The rare brake light is working fine but the car dashboard computer keeps on saying „Check rare brake light“ intermittently. It either needs a repair (although brake lights are working) or a replacement. Please resolve this issue because other Elantra owner have reported the same.
2018 Hyundai Elantra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2018 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
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When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
91 reports with mileage · 190 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 140 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 43 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 24 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Exterior Lighting complaints
16 reportsPassenger side brake light keeps going out and has been replaced twice
My husband filed a complaint about the lighting on his Hyundai sonata and I have a Hyundai Elantra that is doing the same thing. Twice now while I’ve been driving at night, my headlights have gone off an and come back on by themselves. They were off about 15 seconds each time. Then this week I had my back break light (the one cl…
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My husband filed a complaint about the lighting on his Hyundai sonata and I have a Hyundai Elantra that is doing the same thing. Twice now while I’ve been driving at night, my headlights have gone off an and come back on by themselves. They were off about 15 seconds each time. Then this week I had my back break light (the one close to the windshield) and the passenger side headlights go out suddenly. My car is a 2018 Elantra with 70k miles on it. I just got through replacing both headlights about a year ago when my car had 60k miles on it.
ON THE FREEWAY GOING ABOUT 45 MPH TRIED TO SPEED UP AND SWITCH LANES AS I PRESSED THE GAS YOU CAN HEAR THE ACCERATION BUT THE CAR DIDNT INCREASE IN SPEED THE WHOLE DASHBOARD WENT BLANK (BLACK). CAR WAS UNRESPONSIVE. ITS VERY DANGEROUS THAT THE CAR FALFUCTIONS IN CRITICAL CONDITIONS LIKE BEING ON THE FREEWAY. YES I HAVE TOOKEN IT…
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ON THE FREEWAY GOING ABOUT 45 MPH TRIED TO SPEED UP AND SWITCH LANES AS I PRESSED THE GAS YOU CAN HEAR THE ACCERATION BUT THE CAR DIDNT INCREASE IN SPEED THE WHOLE DASHBOARD WENT BLANK (BLACK). CAR WAS UNRESPONSIVE. ITS VERY DANGEROUS THAT THE CAR FALFUCTIONS IN CRITICAL CONDITIONS LIKE BEING ON THE FREEWAY. YES I HAVE TOOKEN IT TO HYUNDAI AND THEY NEVER FIND ANYTHING WRONG. ALSO AT TIMES THE CAR WONT EVEN TURN ON. NO TYPE OF WARING LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD.
My daughter is in college in Tallahassee. About 4 months ago, she told me that when she presses the accelerator, the car doesn’t go as fast as it should. In July 2022, the car was serviced in Tallahassee at the dealership; however, none of this is reflected on the receipt. In November she came home to Palm Beach County, on her w…
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My daughter is in college in Tallahassee. About 4 months ago, she told me that when she presses the accelerator, the car doesn’t go as fast as it should. In July 2022, the car was serviced in Tallahassee at the dealership; however, none of this is reflected on the receipt. In November she came home to Palm Beach County, on her way back, she told me that she was having the same issue when she pressed the accelerator. She made it to Tallahassee and I had her take it to the dealership. The Service Manager called me and said she had gone over the recommended miles for an oil change and this may have caused damage to the engine; however, he decided to change her oil and spark plug which coated about $318. She drove the car for a few days and noticed a loud tapping noise; also, the car rolls in all gears, and the same issue with when pressing the accelerator. Upon taking it back to the dealer, they told me that the engine would have to be replaced at a cost of $9500. The car had sat at the dealer since November 14, 2022 because no one would call back; provide updates after I started questioning the issues with other vehicles like this one based on my research. In addition, I was told the manufacturers warranty did not apply to my daughter’s car because she was the 2nd owner. I had the car towed today, November 30, 2022 to AAMCO. It is available if needed. This issue has put my daughter at risk because Tallahassee is very hilly. The vehicle not getting enough speed to drive up a hill, pass vehicles or possibly be hit from behind puts my daughter and others at risk. The dealership has indicated there is a problem with the engine that will require it to be replaced. The vehicle was inspected by Werner Hyundai in Tallahassee who said there was an issue with the engine. It is now at AAMCO. Outside of my daughter indicating the problem, I am not aware of any other warnings.
My headlights on left side (low beam)and right side (high beam) have each burned out three times. My high mounted brake light has been replaced at least five times as well as my left and right brake lights. Now both of my tag lights went out and a right tail light. Also brakes keep grinding even after I replaced pads and rotors…
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My headlights on left side (low beam)and right side (high beam) have each burned out three times. My high mounted brake light has been replaced at least five times as well as my left and right brake lights. Now both of my tag lights went out and a right tail light. Also brakes keep grinding even after I replaced pads and rotors and NTB National Tire is telling me it’s in electrical braking system or calipers. My car had 94,000 miles on it and I’ve never had any car have caliper problems with low mileage.
Financed last year (2021) at 38,000 miles, financing a vehicle i wish I knew to do research before hestitly excepting my first offer, first waring was on the test drive. The car had to be towed back to dealership because the battery was dead. In the sub-zero cold, the battery with read low and this causes electrical issues, fro…
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Financed last year (2021) at 38,000 miles, financing a vehicle i wish I knew to do research before hestitly excepting my first offer, first waring was on the test drive. The car had to be towed back to dealership because the battery was dead. In the sub-zero cold, the battery with read low and this causes electrical issues, from remote start not working to unable to open the doors. The more common and reaccuring issue that is getting worst is the lack of excellaration when taking off. Realizing this drastic difference recently, I know there is some thing happening, but I have not had much good customer service when I have brought issues to dealership and services center. Also issues with harness for the back left lights. The harness that holds the bulb keeps burning out. Dealer has never fixed when I immediately experience this issue and they just replaced the bulb twice until they realized the real problem and told me it would cost me $160
My car will shut off as I’m driving it. I was going thru a busy intersection and my car turned off, I was in my car with my 3 babies traffic backed up and almost got slammed into. I had to get out and push my car to the side of the road. The check engine light started flashing then the whole dashboard started flicking
While driving at night the headlights turn off. The headlights are set to auto at all times. The headlights will come back on when the switch is moved to the on position. This occurs almost nightly.
Starting summer 2021, we began having an issue with the parking lights randomly coming on and off when the car is parked (engine off and car locked). The dealer could not duplicate the issue and therefore did not repair anything. The car went to college with our daughter and mostly sat parked and was rarely checked on. Now tha…
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Starting summer 2021, we began having an issue with the parking lights randomly coming on and off when the car is parked (engine off and car locked). The dealer could not duplicate the issue and therefore did not repair anything. The car went to college with our daughter and mostly sat parked and was rarely checked on. Now that she is home for the summer, we are again aware of the problem. The safety issue began on Saturday June 18, 2022 when the headlights spontaneously turned off while driving at night on a dark road. TWICE! I am trying to work through the local dealer to remedy the issue; however, they say there is no known issue. In the meantime, I am reporting it here. My daughter was able to get the headlights to turn back on by turning the control knob until they came on. Other details: The headlight control is always in the Auto position. The steering column has had two prior warranty repairs. The first time it was completely replaced. The second, they did some other repair that I am unsure of the details. Given the wiring goes through the steering column I can't help but wonder if it is somehow related. The dealer of course says it is not.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
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.
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