2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

On April 8, 2026, I returned to my brand-new 2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited (purchased as a new ccar on February 10th 2026)_after being away from March 31 to April 6, 2026 (approximately 7 days of normal parking). The vehicle was completely dead — the 12V auxiliary battery had fully discharged. The car remained fully locked. The hood release lever and the 12V battery reset button are both located inside the cabin and were therefore inaccessible. Following the instructions in the owner’s manual, three adults attempted to remove the plastic cover over the mechanical keyhole on the driver’s door handle. None of us could pry or slide the cover off. Hyundai Roadside Assistance dispatched a locksmith. The locksmith had to use an air-inflation wedge tool to force the door open. Once inside, he pressed the interior 12V reset button and the vehicle then operated normally. This incident demonstrates a complete failure mode: the 12V system can die after only a short period of inactivity, and the mechanical emergency-access design makes it extremely difficult (or impossible for multiple people) to enter the vehicle without professional forced entry or risk of damage. The combination left me stranded with no practical way to regain access to my new car. I believe this is a safety-related defect because it creates an unreasonable risk of the driver being unable to enter or operate the vehicle after normal parking, potentially in emergency or critical situations. Hyundai has issued Service Campaign TEBA / TSB 25-01-076H for battery drain on 2025 Sonata Hybrids, but it does not address the mechanical key-cover access failure that turned the drain into a total lockout. It is also not clear the the TEBA is a complete solution to the battery drain problem.