Vehicle
Hyundai Sonata
The mid-size staple, and the model most associated with the Theta II engine recalls — a case study in why a rod-knock symptom with an oil-pressure code outranks every other diagnostic priority.
Generations
-
Second generation 1988–1993
The Y2, the first front-wheel-drive Sonata and a Giugiaro design on Mitsubishi Galant underpinnings. Its Sirius fours and the 3.0 Cyclone V6 are licensed Mitsubishi designs, so Mitsubishi service data describes them directly.
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai Sonata
- Engines
-
- 1.8 — G4CM · petrol · 70 kW (94 hp) · 143 Nm (105 lb-ft) · Sirius
- 2.0 — G4CP · petrol · 75 kW (101 hp) · Sirius, Mitsubishi 4G63
- 2.4 — G4CS · petrol · 84 kW (113 hp) · Sirius, Mitsubishi 4G64
- 3.0 V6 — G6AT · petrol · 107 kW (143 hp) · 230 Nm (170 lb-ft) · Sigma, Mitsubishi 6G72
- Transmissions
- 5-speed manual · 4-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
-
Third generation 1993–1998
The Y3, mechanically a continuation of the Y2 on a longer wheelbase and still running the licensed Mitsubishi engines. The recurring complaint on these is cooling: the radiator and circuit are marginal for sustained high speed, and a head gasket lost to one overheat is the common end of an otherwise long-lived car.
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai-Kia Y3
- Engines
-
- 1.8 — G4CM · petrol · Sirius
- 1.8 — G4CN · petrol · Sirius, from 1993
- 2.0 — G4CP · petrol · Sirius, Mitsubishi 4G63
- 3.0 V6 — G6AT · petrol · Sigma, Mitsubishi 6G72
- Transmissions
- 5-speed manual · 4-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
-
Fourth generation 1998–2004
The EF, facelifted in 2001 as the EF-B, and the first Sonata on the Delta V6 rather than a Mitsubishi one. The four-cylinder engines are Sirius II, a Hyundai reworking of the same architecture, so the older Mitsubishi references still help on those and not on the V6.
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai-Kia Y4
- Engines
-
- 1.8 — G4JN · petrol · Sirius II
- 2.0 — G4JP · petrol · Sirius II
- 2.4 — G4JS · petrol · Sirius II
- 2.5 V6 — G6BV · petrol · Delta
- 2.7 V6 — G6BA · petrol · Delta, from 2001
- Transmissions
- 5-speed manual · 4-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
-
NF 2004–2009
Theta arrives; conventional port injection.
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai NF
- Engines
-
- 2.0 Theta — petrol
- 2.4 Theta — petrol
- 3.3 V6 — LAMBDA · petrol
- 2.0 CRDi — diesel
- 2.7 — petrol · 6-cylinder, US market 2004-2005
- Transmissions
- 5-speed manual · 6-speed manual · 4-speed automatic · 5-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
-
YF 2009–2014
Theta II GDI — the recall generation; misfire plus metallic noise means stop driving.
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai YF
- Engines
-
- 2.0 II — THETA · petrol
- 2.4 II GDi — THETA · petrol
- 2.0 turbo GDi — petrol
- 2.4 hybrid — hybrid
- 3.3 — petrol · 6-cylinder, US market 2009-2010
- Transmissions
- 6-speed manual · 6-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
-
LF 2014–2019
Continued Theta II, hybrid variants grow.
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai LF
- Engines
-
- 1.6 turbo GDi — petrol · 132 kW (177 hp) · 265 Nm (195 lb-ft)
- 2.0 Nu GDi — NU · petrol · 120 kW (161 hp) · 196 Nm (145 lb-ft)
- 2.4 II GDi — THETA · petrol
- 2.0 turbo GDi — petrol · 180 kW (241 hp) · 353 Nm (260 lb-ft)
- 2.0 GDi hybrid — hybrid
- 2.0 GDi — plug-in hybrid
- 1.7 — diesel · 104 kW (139 hp) · 340 Nm (251 lb-ft)
- Transmissions
- 6-speed automatic · 7-speed dual-clutch · 6-speed manual · 8-speed automatic · 7-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
-
DN8 2019–present
Smartstream era.
- D7UF1 (7DCT) 7-speed dual-clutch
- D8LF1 (8DCT) 8-speed dual-clutch
- Dual-clutch (DCT / DSG) dual-clutch
- Body styles
- Sedan
- Platform
- Hyundai N3
- Engines
-
- 2.0 Smartstream — petrol · 112 kW (150 hp) · 192 Nm (142 lb-ft)
- 2.5 GDi — SMARTSTREAM · petrol · 143 kW (192 hp) · 246 Nm (181 lb-ft)
- 1.6 turbo GDi — petrol · 132 kW (177 hp) · 265 Nm (195 lb-ft)
- 2.5 turbo GDi N Line — petrol · 213 kW (286 hp) · 422 Nm (311 lb-ft)
- 2.0 GDi hybrid — hybrid · 112 kW (150 hp) · 188 Nm (139 lb-ft)
- Transmissions
- 6-speed automatic · 8-speed automatic · 7-speed D7UF1 DCT · 8-speed D8LF1 DCT
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive
CAN data
Bus databases covering this vehicle, mirrored from the open-source opendbc project.
Service information
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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