2012 Hyundai Sonata Steering Problems

Unknown, my ESP KEEPS Coming trying to see if it’s recall

NHTSA ID

11711709

Incident

Jan 1, 2026

Based on what I experienced, the fire appears to have resulted from an internal mechanical or electrical failure that occurred without warning while the vehicle was in motion. No prior issues or dashboard alerts were present at the time, and there was no external impact or damage that could explain the fire.

NHTSA ID

11701989

Incident

Oct 5, 2025

The contact owned a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that various functions on the steering wheel including the horn, cruise control, and other electrical functions; all failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that a warranty had been placed on the vehicle for the clock spring which they linked to the failure. The steering wheel also began to stick soon after the diagnosis. The dealer was notified of the failure; however, the dealer could not provide an appointment until months out. The contact then stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact began to pull over as the EPS(Electrical Power Steering) and several other warning lights appeared on the instrument panel. As the contact opened the door, a fellow motorist had also pulled over to alert the contact that the vehicle was on fire. Soon after exiting the vehicle, the entire vehicle quickly became engulfed in flames. The fire department quickly arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. The contact was not injured, no other occupants were inside the vehicle, and the contact was unsure if a fire or police report was filed. Some of the grass and trees in the area had caught fire as a result of the failure. The remains of the vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

NHTSA ID

11627450

Incident

Nov 25, 2024

Mileage

125,000 mi

The brake lights keep going off, they have been replaced several times. The passenger airbag deployed on a stop sign and cracked the entire windshield. The steering wheel feels like it’s going to come off. Please help

NHTSA ID

11577810

Incident

Mar 16, 2024

The power steering has failed to work on multiple occasions and I’m worried that it may happen during a tight manuver and possibly cause a wreck. This is very dangerous. When this power steering stops working it is way harder to turn than a car with no power at all.

NHTSA ID

11562225

Incident

Dec 28, 2023

Steering has a clunking/clicking sound when turning left or right. It has gotten worse from when I noticed it. At first I could hear a faint rattling sound when going over bumps in the road (more noticeable in colder time of the year). Now for the past 2-3 years it’s very noticeable and makes clunking like noise every time turning even when parked. When I first heard the faint noise my mechanic couldn’t hear it. He said I have to hear it to know for sure but said it’s possibly the steering column And at that time he priced it at $500 I’m sure it’s more now with this economy. I didn’t get it fixed bc he wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to pay to get it fixed if that wasn’t the problem. I had no idea I could file this complaint otherwise I would have done it sooner! This problem started January 2019. Also the gas gage will blink and say I have no gas even tho I filled up. The sensor to gaging the gas I believe is faulty. Hard to show a mechanic because it does it randomly starting the car, while driving, after filling up to name a few. Then the lines will fill in while driving, stopped at a traffic light/stop sign, starting the car. It will stay good for a while and act up again. This has been doing it so long I’d say it started a few years after owning so around 2015 about 45,000 miles. I’m lucky that I have jobs 5-10mins from my home I haven’t put on miles that most do. Again I would have put in a complaint if I knew of this site. Anyone driving this car could cause an accident if it runs out of gas in the middle of driving.

NHTSA ID

11544132

Incident

Jan 7, 2019

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle downshifted unintendedly and decelerated. The contact stated that she shifted into neutral(N). The contact pulled over to the side of the road and remained there for several minutes. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure recurred while driving. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure recurred while the vehicle was being test-driven; however, the dealer informed the contact that they could not determine the cause of the failure. The dealer informed the contact that the steering wheel needed to be disassembled to inspect the paddle shifters. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,300.

NHTSA ID

11541266

Incident

Feb 23, 2023

Mileage

100,300 mi

Daughter was driving her car on interstate, doing 75, in the middle of traffic when the car would jerk and then loose power. The gas petal stopped working and the check engine light would come on. She had to make her way over to the shoulder, without causing an accident. Once car gets shut off and you wait a few minutes, you can start it and drive it home. This has happened about 4 times now. We are lucky that this hasn't caused an accident! This last time (yesterday), the check engine light stayed on and we were able to hook up the dianostic reader and it read the code for the crankshaft positioning sensor A circut. It says online that this is a common problem with that car and is very dangerous. How is this not up for a recall? My daughter is scared to drive her car.

NHTSA ID

11504671

Incident

Jan 30, 2023

Steering wheel has a clicking clunking sound when turning right and left a mechanic told me it is the yolk in the sterring problem and he was sure there was a recall about this

NHTSA ID

11504293

Incident

Jan 29, 2023

Power steering loses power and window between speedometer and tach goes blank. Car keeps running but no power steering and cannot take out of park. Must restart the car to solve issue. Happened several times while at idle, in park. Happened once while in drive, at idle while stopped, and was able to drive forward when I discovered no power steering. Concerned it could happen while driving.

NHTSA ID

11495261

Incident

Nov 26, 2022

I purchased my 2012 Hyundai Sonata on 4-7-22. The car has had no mechanical work, no accidents and has less than 1000 miles. On 9-16-22 i was driving my car home and was less than five minutes away on the highway. My car began to decelerate, I attempted to stop at a red light but my car would not give me control and the brake was rock solid and would not push down. I also could not turn the car off via the start button as the car would not let me. My engine ESC light came on the dashboard in red and the engine completely halted. To get to safety as i was on the highway with oncoming traffic i steered the car to the right on the ramp .I exited the vehicle as it began to smoke ,i thought it would catch fire so i moved far away and called my boyfriend for help and a tow truck to get the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to College park Hyundai 9500 Baltimore Ave., College park, MD 20740.I looked up my car and noticed there are recalls for this engine and a few other recalls as i told the dealership. The car is currently being inspected and the dealer said they would get back to me. Once the service department received the car they told me the recall most likely will not effect my vehicle. I don't believe that to be true and i was put in danger because of this engine issue with Hyundai.

NHTSA ID

11485855

Incident

Sep 16, 2022

Steering mechanism is loose and is failing. The steering in my Hyundai is getting worse and sounding very bad.

NHTSA ID

11465779

Incident

May 18, 2022

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH and making a turn, the contact heard a clicking noise when making a slight turn on the vehicle. The contact felt that the steering wheel was oversteering while making slight turns in either direction. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure as a steering column coupler that was worn out and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11434909

Incident

Sep 26, 2021

Steering wheel couplet is broken causing the steering wheel to make a clanking noise when driving or going over little bumps on the road. It also makes the steering wheel and I believe tires make clanking noise when making a turn or pulling out of a driveway.

NHTSA ID

11434619

Incident

Jun 15, 2020

THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN VEHICLE WOULDN'T START DUE TO THE INTERIOR FUSE BOX GONE BAD ONCE FIXED WHILE DRIVE ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET THE STEERING WHEEL BEGIN CLICK WHILE TURN EITHER LEFT OR RIGHT AND ALMOST LOCKED ON ME THE 2012 HYUNDAI SONATA STEERING COLUMN FLEXIBLE COUPLER WENT BAD AND FROM MY RESEARCH THIS SEEM TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THERE CAR

NHTSA ID

11407236

Incident

Apr 5, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HIS WIFE WAS DRIVING, THE VEHICLE LOSS POWER STEERING ASSIST WHILE IN REVERSE, MAKING THE VEHICLE HARD TO STEER. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN BACK TO THE RESIDENCE IN MANUAL STEERING MODE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO UNIVERSAL HYUNDAI (12801 SOUTH, ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAIL, ORLANDO, FL 32837) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,000

NHTSA ID

11403705

Incident

Mar 12, 2021

Mileage

72,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING AND TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL THERE IS A KNOCKING SOUND. THE DRIVER SEAT BELT DOES NOT LOCK WHEN HITTING BRAKES AND IS LOOSE. THE PASSENGER WINDOW ON ONE SIDE DOES NOT GO DOWN. THE AIRBAG SIGNAL STAYS ON.

NHTSA ID

11383245

Incident

Sep 2, 2020

SEEMS STEERING COLUMN IS DEFECTIVE, KEEP GIVING CLANKING SOUNDS. ALSO AIRBAG WARNING SIGN KEEPS COMING.

NHTSA ID

11373498

Incident

Nov 1, 2019

Mileage

104,000 mi

CLUNKING IN STEERING WHEEL WHEN ROCKING LEFT AND RIGHT. PLASTIC STEERING WHEEL COUPLER WORN. YOU NEED A RECALL ON THIS!

NHTSA ID

11373480

Incident

Nov 6, 2020

Mileage

159,000 mi

LOUD CLUNKING NOISE FROM STEERING COLUMN WHEN TURNING RIGHT OR LEFT. ALSO VERY AUDIBLE NOISES FROM FRONT END WHEN HITTING BUMPS. ALSO TRAVELS INTO STEERING WHEEL. STEERING FEELS UNSAFE AND LOOSE LIKE WHEEL IS GOING TO FALL OFF.

NHTSA ID

11360968

Incident

Sep 10, 2020

Mileage

143,000 mi

STEERING WHEEL NOISE. IN ADDITION, LOUD CLANKING NOISES WHEN TRAVELING OVER BUMPS AND BUMPY ROADS WITH VIBRATIONS COMING TO THE STEERING WHEEL. VERY SIMILAR TO THE DESCRIPTIONS ON THE NHTSA PAGES.

NHTSA ID

11355515

Incident

Sep 17, 2020

Mileage

90,000 mi

SHORTLY AFTER THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED FROM A RECALL, THE STEERING STARTED CLICKING AND RATTLING. WORSE ON ROUGHER TERRAIN AND THE INTERSTATE, BUT BASICALLY MAKES THE NOISE WITH ANY MOVEMENT OF THE STEERING WHEEL. IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM, I AM NOT SURE WHY HYUNDAI IS NOT FIXING THIS ISSUE. IT IS PRETTY BAD THAT THIS CAR HAS HAD 8 TO 10 RECALLS.

NHTSA ID

11351505

Incident

Mar 5, 2019

THE STEERING WHEEL MAKES CLICKING NOISES. WHEN EVER I'M DRIVING, GOING OVER BUMPS AND TURNING. THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG STAYS ON.

NHTSA ID

11349619

Incident

Apr 13, 2018

THE EPS JUST CAME ON WHEN I CRUNK MY CAR UP YESTERDAY EVENING. THE SEATVELT LIGHT BEEN ON ABOUT A WEEK NOW

NHTSA ID

11348525

Incident

Aug 10, 2020

STEERING WHEEL CLICKS CONSTANTLY AND DRIVE SHAFT GIGGLES AND MAKES LOUD CLUCKING NOISES, ESPECIALLY ON ROUGH TERRAIN IT FEELS LIKE THE STEERING WHEEL IS GOING TO SNAP AND I LOOSE ALL STEERING AND CONTROL OF VEHICLE. I WENT TO GET IT FIXED AND THE MECHANIC STATED HE COULDN'T DUE TO THE SEVERITY OF IT.

NHTSA ID

11348445

Incident

Mar 19, 2020

Mileage

80,000 mi