| Issue ID | 1138725 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10663256 |
| Manufacurer | Hyundai Motor America |
| Brand | HYUNDAI |
| Model | SONATA HYBRID |
| Model Year | 2013 |
| File date | 01/07/14 |
| Component | STEERING |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | While driving north on i-95 to a family fourth of july party this past summer i started to have a problem with my sonata's steering system. I felt the steering wheel grab and hold itself in place for an instant. In that instant i sensed that i had to exert extra strength to the steering wheel to force it to release itself from the surprising and frightening grab. Thankfully, the extra exertion on my part released the grab right away but another grab occurred within a few seconds. I had to drive the rest of the way to virginia beach with this feeling of grab and release, grab and release, grab and release occurring every few seconds. The return trip back home on i-95 to south carolina a few days later was just as bad. This steering problem just about drove me to distraction. I felt lucky to get back home alive and well. Once at home i realized that the sonata's steering system does not grab at lower speeds. It doesn't grab if you keep the speed below forty-five miles per hour, but whenever i get the speed up to fifty miles per hour or higher it starts to grab. The hyundai dealership where i purchased the car took it out for a test drive but they didn't take it out on a highway so they didn't get the car's speed up high enough and,therefore, reported that they didn't feel any grabbing. So i was left with a fairly new sonata that is still under warranty but not able to drive it over fifty miles per hour. I recently took the sonata to our regular garage and paid to have the wheels rotated and also paid for an alignment, but there was no improvement. I must get this steering problem fixed before the end of the year because we are driving to florida in early january and once again will be driving on i-95. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 14000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | AIKEN, SC |
| VIN pattern | 5NPEC4AC7DHXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 65 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |