Problems · by component
2011 Hyundai Sonata vehicle speed control problems
95 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 Hyundai Sonata cite vehicle speed control, 3% of all 3,380 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
95
3% of all complaints
Crashes
18
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
9
Reported by owners
What owners say about the vehicle speed control
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I test drove the vehicle at an auction, watched several other people test drive the vehicle. Before the auction I test drove it one more time and put my obd scan tool on it to make sure there were no hidden codes or problems. I won the bid,and picked up the vehicle. I drove it approximately 6 miles from the auction and the falshing engine light popped on. I immediately pulled over in heavy freeway traffic. Put my scan tool on it and found out the knock sensor had triggered. The vehicle was shaking and making a terrible racket. It was inoperable in the worst possible spot on Highway 51 during rush hour traffic. I managed to slowing coast down the offramp and roll into a parking lot. I then called Purdy Hyundai and spoke with a service advisor and provided the VIN#. He (Vue Kue) informed me that the vehicle qualified for the recall and warranty work based on exactly that issue. I had the vehicle towed to the Purdy dealership on July 8th 2026. I was told today that it was unlikely that Hyundai would honor the recall because I did not have service records of a vehicle I had owned for 6 miles of driving. I filed a complaint with Hyundai corporate. Claim#43010067 and…”
“The clock spring went bad causing failure of horn and all buttons on the steering wheel including cruise control. It also caused the airbag light to illuminate.”
“When my car is turned on there is a very noticeable shake coming from the engine area. It's not that bad once the car is driving. However, I was driving 40 miles an hour when my check engine light came on, then I was unable to accelerate and my car stalled (it's an automatic car).Once my car started up again, the check engine light was flashing, and I could only drive at like 15-20 miles per hour for my speed. Made it to O'Reilly and had them run the check engine light codes for me and it popped up with the P1326 code regarding the knock signal range/performance. I recently got a check engine light code for a p0449 EVAP vent control valve (it wouldnt allow me to pump gas into the car). I'm unsure if the issues are related but wanted to provide all the details.”
“I changed my oil on Saturday and it now has no oil. The engine light started flashing and my engine seized up. Now it does not run at all. It turns on halfway where the dashboard turns on but the motor/engine does not turn. It appears to be white smoke coming out of the car after trying to turn it back on.”
“On 1/3/2024 the car was at a low speed - once when parking and once stopping at an intersection - when it suddenly accelerated without the accelerator being touched. The only way that the car stopped was that I was able to shift it into neutral. According to online forums, this has been a known issue with several Kia and Hyundai models.”
“This is a 'Stop Lamp Switch' issue. The car will randomly turn on the ABS light causing the ABS system to engage and not allow you to use the accelerator pedal. This is very dangerous as if you are about to merge on or off a highway the car does not allow you to correctly control your speed. This issue happens more prevalently at night time when the full beam headlights (auto or manually turn on when dark out), which is very concerning. This issue has been going on for a year now and no mechanics at Hyundai can fix or diagnose. It happened again to me this morning and came very close to causing an accident as I could not engage the accelerator pedal on a turn. Please, in the interest of safety and saving lives fix this dangerous defective part issue.”
Showing 6 of 95 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.