As title. I own a 2012 Hyundai Sonata and my car runs perfectly. Despite the Theta 2 engine issue, I just genuinely wanted to know how reliable the car is after 8-9 years.
Please upvote if you don’t feel like to comment. This is not for farming internet points.
Thank you.
Probably not very many. Hyundai screwed up big time.
Vann said:
Probably not very many. Hyundai screwed up big time.
Were there certain years that were bad for engines? Can you explain what the screw up was?
Vann said:
Probably not very many. Hyundai screwed up big time.
Were there certain years that were bad for engines? Can you explain what the screw up was?
Hyundai gave a bunch of convoluted answers. I’m almost certain it’s a design flaw but they blamed their Alabama factory and then blamed something with the fuel line but I think they switched their story again recently. Kia however blamed the restrictive oil flow through the connecting rod bearings. I’m not an engineer but a lot of this just seems like stalling from the company (no pun intended). Whistleblower said Hyundai knew about it when they were about to launch the engine so they basically pulled a Ford and said “Fuck it, we’ll deal with it later”. Either way, it was such a poorly made engine so please avoid it. The scandal got so bad that their HQ was raided by South Korean officials a few years ago. Cost-cutting and greed got to them again just like Honda and Ford.
@Vann
Well shit I ain’t getting rid of my 2012 any time soon so hopefully it doesn’t die lol. I genuinely enjoy this car.
@Vann
Has it changed since then? I’ve watched a bunch of videos on the GDI engines and the lack of being able to clean the valves. I’m sure the design hasn’t changed much if any. Hopefully I’m wrong. I want to believe my 2020 Santa Fe will last for a long time. It’s made me paranoid but dedicated to do whatever I can to keep it clean and running well.
@Kai
Their 2015 and up models don’t have nearly as many early failures, if any at all, as the 2011 models did so I think that’s a good sign. They did revise the engine design a bit and apparently got their Alabama factory into shape with the 2015 refresh of the Sonata. I think your Santa Fe will be just fine but if a lot of issues do end up popping up on the internet or with your own car anytime soon, just think about trading in the Santa Fe sooner than you would have before. But I’m confident that they’ve gotten their crap together because they cannot afford a big quality scandal directly after they just spent billions building a reputation for quality.
@Vann
Thanks for all that!
Np! I did a lot of research on this when I was shopping for my used Hyundai so I have a lot of random knowledge about this. 
Np! I did a lot of research on this when I was shopping for my used Hyundai so I have a lot of random knowledge about this.
My 2012 Sonata still runs fine, no major problem but I’m paranoid that the engine will seize unexpectedly anytime, especially if I’m on a road trip. I want to trade it for peace of mind but it’s still under warranty until 2022 and people said it’s not a financially wise decision. Would you trade the car for something else if you’re in my shoes?
@Reese
Mine just died on the freeway 3 days ago and dealership just confirmed they’ll be replacing a new engine for me under warranty. I’m thinking about trading it in after I get it back for something else.
@Lian
How many miles do you have?
Reese said:
@Lian
How many miles do you have?
This comment is empty, admin should fix.
I have a 2012 Sonata Hybrid… had it for a few months now from a trade-in… 89 thousand miles running fine … I’ve read these cars can have massive issues but … so far so good lol.
Sidney said:
I have a 2012 Sonata Hybrid… had it for a few months now from a trade-in… 89 thousand miles running fine … I’ve read these cars can have massive issues but … so far so good lol.
Good to know. Mine is a GLS with 82k miles. No major problem so far.
@Reese
Yeah I’m hoping to be able to get a long time out of it.
Sidney said:
I have a 2012 Sonata Hybrid… had it for a few months now from a trade-in… 89 thousand miles running fine … I’ve read these cars can have massive issues but … so far so good lol.
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@Finnian
Yeah I feel you just get the one without the sunroof if it’s so hard to find the spec you want! You seem to really want Hyundai might be disappointed with other brands.
I have a 2011 Sonata (2.4L Limited) that I bought almost 10 years ago and still have the original engine and currently at 95k. Probably going to trade it in once the powertrain warranty expires in a few months.
@Marlow
Nice! Good to know that a 2011 is still fine and it’s serving you well!