75Driver assistance 49Body 39Suspension 36Wheels 27Visibility 22Tires 12Seats 5Locks 1
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