A completely new car with a completely new problem — the fuel-tank fire recall is the first thing to check, not the last.

A repeat 2020 pattern with no Hyundai bulletin behind it, which is exactly why it is worth flagging. Owners lose all airflow from the vents and then find physical heat damage: one describes a melted multi-fuse with a melted terminal-pin area in the fuse box, another traces it to the wiring harness under the fuse box making poor contact and overheating the blower amplifier. Several report replacing the blower or fuses repeatedly. Melted connectors in a car's power distribution are not a comfort complaint, they are a heat and current problem. On the test drive run the fan through every speed on both heat and air conditioning, and if anything is intermittent, have the fuse box and the harness beneath it inspected before you buy.

The other repeat 2020 electrical pattern, again with no supporting bulletin in the Hyundai file. Owners report the reversing camera failing — intermittent at first, in all weather, then permanently black — and several file it under back-over prevention rather than infotainment, which is the right framing: this is required safety equipment on this vintage. Put the car in reverse before you talk about price and confirm the screen shows a live picture, and try it more than once.

Two launch-year recalls. Recall 20V213 covers 2020 Nexo and Sonata vehicles whose Remote Smart Parking Assist software may fail to stop the car when it detects a fault in the system — the feature that parks the car from outside using the key. Free software reprogramming. Recall 20V122 covers 2020 Sonatas built between October 2019 and February 2020 whose tire-pressure label inside the driver's door and owner's manual state the wrong tire size, which fails the federal tire-selection standard and could lead an owner to fit the wrong tires. Free replacement labels. Both are quick fixes, but the label one is worth confirming because a car may have been running mis-specified tires for years.

Recall 22V196 covers 2020 Sonata and Sonata Hybrid, plus the 2019 Genesis G70: the trunk latch can be damaged so that the trunk cannot be opened from inside, failing the federal internal-trunk-release standard. Dealers inspect and replace the latch base free. Owner letters were mailed in May 2022, so a car that has changed hands since may never have had it done. Confirm by VIN.

The base engine on the 2020 is the 2.5-litre Theta III, a direct-injection four with no mechanical relationship to the old Theta II. It is a much quieter engine in the data, but two patterns show up. One owner documents excessive oil consumption confirmed by a dealer at around 88,000 miles; several report coolant disappearing with the car overheating, one after a dealer had already repaired it once. Hyundai's bulletins for this engine cover mass-airflow plausibility codes and a joint-connector pin-tension repair rather than oil use, so the oil-consumption reports are complaint-sourced. Practically: check the oil level and colour, look for coolant staining around the reservoir, and ask whether the car has ever run hot.

The upper gas trims on the 2020 use a 1.6-litre turbo instead of the 2.5, a substitution one reviewer in our sources complains about directly — on the top two trims you are stuck with a small turbocharged direct-injection engine when the naturally aspirated engine is available further down the range. Hyundai's bulletin is specific about the fault to look for: certain 2020 to 2021 Sonatas with the 1.6T may show a check-engine light together with a popping noise, an abnormal smell from the engine bay, rough running or reduced power, all from a misfire. A federal complaint describes exactly that — loud explosive popping sounds while driving. On a 1.6T car, accelerate hard from low revs on the test drive and treat any popping or hesitation as a diagnosis to get before purchase.

The 2020 Sonata Hybrid's small complaint file is almost entirely two faults, and Hyundai has a bulletin for each. The first is the 12-volt battery going flat while the car sits — owners report it a dozen or more times, having to unlock the door with the emergency key blade and press the dashboard 12V reset button to start the car, with dealers unable to reproduce it. Hyundai's bulletin describes diagnostic code P1BB20, 12V Lithium Battery Cell Voltage High, on Elantra, Sonata and Tucson hybrids of this era, causing a warning light and in some cases limp mode, fixed by a Battery Management System software update. The second is coolant disappearing with thick white smoke from the exhaust and the engine overheating — Hyundai's bulletin attributes this on 2020 to 2023 Sonata Hybrids to an internal leak at the EHRS, the Exhaust Heat Recovery System built into the centre muffler, which uses exhaust heat to warm the engine. One owner had a muffler assembly replaced and reports the fix held; another had three separate repairs. Ask a hybrid's seller directly about both: has the 12-volt battery software been updated, and has it ever lost coolant or blown white smoke.

A handful of 2020 owners report the factory paint peeling and clear coat failing on metal panels. Hyundai's white-paint warranty extension bulletins in the Sonata file cover model years 2015 to 2019, so a 2020 is outside the population those bulletins list — but the complaints exist, so check a white or light car's hood and roof in daylight and, if you find bubbling, ask a dealer whether any goodwill coverage applies before assuming you will pay for it.