The 1997 Hyundai Sonata has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 141,051 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 74 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the fuel system, gasoline. Last updated July 5, 2026.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: ACCENT GT MODEL VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DOHC ENGINES MANUFACTURED FROM DECEMBER 19, 1996 THROUGH JUNE 30, 1997; 1998 ACCENT MODEL VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 6, 1997 THROUGH JUNE 25, 1998; 1997 SONATA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM AUGUST 1, 1996 THROUGH JULY 9, 1997 AND 1998 SONATA VEHICLES…
Consequence
FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN A FIRE.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL PRESSURE CHECK THE VEHICLE'S FUEL TANK TO DETERMINE IF IT HAS CRACKED. IF IT IS CRACKED, A NEW FUEL TANK WILL BE INSTALLED. A NEW FUEL FILLER CAP THAT DECREASES THE AMOUNT OF VACUUM INSIDE THE FUEL TANK WILL ALSO BE INSTALLED. NOTE: THE 1997-1998 SONATA FUEL TANKS HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED CRACKING. …
VISIBILITY97V0260001997-02-2674,965 affected
Defect
THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR CIRCUIT BREAKER ELECTRICAL CONTACTS WERE CONTAMINATED DURING ASSEMBLY.
Consequence
THIS CONTAMINATION INTERFERES WITH THE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONTINUITY AND PREVENTS THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR FROM OPERATING. INOPERATIVE WINDSHIELD WIPERS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCED VISIBILITY DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE CONTAMINANTS FROM THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR CIRCUIT BREAKER CONTACTS.
Complaints by component
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
15
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
7
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
5
4crashes2injuries1deaths
AIR BAGS
4
1crashes1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
3
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:FLASHER UNIT
2
SUSPENSION:FRONT
2
Total complaints74
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Failure/breakage of passenger side sun visor as addressed in hyundai tsb 09-01-003 nhtsa id:10028945 resulting in visor being unable to stay in position blocking visibility. *tr”
“After attempting to call hyundai, I am absolutely fed up with everything they are doing. I have "repaired" my vehicle on numerous occasions to no avail. After at least 5, definitely more, trips to the mechanic I have repaired the alternator twice, the idle air control valve, brakes, motor mounts,…”
“After attempting to call hyundai, I am absolutely fed up with everything they are doing. I have "repaired" my vehicle on numerous occasions to no avail. After at least 5, definitely more, trips to the mechanic I have repaired the alternator twice, the idle air control valve, brakes, motor mounts,…”
“1997 hyundai sonata has defective fuel tank. Leaking gas from the upper part of on the fuel tank. There was a recall on the tank in the year 2001..and my car was fixed, however it has reoccured (same problem). I took to dealer and they would not honor the recall, due to the fact it had already…”
“Recall # 00v[REDACTED] hyundai sonata I had called dealer to ask of recall they had informed me that this vehicle has been serviced for this problem three times. And they had said that it is out of warranty and they will not repair. My question is are they still responsible for the defect that has…”
“The power locks are defective, when placing the key into the lock the passenger lock would not open, when the consumer was inside the vehicle ,the locking device would not lift.”
“Recall 00v314001 concerning fuel tank. After refilling the fuel tank consumer smelled strong gasoline odor. Contacted the dealer concerning this recall. Dealer informed consumer that this vehicle was not covered under the recall due to vin. *ak”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Hyundai Sonata as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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