"How reliable is the 1998 Hyundai Sonata?"

"Based on 68 NHTSA complaints, the 1998 Hyundai Sonata has a median complaint mileage of 80000 miles. The most common issue is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION."

"What are common problems with the 1998 Hyundai Sonata?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1998 Hyundai Sonata is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 68 total complaints filed."

1998 Hyundai Sonata: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 68 complaints

Total Complaints

80,000mi

Median Mileage

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

43,000 25th Percentile

80,000 Median Mileage

100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

AIR BAGS

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AS SOON AS LOANER CAR WAS AVAILABLE - 6 DAYS. VEHICLE WAS RETURNED IN SATISFACTORY CONDITION."

"FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG CAUSING DRIVER TO PANIC."

"FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIR BAG RESULTED IN THE DRIVER TO FEELING SICK AND DIZZY FROM THE SUBSTANCE WHICH CAME OUT OF THE AIR BAG."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28