The 2006 Hyundai Sonata is a full-size car that came with a choice of 2.4L 4-cyl and 3.3L 6-cyl engines. At 20 years old, many are reaching the point where repairs cost more than the car is worth. Running or not, we'll make you an offer and tow it away for free.
| Body style | Large Cars |
|---|---|
| Engines | 2.4L 4-cyl, 3.3L 6-cyl |
| Transmissions | Automatic 4-spd, Manual 5-spd, Automatic 5-spd |
| Drive | Front-Wheel Drive |
| Fuel | Regular Gasoline |
| Fuel economy | 18–21 city / 27–31 highway / 21–25 combined MPG |
| EPA annual fuel cost | $2,700–$3,200 a year (EPA estimate at current fuel prices, 15,000 miles) |
| Tailpipe CO₂ | 355–423 grams per mile |
| Versions tested by EPA | 3 configurations |
| Age | 20 years |
Specs, fuel cost and emissions from the EPA's fueleconomy.gov data. Your car's exact equipment may differ.
NHTSA lists 9 safety recalls covering the 2006 Hyundai Sonata. Open recalls don't stop you from selling or junking the car, but check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which apply to yours.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2006-2011 Hyundai Azera and 2006 Hyundai Sonata vehicles. Water may enter the Anti-lock Brake (ABS) Module and result in an electrical short .
Risk: An electrical short within the ABS Module may cause an engine compartment fire, even when the car is turned off, increasing the risk of an injury.
Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Sonata vehicles manufactured March 1, 2005, through January 21, 2010; and model year 2006-2011 Azera vehicles manufactured September 27, 2005, through November 22, 2010 originally sold in, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland…
Risk: Control arm separation may suddenly change the rear wheel alignment, affecting the handling of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Hyundai is recalling 3,011 model year 2005-2007 elantra, tucson, Sonata, azera and accent vehicles. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to fail to illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A defective stop lamp switch may…
Risk: Any of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
Hyundai is recalling 532,633 my 2006-2007 accent, entourage, Sonata, my 2007 azera, elantra and santa fe, my 2005-2007 tucson and my 2007-2008 veracruz vehicles. The stop lamp switch in the affected vehicles may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is…
Risk: Any of these malfunctions, alone or in combination, may lead to a crash.
Hyundai is recalling 393,308 my 2006-2008 Sonata vehicles equipped with an advanced air bag system which features an occupant classification system (ocs) in the right front seat. The purpose of the ocs is to disable the right passenger seat front air bag when it detects the presence of a child restraint system or small child in the…
Risk: Misclassification of a small stature adult as a child in the right front passenger seat may cause the right front air bag to not inflate in an accident that merits air bag deployment and may result in injury to the right front occupant.
On certain passenger vehicles, the air bag warning label installed on the sunvisors had lost adhesion to the sunvisors and had distorted or separated from the sun visors.
Risk: If the labels are distorted or missing, the driver or front seat passenger will not have information available that may help protect them in the event of a crash.
On certain passenger vehicles, the inner bezels of the headlamps were not properly assembled which may cause the turn signal lenses to be improperly positioned.
Risk: An improperly positioned turn signal lens may reduce the intensity of the turn signal illumination, reducing its visibility to oncoming traffic, which may result in a crash.
On certain passenger vehicles, the front seat belt may interfere with the manual seat back recliner knob and could cause the front manual seat back recliner to inadvertently release.
Risk: The inadvertent release of a front seat back recliner may result in injury to vehicle occupants.
On certain passenger vehicles equipped with 3.3 liter engines and electronic stability control (esc), the esc may have been programmed to be oversensitive to the onset of oversteering while driving on banked curves, causing inadvertent application of the front outside brake when esc activation may not be needed.
Risk: This may cause the vehicle to slow and may affect the path that the vehicle is traveling. Brake application caused by inadvertent esc activation may result in a crash.
Owners have filed 1,047 complaints about the 2006 Hyundai Sonata with NHTSA. 43 reports involved a crash and 9 reports involved a fire. Owners reported 38 injuries.
Complaints are reports from owners and aren't verified by NHTSA. One complaint can list several components. Mileage is the median odometer reading owners reported for that component.
Manufacturers have filed 89 technical service bulletins and communications with NHTSA covering the 2006 Hyundai Sonata. These are repair instructions for known issues, not recalls.
Some vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. This bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning pr
Certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. This bulletin provides the inspection and repair proce
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver's-side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin P
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins).
NHTSA opened 5 defect investigations covering the 2006 Hyundai Sonata.
Loss of Motive Power
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spa
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated October 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (ETC) system on certain Kia vehicles resulting in the opening of DP21-003. Accordi
Seat Belt Buckle Electrical Malfunction
On July 22, 2014 the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation to further analyze allegations of seat belt pretensioner malfunctions on model year (MY) 2006-2008 Hyundai Sonata vehicles.ODI received 131 unique reports alleging a failure within the seat belt pretensioner system, which was typ
Rear Control Arm Failure
In a letter dated August 9, 2013, Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center, Inc. (Hyundai) notified NHTSA that Hyundaiis conducting a safety recall (13V-354) involving approximately 239,000 vehicles involving model year (MY) 2006 through 2010 Hyundai Sonata vehicles (approximately 215,000)produced beginning on March 1, 200
Stop lamp switch failure
By letter dated april 15, 2009, Hyundai notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (NHTSA recall number 09v122) to replace the stop lamp switches on many of its model year 2005-2008 vehicles.see recall 09v122 for a complete list. The agency opened its investigation based on five complaints of stop lamp fa
It depends on its condition, whether major parts like the engine, transmission and catalytic converter are still there, and current scrap and parts prices where you live. Its parts make up much of its value. Enter your ZIP code above for a free offer on your specific car.
Yes. We buy 2006 Sonatas that don't start, were in an accident, failed inspection or have a blown engine or transmission. Towing is always free.
Yes. Open recalls don't prevent a junk sale. NHTSA lists 9 recalls for the 2006 Hyundai Sonata; you can check whether any are still open on yours with the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Usually the title and a photo ID. Rules differ by state, including what to do with your plates and whether to file a notice of sale. Check our state-by-state car title guides for the official forms.
Data retrieved October 2026.
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