NHTSA Complaint #10618862 — 2008 HYUNDAI SONATA

APPROXIMATELY 3 MONTHS AGO I TRIED STARTING MY CAR (WITH NO PREVIOUS WARNINGS THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN) AND IT WOULD NOT START, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT TURN OVER, THERE WAS NO SOUND (ALTHOUGH I DID HAVE POWER THROUGH THE BATTERY AS I HAD LIGHTS, THE LIGHTS WORKED, RADIO ETC) -- I CALLED MY FATHER AND HE SUGGESTED THAT I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND TRY STARTING IT WHICH IT STARTED RIGHT AWAY AT THAT TIME. NOW THREE MONTHS LATER I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, TURNED THE KEY AND NOTHING -- NO SOUND (EXCEPT RADIO, LIGHTS ETC -- NEW BATTERY NOT THAT) -- I TRIED REPEATING PUTTING IT IN NEUTRAL AND DIDN'T WORK -- I TRIED MOVING BACK AND FORTH FROM PARK TO NEUTRAL AND TRIED STARTING THE CAR EACH TIME TO NO AVAIL. I STOPPED FOR A SHORT TIME AND CALLED MY FATHER AGAIN FOR ANY ADDITIONAL ADVICE WHICH HE HAD NONE AT THAT TIME. WHEN I TRIED STARTING THE CAR AGAIN IT FINALLY STARTED. I DROVE RIGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS PROBABLY THE STARTER GOING BAD AND WOULD BE A MINIMUM OF $350 -- I LATER SPOKE TO ANOTHER MECHANIC WHO MENTIONED THAT IF THE STARTER WERE GOING BAD THAT THERE WOULD BE A "CLICKING" NOISE WHEN I TRIED STARTING THE CAR WITH NO START. THIS WAS NOT HAPPENING. IT APPEARS BY BLOGS IN THE INTERNET THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2008 SONATA YET ALL THE DEALERSHIP WANTS TO DO IS CHARGE ME A LOT OF MONEY. *TR