2006 Hyundai Sonata Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,422 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, alongside 11 recall campaigns and 5 defect investigations. It scores 29/100 on the trouble index — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Airbags leads the reports, typically around 70,000 miles.
Typical
Where 2006 sits among all Sonata years
What owners report
“It has been a year since the air bags light been on in the dashboard. I did not have time to take it to hyundai dealership.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Sonata
“The sun visor on driver side keeps falling down and does not stay up. Its a safety issue when sun is in my eye and i cant do anything about it. I would hate an accident with sun in my eye and getting blinded.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Sonata
“When the car is parked and the key is out of the ignition the park lights stay on in the front and back, as well as the dashboard lights stay lit up. I have to unhook the battery to get them to turn off. As soon as i hook the battery back up the lights come back on.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Sonata
“Hi my airbag light is on continuously and when i scan with obd scanner it shows b1448 code.(ocs) ...so how to fix it......can hyundai dealer will repair this for free.....because its a recall as well....”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Sonata
“I went to my car to get a blanket and noticed that my brake lights will not turn off and my esc off light is on.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Sonata
“The brakes on my 2006 hyundai sonata failed on me as i was driving. My car seemed to have not been working properly.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2006 Sonata
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 1,134 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 75,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 52,000 and 110,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (11)
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2006-2011 Hyundai Azera and 2006 Hyundai Sonata vehicles. Water may enter the Anti-lock Brake (ABS) Module and result in an electrical short .
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will install a relay in the vehicle's main junction box to prevent the risk of an ABS short-circuit while the car is turned off, free of charge. The recall…
Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Sonata vehicles manufactured March 1, 2005, through January 21, 2010; and model year 2006-2011 Azera vehicles manufactured September 27, 2005, through November 22, 2010 originally sold in, or currently…
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will repair or replace the crossmember assembly. The recall began on October 8, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai Customer Care Center at 1-800-633-5151.…
HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 3,011 MODEL YEAR 2005-2007 ELANTRA, TUCSON, SONATA, AZERA AND ACCENT VEHICLES. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO FAIL TO ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN…
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI OF PUERTO RICO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-787-999-4310.
HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 532,633 MY 2006-2007 ACCENT, ENTOURAGE, SONATA, MY 2007 AZERA, ELANTRA AND SANTA FE, MY 2005-2007 TUCSON AND MY 2007-2008 VERACRUZ VEHICLES. THE STOP LAMP SWITCH IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES MAY MALFUNCTION. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP…
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 29, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE HYUNDAI CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.
SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY…
Fix: SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 393,308 MY 2006-2008 SONATA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN ADVANCED AIR BAG SYSTEM WHICH FEATURES AN OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) IN THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT. THE PURPOSE OF THE OCS IS TO DISABLE THE RIGHT PASSENGER SEAT FRONT AIR BAG…
Fix: DEALERS WILL VERIFY THAT THE OCS DOES NOT PROPERLY RECOGNIZE A PROPERLY SEATED ADULT OCCUPANT. AFTER VERIFICATION, DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT CUSHION ASSEMBLY AND SHIP IT TO AN…
HYUNDAI-KIA IS RECALLING 4,085 REPLACEMENT HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES SOLD FOR USE ON 2006-2008 SONATA AND AZERA VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ALIGNED PROPERLY AND FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE PHOTOMETRIC REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE…
Fix: HYUNDAI-KIA DEALERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND INSTRUCTED TO RETURN THEIR SUPPLY TO HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA. NONE OF THE HEADLAMPS WERE SOLD AS RETAIL. AS A RESULT, AN OWNER NOTIFICATION LETTER WILL NOT…
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE AIR BAG WARNING LABEL INSTALLED ON THE SUNVISORS HAD LOST ADHESION TO THE SUNVISORS AND HAD DISTORTED OR SEPARATED FROM THE SUN VISORS.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SUNVISOR ASSEMBLIES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 2, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE INNER BEZELS OF THE HEADLAMPS WERE NOT PROPERLY ASSEMBLED WHICH MAY CAUSE THE TURN SIGNAL LENSES TO BE IMPROPERLY POSITIONED.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 26, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE FRONT SEAT BELT MAY INTERFERE WITH THE MANUAL SEAT BACK RECLINER KNOB AND COULD CAUSE THE FRONT MANUAL SEAT BACK RECLINER TO INADVERTENTLY RELEASE.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE MANUAL SEAT BACK RECLINER KNOB(S) FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 14, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.3 LITER ENGINES AND ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), THE ESC MAY HAVE BEEN PROGRAMMED TO BE OVERSENSITIVE TO THE ONSET OF OVERSTEERING WHILE DRIVING ON BANKED CURVES, CAUSING INADVERTENT APPLICATION OF THE…
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE ESC HYDRAULIC ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 29, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 13V354000.
Led to recall campaign 09V122000.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2006 Hyundai Sonata reliable?
The 2006 Hyundai Sonata drew 1,422 complaints in federal safety records — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Its trouble index is 29/100, scored against the model's worst year (2011).
What are the most common 2006 Hyundai Sonata problems?
The top reported problems for the 2006 Hyundai Sonata are airbags (444 complaints), visibility & wipers (187), and electrical (132).
At what mileage do 2006 Hyundai Sonata problems show up?
Owners most often report 2006 Hyundai Sonata problems around 75,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 52,000 and 110,000 miles.
Does the 2006 Hyundai Sonata have recalls?
11 recall campaigns apply to the 2006 Hyundai Sonata. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.