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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.

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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.

12 crash reports7 fire reports6 injury reports

What owners actually said

281 reports
Mileage unknown · Jun 20, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Since I've purchased this car I've had problems with the car when moving when stopped. When I first start to drive, stops at a stop sign or red light, the car hesitates, shudders and vibrates when pushing the gas. There is a delay when stopped and then taking off, to the point that I have been honked at while the car just idle…

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Since I've purchased this car I've had problems with the car when moving when stopped. When I first start to drive, stops at a stop sign or red light, the car hesitates, shudders and vibrates when pushing the gas. There is a delay when stopped and then taking off, to the point that I have been honked at while the car just idles before it shudders and moves on. I've been asking about the problem since I purchased the car and have been told it is normal for the sport model or they been unable to replicate the problem at the dealership. The safely issue is that I'm worried I'm going to be rear ended while waiting for the transmission to kick in. No warning lights. Please research this problem and suggest a fix to Hyundai. The delay is also felt when the automatic transmission is shifting in lower gear, no problem once the car is on the highway or straight a way driving with no stopping. Thank you for your consideration.

NHTSA ODI #11470088

Mileage unknown · Jun 16, 2022
Engine

Multiple events of engine shutoff while driving. This results in loss of power braking, power steering and any acceleration. This occurs both at highway and non-highway speeds. This is obviously a safety concern, as, until the engine is restarted, there is difficulty in safely manuevering the vehicle. The engine may or may not b…

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Multiple events of engine shutoff while driving. This results in loss of power braking, power steering and any acceleration. This occurs both at highway and non-highway speeds. This is obviously a safety concern, as, until the engine is restarted, there is difficulty in safely manuevering the vehicle. The engine may or may not be immediately able to restart. This occurs with the vehicle in gear during normal driving conditions (IE, driving at a steady speed on flat road) This is accompanied by multiple CEL faults relating to CCV timing, engine misfire, etc. This was a known issue in prior engine revision (Theta 2.0L), and appears to be subject to a recall of the same engine (Nu 2.0L) in other models. This vehicle was taken to the local dealer and confirmed to need an engine replacement with a similar failure mechanism as the Theta 2.0L (failed lubrication of pistons resulting in premature wear leading to early failure resulting in misfire/"piston slap")

NHTSA ODI #11469552

Mileage unknown · Jun 10, 2022
Electrical System

My brake lights kept burning out. I replaced them and they burned out the same day. It seems that the wire harness is corroded. I believe this is a manufacturer issue.

NHTSA ODI #11468564

Mileage unknown · Jun 8, 2022
Engine

I just purchased this car on may 10 2022 after only having it a week engine light came on.startes to loose power and shake really bad. Took to shop replaced spark plugs and some other .think that was just a week ago .now while driving to day car just cuts of now don't wants to start.no waring lights just died .wondering do I hav…

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I just purchased this car on may 10 2022 after only having it a week engine light came on.startes to loose power and shake really bad. Took to shop replaced spark plugs and some other .think that was just a week ago .now while driving to day car just cuts of now don't wants to start.no waring lights just died .wondering do I have a lemon.

NHTSA ODI #11468352

Mileage unknown · May 29, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

I have been having issues with my car since November 2021. My car would not go over 35 miles per hour, if I let my car sit for a couple of days I would have to jump my car. My check engine light came on and then 10 minutes later went off. So I finally got it in to the Hyundai dealership after months of them not having enough mec…

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I have been having issues with my car since November 2021. My car would not go over 35 miles per hour, if I let my car sit for a couple of days I would have to jump my car. My check engine light came on and then 10 minutes later went off. So I finally got it in to the Hyundai dealership after months of them not having enough mechanics. So they did a multipoint inspection and came back saying the catalytic converter needed to be replaced even though no codes in the system. So I was coming back from Florida when my car stopped accelerating on the highway and my check engine light. So I had to take the long way home which means no highways and anytime I stopped I had to throw my hazards on until it would pick up any speed. I took it to Jiffy Lube in SC and that's when my car was reading 8 different misfire codes so I did my tune up with them and that is when I was told that my engine valve was cracked and dumping oil on my spark plugs and coil pack. Yesterday my engine valve replaced and another set of spark plugs in 2 weeks and it is still reading misfire codes and still no change in acceleration. I have only had my car 4 years and my catalytic converter should not be gone. I have not really moved my car in 10 months because my husband passed and I had 2 surgeries. My family can't take another loss if something happens to me because of this car.

NHTSA ODI #11466621

Mileage unknown · May 27, 2022
Steering

Steering wheel of my 2018 value edition elantra periodically locks up and won't turn left or right.. and car has to be taken to a stop and turned on and off to reset it. The star bushing located in the bottom of the steering column has a known issue among many elantra owners of being defective in elantras.

NHTSA ODI #11466427

Mileage unknown · May 26, 2022
EngineUnknown Or Other

At slow speeds car just shuts off engine. Starts back up but does it constantly. Also the engine lifters are starting to make noises like a clacking someone said it was a defective motor.

NHTSA ODI #11466189

Mileage unknown · May 22, 2022
Unknown Or Other

paint is continue to peel off of my hood and it looks horrible. I am a good driver I didn’t cause this. It’s a random spot on hood

NHTSA ODI #11465672

Mileage unknown · May 19, 2022
EnginePower Train

I've had several issues over the years with this vehicle but nothing too major but more so a nuisance. Such as the car hesitating when accelerating, light bulbs constantly burning out on the vehicle within less than a year of being replaced by myself , etc. It is now April 2022 and vehicle problems begin arising, I heard a weird…

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I've had several issues over the years with this vehicle but nothing too major but more so a nuisance. Such as the car hesitating when accelerating, light bulbs constantly burning out on the vehicle within less than a year of being replaced by myself , etc. It is now April 2022 and vehicle problems begin arising, I heard a weird noise coming from the engine (after much personal research learned this is a knocking sound). Which also happens to be the same issue from the prior year models. One day while out running errands the car just completely dies and goes into limp mode while I was turning onto a busy street (very dangerous). I drove it a very short distance back & forth to work a couple of times because thats as far as I felt going safety wise. The engine jerked forward one day but still continued to run. Then one day on my way home from work when I began slowing down to turn into a driveway. The car completely died again. It went into limp mode enough for me to creep and barely park it where I ended up having to get out & push the vehicle. It doesn't turn over or start at all now. The car gave absolutely no warnings no codes for me to turn to regarding what was going on etc. Hyundai says in order for it to be covered under the warranty that I have to provide them with information. Which I have no problem doing. However based on the research that I've done from other Hyundai Elantra owners others have had similar issues. My Car is barely 4 years old & only has about 65,000 miles on it. I went with Hyundai's because I wanted something that would be safe and reliable especially because I had a child coming into the world at any moment. I ended up going with this vehicle which isn't even 5 years old & it has already become a lemon. Hyundai currently has the vehicle as I try to figure out what to do with it. Since I no longer feel safe driving it. There are no warning lamps etc that came on.

NHTSA ODI #11465352

93,148 miles · May 6, 2022
Service Brakes

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and attempting to down due to traffic, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle skidded and the brake pedal became firm. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed with front and rear brake failure. The contact wa…

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The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and attempting to down due to traffic, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle skidded and the brake pedal became firm. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed with front and rear brake failure. The contact was informed that the rotors needed to be resurfaced and the brake fluid flushed and replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,148.

NHTSA ODI #11463634

Official recalls

0

No 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Hyundai Elantra problems