Check Hybrid System message

Asked by Lfrost186 Jun 29, 2020 at 05:41 PM about the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (2016) is displaying the check hybrid system
message and wouldn't start for about 10 mins. What is the problem, and how
do I fix it?

21 Answers

430

All Hyundai dealers know how to do is connect their computer the car and read out the results. I have a 2015 Sonata Hybrid and the orange Safety Plug behind the little door in the trunk trips every 60K miles. The car roles to a stop and is dead. I have to have it towed to the dealer and they replace the Safety Plug for about $300 including labor. It was covered under warranty in the first 100K miles. Since they didn't have the part in stock when it was new I was down for 5 days. Two different dealers still have no idea why it happens. The third time it happened they replaced the Auxiliary Battery in the trunk. Now every month I get the "Check Charging System" error message flashing on the dash with an alarm bell sounding with a warning to stop the car. It still runs and I limp it home. It started fine after a rest and the check engine light cleared after 3 starts of the engine. I had the Auxiliary Batter checked and it was strong. The HEV gauge on the dash shows the main battery with adequate charge. I have a lemon and Hyundai does not know why.

43 people found this helpful.
200

My hybrid 2016 hybrid light came on and nothing would restart I got out of the car and the locks would not work on the remote after about five minutes it started working again

20 people found this helpful.
160

I bought a hyundai sonata hybrid 2016 the check engine light comes on and hev light we had a sensor fixed and helped for a week now its doing the same thing what could be going on

16 people found this helpful.
240

My 2017 Sonata Hybrid is doing the same thing. Randomly won't start and I get the same message - check hybrid system. What is going on? This is ridiculous. So far I wait about 10 to 20 min and it finally starts. Don't know how long that will work.

24 people found this helpful.
400

We have a 2014 Hyundai Sonata and we have been dealing with this issue for about 6 months now! The error code we got was "Hybrid Battery Low! Safely Stop and Shift to "P", while it beeped, we also got "Check Charging System". At first it was intermittently, every other month and now it's was happening every time we drove it! Every time we took it into the dealer they would say that everything was ok. What they failed to tell me was that I needed to take the vehicle in when the code was active! Which means, DO NOT turn off your car because it will reset and the code will go away! The code has to be active, get it to the dealer, if you can, they will have to diagnose it immediate without turning the car off in order to get the error code. We finally got it to the dealer will the code was happening, got the Service Manager to take it to the technician immediately, left the car on the whole time! Well, they were FINALLY able to diagnose it! One of the cell batteries (there are 72 cells in the battery) was not charging properly which was causing this issue. Now, we are in the process of getting Hyundai's approval to replace the battery. Another thing to note, ONLY Hyundai can diagnose and order a new battery so make sure you take it there. I hope this helps.

40 people found this helpful.
100

On our 2015 Hyundai Sonata my husband he received the error Hybrid Battery Low! Safely Stop and Shift to "P". He got lucky and was able to pull off the highway into a gas station to avoid being hit. The car was towed to the the nearest Hyundai dealership only to have to be towed to a second Hyundai dealership due to the first one not being able to work on hybrid cars. Upon arrival to the tech that could work on car was unavailable the service girl called and said our car beeping and they couldn't get it to stop. I just keep had imagines in my head do they not no how to turn off a hybrid car? Long story short the car still showing the error Hybrid Battery Low! Safely Stop and Shift to "P" they called few days later said the reason for the call was the motor seized and are awaiting a call from Hyundai to see if they will help cover the cost.

10 people found this helpful.
50

Today we drove about about 150 , all hwy. Once we got home and shut the car off we attempted to restart it. It would not start. On dash it stated check Hybrid system with all the lights on. We checked the liquid, oil of which was hot . We let it sit for 10 min or so and It started. This happened after a long trip a few weeks ago.after our daughter had the car. We thought it was her not starting it. Locally we have not had any issues. After reading many comments it appears this is an ongoing issue. What advice can be given

5 people found this helpful.
120

Me too same My car 2016 Hyundai hybrid Sonata Check hybrid system turn off engine

12 people found this helpful.
40

Idling in EV mode I feel vibrations. H-E-V light turns on. Everything still works. Once I start driving the cruise control turns off randomly. it would also burn oil. I took mine to the Hyundai dealership today they said it was a malfunction on the electric water pump. The vibrations were coming from the external fan always on. The cruise control board turn off because the hybrid charger would get too hot. This video shows where it is in the engine. So you can DIY it. (I don’t know if it will turn off the H-E-V warning light though hopefully it does) https://youtu.be/ebcMWwhszQs

4 people found this helpful.
70

I had Sonata display "check Hybrid system" message. After I turned the engine off the "check engine" light came on. The next day it was fine. Then it started again next day. (hot and humid) , Engine overheated warning light came on at some point. I took it to the dealer and it turned out to be a water pump.

7 people found this helpful.
70

I’m sitting on the side of he road with this same issue. I just hit 62,000.

2 people found this helpful.
30

It gives me anxiety because last year, the car stopped moving completely in the middle of traffic and i had to have it towed back to my house. Changing the safety plug fixed the issue and i was able to drive the car again. I have since changed my power relay assembly and safety plug and still get the same issue. Fast forward 5,000 miles later, the check hybrid system warning comes on while driving and the engine power reduces, it disappears after a few seconds and life is good. Hyundai dealership can't figure out what the problem is.

3 people found this helpful.
40

Rockhead001 I have a 2015 Sonata Hybrid that is doing the EXACT SAME THING! It flashed the “Hybrid System Warning” for months and even with taking it in twice to be serviced no issue was ever found. I then broke down on the highway, had the safety plug and power assembly replaced, only to have the code start flashing again after three months. It’s been at a dealership for almost two weeks now and they can’t duplicate the problem so there’s nothing they can do. I have no idea where to go from here!!!

4 people found this helpful.
10

You may not want to listen to me ... since I can't even figure out how to read responses but I have the same issue as the initial report and the same screen as guru9zh4cv. Key symptoms for me are that the car runs fine. Short trips have never triggered the fault. 3 times over the last year though, our 2017 Sonata, has refused to start after a long drive and a very brief stop. I have tried a lot of things and was zeroing in on the receiver end of the FOB/Car communication. I put new batteries in both FOBs and thought all was good but a month or two later on a 2hour cruise we stopped to use a restroom and came out to a car that wouldn't start and said there was an HEV issue. After a lot of digging around web I the conclusion I am testing out is that I have an issue with the 12 volt battery in the trunk. Alas, I will change it out and won't be able top relax for several months thinking it may crop up again. Good luck.

1 people found this helpful.
10

I am having the same issue, was driving on the freeway and car lost about 90% of the gas pedals power. I was able to barely inch off the highway without getting hit, and had to get my car towed. Like y'all above it says "check hybrid system, turn off engine". Its just sitting in my driveway not working. I took it to the dealer (after having to wait a MONTH) and they replaced the 12v battery. A couple weeks later the issue is has happened again and my car is completely disabled. 85k miles with regular maintenance.

1 people found this helpful.

I am having the same problem but I have a Plug-In Hybrid. I know the Sonata HEVs had a manufacturer recall for problems with the hybrid system but apparently it doesn't apply to PHEV. Can anyone help? Was also very scary to suddenly lose power. Thank god I wan't on the freeway.

20

I have a 2017 sonata hybrid that has now thrown the Check HEV system message. I got a scanner and scanned the codes. Since it has now done it three times in less than 5 months. The first time I took it to a private shop because Hyundai was so busy that they said they needed at least two weeks before they could even look at it. These guys said that it was issue with the 12v battery connection. It drove fine until two days ago. It suddenly lost power and thank God I Was able to pull over safely. I stopped, deleted the codes and the car ran fine. Today 2/01/24 I start to drive it to work and it does the same thing, literally the same distance from my house as the day before, even the same exit on the highway. I pull over, run the codes, delete them and ran home again just fine. This time I was actually wrote the codes down and looking for answers online to see what could be causing this...

2 people found this helpful.
10

My car was doing the same thing and found out I had 3 recalls on my car. My engine was completed gone out. Took my car to one dealership and they were backed up about 2 months. Had it transferred to another dealership about an hour away and they got right on it. Been calling the main Hyundai line and got a case number. Long story short Hyundai approved a new engine to be put in.

1 people found this helpful.

Sound like water pump replacement may be the answer although I suspect a connection or sensor may be the actual fault. Did someone really solve this?

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