Owners have filed 7,715 complaints on the Hyundai Elantra, covering 1992–2025. The system named most often is Engine (728 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2017, 2012; cleanest: 1993, 2025, 1992. 733 reports describe a crash, 173 a fire, 14 a death. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Hyundai Elantra
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 7,715 Elantra complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 728 Read
Got into an accident but there was immediately an engine fire
I was turning into a parking space at my work and almost at a complete stop when the engine suddenly revved and accelerated, causing my car to jump the curb and hit a light pole. My foot was on the brake the whole time as I was coming to a stop. It happened so fast. One minute I was parking and the next second I hit…
The contact owned a 2022 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact stated that a relative had entered the residence and informed the contact that the vehicle was on fire. The vehicle was unoccupied. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. The…
Air Bags 462 Read
The contact owns a 2016 hyundai elantra. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact stated that the air bags deployed and emitted fire during the deployment. A police report was filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent…
Coming out of left hand turn, air bag deployed, causing cuts & chaffs on both arms and causing me to hit a concrete medium blowing out 3 tires
The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while stopped at a red light with the precise pressure on the brake pedal, the RPM became elevated, the brake pedal was released, and as a result, the vehicle increased in speed and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The contact's entire front…
Electrical System 417 Read
Was taking trash to the dump, 1 person's worth, going 5 mph 1/ of mile from my home, car veered to right edge of pavement, and where a bulldozer had drug road edges and broke pavement off, caused me to hit a tree at a very slow speed. I reversed car, backed up 50 ft. And car shut itself off & windshield got extremely…
Car loosely steered barely off road, 1/8 mile from home,bumped tree 15' away, backed up, engine shut off (as usual since day 2 of lease), windshield heated to over 150 degree's in 35 degree weather, so I vacated car, which was in flames 2-3 minutes and burned to ash..had 5 months, daily problems, battery, fuses,…
The consumer was traveling about 60mph on the highway, and with no prior warning saw flames shooting up though the hood area. Consumer pulled over immediately, and notified the police. Vehicle was towed to the dealership
Steering 374 Read
The contact called on behalf of their son who owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while their son was decelerating, speed was unknown, and coming to a stop sign. The next thing their son was able to recall was that the vehicle had suddenly turned right crashing into an electrical pole nearby. The air…
The contact called on behalf of the driver of a 2019 hyundai elantra. While driving, the steering wheel seized. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into trees and a small abandoned home. The vehicle burst into flames. The driver was trapped inside the vehicle and burned to death. The fire department…
Complete lost of control no steering abilities
Service Brakes 350 Read
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking spot, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal several times, but the vehicle failed to respond and crashed into a building. The…
The vehicle caught fire while it was in motion; there were loud bangs and a lot of noise, and smoke started coming out of the front, and the engine and the undercarriage caught fire.I managed to turn it off, but when they were towing it, the mechanics did the diagnostic and found wires were faulty and damaged the…
The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while his wife was pulling into a customer's driveway at 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled and rolled back and crashed into a parked Ford F-150. The brake pedal was applied, but the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle failed to restart. There were no warning…
Power Train 257 Read
I have been encountering a series of troubling and erratic issues with my vehicle. These problems occur under various driving conditions, including acceleration, steady-state driving, and braking. However, the most prevalent and problematic occurrences seem to transpire during acceleration and braking. During…
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated upon coming to a complete stop, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly over a concrete bar and drove up a hill. The contact depressed the brake pedal but to no avail. The contact steered the vehicle to the right direction to avoid entering a pool. She then…
One morning I started my car like any normal day and there was a ticking sound. It was cold out that morning so I didn't think much of it but I took it to get its oil changed the next day and thats they told me that it was something internal and I should take it to a dealer. I took it to a dealer and they told me that…
Structure 192 Read
I was driving a safe distance behind a car that came to a sudden stop in front on me. The car that stopped in front on her was an older model explorer 4 dr. There was also a at that suddenly stopped in front of the explorer . As I applied my brakes it was as if the car wouldn't stop. I'm not sue if the car in front of…
Approximately may 2019 I started having problems with the rear passenger door not being able to open from the outside or inside although the car was unlocked. Currently, it has been stuck closed for numerous months now. To me, this is a safety issue for anyone riding in the rear seat. Especially if involved in an…
I was in an accident on a freeway. The accident involved my hyundai, a pick up, and a kia. The person driving the kia was at fault. The lane we were in came to a complete stop due to traffic and the person in the kia rear ended me which cause my car to hit the pick up. The pick up had minor scratches and dents, the…
Exterior Lighting 143 Read
On october 28, 2020 I took my vehicle to joe holland chevrolet in charleston, west virginia because my high beam headlights would not work. The technician told me that it was a faulty head light assembly and that I was at least the third person that day with this issue. The headlight assembly is on back order. Since…
While approaching a red light I smelled an electrical burning smell. Once at the red light I saw smoke and in the rear view mirror. I pulled over and exited the vehicle to see that the 3rd tail light was smoking. I was able to extinguish the fire. I removed the light casing and secured the wiring. On my way to the…
My wife was driving the car. It was a dark road in the night. Perhaps she didn't see the stop sign and crashed into a vehicle coming from right hand side, going in the same direction my wife was going. My wife crashed the other vehicle from behind. It was serious crash in which the entire front portion of the car is…
Elantra years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 19 | 6 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags,seat Belts,structure | 12 | 3 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 12 | 7 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 34 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 21 | 5 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 24 | 8 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 32 | 14 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 83 | 25 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 43 | 9 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 12 | 7 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 31 | 9 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 23 | 9 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 36 | 23 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 19 | 13 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 25 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 27 | 3 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 19 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 34 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 44 | 4 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 59 | 4 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 26 | 1 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 17 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 16 | — | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 7 | 3 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,290 |
| Average complaints per series | 6 |
| Worst single series | 62 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.4 years |
A model average of 6 hides a worst series at 62. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Elantra?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2017, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Elantra years are the cleanest?
2025, 1998, 2024 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Hyundai Elantra have?
7,715 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1992–2025. Of those, 733 describe a crash and 173 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.