"How reliable is the 2001 Hyundai Sonata?"

"Based on 293 NHTSA complaints, the 2001 Hyundai Sonata has a median complaint mileage of 89863 miles. The most common issue is STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS."

"What are common problems with the 2001 Hyundai Sonata?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2001 Hyundai Sonata is STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS, accounting for a significant portion of the 293 total complaints filed."

2001 Hyundai Sonata: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 293 complaints

293

Total Complaints

89,863mi

Median Mileage

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

62,000 25th Percentile

89,863 Median Mileage

130,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS

AIR BAGS

SUSPENSION

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STEERING

STRUCTURE:BODY

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ENGINE FAILED AT 1633 MILES GOING 65 MPH ON MAJOR HIGHWAY. ACCORDING TO HYNDAI SERVICE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH ENGINE SLEEVES IN EARLY PRODUCTION ENGINES. SLEEVES COME LOOSE CAUSING PISTONS TO SMASH SPARK PLUGS. NEW ENGINE INSTALLED, BUT DID NOT RUN PROPERLY. HYUNDAI SERVICE ORDERING SECOND NEW ENG..."

"FLOOR SHIFT LEVER WOULD JUMP OUT OF GEAR WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED. IT WOULD FAIL TO REMAIN IN CORRECT GEAR. SOMETIMES CAN SLIGHTLY PUSH, AND WOULD JUMP OUT OF GEAR. BEEN TO DEALERSHIP, AND WAS INFORMED BY MECHANIC THAT FLOOR SHIFT LEVER WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. VEHICLE HAD ONLY 900 MILES. *AK"

"ON APRIL 28, 2001 I AND THREE OTHER PASSENGERS WERE RIDING IN THE VEHICLE. I WAS TRAVELING DOWN A LONG GRADE AT 35 TO 40 MILES PER HOUR. TOWARD THE BOTTOM OF THE GRADE THE ROAD CURVES TO THE RIGHT AND AT THE BOTTOM THERE IS A TRAFFIC SIGNAL. WHEN I CAME AROUND THE CURVE I SAW THAT THE LIGHT WAS G..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS 51 complaints

25th: 89,075 mi Median: 111,925 mi 75th: 129,625 mi

AIR BAGS 27 complaints

25th: 13,000 mi Median: 62,105 mi 75th: 74,000 mi

SUSPENSION 22 complaints

25th: 105,000 mi Median: 126,000 mi 75th: 138,500 mi

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 complaints

25th: 28,000 mi Median: 63,000 mi 75th: 82,300 mi

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 9 complaints

25th: 56,718 mi Median: 72,000 mi 75th: 72,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

OH: 24 NY: 22 MA: 21 IL: 20 PA: 20 NJ: 20 CA: 19 MD: 16 KY: 15 MI: 12

Who Files Complaints?

29.4%

Original Owners

70.6%

Second+ Owners

Hyundai Sonata — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	25	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	0
1991	41	-	SEAT BELTS	3
1992	43	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	1
1993	46	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	1
1995	93	107,263	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	17
1996	37	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	0
1997	74	86,000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY	6
1998	68	80,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	3
1999	187	95,000	STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS	25
2000	378	108,000	STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS	22
2002	407	94,724	STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS	50
2003	247	70,178	AIR BAGS	28
2004	285	91,138	SUSPENSION	36
2005	217	80,000	AIR BAGS	44
2006	1422	73,838	AIR BAGS	55
2007	905	67,000	AIR BAGS	45
2008	554	65,000	AIR BAGS	24
2009	610	68,783	SERVICE BRAKES	29
2010	415	65,000	STRUCTURE:BODY	23
2011	4582	75,702	STEERING	194
2012	2254	80,000	ENGINE	86
2013	2602	79,000	ENGINE	138
2014	1061	70,000	ENGINE	48
2015	1611	53,758	ENGINE	60
2016	960	62,100	ENGINE	37
2017	964	53,900	ENGINE	46
2018	519	19,862	ENGINE	26
2019	182	23,000	ENGINE	11
2020	236	2,700	FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM	8
2021	156	24,725	ENGINE	11
2022	123	13,500	POWER TRAIN	14
2023	130	11,000	FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM	12
2024	61	2,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	3

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