[Obvious]

2020 Sonata Limited.
My car frequently screws up the user settings between my wife's and my profiles. It works perfectly as it should about half the time. It is not always the same settings, but for instance, here is a typical scenario:

I will use the car after my wife. Her profile moves the seat back automatically when she gets out. I get in, start the car, and select my profile. The seat then shoves me forward to her position and switches the XM to her last station that I never listen to. I have to use the memory button on the door to get it to move to my position.

The scenario above is the most common, but there are many variations. Sometimes it switches the XM to station 0, which is just the radio ID. Sometimes everything is right except the mirrors are in her position. Sometimes for my wife it moves the seat to a very far back position that is not mine or it positions the seat-back way leaned back even with the seat otherwise correct.

Some other quirks that may be related:
Settings like ambient light color, heads up display position, etc. change on their own.
The seat-back position switch will not move the seat-back forward unless you first go back or hold it for several seconds. This happens about half the time.
The front collision warning sensors trip at traffic lights. It happens most frequently behind trucks, but has happened behind a Tesla and even no car at all. It is never because I am actually close enough to trip the sensor.

The local dealer that I bought it from new has now had it twice. The first time they updated software and the second time they did some factory resets. They are not being very helpful.

They will have one more chance before I have to send a letter to Hyundai to get their last attempt (per FL lemon law).

Do any of these problems sound familiar? Is there a fix I can point them to because they told me they are out of ideas. Otherwise I like the car, but this is turning me off quickly.

 

[cconklin1]

Good Luck with Lemon Law for this issue!

 

[Obvious]

Good Luck with Lemon Law for this issue!

Care to elaborate? The car is defective. I'm tired of getting shoved forward into the dash when the car doesn't do what I paid for it to do. Genuinely curious how this wouldnt qualify.

 

[mtbsteve]

Just thinking out loud here. Are you trying interrupting the sequence at all? Do you get in and press the user profile and then immediately press D or R to get going? Just wondering if you have to wait for all things to change before setting off for them to take effect or if by moving the car cancels the request.

 

[Obvious]

Just thinking out loud here. Are you trying interrupting the sequence at all? Do you get in and press the user profile and then immediately press D or R to get going? Just wondering if you have to wait for all things to change before setting off for them to take effect or if by moving the car cancels the request.

I understand what you're saying. No, that is not what is happening. I have done that a couple times before, but this is unrelated to that. Last night when I tested it while making a video for the dealer, the car never left the garage and was never shifted into drive or otherwise interrupted.

 

[vinny68]

Lemon laws vary greatly by state. Here in Illinois the lemon law only applies when an issue substantially impairs the use, market value or safety of the vehicle and is not repairable by the dealer. Although you may feel that this is a substantial issue, I believe you would have a hard time getting others to back that opinion. It seems like more of an inconvenience based on your description as all of those settings can still be adjusted by you and the car can be driven safely.

 

[Obvious]

Lemon laws vary greatly by state. Here in Illinois the lemon law only applies when an issue substantially impairs the use, market value or safety of the vehicle and is not repairable by the dealer. Although you may feel that this is a substantial issue, I believe you would have a hard time getting others to back that opinion. It seems like more of an inconvenience based on your description as all of those settings can still be adjusted by you and the car can be driven safely.

That's basically the same language as in FL. I'd have to disclose the defect(s) to a potential buyer and it would 100% affect the value of the car. I agree that it would be gray area. I'd rather just get it fixed and move on. I'm guessing it is going to take the replacement of whatever computer(s) control those functions since software updates and factory resets didn't work. It seems to be a memory hardware issue.

From the case law examples of arbitration cases in FL for lemon cars that I have read, I feel like I'd have pretty good odds if it comes to that.

I played around more with the car this morning. I took video of a few of the issues/symptoms. These are minor things, but they illustrate part of the larger problem. It will not remember the ambient light color between two users. Whichever color either user set their ambient color setting to last is the one that both profiles use. Also, no matter how many times I set my seat-back position and save the setting via the door buttons, it always reverts to a position where the seat-back is substantially further back than I set it.

 

[M3xD]

Did you ever get this issue resolved. We have the same issue. It only started after the April upgrade on our 2021 Santa Fe.

 

[Obvious]

I resolved it by selling the car back to the dealer. I will never buy another Hyundai product. The 4th (or maybe 5th) attempt to fix it was supervised by Hyundai engineers and included replacing the main computer. It didn't fix a single issue. The dealer said there is nothing else for them to do and I should open a case with Hyundai who will buy it back. Hyundai refused to buy it back and we went to arbitration via BBB's arbitration for auto manufacturers that Hyundai is part of. I do not recommend doing that ever. Hyundai's position in arbitration was that I simply needed to bring it back in and the dealer would fix it. The arbitor ruled that I had to bring it back yet again for them to attempt to fix it even though they said there is nothing more they can do to fix it. I could not be more disappointed in Hyundai and how they handled things.
I went back to the dealer and told them how arbitration went and the dealer took pity on me and bought the car back for a tolerable amount of money to be sold at auction as-is.

Good luck getting yours fixed. Hyundai is dead to me.

 

[M3xD]

Wow!
Thanks for replying. Couple more questions if you have the time. Did it ever work correctly every time? What was your dealer - sounds like ai should avoid them.
A bit more background. Mine (Santa Fe) worked correctly from new (2/2021) until the first software upgrade (~11/2021) after which, when changing profiles, the seat would take up to 60s to move to the correct position and would move even while driving if one set off with the seat in the other profile's position. After the latest upgrade (4/22) the seat many never move to the correct position but if one changes back to the old profile (seat doesn't move as its in the correct position) then back to the new profile the seat will move instantly. And sometimes after driving the car, locking, unlocking and powering up the other profile is active. Otherwise, we haven't see any of your other defects.

 

[Teddybear1234]

2020 Sonata Limited.
My car frequently screws up the user settings between my wife's and my profiles. It works perfectly as it should about half the time. It is not always the same settings, but for instance, here is a typical scenario:

I will use the car after my wife. Her profile moves the seat back automatically when she gets out. I get in, start the car, and select my profile. The seat then shoves me forward to her position and switches the XM to her last station that I never listen to. I have to use the memory button on the door to get it to move to my position.

The scenario above is the most common, but there are many variations. Sometimes it switches the XM to station 0, which is just the radio ID. Sometimes everything is right except the mirrors are in her position. Sometimes for my wife it moves the seat to a very far back position that is not mine or it positions the seat-back way leaned back even with the seat otherwise correct.

Some other quirks that may be related:
Settings like ambient light color, heads up display position, etc. change on their own.
The seat-back position switch will not move the seat-back forward unless you first go back or hold it for several seconds. This happens about half the time.
The front collision warning sensors trip at traffic lights. It happens most frequently behind trucks, but has happened behind a Tesla and even no car at all. It is never because I am actually close enough to trip the sensor.

The local dealer that I bought it from new has now had it twice. The first time they updated software and the second time they did some factory resets. They are not being very helpful.

They will have one more chance before I have to send a letter to Hyundai to get their last attempt (per FL lemon law).

Do any of these problems sound familiar? Is there a fix I can point them to because they told me they are out of ideas. Otherwise I like the car, but this is turning me off quickly.

I have a question related to this topic why are the seats different in user profile than for the memory seats. In other words I get in my car after my wife hit memory number 1 which is mine, but then hit my profile and the seats change?????

 

[Teddybear1234]

I have a question related to this topic why are the seats different in user profile than for the memory seats. In other words I get in my car after my wife hit memory number 1 which is mine, but then hit my profile and the seats change????? So the seat settings are different

 

[M3xD]

Each profile has two seat settings which are set on the drivers door. I have my car setup such that seat position #1 (wife) is the same position for both profiles and #2 (me) is the same on both. When you switch profiles the seat will move to the last memory position that that profile used. So, for my profile I last used #2 and for her profile she used #1. If I was the last to use the car when she turns it on it will move the seat to #2 (we use the move the seat all the way back when car is turned off feature) and the Nav screen will offer to switch profiles, she does and the seat moves to position #1.

 

[Obvious]

Wow!
Thanks for replying. Couple more questions if you have the time. Did it ever work correctly every time? What was your dealer - sounds like ai should avoid them.
A bit more background. Mine (Santa Fe) worked correctly from new (2/2021) until the first software upgrade (~11/2021) after which, when changing profiles, the seat would take up to 60s to move to the correct position and would move even while driving if one set off with the seat in the other profile's position. After the latest upgrade (4/22) the seat many never move to the correct position but if one changes back to the old profile (seat doesn't move as its in the correct position) then back to the new profile the seat will move instantly. And sometimes after driving the car, locking, unlocking and powering up the other profile is active. Otherwise, we haven't see any of your other defects.

It worked fine when we first bought it. The first thing I noticed was the ambient light settings not saving, then progressively things got worse. It went from very occasional to very frequent that it would mix the settings. It progressed to where it would auto-stop in reverse when nothing was there and other exciting and unpredictable flaws.

I'd rather not say what dealer. In the end they helped me out by buying it back on their own when they didn't have to.

 

[M3xD]

Thanks for the response - I understand your position. Your car history makes me nervous that we have the same issue - I'll have to make more settings unique to each user and see if any act up.

 

[Maciver]

...and would move even while driving if one set off with the seat in the other profile's position...

Driver seat unexpectedly moves while driving down the road?????

 

[M3xD]

Driver seat unexpectedly moves while driving down the road?????

Yes, normally the seat will move after 30 seconds or so by which time I have reversed out of the garage onto the road and I'm just setting off in drive but occasionally it's taken longer (or I've maneuvered quicker ) and I'm half way down the road and the seat starts to move back to my position while I'm travelling 25mph +. If you're wondering why I don't just push #2 on the door after switching profiles it's more out of frustration that it used to move immediately until the first upgrade and (as an engineer) I want to know when it will move. Once it didn't move at all before I reached my destination. Upon returning to the car the seat then moved from the engine off position (fully extended) to my position - that was an interesting data point.
We have an oil change coming up so we'll get the dealer to look at the issue but based on the OP's experience I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Maciver]

...and I'm half way down the road and the seat starts to move back to my position while I'm traveling 25mph +...

Think NTSB would be interested in knowing about this?

 

[M3xD]

Good point - I'll have my wife video it next time it happens

 

[Obvious]

OP here. My seat moved, but it was always within the distance of backing out of my driveway. The frustrating thing is that no one involved, dealer or Hyundai, thought much of it and told me to keep driving the car even after I explained that it took my wife's feet off the pedals while in reverse with the real possibility of hitting a car or pedestrian. I know it has auto braking in reverse, but the fact that auto braking was also acting up didn't give me any reassurance.

M3xD: keep good records of the dealer being notified and of working on it. I got screwed because the 4th time it was at the dealer, the repair was done under Hyundai's supervision and the dealer said that was the absolute last thing that they or Hyundai had to try. The dealer then told me to initiate a case with Hyundai and they would buy it back. In arbitration, Hyundai's position was that I wasn't supposed to be there because I did not give Hyundai the official notice via certified mail that it was their last attempt per the BBB arbitration rules, which follow most lemon laws.

The third attempt to fix it involved wiping the computer and putting in new software, which didn't do anything to fix it. The fourth attempt involved a completely new main computer, which also did nothing. I have no idea where the root of the problem is, but it's not in the main computer.