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2016 Hyundai Elantra

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Hyundai Elantra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 182.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

123 reports with mileage · 169 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.

  • Engine. Review the 111 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 31 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 26 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 reports5 fire reports16 injury reports

What owners actually said

292 reports
Mileage unknown · Oct 9, 2021
EngineVehicle Speed Control

I lost power while driving my 2016 Hyundai Elantra gt and also started hearing a knocking sound so I pulled over and knocking sound got real loud. A friend came and towed me home about 70 miles and the next morning I checked the oil and my oil was empty. My car has been out of commission for over a month and my mechanic says tha…

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I lost power while driving my 2016 Hyundai Elantra gt and also started hearing a knocking sound so I pulled over and knocking sound got real loud. A friend came and towed me home about 70 miles and the next morning I checked the oil and my oil was empty. My car has been out of commission for over a month and my mechanic says that a ball bearing is the reason for my engine failure and knocking sound.

NHTSA ODI #11436155

Mileage unknown · Oct 2, 2021
Unknown Or Other

Latch for trunk does not work from the inside by the floor at the driver seat.

NHTSA ODI #11435223

Mileage unknown · Sep 30, 2021
Power Train

My vehicle is only 5 years old and the transmission has problems. I was driving and the car stopped with an impact force. I thought that someone or something had hit me from behind. For over over 2 months, I have been without a vehicle because the mechanic shop states that the transmission need part replacements.

NHTSA ODI #11434960

Mileage unknown · Sep 30, 2021
Power Train

Check engine light didn't come on until the car no longer went into gear. Prior to light coming on car started jumping like 3 feet when going from park to drive sometimes and would do the same sometimes after proceeding from a stop. After about 2 weeks of doing this car would only go in reverse then the check engine light came o…

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Check engine light didn't come on until the car no longer went into gear. Prior to light coming on car started jumping like 3 feet when going from park to drive sometimes and would do the same sometimes after proceeding from a stop. After about 2 weeks of doing this car would only go in reverse then the check engine light came on. Had it towed to dealer to be serviced. They said i need a new transmission and cost over $6800. Car has been in shop for 3 weeks now. I filed a complaint with you guys and was told to see if Hyundai would make things right and make it a recall since it was a huge safety issue i think. However they said there was nothing they could do cause my warranty was up cause I'm almost to 130000 miles. That shouldn't even matter it was still a safety issue. I was reading and found that a lot of people were having similar issues and Hyundai does nothing about it.

NHTSA ODI #11434949

90,000 miles · Sep 22, 2021
Air Bags

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed him that the air bags were defective. The mechanic then referred him to a dealer for assistance an…

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The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed him that the air bags were defective. The mechanic then referred him to a dealer for assistance and informed him that there might be a recall on the vehicle for the air bags. The contact's wife called the dealer and the manufacturer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

NHTSA ODI #11433967

Mileage unknown · Aug 13, 2021
Visibility

The inside of my front windshield and inside of back window always get a film on them when using my air vents. It is like a gas film that forms on the mentioned windows and it is not easy to get the film off. It just smears. This has been going on for a couple of years. No one seems to know why. Filters are replaced during …

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The inside of my front windshield and inside of back window always get a film on them when using my air vents. It is like a gas film that forms on the mentioned windows and it is not easy to get the film off. It just smears. This has been going on for a couple of years. No one seems to know why. Filters are replaced during oil checkups. What could be causing this annoying problem?

NHTSA ODI #11428925

Mileage unknown · Aug 6, 2021
Engine

Under 70,000 miles, transmission no longer works. Left me stuck in a parking lot and will not go forward. Began with pulling motion while trying to shift and rapidly declined.

NHTSA ODI #11428117

57,000 miles · Aug 5, 2021
Latches/locks/linkages

The contact's son owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power locks would intermittently unlock then lock independently with the door ajar warning light illuminated. All doors were inspected after each failure warning however, each time the doors were found to be securely close…

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The contact's son owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power locks would intermittently unlock then lock independently with the door ajar warning light illuminated. All doors were inspected after each failure warning however, each time the doors were found to be securely closed. The contact also stated that upon parking the vehicle and locking the doors, the doors were unlocked upon return to the vehicle. The contact called the dealer where she purchased the vehicle and an appointment was scheduled for an inspection. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

NHTSA ODI #11427860

Mileage unknown · Aug 1, 2021
Power Train

My vehicle started to have a slight delay when shifted from park to drive. Within a week's time the delay turned to a very hard shift which made car jump fast and hard making tires screech yet there was no check engine light. Then it started slipping out of gear on highway then it wouldn't go into the last gear and when in stop …

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My vehicle started to have a slight delay when shifted from park to drive. Within a week's time the delay turned to a very hard shift which made car jump fast and hard making tires screech yet there was no check engine light. Then it started slipping out of gear on highway then it wouldn't go into the last gear and when in stop and go traffic fall out of gear when stopped then thrust really hard burning rubber when accelerating so had to distance myself far behind other cars so I wouldn't crash into them trying to accelerate after a stop. I get home safely let my vehicle rest a few hours before attempting to take car to be inspected. So I back out of drive way and my car doesn't go into drive at all and then the check engine light comes on. Now I have a friend bring scanner and the code P0722 comes up. I am disabled and on a fixed income still paying on the car. Luckily I broke down in front of my house.

NHTSA ODI #11427357

Mileage unknown · Jul 24, 2021
Structure

Blue paint started peeling on the rear spoiler and rear bumper and side near handle.

NHTSA ODI #11426309

Official recalls

2

26V307000 · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

May 14, 2026

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra and 2016 Elantra GT vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may rupture during deployment.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An air bag inflator that ruptures may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or passengers, increasing the risk of injury or death.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the air bag inflator, as necessary, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 3, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated August, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 300. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 16, 2026.

24V146000 · Latches/locks/linkages:trunk Lid:latch

Feb 23, 2024

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the trunk latch base sub-assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 5, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 256.

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

1

DP21003 · Throttle Control System Vulnerabilities

Opened Nov 12, 2021 · Closed Jun 20, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Vehicle Speed Control:throttle

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated October 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (ETC) system on certain Kia vehicles resulting in the opening of DP21-003. Accordingly, Model Year (MY) 2005-2016 Kia Optima/K5, MY 2006-2015 Kia Sorento, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Elantra, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Santa Fe, MY 2006-2015 Hyundai Sonatas are all part of the subject population. The petition was originally filed as a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire that can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under reference (ODI) number 11439675.On November 12, 2021, ODI opened Defect Petition DP21-003 to evaluate the petitioner?s request. ODI performed trend analyses of the VOQs related to vehicle speed control issues for all the subject vehicles and found that none of the 52 Model/Model Year Hyundai/Kia vehicles demonstrated any actionable trend that warranted an investigation.Petitioners submitted 1119 VOQs and non-VOQ cases in which sudden uncommanded acceleration (SUA) or loss of motive power (LOMP) incidents were alleged.For the 1119 reports, 220 were incidents involving crashes, from which 69 subject Hyundai-Kia vehicles were inspected by Hyundai/Kia dealer technicians, Hyundai/Kia engineers, and/or third-party representatives.ODI found the inspections identified no vehicle defects related to the ETC system.Of the 220 crash-involved reports, 13 Event Data Recorder (EDR) records were downloaded successfully and 11 of those indicated driver error: (i.e.) pedal misapplication.A condition where the accelerator pedal is mistakenly applied instead of the brake pedal when the driver wants to stop the vehicle.In addition, ODI reviewed a scientific journal paper published in Forensic Science International in 2016 by Mr. Park et al ., as well as related test videos. ODI does not believe there is any evidence of uncontrollable SUA occurrences in any of the tests reviewed. NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) reviewed the allegations regarding the potential noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 124.Based on the information provided, the Agency concludes there is insufficient information for us to determine if a possible non-compliance exists.Finally, both Hyundai and Kia informed ODI that all their vehicles manufactured after 2012 were equipped with an ETC management system, in which the engine speed will go to idle when the system sees signals from both the brake pedal and accelerator pedal at the same time; this is commonly known as the brake-throttle override system.After thoroughly assessing the material submitted by the petitioner, information already in NHTSA's possession, information submitted by Hyundai and Kia in response to an Information Request letter, and the potential risks to safety implicated by the petitioner's allegation, NHTSA does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. After full consideration of appropriate factors, the petition is denied. A Federal Register Notice (FRN) further detailing NHTSA?s reasons for denial of the petition will be published.

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