Driver's side seatbelt retraction mechanism failed without warning. Intentionally brought car to dealer ASAP since it was close to 100,000 miles pointed out. This was serious safety defect dealer refused to repair under warranty.
Hyundai Sonata seat belt problems
189 of the 16,121 owner complaints about the Hyundai Sonata describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 189
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical repair cost reported
- $480
- typical mileage
- 74,900
Is there a fix? There are 4 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Airbag light 77No deployment 14Check engine light 4Wipers 3Stalling 3Headlights 3Engine failure 3Won't start 2
Trouble codes mentioned
B1706 8B1701 5B1448 5B1518 2B1102 1
What owners say
The seat belt latches do not latch or will spontaneously unlatch. This has been a problem for about 4 years. I have checked for recalls and not seen any for my car. I will check with the dealer but have tried vacuuming the latches without effect. I have never experienced anything like this in any previous vehicle. The warning buzzer lets me know when the seatbelt unlatches, but I seriously doubt the belt would hold in case of an accident.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver’s side seat belt unexpectedly detached. Several attempts were needed to secure the seat belt while driving. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver’s seat belt became inoperable and failed to latch properly. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was also contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,819.
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the front driver’s side seat belt failed to lock securely. The contact stated that the seat belt loosened unexpectedly and failed to properly protect the driver while operating the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 102,000.
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Sonata. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the seat belt warning light intermittently illuminated with an audible chime while the driver’s and passenger's side seat belts were properly buckled. Additionally, on two separate occasions, the horn was inoperable, and the anti-collision warning light illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and two other dealers, Alexandria Hyundai (1707 Mt Vernon Ave, Alexandria, VA 22301) and Sheehy Hyundai of Waldorf (2910 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD 20601), who were unable to duplicate the seat belt failures. The third dealer, Sheehy Hyundai of Waldorf (2910 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD 20601), determined that the horn needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that there was white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. While driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact coasted right into the neighborhood and stopped in front of the neighbor's home. The vehicle remained parked. The contact stated that the front driver’s side seat belt failed to lock in the latch intermittently. The contact spoke with the dealer, before the failure, who confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 17V226000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); because the vehicle was previously inspected under the recall and it was deemed that the engine did not need to be replaced, and that the recall was closed. The dealer was not contacted after the failure. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired for engine or seat belt failures. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 169,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the contact became aware that the driver’s side seat belt failed to latch securely into the buckle. The seat belt warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the seat belt buckle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 45,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the driver's seat belt became inoperable. The contact stated that the seat belt failed to properly retract or properly restrain the contact while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the seat belt assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 66,800.
Drivers side seat belt strap does not retract back when removed and has faulty latch which sometimes pops out. Dealer told us that because the car had over 60,000 miles on it that we would be responsible for payment to replace the pretensions and other internal parts plus the latch. This car was bought new in 2019 and had only been involved in one accident which the seat belt was not used due to the fact that the car was parked when it was struck. Since this is a safety issue which could result in my death or serious injury in the event of a vehicle accident I am taking a chance evey time i drive this vehicle. The approximate cost according to hyundai would be around $1800.00 - $2000.00. I consider this a manufacturer defect that hyundai should replace and be responsible for the cost. They refuse to fix this issue unless I pay for the repair. I never heard of a seat belt having a mileage cut off at any amount of mileage. Please advise me if you can enforce safety defect repair to be paid for by hyundai. If you are not able to hold hyundai liable I would appreciate any entity that you may know of that can make them replace for free the defective belt and latch. I'm afraid to drive this car without a working seat belt on the drivers side nor do I have the outrageous money for it to be repaired at my expense.
Drivers side seat belt does not retract properly. If i pull it out a little too far when buckling then it will just hang there instead of retracting snugly so it provides the same amount of safety as having no seat belt on at all. Every time that I took my car to the dealer for different fixes I always brought that up and they always overlooked it and never did fix it and now my extended warranty is out and it's still not fixed even though it was like that the day that I bought it and I started complaining about it that very first week.
Related recalls
Seat belts: pretensioner
- What is wrong
- Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Sonata and 2011-2015 Sonata Hybrid vehicles previously repaired under recall campaign 17V‑152. The seat belt linkages for both front seat belts may detach from the seat belt anchor pretensioners.
- Risk
- If the seat belt linkage detaches from the seat belt anchorage, it can not properly restrain the occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will again verify the connection between the seat belt linkage and the pretensioner and additionally install a warning label to prevent future seat belt linkage detachment, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1‑855‑371‑9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 169.
Recall number 17V617000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: anchorage
- What is wrong
- Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Sonata and 2011-2015 Sonata Hybrid vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the seat belt linkages for both front seat belts may detach from the seat belt anchor pretensioners.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, if the seat belts detach from the anchor pretensioners, it can increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Hyundai will notify owners and dealers will inspect the connection between the seat belt linkages and the seat belt anchor pretensioners, repairing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin April 7, 2017. Owner's may contact Hyundai customer service at 1‑855‑371‑9460. Hyundai's number for the recall is 160.
Recall number 17V152000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2015 Sonata vehicles manufactured April 25, 2014, to December 4, 2014. The affected vehicles have a front passenger seat belt whose buckle latch assembly may prevent the front passenger from fastening the seat belt.
- Risk
- If the front passenger seat belt cannot be latched, an occupant sitting in the front passenger seat has an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash.
- Remedy
- Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will repair or replace the front passenger seat belt buckle, free of charge. The recall began on September 15, 2015. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1‑855‑671‑3059. Hyundai's number for this recall is 130.
Recall number 15V414000 · Recall details
Seat belts
- What is wrong
- The motorized shoulder belt can travel slowly or chatter in the track and may eventually stop tracking and become inoperative.
- Risk
- Slowing, chattering, or failure of the motorized shoulderbelt may discourage use of the restraint system, increasing the risk of injuryin the event of a sudden stop or accident.
- Remedy
- Dealers will lubricate the track assembly and, if any systems are found inoperative, the system will be repaired or replaced, as required.
Recall number 93V196000 · Recall details
Questions about the Hyundai Sonata seat belt
Which Hyundai Sonata years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (54 complaints), 2007 (24 complaints) and 2011 (19 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix seat belt won't latch or retract on the Hyundai Sonata?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $480 (median of 32 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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