Should I trust my 2011 hyundai sonata? Need some advise.

Asked by Guru571H Mar 27, 2017 at 10:35 PM about the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited FWD

Question type: General

Hey all,

So i saw a 2011 Hyundai sonata for sale,  It is beautiful and I jumped and bought it for $7,000.  Here is the thing, it has 125k miles on it, and I thought to myself "hey, Ill just take care of it and keep the oil full and im sure it will go to 200k-250k no problem".   So I bought it from the guy. (craigslist)   The next day I go home and google the car and lookup the vin number, and I see ALL the many problems these cars have, (most worrisome the engine recall due to the "metal fillings falling in at the factory).  I paid $140 to have the local Hyundai dealer  do a "130 point" inspection on the car and they say it all looks good.  BUT i see that Hyundai extended all the warranty on these cars to 120k miles (cool)  but like i said, the car I just bought is at 125k :/.   SO... is my car a ticking time bomb?  Should I keep it? Sell it? If i just ALWAYS make sure the oil is good should I trust it?  Share your knowledge with me please.

7 Answers

80

I have a 2011 sonata and it drinks oil like you wouldn't believe and that's before and after the recall on the engine recall. Mine is a limited it has l69,000 miles on it but major electrical problems. the headlights keep going out, none of the buttons on the steering wheel work, the gas gauge is now just a guess it reads different from one moment to the next. I am going to take a loss on mine now to get out of it. The 2011 model is the worst in Hyundai history. oh and I had to pay $320 dollars to get a $3 starter part put in when my starter went out and $335 to have a $3 part put in the steering wheel put in when my steering started going out.

8 people found this helpful.
20

Hey guys, thanks for the advise. Gurutx7y, I'm curious about the oil. When you say it drinks a lot, how much are we talking about? Do you just tip it off when you add gas, or how do you handle it?

2 people found this helpful.

Hey guys, thanks for the advise. Gurutx7y, I'm curious about the oil. When you say it drinks a lot, how much are we talking about? Do you just tip it off when you add gas, or how do you handle it?

40

I have a 2011 2.0T and have not have any major problems with the car. I have 102k so far and picked it up at 11k so I have driven it. I did have the turbo replaced under warranty shortly after I got the car. It started making a weird sound so Hyundai just decided to replace it. The engine itself has been fine. Did get it cked out when the recall notice came out and they told me mine did not have any issues. I do have the extended warranted to 120k or 10 years so I have a few more miles and years to go. The fuel gauge is all over the place which I don't like at all. I just set the trip when I fuel up and know when I hit about 370 miles to fill up. To expensive to repair so not too worried about it. Other than that, just routine maintenance. Oil change every 5k faithfully. I don't owe anything on it so when and if it goes then I'll say goodbye to it.

4 people found this helpful.
40

I got mine at 120k miles. I have the standard GDI 4 cylinder. No upgrades. Now I have 181k miles mostly highway. I’ve had no problems at all. The only one thing is that it does need a lil oil from time to time. That could be because I don’t change the oil enough. Every 8-10k miles I change it. Sometimes 12k miles, oops. Anyways half way through the winter and it still starts well idles well. I didn’t even take it in for the recall. Oh the only thing I’d agree with is that the headlight tend to go out fast. What’s good about that though is the bright headlights and normal headlight are interchangeable so if I don’t want to have a headlight out I take the bright bulb and switch it. Takes 5 mins to do max. And no tools to do it. I’ve made two long trips to California in it. From Iowa which is 6,400k miles round trip. Did fantastic each time.

4 people found this helpful.
40

I got mine at 120k miles. I have the standard GDI 4 cylinder. No upgrades. Now I have 181k miles mostly highway. I’ve had no problems at all. The only one thing is that it does need a lil oil from time to time. That could be because I don’t change the oil enough. Every 8-10k miles I change it. Sometimes 12k miles, oops. Anyways half way through the winter and it still starts well idles well. I didn’t even take it in for the recall. Oh the only thing I’d agree with is that the headlight tend to go out fast. What’s good about that though is the bright headlights and normal headlight are interchangeable so if I don’t want to have a headlight out I take the bright bulb and switch it. Takes 5 mins to do max. And no tools to do it. I’ve made two long trips to California in it. From Iowa which is 6,400k miles round trip. Did fantastic each time. Also the is the no traction light comes on it’s probably the lil switch above the brake petal. It’s a small rubber piece that the button presses on, over time that little button rubs through the rubble piece all you have to do it but tape on it so it doesn’t ware through it. Very simple easy to do. Again no tools required.

My Sonata engine failed after 112k, Hyundai replaced it with a reman engine for free. I was very particular with the oil change, and have no clue why it happened.

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