2020 Hyundai Sonata Body & structure Problems

Car was taken to dealership for inspection. Upon inspection, it was determined that the fuel tank had expanded and pushed towards the heat shield, and expanded upward pushing up the back seats of vehicle. It was determined to not safe to drive. Manufacturer contacted me and offered a buyback. Upon their offer of a buyback, it was determined that I would owe the manufacturer approximately $2,000. I have requested that they fix it, and they have refused to give me the paperwork I requested about the car's condition and fixability. I am in the process of negotiating and am filing this complaint for the record.

NHTSA ID

11753819

Incident

Apr 21, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with the family inside the vehicle, a strong gasoline odor was inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that the fuel gauge was lowering quickly. Upon exiting the vehicle, the contact became aware of gasoline gushing heavily out of the vehicle onto the ground. Two months prior to the failure, the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer due to an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V796000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the recall repair was not performed because the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was determined that the gas valve was not properly fixed. The abnormal sound in the rear of the vehicle was due to the fuel expansion, which caused the tank to rupture and melt. The melting caused the fuel pump to expand and melt, causing structural damage to the body of the vehicle. The structural expansion caused the rear passenger seats to raise up. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,000.

NHTSA ID

11745596

Incident

Jun 17, 2026

Mileage

89,000 mi

White pain is pealing off and it’s pretty bad especially when going through car wash

NHTSA ID

11718241

Incident

Jan 22, 2026

I own a 2020 Hyundai Sonata with factory-applied paint. The vehicle developed paint peeling/clear-coat failure on the driver-side rear quarter panel without any prior damage, accident, or repainting. The paint began separating from the body, exposing the underlying surface. I brought the vehicle to an authorized Hyundai dealer. The dealer acknowledged a paint adhesion failure and submitted the issue to Hyundai. Hyundai declined to fully cover the repair, stating the model year was not included in their paint warranty extension, even though similar peeling paint defects have been acknowledged and covered by Hyundai on earlier Sonata model years. The dealer ultimately repainted both rear panels due to the nature of the failure, but Hyundai required me to pay approximately 20% of the repair cost as a goodwill arrangement. I was not offered a full repaint or full reimbursement. I have also observed early signs of potential paint adhesion issues around the rear window frame, raising concern that the defect may progress to other areas of the vehicle. This appears to be a manufacturing paint adhesion defect rather than normal wear, and similar issues have been widely reported on Hyundai vehicles. I am reporting this issue to document a recurring paint adhesion defect on the 2020 Hyundai Sonata and to assist in identifying a potential pattern affecting additional vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11706069

Incident

Nov 1, 2025

In early May 2025 while driving around 40mph, I heard a very loud pop which startled me. Pulled over and looked back and noticed my backseats were push up out of place. I attempted to put the seat back into place but it wouldn’t fit into the latch anymore. The framing underneath the seats looked pretty damaged so I took it to a local mechanic. After doing some research, he found information for a check valve/fuel tank recall (Service Campaign 9B1) and then advised me to go a Hyundai dealership. I attempted to take it to the dealership, whom sent me away after I advised them of what happened. I came back the next day asking them to take a look at while informing them about the recall that could be related. Later that evening, they called and said the issue was directly related to the recall and the repairs would be covered. My car was in their possession for from 5.12.25 to 7.25.25 without any updates or instructions on what is happening. I was told they’re waiting to hear back from Hyundai Manufacturer on how to proceed. They returned my car to me on 7.25.25 stating everything was repaired. On 7.31.25 they called me back stating my tank needs to be replaced and bring the car back asap. My car was again being repaired and was returned to me on 8.25.25. Now my vehicle will not start randomly sometimes. At this point, I’m under the impression my vehicle is no longer safe as all the issues I’ve been facing are fuel related.

NHTSA ID

11684797

Incident

May 10, 2025

Service Campaign 9B1 That my gas tank has explanded/exploded due to the issue noted in the subject line. As you can see the whole bottom of the backseats have been raised up imcluding the part that connects to the gas tank itself. My car is immobilized and not drivable during this time. What is the next step to take?

NHTSA ID

11651228

Incident

Mar 25, 2025

I took my car in for a standard oil change and tune up. They found out that the fuel tank had expanded to the point where it caused significant damage to the metal frame. The Hyundai dealership sent it to the local body shop for an estimate for the frame, they sent it back because the dealership hadn't removed the gas tank, then the dealership sent it back to the body shop. It's been 3+ weeks, my car is still in the shop, and I haven't received any indication of whether my car is able to be fixed. The dashboard never displayed any warning messages and there were no symptoms of the problem. I had no idea the gas tank had expanded and could've caused an explosion or fire.

NHTSA ID

11647105

Incident

Feb 12, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that upon exiting the vehicle during a rainstorm, she became aware that water had filled the interior of the rear driver's side door panel, which began to leak when the door was open. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine how the water was entering the door panel. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 47,000.

NHTSA ID

11610090

Incident

Aug 21, 2024

Mileage

47,000 mi

I was on my way back home from Alexandria LA on [XXX] when I heard like the sound of an blow out tire but wasn’t happen to look in back of car and seen back seat was blown off the area of the car and proceeded to see that the gas tank was expanded like you would see a balloon and the me car started running funny and. Then a service code comes across the screen of the radio po45100 , so I pull over and look beneath the car and see that the gas tank is so expanded it’s now pressing against the exhaust pipe. So I turned car off and here we are now I’m without a car due to this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11597170

Incident

Jun 25, 2024

Exterior paint is peeling and stripping. Hood, doors, front and rear bumper, side skirts, and front lip.

NHTSA ID

11522690

Incident

May 17, 2023

2020 HYUNDAI SONATA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO GRINDING NOISE WHILE DRIVING. THE CONSUMER STATED UPON INSPECTION BY TOYOTA, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE UNDERSHIELD HAD COME LOOSE AND DRAGGING.

NHTSA ID

11489948

Incident

Oct 19, 2022

On Nov. 2020 my husband and I purchased a new 2020 Hyundai Sonata with 2mls.off the showroom floor at Daytona Hyundai dealership, Daytona Beach,Fl. We moved to Ga.One day in December, I opened the driver side back door to put groceries in the backseat and I noticed water on the door frame at the bottom ,I thought maybe I might have left the window part of the way down and rain came in. a few weeks after that I went into town I was going to put groceries again in the driver side back door and water sitting on the bottom of the frame inside the door . The window was up .So this went on every time it rained. I drove my car to Rome GA at Heritage auto group they sell Hyundai’s And also service them. [XXX] in service department he’s the manager I told him about the door where I was finding water at every time that it would rain. So he told me to bring it back when I was able to leave it. For the next couple months I had a medical emergency with our son that lives in Florida when he lost eyesight. With the specialist diagnosis he had uveitis in both eyes. The first trip was in April 2021 and I 95 southbound in Florida maybe past Saint Augustine we were driving 60 miles an hour the traffic was very heavy and all three lanes, I was in the center. It was within seconds that I seen something rubber in front of me in my lane ,it could not be avoided or I would have caused a accident with other vehicles. I ran over it on the right side front bumper so my son and I decided to drive it on down to Daytona Hyundai in Daytona where we purchased it at. The manager in the service department there inspected my car all the way around and told me the damages to the right front bumper and the plastic air dam he also said that I could leave it there but they didn’t have a loaner for me & they couldn’t give me a timeframe I told him I had to get back to Georgia take care of my husband. He said that I could have it repaired up there. He did finish cutting off the plastic air-dam . INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFOR

NHTSA ID

11441229

Incident

Dec 11, 2020

THE VEHICLE'S DRIVER SIDE WINDOW IS NOT SEATED PROPERLY AND HAS EXCESSIVE WIND NOISE WHEN DRIVING. DEALERSHIP CONFIRMS THIS ISSUE ACROSS MULTIPLE MODELS IN THE 2020 AND 2021 HYUNDAI SONATA.

NHTSA ID

11394499

Incident

Feb 3, 2021

Mileage

600 mi

REAR DOORS RETAIN WATER EVERY TIME IT RAINS. WHEN YOU OPEN THE REAR DOORS WATER DRAINS OUT OF THE CAR. BROUGHT CAR TO HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP WHO VERIFIED THE PROBLEM AND CONFIRMED THE PROBLEM WITH OTHER NEW CARS ON THEIR LOT, ON APRIL 21, 2020. DEALERSHIP CONTACTED HYUNDAI CORPORATE FOR GUIDANCE AND THERE HAS BEEN NO RESPONSE TO DATE. *TR

NHTSA ID

11326116

Incident

Apr 21, 2020

Mileage

520 mi

I LOOKED UP UNDER THE HOOD, IT START RUSTING IN FRAME IN DRIVER SIDE. I CHECKED OTHER 2020 SONATA FROM DEALERSHIP AND THOSE CAR ARE EVEN WORST. THOSE CAR RUSTING DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE TOO. *TR

NHTSA ID

11323971

Incident

May 7, 2020

Mileage

350 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE DOORS OPENED INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT THE UNLOCK BUTTON BEING DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WALLACE HYUNDAI LOCATED AT (3801 SE FEDERAL HWY A, STUART, FL 34997) HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 600.

NHTSA ID

11319015

Incident

Feb 27, 2020

Mileage

600 mi