Anyone own the 2011 Hyundai Sonata?

[mouse12]

I need to buy a car soon and I love the new 2011 Hyundai Sonata. I would love to buy this car but I have read on online forums that the car is steering to the left. There seems to be alot of people who have this problem I just don't know how wide spread this is. The new owners have stated that they have brought the car back to the dealer a number of times and Hyundai has not been fixing this issue.

People are saying they have make an effort to keep the car from going to the left at high way speeds.

I just wanted to know if you own this car are you having this particular problem? And do you like the car?

Thanks

 

[mrspaha]

We bought one about 3 weeks ago, and love it!

Prior to this, the last car we bought was a 2003 Elantra, and we've been really happy with that car. The great warranty is what appealed to me back 8 years ago. So, when we needed a new car now, I did not even bother to look at anything other than Hyundais. BTW, the 2011 Elantra is super sharp also, has slightly better advertised gas mileage, and is quite a bit larger than the older elantras.

I haven't noticed any drag on the steering, and wasn't even aware that that was an issue for anyone. I almost wish the sonata wasn't so sharp looking; I'm hoping it won't be targeted for theft or anything like that. People have come up to me in parking lots and commented about the car.

 

[Stargazer]

We've had ours for 7 months now and absolutely love it! I haven't had any problems whatsoever.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My mom bought hers about 6 months ago and she loves it!

 

[lailah]

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! I got mine for my birthday in July and absolutely love it! I traded in my 2009 Sonata (loved it too) for the 2011. Great on gas (we actually got 37 miles to the gallon going OH to NC)! I get compliments on it all the time. One lady followed me into a store just to ask me what kind of a car I was driving! She's behind me yelling "Hey Lady, hey lady!. I was afraid to look behind me! We have the bay harbor gray and my neighbor swears its never looks dirty. And it really looks sporty. We didn't tell my adult daughter that we were getting one. Parked it in the driveway and she walks out and said "Who bought a Lexus???".

 

[koziclan]

I bought mine last April and since then 3 people in my family have done the same. There was a steering recall for cars manufactured within a certain time frame. My car wasn't included but my dad's was. Neither one of us has experienced any problems. I am very happy with it.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My mother bought one several months ago and she loves it. She was on the fence between this and the Accord, but she likes this so much better. Her's is the top of the line model and it's nice.

 

[mouse12]

Thanks everyone. I am glad to hear that you all are happy with this car.

I really love this car. I love the way it looks inside and out.

I'm just scared I will get one the bad ones. Someone on Consumer reports car blog who works for CR. said they are aware of the problem and will report about it in the next few days.

I really want to hear what CR says about this problem.

 

[DVC-Don]

We've had a 2011 Sonata Limited since last November and we really like it. No problems with anything. It's loaded. The Sonata replaced my wifes 04 Cadillac SRX and it has more features than the Caddy had. It's been confused with a Lexus a couple of times by people in parking lots. I've never had people in parking lots come up to me to ask questions about a car I'm driving before.

 

[mouse12]

We've had a 2011 Sonata Limited since last November and we really like it. No problems with anything. It's loaded. The Sonata replaced my wifes 04 Cadillac SRX and it has more features than the Caddy had. It's been confused with a Lexus a couple of times by people in parking lots. I've never had people in parking lots come up to me to ask questions about a car I'm driving before.

What I love about this car is that it looks like a expensive car and you get alot for your money.

 

[mouse12]

Does anyone have the fabric seats in this car? Are they wearing well? I have heard some people complain about the fabric seats fraying after a couple of months.

I will probably get the Sonata Limited that has leather seats.

 

[simonkodousek]

I looked at the 2011 Sonata and ultimately decided to get a 2010 VW Jetta based on price and included options. For around $20,000, I could get the base Sonata or a Jetta with automatic, heated vinyl seats, alloy wheels, and a sunroof.

I really liked the Sonata though and to be honest, I think it looks even better than my Jetta. That said, I do love my car, and I've had absolutely no problems with it so far... Keeping my fingers crossed though!

 

[ConnieB]

Thanks everyone. I am glad to hear that you all are happy with this car.

I really love this car. I love the way it looks inside and out.

I'm just scared I will get one the bad ones. Someone on Consumer reports car blog who works for CR. said they are aware of the problem and will report about it in the next few days.

I really want to hear what CR says about this problem.

Be sure then that you test drive the exact car that you'll be buying. A lot of people test drive whatever the salesman puts them in and then choose their preferred colors/options but don't test drive the exact car they will own. Take it out on the highway and drive it a lot. If the salesman objects, tell him you'll shop elsewhere. Seriously, some of them get all persnickety when I have wanted to truly test drive a car, meaning 20-30 miles, not a couple of blocks. I want it on the highway, I want it on the surface streets, including the rough streets and the good ones, the curvy roads and the straight. If I'm going to spend $20k I want to KNOW that it's going to handle how I want it and a couple blocks doesn't tell me that nor whether the seat is comfortable for more than 5 minutes (I'm pooh sized so this is a serious issue to me since I put 25k miles on a car a year at least).

Even if this means that you have to drive to the next town to go to a different dealer, do it. The amount of money, not to mention in this case your potential safety, is worth a bit of effort!! You can still go to the closest dealer for service (except any promised work the selling dealer promises, so be sure not to negotiate any that must be done by a far away dealer only....I typically get them to throw in oil changes for 2 years and often that requires returning to the selling dealer....not a problem in my town (Phoenix) where there are literally a dozen Hyundai dealers within my normal range of errands.).

Also, remember that online reviews tend to be those with complaints (especially places like edmunds.com). Happy people don't bother going online to discuss how happy they are with their car, lol. BUT...happy people will comment on threads like this about how much their love their car. So take the number of complaints with some grain of salt....test drive your vehicle extensively to be sure it doesn't have the pull others have described.

 

[mrspaha]

Connie B brought up some good points about test driving. On our most recent car purchase, our salesman was great; he was with us in the car when we were testing it, and he asked us if we wanted to go a little further because he knew a road that was on the bumpy side. We did, and it further solidified our choice. Before the test drive, he asked if we knew what color we wanted (I did), and he brought out that car for us to drive. We drove it home 45 minutes later.

 

[cglaura]

I just wanted to pop in and let you know I have a 1997 Sonata with 110,000 miles and it is still great. I bought it pre-owned in 2000. Only repairs have been the normal maintenance and replacements that should be done as a car gets older.

 

[mouse12]

Be sure then that you test drive the exact car that you'll be buying. A lot of people test drive whatever the salesman puts them in and then choose their preferred colors/options but don't test drive the exact car they will own. Take it out on the highway and drive it a lot. If the salesman objects, tell him you'll shop elsewhere. Seriously, some of them get all persnickety when I have wanted to truly test drive a car, meaning 20-30 miles, not a couple of blocks. I want it on the highway, I want it on the surface streets, including the rough streets and the good ones, the curvy roads and the straight. If I'm going to spend $20k I want to KNOW that it's going to handle how I want it and a couple blocks doesn't tell me that nor whether the seat is comfortable for more than 5 minutes (I'm pooh sized so this is a serious issue to me since I put 25k miles on a car a year at least).

Even if this means that you have to drive to the next town to go to a different dealer, do it. The amount of money, not to mention in this case your potential safety, is worth a bit of effort!! You can still go to the closest dealer for service (except any promised work the selling dealer promises, so be sure not to negotiate any that must be done by a far away dealer only....I typically get them to throw in oil changes for 2 years and often that requires returning to the selling dealer....not a problem in my town (Phoenix) where there are literally a dozen Hyundai dealers within my normal range of errands.).

Also, remember that online reviews tend to be those with complaints (especially places like edmunds.com). Happy people don't bother going online to discuss how happy they are with their car, lol. BUT...happy people will comment on threads like this about how much their love their car. So take the number of complaints with some grain of salt....test drive your vehicle extensively to be sure it doesn't have the pull others have described.

Thank you Connie B. for your post. I just told my friend yesterday if I decide to buy this car I want to test drive it on the highway. Alot of people said they didn't notice the car pulling to the left on their test drive only after they bought it. I will make sure I only test drive the car I will buy.

Thank you again for your very informative post!!

 

[mouse12]

I just wanted to pop in and let you know I have a 1997 Sonata with 110,000 miles and it is still great. I bought it pre-owned in 2000. Only repairs have been the normal maintenance and replacements that should be done as a car gets older.

Thanks. One of reasons I want this car is because of its excellent reliability.