all vehicles · every Sonata year · method

Hyundai Sonata 2014

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.39 per 1,000

better than this nameplate’s own median · from 82 complaints filed in the first three years, of 777 ever. 95% lower bound 0.31.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.84	99
2009	0.67	79
2010	0.20	32
2011	2.95	624
2012	0.90	205
2013	1.09	237
2014	0.39	82
2015	0.94	203
2016	0.54	111
2017	0.80	132
2018	0.85	101
2019	0.31	30
2020	0.73	60
2021	0.82	66
2022	0.97	66
2023	1.70	79

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 315 complaints

campaign	49	16%
knocking	40	13%
campaign engine	25	8%
seized	22	7%
engine cooling	20	6%
engine recall	19	6%

Electrical System 146 complaints

system warning	19	13%
safely	16	11%
bulbs	15	10%
bulb	14	10%
warning safely	12	8%
light bulbs	11	8%

Exterior Lighting 121 complaints

light bulbs	17	14%
burning	17	14%
socket	14	12%
fire hazard	12	10%
burn	12	10%
burning out	10	8%

When it breaks

23% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 70,000 miles, from 411 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

9 investigations covering this model year, 6 of which list a recall campaign.

Non-crash Vehicle Fires

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

10560196 · 10565215 · 10579075 · 10587231 · 10595301 · 10598646

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.