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2006 Hyundai Sonata Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,047 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, most often about the air bags (42% of complaints, typically around 70,000 miles). It is 5th of 27 Sonata model years by number of complaints and has 9 recalls.
Most common 2006 Hyundai Sonata problems
Air bags
435 complaints · 42%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window, on-off switch assembly, sensor.
Tl contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The dealer informed her to wait until she received a recall notice for the air bags because there was no recall at the time. Once the contact received the notice, she took the vehicle to the dealer…
60-70% of the time a smaller person sits in my front passenger seat the "passenger airbag off" remains lit. I took the car in for the first time in 2006, right after buying the car, to have it looked at which time I was told they couldn't recreate the situation. I have 3 different friends/relatives/coworkers who are…
Visibility and wipers
186 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 64,500 miles. Parts named most often: power window devices and controls, sun/moon roof assembly, windshield wiper/washer, windshield.
2006 Hyundai Sonata sun visors will not stay up. Falls down in line of vision. Started with passenger side and now the driver side. Dealer would not repair as I was <5000 miles over warranty. Based on internet this is a common issue with Hyundai's. Seems some have been replaced 3 to 4 times.
My driver-side sun visor in my 2006 Hyundai Sonata began hanging lower and lower until eventually it would neither stay up against the roof of the car or out toward the windshield. The visor now only hangs down, which obstructs my view when driving.
Seat belts
102 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: front.
I turned the car on and the dashboard lights indicated all affected parts listed above went on. Drove the car for 3 miles and shut it off for 2 hours. Turned the car back on and had the same problem. I've read many owners with the same issue, but haven't seen a resolution this problem. This is a very serious issues…
Airbag light / problem. Took car to car pros Hyundai, seattle wa on aurora. Advised them my airbag light all of a sudden stays on. They advised me that it was seat belt issue and some wiring under the floor board. Hyundai advised me that the air bags wouldn't work if I was in a accident. Asked them if this was under…
Suspension
86 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 112,000 miles. Parts named most often: rear, front.
Upper control arms failed & were replaced 9/27/2012. This required another dealer alignment. Front tires then wore out 6,200 miles later. Tires wore down to metal belt core; could have easily blown out. I had 3 previous dealer alignments and was told by dealer in april 2013 there is no more camber/caster adjustment…
At 110,615 mileage on car had installed link assy fr stabilizer, bush-stabilizer, link assy-fr stabilizer, joint assy-cv lh and washer-inr also replaced: lf cv axle shaft and swaybar linkages and bushings. Above was due to clunk type noise front when turning both direction:they found swaybars bushings worn and swaybar…
Electrical
86 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, wiring, ignition, alternator/generator/regulator.
Headlights dim momentarily, radio goes off momentarily, passenger seat side kick panel relay goes "ticking" momentarily, car jerks momentarily when gas pedal is applied and gear is changed from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 when I just start my journey (I.e. Just start the engine and start driving, usually). If gas pedal is…
I was driving my sisters car and noticed the headlights would dim and then come back on after a second.. I went to a gas station to get gas and a gentleman pulled in next to me saying he turned around to let me know my lights flickered dull to bright. He said a friend had the same problem in their Sonata and had it to…
Brakes
85 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 71,500 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, brake fluid low warning.
My car started having problems in may that when I look them up, are listed as issues that have been recalled by Hyundai yet when I contacted Hyundai these were not open recalls on my vehicle. My ABS/ESC light comes on and off. If I turn my car off and re-start it then the light will be gone, only to come on again at…
On my way to work one morning I noticed that I had next to no pressure in my brakes. When I had my neighbor investigate what was wrong, he noticed that my hard brake lines were so rusted and corroded due to snow/salt/etc, that my brake line nearly crumbled to the touch. I had to replace this brake line for my car to…
Engine
73 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. While driving 70 MPH the engine and ESC light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then the engine stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection. The technician from the dealer stated that the throttle position switch and the ecu software needed to…
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that the vehicle would sporadically stall when driving at any speed. The check engine warning light would illuminate prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair facility for diagnosis. The mechanic advised that the main computer sensor…
Stability control
59 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic (asc).
Stop lamp switch was replaced under recall in sept 09. Same part went again in approx july 2011. Charged for diagnostics and replacement of stop lamp switch 1429 ckr $79.95 and 1 93810-sk000 switch asm $6.60 for a total of $86.55. Dealer, motorworld of wilkes barre, pa indicated that I already had recall done so I…
On march 9th, 2015, I was driving home from work after picking up my infant daughter from daycare when several warning lights illuminated on the dashboard of my 2006 Hyundai Sonata; the airbag, ABS, and ESC off warning lights. In preparation for the upcoming left turn into my neighborhood, I tapped the brake pedal to…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Hyundai Sonata recalls
Brakes: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Risk: An electrical short within the ABS module may cause an engine compartment fire, even when the car is turned off, increasing the risk of an injury.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will install a relay in the vehicle's main junction box to prevent the risk of an ABS short-circuit while the car is turned off, free of charge. The recall began on february 19, 2018. Owners may call hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 172.
Full defect summary
Hyundai motor america (hyundai) is recalling certain 2006-2011 hyundai azera and 2006 hyundai sonata vehicles. Water may enter the anti-lock brake (ABS) module and result in an electrical short .
Suspension: rear
Risk: Control arm separation may suddenly change the rear wheel alignment, affecting the handling of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will repair or replace the crossmember assembly. The recall began on october 8, 2013. Owners may contact hyundai customer care center at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall number is 113.
Full defect summary
Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 sonata vehicles manufactured march 1, 2005, through january 21, 2010; and model year 2006-2011 azera vehicles manufactured september 27, 2005, through november 22, 2010 originally sold in, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and the district of columbia. Road salt and water can enter portions of the rear crossmember, leading to corrosion of the crossmember steel. This may lead to detachment of one of the rear control arms.
Lights: exterior lighting
Risk: Any of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the stop lamp switch free of charge. The recall began on september 2, 2009. Owners may contact hyundai of puerto rico customer service at 1-787-999-4310.
Full defect summary
Hyundai is recalling 3,011 model year 2005-2007 elantra, tucson, sonata, azera and accent vehicles. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to fail to illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A defective stop lamp switch may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission would not be able to be shift out of the "park" position. It may also cause the electronic stability control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate, and it may not deactivate the cruise control when the brake pedal is depressed.
Lights: switch
Risk: Any of these malfunctions, alone or in combination, may lead to a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the stop lamp switch free of charge. The recall began on june 29, 2009. Owners may contact the hyundai customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
Hyundai is recalling 532,633 my 2006-2007 accent, entourage, sonata, my 2007 azera, elantra and santa fe, my 2005-2007 tucson and my 2007-2008 veracruz vehicles. The stop lamp switch in the affected vehicles may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A stop lamp switch malfunction may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission shifter would not be able to be shifted out of the park position. It may also cause the electronic stability control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate, and it may not deactivate the cruise control when the brake pedal is depressed.
Air bags
Risk: Misclassification of a small stature adult as a child in the right front passenger seat may cause the right front air bag to not inflate in an accident that merits air bag deployment and may result in injury to the right front occupant.
Fix: Dealers will verify that the ocs does not properly recognize a properly seated adult occupant. After verification, dealers will remove the right front seat cushion assembly and ship it to an evaluation and repair facility. This facility will evaluate and repair or reprogram the seat cushion and ocs as necessary. The recall is expected to begin on or about may 26, 2008. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
Hyundai is recalling 393,308 my 2006-2008 sonata vehicles equipped with an advanced air bag system which features an occupant classification system (ocs) in the right front seat. The purpose of the ocs is to disable the right passenger seat front air bag when it detects the presence of a child restraint system or small child in the right front seat. The right front air bag is disabled to prevent injuries to a child that may result from a right front air bag inflation during a crash.
Equipment: labels
Risk: If the labels are distorted or missing, the driver or front seat passenger will not have information available that may help protect them in the event of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the sunvisor assemblies free of charge. The recall began on october 2, 2006. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the air bag warning label installed on the sunvisors had lost adhesion to the sunvisors and had distorted or separated from the sun visors.
Lights: headlights
Risk: An improperly positioned turn signal lens may reduce the intensity of the turn signal illumination, reducing its visibility to oncoming traffic, which may result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and right headlamp assemblies free of charge. The recall began on june 26, 2006. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the inner bezels of the headlamps were not properly assembled which may cause the turn signal lenses to be improperly positioned.
Seats: recliner
Risk: The inadvertent release of a front seat back recliner may result in injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Dealers will replace the manual seat back recliner knob(s) free of charge. The recall began on october 14, 2005. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the front seat belt may interfere with the manual seat back recliner knob and could cause the front manual seat back recliner to inadvertently release.
Stability control: automatic (asc)
Risk: This may cause the vehicle to slow and may affect the path that the vehicle is traveling. Brake application caused by inadvertent ESC activation may result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the ESC hydraulic electronic control unit. The recall began on july 29, 2005. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 3.3 liter engines and electronic stability control (ESC), the ESC may have been programmed to be oversensitive to the onset of oversteering while driving on banked curves, causing inadvertent application of the front outside brake when ESC activation may not be needed.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Loss of motive power
Summary
The national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated july 13, 2022, petitioning the agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain hyundai motor america, inc. And kia america, inc. Vehicles spanning model years (my) 2005-2021. The petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experiencing rapid loss of engine oil due to oil drain plug back outs, resulting in loss of motive power and/or catastrophic engine damage. Additional complaints were provided which alleged that the oil drain pans lack sufficient structural integrity and are
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) 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 NHTSA.gov under reference (odi) number 11439675.on november 12, 2021, odi opened defec
Seat belt buckle electrical malfunction
Summary
On july 22, 2014 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation to further analyze allegations of seat belt pretensioner malfunctions on model year (my) 2006-2008 hyundai sonata vehicles.odi received 131 unique reports alleging a failure within the seat belt pretensioner system, which was typically preceded by SRS light illumination.odi requested more information from hyundai in order to understand the nature of the failure and how the airbag deployment algorithm, the seat belt pretensioners, and/or the airbag function may be affected. In response to odi?s information request (ir), hyundai submitted 764 unique consumer and field reports and 19,847 warranty claims r
Rear control arm failure
Summary
In a letter dated august 9, 2013, hyundai-kia america technical center, inc. (hyundai) notified NHTSA that hyundaiis conducting a safety recall (13v-354) involving approximately 239,000 vehicles involving model year (my) 2006 through 2010 hyundai sonata vehicles (approximately 215,000)produced beginning on march 1, 2005 through january 21, 2010 and model year (my) 2006 through 2011 hyundai azera vehicles (approximately 24,000) produced beginning on september 27, 2005 through november 22, 2010 that are registered in and operated or originally sold in the following 20 salt belt states and the district of columbia: connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts,
Stop lamp switch failure
Summary
By letter dated april 15, 2009, hyundai notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (NHTSA recall number 09v122) to replace the stop lamp switches on many of its model year 2005-2008 vehicles.see recall 09v122 for a complete list. The agency opened its investigation based on five complaints of stop lamp failure across several 2007 hyundai models. The agency also received early warning (ewr) reports on this issue.most of those failures were traced to the improper operation of the stop lamp switch that controls stop lamp illumination.a malfunctioning stop lamp switch can cause the vehicle's brake lights not to light during braking, or alternatively, it can cause the brake lights t
Questions about the 2006 Hyundai Sonata
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Hyundai Sonata?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (435 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles); visibility and wipers (186 complaints, typically around 64,500 miles); seat belts (102 complaints, typically around 77,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Hyundai Sonata have?
- 9 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from January 9, 2018 (brakes). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Hyundai Sonata?
- It is 5th of 27 Sonata model years by number of complaints, with 1,047 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.