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2011 Sonata Hybrid stumbling/surge problem

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  #11  
Old 09-24-2011, 05:17 AM
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Default Sonata hybrid drive train-charging shut-down ghost

My 2011 purchased in April had the same general symptoms in August at approx. 3500 miles. Each time the drive-train would cause a 'forced landing' without power. I would roll to a stop, shift to Park, Turn-off, wait ten seconds, turn on and drive away with no evidence of the failure, no codes thrown (per technician). Fourth time was 8PM on Freeway in left lane (55mph) in heavy traffic heading to airport. Sharp clunking sound and full dash board freak-out lights, bells, whistles, etc... The problem for me then was moving over three lanes on the overpass to a half shoulder lane with a very large tour bus on my bumper. How embarrasing! Worst yet, on my way to the airport to catch a flight with no room in my agenda for delays of this sort. Coasted to a stop, put in park, turn off, turn on, and ghost is gone. Darn! So this time I call on Monday and refuse to drive the car until they duplicate and repair the failure. It took several days of the the tech driving around with the code reader in place. A general charging error code finally showed up but none of the dashboard symptoms. The next day of test driving he experienced a FULL failure of the system that duplicated my observations and a hard code was captured. I was told that the tech worked with engineering/technical and Dx all the way down to the motor/generator junction ( rare earth magnets?) and made some repairs. All has been good from 3500 miles to 4000 miles but it just showed the symptom in part yesterday. Engine still ran but warning lights and bells, ceck engine lights came on.

I have also noticed the occasinal lurch and sluggishness when least expected. Annoying at best. Scary at times. Almost as if an A/C compressor is kicking on and the engine RPM surges to compensate for the load (similar to but not same as A/C is electric).

I really like this car's styling and get a LOT of looks and compliments from friends and strangers. FULLY loaded package. Hyper-Metallic-Silver with black leather and double moon roof, NAV SYSTEM, AWESOME BACK-UP CAMERA (you can read the newspaper on the screen if it is held near the camera).

As far as handling, I can feel the weight of the batteries when taking turns and hitting the bumps and dips in the poorly maintained roads of Honolulu Hawaii.

I live at the top of a 1000' ASL mountain that KILLS the MPG but still get a mixed City/Highway of 28-30mpg. Average speed is 19mph. (Honolulu traffic can be painfully slow)


Originally Posted by PHWong
I purchased my Hybrid Premium in May 2011 and for the first 3 weeks, it ran just fine. Then, in stop and go traffic, it began stumbling, hesitating upon acceleration and sometimes surging forward when braking!. This was accompanied by the hybrid malfunction light, engine check light and a flashing
READY light! I took it to a dealer later that day but the service dept. was closed so I came back the next morning. By then, things had settled down, no warning lights and the diagnosis did not show a problem. Then it happened 3 more times, but it would correct itself after a day or two. I took it to the dealer twice more but if the problem is not occurring at the time, the diagnosis does not show a problem. Well, last week it happened again and this time I was able to have the dealer diagnose it with the problem when the warning lights were on. After checking each code, the problem was still there. The service technician found a damaged wire under the front bumper, replaced it but the problem is still there. As I write this, the car is still with the dealer as they try to figure out the problem. It has been one week so far and I am losing my patience. Has anyone else experienced something similar with their hybrid?
 
  #12  
Old 09-24-2011, 05:21 AM
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Don, See my message a few notes down the line. EZ2BGRN
 
  #13  
Old 09-27-2011, 10:58 AM
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Having the same issues with our vehicle. First the engine last was one, so had to wait while they got the part in stock. Then the issue with the flashing ready light, and the car would not respond to acceleration. Wife was merging onto an interstate and the car would not go over 20 mph. Was lucky she could get right back off, but went to stop light and car would only go 5 mph after that. This made for the third trip to the shop and they kept the car for a few days to diagnose the issue. Was told it was a fuse issue. Now, the engine light is on again. Car hesitates when trying to accelerate. Have had the car for less than 3 months, and less than 5,000 miles on it and will be making 4th trip to the shop. Only response from Hyundai to date was an email saying how sorry they were, but no phone calls or any offer to try and make things whole. I like the looks and mileage of the car, but I would prefer to have back my 11 year old car with 150K miles that was traded in.
 
  #14  
Old 09-28-2011, 12:02 AM
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Question Stumbling/ Jerking Feeling, Almost Like Towing A Trailer...

I appreciate all the inputs here on the Hyundai forum...I came here as their is not that much imput on these problems on the KIA forum, as their may not be that many of those out there... However, after owning a lot of Hyundai's...
I have owned the following over the years:
2002 Hyundai 300I / 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe/ 2006 Santa Fe/ 2010 Hyundai Tucson Limited which I traded in on the KIA Optima Hybrid... I felt after owning all these Hyundai's, that with the KIA being in the Hyundai-KIA family, that this would be a real reliable vehicle... The real sad part of this story is that the KIA Hybrid is a great looking car both inside and out. The major problem is the how the transmission and engine don't seem to be " On
The Same Team ", for lack of better words when you start out....Otherwise, I love how the car drives after you get it up to crusing speed, ( 50-75 ) just great... I am still waiting on a engineer to come drive my vehicle...It least that what they keep telling me...
 
  #15  
Old 09-28-2011, 10:16 AM
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I got my car back from the service dept. on Saturday. They replaced the battery charging module. So far, no bells, whistles or lights. The car is running great, averaging 43 mpg. I live in rural Colorado so 95% of my driving is highway driving to and from work and to the big city. I hope this is the final fix.
 
  #16  
Old 09-28-2011, 11:26 AM
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Default Possible fix for Charging/Surging Sonata Hybrid

quote, "Well, got the Hybrid back today after 15 days in the shop. They are convinced it is permanently fixed now and I sure hope so.
My service sheet states "P0A0D High voltage system interlock circuit. Spoke with Hyundai had field engineer come out and look at vehicle. Update hybrid power control unit with updated software. Road test 40 miles vehicle operating as designed."
My advisor said the Northeast engineer who came out really knew what he was doing and he was impressed by his knowledge.
I must say this; I reset the MPG meter at the dealer before I left for the ride home which is only about 16 miles or so away, and when I got home, it said I averaged 45.8 MPG. It seems to be running like new, and I didn't notice that "first start up" jerkiness either. I don't want to jinx myself, but it seems to be running like new again, no jerkiness, and mileage is great again. I hope it stays just like this for the remainder of my ownership, but I must remember that I only did a few miles on it since the repair. (I will still carry that video camera in the glove box just in case.)
I'll keep you all updated on the progress.
Take care, Vinny.
 
  #17  
Old 09-28-2011, 10:57 PM
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Default Please keep us posted, as I have this same problem, on my KIA Optima Hybrid

Yes, please keep us posted... I will keep you post as to what you had done

to achieve the no jerking feeling... That is what I want to get rid of...

Thank you sooo much for sharing...

Thanks

Ken...

Feel free to email me if you get more info...Kencars@gmail.com

 
  #18  
Old 09-29-2011, 03:44 PM
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Quote, "Well, got the Hybrid back today after 15 days in the shop. They are convinced it is permanently fixed now and I sure hope so.
My service sheet states "P0A0D High voltage system interlock circuit. Spoke with Hyundai had field engineer come out and look at vehicle. Update hybrid power control unit with updated software. Road test 40 miles vehicle operating as designed."
My advisor said the Northeast engineer who came out really knew what he was doing and he was impressed by his knowledge.
I must say this; I reset the MPG meter at the dealer before I left for the ride home which is only about 16 miles or so away, and when I got home, it said I averaged 45.8 MPG. It seems to be running like new, and I didn't notice that "first start up" jerkiness either. I don't want to jinx myself, but it seems to be running like new again, no jerkiness, and mileage is great again. I hope it stays just like this for the remainder of my ownership, but I must remember that I only did a few miles on it since the repair. (I will still carry that video camera in the glove box just in case.)
I'll keep you all updated on the progress.
Take care, Vinny."

Tom
 
  #19  
Old 09-30-2011, 01:34 PM
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Default New TSB Sonata Hybrid coming out for newer NVLD Sensor (check engine light problem)

My service rep said that I would receive a letter in the mail very soon about this TSB and then they will order the new part for the NVLD Sensor. Also I found out it will include many computer updates to fix the charging, stumbling and low city mpg.
 

Last edited by fishnrib; 10-01-2011 at 08:13 PM.
  #20  
Old 10-29-2011, 10:39 AM
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My wife and I have had this car for a few months and the first couple months were great. Our only complaint was that the headlights are aimed very low making visibility at night difficult. Then after a few months when we would first start the car after it had sat for a couple hours it would lose power as we would leave our neighborhood. It would always recover and drive fine after it stumbled once or twice in the neighborhood. Then Last night my wife had gone to see a movie at our small downtown theatre, and when we left were on the main street and the car bucked like a mule and almost stalled and it took two blocks for it to gain any significant power back. I didn’t notice any error lights come on, but I was more worried about getting the car off the main street.

The last time I took the car into the dealer for the lights they also checked into a couple recalls. One was a system update which was supposed to help the fuel mileage. Then there were two other things that they were looking for, one of which they said wasn't a problem for my vehicle (something to do with roof lining), and the other they had to order some part. My local dealer is incompetent though. They said they would call when the part came in, and never did. This is normal for them; they have done this with other issues I have had. In fact when I called the main Hyundai number, they didn’t see that I had had it serviced, but the one time for the recall. They are worthless. I am now going to have it looked at by a second dealership. I hope they are more competent. I have not been happy with the Hyundai service I have received at the local dealership her.

Over all I am very disappointed with the car. It looks great but the service and the drive ability is very poor. I hope they find a fix for this problem soon.
 


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