Engine failure driving on the freeway. Many of the clusters in the dash suddenly lite up, check engine light also multiple warning lights.Suddenly vehicle would not accelerate. Feels like my life as well as my passengers were put at risk. Cars suddenly passing us at freeway speeds. As I pulled to the shoulder of cars were very close to hitting ours. Then when we pulled over we saw smoke coming out of the hood of the car and imediately smelled gas or plastic burning. We got out of vehicle thinking that the car might carch on fire.. The police pushed our car out the freeway to a safe zone. Had the car towed to a shop and confirmed engine failure. As of now the vehicle will not start.We are frightened that there may be a gas leak that might cause an explosion or engine may fail again while driving.
2013 Hyundai Sonata: multiple warning lights
36 of the 1,921 complaints about the 2013 Hyundai Sonata describe multiple warning lights.
- owner complaints
- 36
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 84,000
- recalls
- 0
Multiple warning lights by model year
What owners say
My husband and I were driving down i-65 near Montgomery Alabama on 11/17/2023 when all of the warning lights came on and the vehicle lost power. We immediately swerved into the emergency lane to avoid a major accident on a heavily traveled interstate. We arranged for a tow to a repair shop in Montgomery where they diagnosed the problem as an engine seize up. The engine has to be replaced, and the estimated cost was $7,074.81. I did an internet search and discovered others had had the same problem with other Sonatas. My husband contacted the dealership where we bought the car and asked if there was any special program for this type of failure. The service manager was polite, professional and diligent. She looked up the VIN number and confirmed that our vehicle had had all the required maintenance. She said there seemed to be an extended warranty program, but any repairs would have to be approved by the manufacturer. Such approvals could take as long as 60 days. We had the vehicle towed and am awaiting word on next steps. I'm grateful my we weren't killed in an accident on I-65, and the engine failure didn't cause injuries or death to others. The contact stated the local Hyundai Service Center claims they have a backlog and lack the personnel to perform the diagnostic and subsequent repair.
In mid-May I was on my way to a funeral about 3 and a half hours away. While going about 80 mph on the interstate, several lights appeared and my car quickly decelerated and would not accelerate. Luckily I had just gotten past the barriers on either side and was able to over to the left of the interstate. I turned the car off, waited a minute, and turned it back on. There were no lights and it accelerated fine. On the way home from the funeral I noticed a small rattling noise (like an acorn in the hood or something). I quickly made an appointment with the dealership to have the fuel injector recall fixed and to have them check on the noise. They claimed they couldn't do anything if there weren't any lights current on. They also claim they didn't hear the noise when they drove around. A month later I'm on the interstate in the far left, the check engine light starts flashing, my car decelerates and I am unable to accelerate. I went from 80 to 60 in a dangerously short time. I put on my flashers and fortunately other drivers let me over so I could pull off on the shoulder. I shutter to think what would have happened if other cars had not been paying attention. I called Triple AAA to have it towed to the dealership. The dealership let me know they had about 50 Sonatas ahead of me on the waiting list to get a new engine (a huge RED FLAG). I still don't know if I need a new engine because they haven't looked at it yet. But I do know that Hyundai better do a recall soon because not everyone will be as fortunate as I was while on the interstate. This will have deadly consequences if not remedied soon. Mileage: 91, 561
The electrical system of the vehicle malfunctions regularly. When the headlights are on, the brake lights are stuck on and do not turn off, nor do they properly "activate" when braking. If the headlights are off, they work just fine. If the headlights are on, the entire dashboard lighting is prone to going haywire. On several occasions with the headlights on, the electrical system has malfunctioned and turned off all lights, inside and outside. They will not turn back on unless I turn the headlights off and back on. Turning on the high beams has made the lighting malfunction and the entire vehicle will decelerate, even when pressing on the gas. I will gladly allow my vehicle for inspection upon request. This is clearly a hazard to both myself and other vehicles on the road, especially at night. Not only is the lack of functional brake lights a hazard, but so is having rapidly flashing lights on the dashboard to myself as a driver. Moreover, the headlights randomly turning off at night is extremely dangerous, as is the random deceleration. Upon looking into it to see if I could find an answer, I learned it's a common problem with 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonatas and to see that so many have this issue but nothing has been done to correct it is shocking. My local dealership did inspect my car upon an engine seizure a few years ago, but all they reported was an issue with the passenger side brake light bracket and bulb (another common issue it seems). I have never received any sort of warning lamp or message, aside from the traction light randomly coming on from time to time for no reason.
I was driving down the street and the all the dashboard lights came on and suddenly the car died. My safety was put at risk because it was near the entrance of the highway on ramp. The car was towed to a local shop where they performed diagnostic testing. Upon further inspection, the shop replaced the starter. However, car will not turn on. Shop stated engine had had failed. The shop stated the car needs to be towed to a Hyundai dealership due to recalls of other Hyundai vehicles. My car is not included in the recall campaign. Prior to the car stopping, there were no warning lights or engine problems prior.
Engine stalled on highway. All lights on dash lit up. Was able to have it towed to dealership. Dealership agreed to replace engine at no cost.
I was traveling north on interstate 295 in New Jersey at 65 mph in the left lane . Without warning my car stated to go into shut down mode loosing speed and forced me to exit onto rt70 in cherry hill when all the dash warning lights came on and the engine shut off. I pulled over to a safe haven. I checked the oil dipstick which was full. I tried to restart the engine and starting hearing a loud metal tapping sound from the engine with multiple dash board warning lights flashing. I immediately shut the car off and called for a 70 mile tow home. I had to Uber other family members home do to no safe seats for 4 people in the tow truck. I started a case number 20174138 with Hyundai corporate customer service.
Driving at freeway speed and car shutdown. Multiple warning lights and warning alert continuously chiming just like connecting rod bearing Recall campaign 953 states. Car went into Limp Mode. I called and had a tow truck take the car to Hyundai service center. Service center contacted Hyundai and was instructed to borescope engine, take pictures, etc and send data to Hyundai. Took one week to hear back that Hyundai concluded it supposedly isn’t rod bearing failure even though the car is doing everything Campaign 953 says it would if rod bearing failure is the issue. I asked the service center if my vehicle had campaign 953 knock sensor software installed and they told me no because it didn’t affect the hybrid models, which is not true as the recall states Hyundai Sonata hybrids from 2011-2013. I believe my vehicle has been damaged by the issues prompting Hyundai to issue the recalls and do not want to pay for my vehicle. They did not get an independent center to make a determination. Of course they aren’t going to claim it as their fault if they are the only ones who get to check it. I believe Hyundai knows these vehicles pose a risk to owners lives and choose money over our lives. If you look up the other engine issues on this site you will see that the VINs are very similar and likely very close in manufacturing protocols, hence so many having these life-threatening issues. I asked the service center how much it would cost for an engine and they told me that since Hyundai has a lot of issues with parts to fix this issue that they would have to rebuild the engine at a cost of $17-18,000! An outside source should be able to check the issue and give Hyundai their findings in order to properly address this very dangerous issue.
Hello- On 6/29/2022 I was driving to work when engine power was cut off, like half power. The cars traction control light came on and the AC stopped cooling. I drove to a safe place where is turned the car off for a few minutes, I had only been driving for 20 or so minutes at that time. When I started the car back up everything was fine until yesterday. At two separate times on 6/30/2022 the engine would just cut off/ stall. The control panel would light up like a Christmas tree. I would have to pull over and put the car in park and turn the car back on. Not really sure what is happening here but has me worried as these two stall incidents happen at pretty low speeds but I do have to drive highway speeds for work. I do not hear any knocking of the engine or smell gasoline and all warranty recall, except the July recall, is up to date. I use 93 octane gas because of the age and turbo. I also have a push start which makes this fun to restart.
On 4/14/22 while I was pulling up to a stop light my car shut down and the engine caught fire. All dashboard lights illuminated when car shut down. I tried restarting my car to no avail. After a min or two I pushed the car to the side of the road and was just about to call AAA for tow. I then noticed a small amount of smoke from the front end of my car. I decided to open my hood and that's where I noticed a small fire on the engine block. With nothing to put it out I called 911. The fire dept arrived within 5 min from my call. By that time the engine was completely engulfed in flames. The car was a total loss. There were no warnings, or car issues prior. I was driving normally and as I said just pulling up to a stop light while coming to a stop. This is ridiculous and Hyundai should be held accountable as financially this has cost me thousands. And doing very little research online this shows to be a huge issue with many people.
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle started to decrease in speed and all the lights on the Instrument panel were illuminated. The contact was able to pull over and turn off and on the vehicle. The contact stated that she noticed that oil had leaked. The dealer was not made aware. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 282,261.
5 hours into a 6 hours highway drive, no issues have occurred, approaching a flyover at I-10e and the beltway east I was doing 70mph, about halfway up northbound approach I lost acceleration, all warning lights on dash appeared to illuminate, the radio continued to play, appears that power steering continued to work. After coasting down flyover I pulled to the right, put the car in park and it started up fine, I drove off the beltway to the feeder/service road and this happened once more. I pulled into parking lot and was able to put in park and start with no issue. Neither time did I ever see a constant warning light of any kind on my dash. The car has 99k miles and I am the only owner, taken to dealer 95 percent of time for maintenance.
Service bulletins that may apply
- In response to this trend, we engineered a software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method...
- This bulletin provides the service procedure for installation of a key cylinder reinforcement protector...
- In addition to the Anti-Theft software provided under Service Campaign 993 (TSB 24-01-009H-1), a zinc...
- Upon customer's request ONLY, the Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 25-01-089H provides the service...
- A class settlement against Hyundai Motor America (“HMA”) that had alleged that certain 2011 – 2022 model...
- Hyundai has launched an anti-theft software upgrade and window decal campaign (Campaign 993), combined...
- This bulletin provides the service procedure to: 1) Upgrade the IBU/BCM (Integrated Body Control Unit/Body...
- Hyundai has launched an anti-theft software upgrade and window decal campaign (Campaign 993), combined...
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2013 Hyundai Sonata warning lights
Is multiple warning lights a common problem on the 2013 Hyundai Sonata?
36 of 1,921 owner complaints about the 2013 Hyundai Sonata (2%) mention multiple warning lights. The model year with the most reports is 2011.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2013 Hyundai Sonata?
There are 0 recalls and 35 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2013 Hyundai Sonata
Engine failure 243Stalling 184Knocking 172Check engine light 163Fire or smoke 108Loss of power 95Steering noise 92Headlights 69Won't start 65Pulling 50Oil consumption 49Harsh shifting 45Jerking 36Hesitation 33Fuel smell 30Airbag light 29No deployment 29Fuel leak 23Fuel pump 22Adaptive cruise 21Brake failure 21Grinding brakes 21Door locks 20Sudden acceleration 17Sunroof shattered 17Coil spring 16Overheating 16Seat belt 15Won't shift 15Power steering loss 14ABS 13Key fob 12Steering lock-up 12Ball joint 8Battery drain 8Backup camera 6Spongy pedal 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2013 Hyundai Sonata?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history