2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited Buyer BEWARE - DRIVE AT NIGHT.

The dark line is the cutoff point for the HID lights. A headlamp adjustment should help. Also maybe clean your glasses.

The headlights are NOT HID. The headlights are DBL LED, on the 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited. According to the Service Center, they can not do anything about the DARK LINE and NOTCHES obstructing the view at night. It's a design of the DBL LED headlights on the 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited, to have a dark line and notches that you have to look under to see the road. THEREFORE, no one buy a 2018 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED, without DRIVING it at night. You have to DRIVE it at NIGHT to see if you want to have a DARK LINE and NOTCHES, you have to look under to see the road!

SO BUYER BEWARE AND TEST DRIVE THE 2018 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED AT NIGHT BEFORE YOU BUY!!!

The dark line is the cutoff point of the light similar to HID lights. See if they can adjust them up a bit.

The Service Manager said they are not fixable, it's a design of the LED DBL lights. The Service Manager verified the issue is the same on the 2018 Hyundai Limited at the dealership, and NOT FIXABLE. The Hyundai Motor America told me it's a design of the headlights, and I should have driven the car at night! THE CONSUMER NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF THE DESIGN OF THE LED DBL headlights so they don't end up with a DESIGN of headlights the reasonable consumer could not even IMAGINE!! SO CONSUMERS TEST DRIVE AT NIGHT before you BUY a 2018 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED. If it's a design of the headlights, then you should be happy to ALERT the CONSUMER to see if they like the unimaginable design..........a dark line and notches you have to look under to drive at night! Don't hide a defect, alert the CONSUMER!

Our Lincoln has LED headlights and they are adjustable and your's are most likely adjustable also. Our headlamps also have the sharp cutoff, but it is adjusted higher than yours. I rate our LED headlamps as excellent. You can not remove the sharp cutoff, but with re-aiming you can adjust it up to the horizon and the cut off will mostly disappear. Perhaps if you would stop crying about it and do something about it like take it to a body shop and have them re-aim the lamps upwards.

I sent the dealership a video of driving at night. They were honest enough to say it's the design and not something they can fix. Why would any CONSUMER want a dark line and notches they have to look under to drive at night on a BRAND NEW 2018 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED? It sounds like you might need to educate Hyundai Motor America also! No consumer could ever imagine a dark line and notches across their windshield that they have to look under.........kinda the same as no consumer could imagine Wells Fargo would open a hidden account for them. SO, the BEST thing is to INFORM the CONSUMER and let them decide is they want a dark line and notches to look under when they drive at night. Sounds like you might need to inform Hyundai Motor America and the Hyundai dealership that the defect is fixable then!

oh Bob, there seem to be others that need you to help them with their headlights...it sounds like this person is having issues with the HID headlights you are referring to......there are several posts like below....... Andrew Rosen answered a question you are following: "HID Headlights on a 2017 Hyundai Limited". They wrote: "I agree. We just bought the 2017 Sonata Limited for our daughter and the light issue is not only terrible, but I feel extremely dangerous. We brought in the car this week for this issue and with the service team, determined that it is a problem with the Limited's only. The non-limited version, if you look at the light assembly, although it looks the same, the entire bulb is encased in the metal/aluminum. When looking at the Sonata limited one, you will notice that the top edge of that same housing is cut off. The dealer ordered another light assembly as they didn't have a Limited in their lot, and he just called to tell me it looks identical. I will happily join any movement to get this rectified. It is dangerous as you can see in the attached photo. You can see that while driving on the freeway (I was the passenger), there is a big blacked out area that is directly in front of the driver against the left hand road line. Completely unsafe. "

Your joking right? Just get used to a dark line and notches in your line of view while driving at night? It sounds like you are trying to 'cover up' a design of the 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited head lights. If the headlights are by design as claimed by BOTH Hyundai Motor America and the Hyundai dealership, then there should be no problem letting consumers know about the headlight design! I've only just begun Tom..........if you sell a DEFECT as a design, guess what.......like Wells Fargo, the CONSUMER deserves to know about it!!! So Tom, let Hyundai Motor America and the Hyundai dealerships know how to FIX their design issue...........do all CONSUMERS a favor! I'll continue my CONSUMER ALERT........we'll let the 2018 CONSUMERS decide if they like the headlight design! :)

BUYER BEWARE AND TEST DRIVE THE 2018 HYUNDAI SONATA LIMITED AT NIGHT BEFORE YOU BUY!!!

My question is... why would anybody even consider buying a Hyundai Sonata?

Tom and Bob, let's get one thing straight, you must be joking if you think I'm going to buy a brand new 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited and have a dark line and notches across my windshield. So, if that is the design of the lights on a 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited, as I was told by Hyundai Motor America and the Hyundai dealership, then you should have NO ISSUES with me wanting the consumer to be aware of the design! RIGHT?

Also, Hyundai Motor America told me I should have driven the car at night..........so I absolutely want other Consumers to know that!! I'm a bit surprised you don't want consumers to have this information?

The dark lines are NOT on your windshield! They are on the road ahead of you. By raising the headlamp adjustment so that the light's cutoff line in your photo goes out to the curbs in the distance will fix the issue. If they are aimed any higher than that you will blind oncoming drivers. If the dealership is not helpful then try another dealership. They can certainly NOT remove the dark cutoff line, but it can be aimed up higher where it won't bother you. You seem to be more interested in bashing the piece of crap you purchased rather than trying to fix the problem. Perhaps you are affected by the loose nut behind the wheel syndrome?

Hey Bob, you seem to be forgetting I paid thousands for a vehicle that has a dark line and notches, that appear across the line of vision thru the windshield. Are you trying to say it's acceptable that I bought a BRAND NEW 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited and now you think I should run it to different dealerships?? YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT?? We are not talking about the price of a hamburger here! Still surprised you wouldn't want to get this information out to consumers?? I'm sure not running around to different dealerships??? I can't even relate to that comment. I bought a new car so I would NOT have to run to repair shops! So help me get the word out to the CONSUMER, rather than trying to 'cover it up'! My experience is something other CONSUMERS will want to know so they can make their own decision when purchasing a 2018 vehicle.

AND CONSUMERS to make a decision when buying ANY NEW 2018 VEHICLE, insist on driving the vehicle at NIGHT! You might be surprised to see a design feature, Hyundai Motor American has on their new 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited vehicles!

Well I guess you are way beyond wanting to be helped. Also I am really glad you are not one of my customers! I could probably fix those headlights in about an hour.

Bob, you must work for or have a relationship with Hyundai Motor America, if you don't want CONSUMERS to know about the design of the DBL LED headlights on the 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited. I'll be posting the dark line and notches video and pictures everywhere on the internet, so other consumers have the information. If Hyundai Motor America has nothing to hide, they won't have any problem with consumers being informed! Another thing every CONSUMER should be made aware of is the NHTSA, so they can report issues like mine, and also check any VIN numbers for recalls. It's a great site, and I've learned a lot from reading the issues with vehicles, since I've ran into the design of the headlights on the brand new 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited. Be happy I'm willing to get the word out to other consumers!!

Wrong, I wouldn't have a Hyundai product. I usually drive American or Japanese products and avoid the Korean junk. I suppose the Chinese crap would be far worse though.

Absolutely no worries for you then! In the future I'd suggest you allow consumers to share their information and experience in the new car buying process, rather than try to 'cover up' the design of the DBL LED headlights, as stated by Hyundai Motor America and the dealership where I purchased the vehicle!

Bob, I must agree with GuruZ34C3. I just got one of these and it is not a headlight aiming issue. I thought I’d get used to it, but it has been weeks and I am still extremely nervous about driving at night. That is what brought me here - I wanted to see if anyone else was having this issue. Glad to see I’m not the only one. :/

I have the same problem with 2018 Sonata Limited and I have filed complaint with NHTSA and directly with Hyundai. I urge anyone experiencing this to do also register complaint.

Yes, it's a buyer beware...........on the 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited! Report it to the NHTSA and also every social media avenue you have............it's a matter of informing the consumer so they can make a SAFE decision!

Have a NEW 2019 Limited Turbo. Just drove it at night 1st time after reading this and the DBL Led headlights REALLY SUCK!. On dark roads, hi beams come on with auto set and everything lights up, But in normal around the town driving the headlights really suck. Have the cutoff and the 2 little dimples. And as for test driving at night, you have got to be kidding. Who the hell does that? Had a 2011 Limited and NO PROBLEMS with headlights. Then went to a 2016 GENESIS and had no problems. Of course, Genny is head and shoulders above a Limited. Got the Limited when I found out just how bad Genesis lease programs are. Oter 600 for a lease. Are they nuts are just stupid? Will b e checking with my dealer and if need, will file a complaint against Hyundai. That headlight pattern even around town is horrible,

Hyundai Motor America told me ‘It was my responsibility to TEST DRIVE the car at night.’ I will NEVER buy another Hyundai vehicle, due to the dark line and notches that obstruct the view at night! Get the word out on every social media site possible! it’s a SAFETY issue for sure! Since Hyundai Motor America chooses to cover it up as a ‘design issue’, consumer need this information to choose a safe car!

This is a luxury feature - and you are clearly not prepared to own a luxury car. This "dark line" is actually the natural effect of night time.... the brighter your headlights are the darker the surrounding area will appear. Can you see outside at night when the lights are on in your room?(of course not) The sharp definition of the beam is yet another luxury design feature - the reflectors used on older vehicles are being phased out by the auto industry. These newer designs were pioneered by BMW and Audi - and now that they've been around for some time even less expensive vehicles have begun to offer it. So to be clear - both the brightness and near laser precision of the beam are illuminating the road so well that the surrounding area appears quite dark. This is nothing new - and when it was new you probably couldn't afford the vehicles that came with it. If your not able to drive safely at night even with the brightest most modern headlight design you should probably just drive during the day. You may as well complain that the ride is too smooth or that the cabin is too quiet.

Well Mr. Cook just to let you know this is by far not my first luxury car. I recognize a problem when I see it. Apparently you are not qualified to answer questions about these problems or just don’t understand it. The only thing I can figure is these guys work for Hyundai and refuse to acknowledge there is a problem. Those notches are NOT normal, are distracting and dangerous. Why can’t we get something done??

The headlights are obviously a "design flaw". The notches are NOT intentional to protect oncoming traffic from the brightness of a LED (poor Hyundia excuse) The mistake was made in at least 2 model years. Too expensive for a correction.

Yes, from what I've experienced on Car Gurus they work for Hyundai Motor American, and try to cover up the defects! Also the notches that bounce in front of the car right below the dark line, make it look like a dog or animal coming from the roadside.........very dangerous, one night I swerved thinking a dog was running out! Hyundai Motor American just wants to cover it up, so unless a whistle blower will come forward, nothing will be done!!! Just get the word out to all consumers!!!

Just jumping into this conversation... I just bought a 2019 Sonata Limited 2.0t and generally love the car. Having said that, I drove it for the first time at night and have a similar complaint about the LED headlights. First, I have owed a couple of cars with LED headlights so I'm familiar with a sharp cutoff line, particularly on low beam. The Limited is not much different. Having said that, there are large distinct dark "notches" just below the cutoff line that are very distracting and dangerous. On my Limited they fall right inline with a key viewing area ahead of the vehicle. What makes this worse is that the headlights "track" the steering movements so the notches move around with steering input. It is ridiculous to think that it is the consumers responsibility to drive the vehicle at night to identify this defect before purchasing.

Well it appears this problem is affecting everyone with the Sonata Limited. I hope you will file a complaint with hyundai.com and with National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration (NHTSA.gov). I have contacted Hyundai Corp and talked to a person there who had me set up an appointment with local dealer. I just picked up my car this afternoon. The dealer rep drove the car, verified my complaint about the headlights but said he has a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 18-BE-003-1) that instructs dealers not to make adjustments to the headlights. Bottom line, Hyundai still will not recognize this as a problem. All owners need to keep filing complaints with Hyundai and NHTSA. I hope that if and when someone has an accident that they sue Hyundai for some huge amount and win. I would like to see a class action suit also. Please every owner, FILE A COMPLAINT. The more we complain the better chance we have of getting someone to recognize the problem.

Fine on my hybrid

This thread cracks me up. Nothing useful but a head turning, he said/she said argument with an idiot who thinks he knows everything about headlights to the point where his ego got him looking even more stupid. FYI, the Sonata is made in Alabama, USA . THE steel for the car is made in Korea. That’s about all your gonna get outta Korea for the cars, too.