2012 Hyundai Sonata died and wouldn’t start

2012 sonata , pulled over for a large truck to pass ,the car died. when i tried to start it , it clicked once and shut off.had to have it towed… any ideas ?

Dead battery - faulty alternator - out of fuel - starter failed plus a lot of other things that a good shop can solve for you if you can’t fix it yourself.

If it “clicked once and shut off,” the battery is most likely dead. That would indicate the battery itself or the alternator is bad, or the cables are loose or badly corroded. Battery or cables will be comparatively cheap, alternator less so.

https://hyundaiengineinfo.com/technical-overview/

Catastrophic engine failure is common on this model. It is possible that your engine is seized.

A year back my neighbor asked me for a “second opinion” where the dealer gave him $1000+ estimate to essentially replace everything around charging/starting systems on his minivan… and he is not technical to the point he would not know how to hold screwdriver in his hand…
His symptoms were “sometimes car just dies for no reason, sometimes it would not start and just clicks, then will start few minutes later just fine”.

I found battery in good health but terminal clamps to be corroded and loose.
Some cleanup, some protective grease and it worked just fine after that.
I asked him what dealer he came to so I know to avoid the place :slight_smile:

I think all the dealers do that. I keep my batteries until they die or show so sign of weakness. I have never had a battery and alternator die at once. I have had a battery be discharged by a dead alternator, but after a charge the battery is fine. However I can’t count on one hand the number of friends who say " I had to replace the battery and alternator because the bad (chose one) killed the other."

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I keep battery until the very first sign of weakness, then replace it at once, avoiding ever “jumping” it.
Usually battery lasts 4-5 years on replacements, OEM seem to last longer.
I think “jumping” weak battery to get the very last drop of its life is something greatly increasing the chances of alternator getting damaged.

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I have been jumping batteries for more than 60 years,never had any problem with doing it. Did that in the days of metal bumpers, if you had to park behind the car you were jumping and your cables were not long enough to reach you could put your bumper against his and hook your cables together between the hot terminals. Provided the cars had the same ground polarity. If they didn’t you had to either remove both cables from the car that ran or remove the battery before jumping.

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I had a bad starter in this same car about 2 years ago.