Other visibility problem on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata
1 crash 1 of the 12 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other visibility problem gets reported
Owners of the 2015 Hyundai Sonata report other visibility problem at a median of 45,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 25,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 75,000 miles. It is the 30th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 2,100 miles at the tenth percentile to 90,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 90,350 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
38% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,050 miles | 25,375 miles | 44,000 miles | 69,000 miles | 92,400 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $150–$1,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 15 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2012, at a median of 300 miles, and latest on the 2018 at 125,000 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 176; the 2015 has 12. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
1. The overhead lighting will not turn off. This causes significant and detrimental driving conditions as it impairs driving at night. This is just like a passenger holding a flashlight at the drivers eye at night. This is clearly unsafe and affects peripheral vision. 2. The wipers do not oscillate fast enough. I am not referring to the quality of the wipers but the speed at which they move. I have had many vehicles and this is the only one that when our normal rains in georgia occur the speed of the wiper oscillation is not able to overcome the typical rainfall.
Windshield fogs over completely in 30 seconds totally blocking visibility. Has happened several times. Dec 28, 2015 travelling from ft smith to fayetteville, ar at 70 MPH on I 49 in 2015 sonata, weather was clear and 32 deg. Suddenly windshield fogged over completely ( no visibility), I hit brakes was almost hit by 18 wheeler, pulled over and was on high bridge almost hit concrete abutment. Could have been killed. About 15 min later it happened again, I was able to engage defrost before complete fog. Jan 18, 2016 travelling from ok city to ft smith on I 40 at 70 MPH with same weather scenario, outside temp 32 degrees windshield fogged up again, was able to pull over & defrost. This happened twice more before reaching home. My wife, daughter and son in law witnessed. Feb 21,2016 again same weather condition, 32 degrees, entering transition lane from I 540 to I 40. From the time we entered the transition lane and before merge with I 40 the windshield completely fogged over (less than 30 seconds), again complete loss of visibility. Could not find defrost switch and negotiate curve. Was able to pull over to shoulder without having an…
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 hyundai sonata. While driving at an unknown speed, the sun roof detached from the framing without warning. Napleton hyundai glenview (1620 waukegan rd, glenview, il 60025, (847) 729-8900) indicated that they would investigate the cause of the failure, but did not provide a response timeframe. The vehicle remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was notified and stated that they would follow-up. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
Also reported on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Excessive oil consumption
Other powertrain problem
Other body or interior problem
Other steering problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other visibility problem happen on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 45,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 25,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other visibility problem on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed