IllustrationWHEN APPLYING THE GAS PEDAL ENGINE REVS UP, AND GEARS DO NOT CATCH RIGHT AWAY. DEALER HAS TRIED TO FIX IT, BUT PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK
1999 Hyundai Elantra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1999 Hyundai Elantra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 182.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Elantra years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
70–25K
425–50K
750–75K
975–100K
16100–150K
6150K+
49 reports with mileage · 79 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 41 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
22 crash reports2 fire reports16 injury reports
What owners actually said
128 reportsAT 2,235 MILES I WAS EXPERIENCING A HARSH 2 TO 3 UPSHIFT AND ALOT OF CHUGGING NOISE. A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED. THE AT 5.630 MILES I HAD A LEAK IN THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. BOTH ITEMS ARE BEING REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY BUT IT IS VERY INCONVENIENT AND FRUSTRATING TO HAVE A NEW CAR HAVE THESE "SERIOUS" PROBLEMS.
WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED VEHICLE STALLS/RUNS ROUGH, AND LOSES POWER. *AK
CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AND ANOTHER VEHICLE HIT CONSUMER'S VEHICLE HEAD-ON. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
VEHICLE HA S BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEM WITH PASSENGER SEAT BELT RETRACTING & LOCKING PASSENGERS SO THATTHEY ARE UNABLE TO MOVE. DEALER NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED THAT ALL 1999 VEHICLE ARE MADE THAT WAY. CAN NHTSA DO SOMTHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. WE BOTH KNOW THAT THE DEALER IS WRONG, AND NHTSA SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS MATTER. *AK
THE PAINT AND CLEAR COAT ON MY CAR IS CRACKING THE DEALER CALLS IT CHECKING. THEY WANT TO REPAINT THE CAR AND I AM LOOKING FOR THE FACTORY PAINT THAT IS WHY I BOUGHT NEW. I TRIED TO TURN CAR IN FOR A NEW ONE BUT THEY WOULD NOT EXCHANGE THE CAR I COULD USE ANY GOOD ADVICE IN THIS UN CALLED FOR SITUATION.
PASSENGER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT LOCKED UP, AND THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO GET OUT OF THE SEAT BELT DUE TO NO RELEASE OR NO PLAY. *AK
THE VEHICLE GETS LESS THAN ADVERTISED GAS MILEAGE, CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER 2 TIMES FOR TESTING, AND DID NOT GET A WRITTEN RECORD WHAT WAS PERFORMED. *ET
RPMS WOULD GO DOWN INSTEAD OF UP DURING ACCELERATION; VEHICLE BEEN INSPECTED ON TWO OCCASIONS, AND NOTHING COULD BE FOUND. CAN NHTSA PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *AK
VEHICLE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH SHIFTING GEARS AND ACCELERATING, PRIOR TO RECALL NOTICE (99V178000). HOWERVER CONSUMER WANTED RECALL REPAIRS DONE THROUGH THE DEALER CONSUMER PURCHASED THE VEHICLE FROM, BUT DEALER WOULD NOT FIX IT, CONSUMER WENT TO ANOTHER DEALER FOR REPAIRS. *YC
Official recalls
200V259001 · Electrical System:wiring
Sep 11, 2000
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SOME SONATA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.5 LITER V-6 ENGINES AND ALL ELANTRA MODEL VEHICLES MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT LOW-SPEED ENGINE STALLING, WHICH COULD OCCUR IF THE MAF (MASS AIR FLOW) SENSOR ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IS INTERRUPTED AS A RESULT OF ENGINE VIBRATION TRANSMITTED TO THE MAF SENSOR CONNECTOR WIRING HARNESS.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL RE-ROUTE THE MAF SENSOR CONNECTOR WIRING HARNESS.
99V178000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission
Jul 7, 1999
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE SEALS DO NOT REMAIN SUFFICIENTLY ELASTIC, RESULTING IN TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKAGE. THIS LEAKAGE CAN RESULT IN REDUCED PRESSURE APPLICATION TO THE CLUTCHES, BRAKE, AND KICKDOWN SERVO, ALLOWING THEM TO SLIP.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: SUCH SLIPPAGE CAN CAUSE PREMATURE DETERIORATION OF THE FRICTION ELEMENT SURFACES AND COULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE NOT TO ACCELERATE, OR NOT ACCELERATE AS EXPECTED, WHEN THE DRIVER PRESSES THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.