Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
350–25K
1825–50K
3650–75K
1775–100K
13100–150K
4150K+
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 11, 2024
Power Train
The transmission continues to stall. Very dangerous….as I was pulling into a gas station and the car stalled. When placed into gear the vehicle would not drive forward and began to roll backwards. The vehicle is available for inspection. Due to the sudden stall a serious accident could have occurred. I took the vehicle to a me…
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The transmission continues to stall. Very dangerous….as I was pulling into a gas station and the car stalled. When placed into gear the vehicle would not drive forward and began to roll backwards. The vehicle is available for inspection. Due to the sudden stall a serious accident could have occurred. I took the vehicle to a mechanic and he confirmed that all fluid levels were good but the vehicle is in need of a completely new transmission. The current transmission can’t be repaired. The vehicle showed no warning signs or lights prior to incident. Can’t drive the vehicle as it is not safe. The vehicle is parked in a garage to avoid accident. The vehicle was driven low mileage over the last year.
NHTSA ODI #11619315
154,000 miles · Oct 11, 2024
Latches/locks/linkages
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that upon inspection, it was discovered that the interior emergency trunk release was inoperable, and the trunk could not be opened from inside the vehicle. The contacted stated that the vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V146000 (LATCHES/LOC…
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The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that upon inspection, it was discovered that the interior emergency trunk release was inoperable, and the trunk could not be opened from inside the vehicle. The contacted stated that the vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V146000 (LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES); but the vehicle experienced the failure listed in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 154,000.
NHTSA ODI #11619283
Mileage unknown · Oct 10, 2024
Engine
I am writing to formally request an urgent investigation into a potential recall for my vehicle, a 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT. I purchased this vehicle in 2017 and completed my payments in March 2023. However, in late July, I experienced a catastrophic failure that has rendered my vehicle inoperable. While driving home from work, …
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I am writing to formally request an urgent investigation into a potential recall for my vehicle, a 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT. I purchased this vehicle in 2017 and completed my payments in March 2023. However, in late July, I experienced a catastrophic failure that has rendered my vehicle inoperable. While driving home from work, I suddenly experienced a complete loss of power. My car slowed down significantly, forcing me to pull over to the side of the road. Once I came to a stop, the engine failed to restart, despite the dashboard lights and radio functioning normally. It has now been over two months since my vehicle has been non-operational. After taking it to a certified repair shop for diagnosis, I was informed that the engine is seized. The estimated cost for repairs exceeds $13,000, which is financially unfeasible for me. This situation not only poses a significant financial burden but also raises serious safety concerns. A sudden engine seizure while driving can lead to dangerous situations, potentially endangering both the driver and other road users. Given the severity of this issue and its implications, I urge the NHTSA to investigate the possibility of a recall for engine-related issues affecting the 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT. It is crucial that affected owners receive the necessary support and that safety concerns are addressed promptly. Thank you for your immediate attention to this serious matter. I look forward to your prompt response.
NHTSA ODI #11619234
Mileage unknown · Sep 27, 2024
Power Train
I own a 2016 Elantra with around 140,000 miles and the car just stopped going forward the car only goes in reverse, no warning light came on, no other issues or warnings that there was something wrong with the car.
NHTSA ODI #11616877
Mileage unknown · Sep 4, 2024
Engine
I hear a lot of sounds from the engine of my 2016 Elantra that’s only 96600 miles. It sometimes pulls back even though I step on the gas, and when the car is not moving it shakes a lot, though there is no problem according to my mechanic.
NHTSA ODI #11612473
Mileage unknown · Aug 19, 2024
Latches/locks/linkages
See attached document for complaint
NHTSA ODI #11609328
Mileage unknown · Aug 9, 2024
Structure
See attached document for complaint
NHTSA ODI #11607470
92,000 miles · Jul 26, 2024
Fuel System, Gasoline
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The f…
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The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
NHTSA ODI #11604804
Mileage unknown · Jul 23, 2024
Unknown Or Other
The sun visors on both the driver and passenger sides of the car are made of plastic (under the fabric material). Both visors no longer work properly. The plastic body of the visor has cracked and broken which causes the visor to no longer stay in the up position. The passenger side only stays in the down position. But the drive…
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The sun visors on both the driver and passenger sides of the car are made of plastic (under the fabric material). Both visors no longer work properly. The plastic body of the visor has cracked and broken which causes the visor to no longer stay in the up position. The passenger side only stays in the down position. But the driver side is at an awkward position where it sticks out. It will not stay up and it does not go down. The vehicle has not been in an accident to have caused this to happen. The car has had one consistent driver within the family and the primary driver is typically the only person in the car. The broken visors are not from being abused or misused. The fact that the driver side visor protrudes and impedes the drivers view is a safety concern. If the car were to be in an accident the sun visor is at an angle that it could potentially cause face/head contusions. The passenger side visor failed roughly 3 years ago. The driver side visor failed June 2024.
NHTSA ODI #11604098
Mileage unknown · Jul 21, 2024
Electrical SystemVisibility/wiper
Just driving down the road and the drivers side front window fell down. I tried to push the switch for to make it go lback up because it was windy and rainy. It just made the window drop down more. I was wondering if anyone else has had this complaint . It’s pulled back up and taped but it won’t go back up and tape keeps coming …
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Just driving down the road and the drivers side front window fell down. I tried to push the switch for to make it go lback up because it was windy and rainy. It just made the window drop down more. I was wondering if anyone else has had this complaint . It’s pulled back up and taped but it won’t go back up and tape keeps coming loose. It’s expensive to fix . I also fixed my trunk latch which was on a recall because when I called the dealer at that time there was no recall on it. I was stuck at Walmart and it wouldn’t close. The dealer wanted over 700 to fix trunk latch so I bought the part to fix it but I am checking to see if anyone else has complained on the window motor .
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.
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.