Total Complaints
11 filings
HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID · model year
11 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2025HYUNDAISONATA HYBRID carries 11 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 5/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2025 SONATA HYBRID is unknown or other with 3 filings, followed by back over prevention: warnings (2) and electrical system (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 37 investigation files overlapping the 2025 SONATA HYBRID, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
11 filings
Crashes Reported
3 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST | 1 |
| SEATS | 1 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS | 1 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING | 1 |
On [XXX] while entering 2 car garage with no other cars in garage, the subject vehicle which is a HEV, changed from the electric drive mode to gasoline mode at the garage door and driveway apex. Immediately, the vehicle uncommandedly surged forward from approximately 1mph. The vehicle impacted a large refrigerator and small table causing severe front end damage. No airbags deployed and I was not injured. Although, my neck is sore from whiplash. Seatbelts were employed and vehicle was being operated at less than 1mph, standard for entering a two car garage. There were no warnings, lights, or sounds from the multi function display or any system emergency braking applied immediately before the collision.Just a violent surge forward that I could not quickly apply the brakes to avoid this collision. It is my feeling something electronic failed to operate or was unable to understand the driving environment at the time of impact. The change in driving mode from electric to gasoline was very
On [XXX] while entering 2 car garage with no other cars in garage, the subject vehicle which is a HEV, changed from the electric drive mode to gasoline mode at the garage door and driveway apex. Immediately, the vehicle uncommandedly surged forward from approximately 1mph. The vehicle impacted a large refrigerator and small table causing severe front end damage. No airbags deployed and I was not injured. Although, my neck is sore from whiplash. Seatbelts were employed and vehicle was being operated at less than 1mph, standard for entering a two car garage. There were no warnings, lights, or sounds from the multi function display or any system emergency braking applied immediately before the collision.Just a violent surge forward that I could not quickly apply the brakes to avoid this collision. It is my feeling something electronic failed to operate or was unable to understand the driving environment at the time of impact. The change in driving mode from electric to gasoline was very
On [XXX] while entering 2 car garage with no other cars in garage, the subject vehicle which is a HEV, changed from the electric drive mode to gasoline mode at the garage door and driveway apex. Immediately, the vehicle uncommandedly surged forward from approximately 1mph. The vehicle impacted a large refrigerator and small table causing severe front end damage. No airbags deployed and I was not injured. Although, my neck is sore from whiplash. Seatbelts were employed and vehicle was being operated at less than 1mph, standard for entering a two car garage. There were no warnings, lights, or sounds from the multi function display or any system emergency braking applied immediately before the collision.Just a violent surge forward that I could not quickly apply the brakes to avoid this collision. It is my feeling something electronic failed to operate or was unable to understand the driving environment at the time of impact. The change in driving mode from electric to gasoline was very
take.a break warning light is a hazard and distraction and is not accurate at all. i am not a new driver but this id not s safety feature it is such a distraction and is not consistent. i am not going in and out of the lane and even with both hands on the wheel it still goes off about every 90 seconds even at the beginning if some drives after about 3 miles. it is nig consistent and causes you to panic at times when the alarm sounds there is absolutely no way to disarm this. i am [XXX] and do the safe driving course every four years. this is a menace and i do t expect any results but i will not keep this car. going to trade it in on american car. my third and kadt hyundai INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The emergency rear collision detection system is able to be turned off, but automatically turns on when the car starts. There are situations where the car detects an object and it prevents me from reversing. I disabled this because I use my eyes and have accepted the risk of running into something. I had to move in a hurry two days ago, I tried to reverse out of the way, but the car prevented this when I thought I had already shut it off. Meanwhile I'm getting screamed at to move while I fumble through menus just so I can drive the car I bought. This is dangerous to have automatically on everytime the car starts.
Lump on driver seat, under right buttocks. Feels like hard steel poking up on right side of seat , predominantly under right side.
The Inattentive Driving Warning goes off excessively, causing distraction even in heavy traffic. Over a 2 hour drive, the Inattentive Driving Warning would alert approximately every 30 minutes regardless of traffic or driving conditions. The sound, which lasted approximately 1 to 2 seconds, and alert display caused me to momentarily turn my attention to the instrument cluster, rather than the road, while I was traveling at highway speeds in variable traffic. Previous model years allowed you to turn off this function, but this is no longer the case. Hyundai even confesses the inaccuracy of the system within the manual and has sent out notice of ways to lower incidences on different models vehicles.
The dash warning "Consider Taking A Break" fires off randomly. This is a distraction as when I'm in traffic, driving well within my lane, no sudden changes, it will alert and I look down as I assume there may be a more serious problem. It takes my attention from the road often. This feature cannot be disabled. I've contacted the manufacturer and the local dealership. The local dealership suggested that there is a way to do it but they cannot tell me as it could be a liability. I don't see how it would be a liability as it is me doing the disabling. If anything that could be corrected with a statement I'd need to click stating I know the added risk of disabling this or something. It's annoying and at worst, may cause an accident as it pulls the driver's attention from the road. I'm hesitant to let anyone else drive the vehicle as they may be less prepared for the warning and may cause confusion as they try to determine what it is.
The gear shifter design on this Hyundai model is dangerously counterintuitive compared to industry norms. It nearly caused me to drive off a cliff. I encountered a serious safety issue with the gear selector design. In most vehicles â including Mercedes, GM, and even pickup trucks â pushing the gear selector down engages forward drive, and up engages reverse or park. Hyundai has reversed this logic. In a rushed moment, I instinctively pushed the shifter down expecting to go forward (as in most cars), but the Hyundai was in reverse. I stepped on the gas and nearly backed off a cliff. This design is not just unfamiliar â it's opposite of established standards. Drivers with muscle memory from other vehicles like ANY pickup truck, MB, or GM EV are at real risk of making fatal errors. I strongly urge NHTSA to investigate whether this shifter design meets safety and human factors standards. At a minimum, Hyundai should issue a UI/UX recall to standardize shift direction or implemen
The gear shifter design on this Hyundai model is dangerously counterintuitive compared to industry norms. It nearly caused me to drive off a cliff. I encountered a serious safety issue with the gear selector design. In most vehicles â including Mercedes, GM, and even pickup trucks â pushing the gear selector down engages forward drive, and up engages reverse or park. Hyundai has reversed this logic. In a rushed moment, I instinctively pushed the shifter down expecting to go forward (as in most cars), but the Hyundai was in reverse. I stepped on the gas and nearly backed off a cliff. This design is not just unfamiliar â it's opposite of established standards. Drivers with muscle memory from other vehicles like ANY pickup truck, MB, or GM EV are at real risk of making fatal errors. I strongly urge NHTSA to investigate whether this shifter design meets safety and human factors standards. At a minimum, Hyundai should issue a UI/UX recall to standardize shift direction or implemen
The 12 v battery drains repeatedly causing the car to be without power . Requires opening the car with a manual key . Happens within as little of 3 days of not being driven . Dealer stated battery was without issues has continued to occur . Loses potential safety risk as entry into car becomes compromised especially if cold outside
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.