2021 Hyundai Sonata Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
My transmission on my 21 Hyundai sonata n line has failed. It began when the car needed to emergency brake when someone jump into my lane on the road. There’s grinding, and whining in the transmission along with delayed shifts, jerking and a burning smell that comes through the vents of my car upon start up. The recall on this transmission is because it may become defective. I bought the vehicle from a Honda not a Hyundai dealer in March of 2023 the recall campaign closed out Jan of 2023. According to Hyundai records show that the TCU update remedy was performed Jan of 23. However, even though that TCU update was performed, 2 years later my transmission began to fail. I brought it to my local dealer for a transmission drain and refill not a flush. Per the service manual it’s a drain and refill however they flushed it which caused the transmission to worsen. I took it back to have it diagnosed and I was told I needed my transmission replaced. Didn’t even explain why or go into further detail what was wrong with the transmission. I brought up the recall on the transmission and they did nothing to honor it. Now I’m stuck with a car with a broken transmission i can’t afford to fix and I’m gonna be forced to hand the car over to the bank. If this recall can still be honored please help.
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond and lost power. The vehicle was coasted over to the right side of the road, turned off, restarted, and returned to normal functionality. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed; however, the diagnosis was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (POWER TRAIN); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
2 years after purchasing a new vehicle, the transmission began to pop and cause the car to jerk upon a cold start, RPM would increase but the speedometer would not go over 20mph. There were no error messages or alerts. I reported it several times, and the dealership technicians could not duplicate the issue and stated that the car was driving as it was designed even after providing video proof. They were later able to partially replicate the issue when the car popped and jerked after a cold start and then replaced the transmission, however, it did not resolve the issue. 1 month after the repair the car started having the same issues. After several trips to the service department, they have still been unable to duplicate the issue even with recent video proof. Based on how the technicians enter notes, the manufacturer refuses to pursue any alternative method for figuring out what is going on. This is risky because my car, upon starting cannot be safely driven and the car will shutter upon stopping at lights sometimes.
Issue with DCT transmission. Unknown remedy
I took off from the house about 1 mile the car stop in the middle of the road with no warning, lights or anything. Thank God I didn’t get an accident we took the car to the dealer and the dealer telling us it’s not covered by warranty. This is 2021 Hyundai sonata lease with only 44,000 miles my wife is so scared to driving Hyundai anymore. We talk to the dealer they don’t give us loaner car still one week from now they are telling us to pay $13,000 for the repair.
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the oil warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000.
Took vehicle in for transmission recall on June 12th. After picking up vehicle the vehicle it was shifting harshly. On the 17th my vehicle had a code come up that said to park it and contact the dealership ASAP. Transmission code P1C2D03. The recall was supposed to prevent this, not cause it.
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Sonata. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the contact stated that on numerous occasions while driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle decelerated and went into "fail-safe" mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission control unit software needed be updated. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. Additionally, the contact stated that prior to the recall repair, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the transmission was replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number and an appointment was scheduled to take the vehicle back to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 12,100.
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made abnormally loud sounds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that they were awaiting approval from the manufacturer to perform the repair. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to Manufacturer Recall Number: 236 (Power Train) included with the VIN; however, he had not yet received notification. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Sonata. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train); however, parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the vehicle would delay while starting. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed but no issues were found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and informed the contact that a recall notification would be mailed to him in December. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
My transmission went bad on my new car. Didn’t have my car for 4 month August 12 2021
Car transmission seemed to make a "clunking" sound when selecting gear from park. The car would not accelerate, the throttle seemed to be stuck and the transmission would try to downshift, but the car was not picking up speed. I eventually pulled off the road into a parking lot and turned the car off. I then restarted the car and it seemed to clear the problem, but no warning lights ever came on, and no error codes were displayed on the instrument cluster.
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Quick Summary
The 2021 Hyundai Sonata has 12 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.