Everything NHTSA's vPIC database knows about this exact vehicle:
Decoding from NHTSA…
Vehicle history — accidents, title & owners
The decode above is what this vehicle is. For what it's been through — accidents, title brands, odometer, theft/total-loss and previous owners — pull a full history report.
NHTSA publishes the first 11 characters of the VIN with every complaint — that identifies the plant, model year, body and engine. So these are reports from cars built exactly like this one, not an average across the whole model.
5NPEB4AC4CH••••••2012 Hyundai SONATA
This build draws 3.5× more complaints than the average 2012 Hyundai SONATA build (65 vs 18).
65on this build
1458on the model
79builds in total
2involved a crash
6involved a fire
1injuries
Most reportedEngine 22Steering 17Exterior Lighting 12Air Bags 8
What owners of this build wrote
EnginefireOct 2025
The contact owned a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. The contact stated that while driving to her residence at unknown speeds, the vehicle suddenly caught fire while making a U-turn. The brakes and emergency brake were inoperable. The seatbelt was inoperable. The driver jumped out of the…
SteeringfireOct 2025
Based on what I experienced, the fire appears to have resulted from an internal mechanical or electrical failure that occurred without warning while the vehicle was in motion. No prior issues or dashboard alerts were present at the time, and there was no external impact or…
Service BrakesfireOct 2025
Driving came to a stop ,light turned green made a U-turn to go to the gas station heard a pop noise smoke came from inside the car tried stopping it but the brake pedal sunk into the ground pressed my emergency brake it was seized wouldn’t go down (never had that issue my brakes…
Exterior LightingfireJun 2019
The contact owns a 2012 hyundai sonata. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle, a burning odor was present inside the cabin. Upon inspection it was discovered that both brake lights had burnt and were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer heritich of…
Air BagscrashMay 2014
I was traveling down the road and a 1999 chevy silverado pick up truck ran a stop sign coming from my left and struck the left side front door and fender of my car. The left curtain side airbag did not deply. My shoulder hit the door
Read all 65 complaints on this exact buildFull text, search by keyword, and the systems that fail most on cars built like yours.Unlock with Pro →
Owner complaints…
Now the whole model — all 79 builds of it, not just this build. Same NHTSA reports, wider net:
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Exact value for this VIN, adjusted for mileage
The original window sticker and factory options
Full research report as a PDF you can hand to a mechanic
Decoded via NHTSA vPIC. Recalls, complaints and safety from NHTSA; MPG from EPA fueleconomy.gov. Full history reports from our partner. VIN 5NPEB4AC4CH445929 · decoded Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by Denis Kataev, founder of ForCar.