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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 · Mar 18, 2022
Electrical SystemExterior Lighting

In regards to my 2018 Hyundai Elantra Limited currently with 47000 miles, driving and noticed the a/c temp display which also controls fan speed stopped working, display was blank. Checked all other electrical equipment inside car with no problem except that the heated seat function didn't work also.while doing an exterior inspe…

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In regards to my 2018 Hyundai Elantra Limited currently with 47000 miles, driving and noticed the a/c temp display which also controls fan speed stopped working, display was blank. Checked all other electrical equipment inside car with no problem except that the heated seat function didn't work also.while doing an exterior inspection noticed that all lights except the headlights worked.After the interior and exterior inspection and no error codes or indicators on the dash, I had the alternator, battery and starter checked along with probe testing every fuse in the car and under the hood checked and everything was fine. The Car has been perfect up to this point which is alarming because if the headlights go out while driving at night or in the rain this is a safety problem and driving citation. My only indication of when this happens is if the a/c control display goes out. The problem is intermittent and Hopefully it won't happen again and I couldn't find any other similar things like this happening to others.

NHTSA ODI #11457211

Mileage unknown · Mar 17, 2022
EngineUnknown Or Other

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. While driving and turning the steering wheel was firm. Additionally, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The driver added oil to the engine. There was an abnormal sound …

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The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. While driving and turning the steering wheel was firm. Additionally, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The driver added oil to the engine. There was an abnormal sound detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and informed them to schedule an appointment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI #11457159

Mileage unknown · Feb 17, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Whenever I come to a complete stop engine dies. At traffic light's, stop sign's, when I'm in reverse and stop to put it in drive, and when I park the car. This happened with a 2015 Sonata I had last year and it ended up being the motor had metal shavings from manufacturing. I thought Hyundai resolved this problem year's ago but,…

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Whenever I come to a complete stop engine dies. At traffic light's, stop sign's, when I'm in reverse and stop to put it in drive, and when I park the car. This happened with a 2015 Sonata I had last year and it ended up being the motor had metal shavings from manufacturing. I thought Hyundai resolved this problem year's ago but, I have a 2018 doing the same thing the 2015 did.

NHTSA ODI #11452483

110,000 miles · Jan 27, 2022
Engine

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over but was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the en…

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The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over but was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the engine replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then towed to a local dealer and was awaiting diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ODI #11449107

Mileage unknown · Jan 13, 2022
Unknown Or Other

2018 White Hyundai Elantra. 9/21/2021 We first noticed the paint was peeling. The car had 39k miles on it. We proceeded to notify the dealership and they said it wasn’t covered. Over the last few months entire chunks of paint have been coming off of the hood and roof. We have multiple estimates and they all require the car to be…

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2018 White Hyundai Elantra. 9/21/2021 We first noticed the paint was peeling. The car had 39k miles on it. We proceeded to notify the dealership and they said it wasn’t covered. Over the last few months entire chunks of paint have been coming off of the hood and roof. We have multiple estimates and they all require the car to be fully repainted.

NHTSA ODI #11447395

Mileage unknown · Jan 10, 2022
Unknown Or Other

My door lock was busted and my car was broken into. Then my ignition was busted in an attempted theft. These cars are easily broken into yet nothing is being done to fix it! I have paid over $800 to fix something that should not have even been an issue. Hyundai and Kia have faulty locking mechanisms that make them easily broken…

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My door lock was busted and my car was broken into. Then my ignition was busted in an attempted theft. These cars are easily broken into yet nothing is being done to fix it! I have paid over $800 to fix something that should not have even been an issue. Hyundai and Kia have faulty locking mechanisms that make them easily broken into and stolen. This is ridiculous! They should have put out a recall and fixed this issue. This is a 2018 and I’m still making payments. I was never informed that this is an issue with these cars or I never would have bought it. It took over a month to get my car fixed and now I’m worried to death that someone will try and steal it again. I want some kind of fix to keep my car from being so easily stolen.

NHTSA ODI #11446963

Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2022
Fuel/propulsion System

When I put the nozzle to pump gas, the pump shuts off and clicks as if the tank is full. I have to twist the pump in one specific position and place it about 3/4th of the way in. Sometimes I have had to leave and go to a different gas station if the accordian plastic part of the nozzle is long. It just clicks and shuts off the p…

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When I put the nozzle to pump gas, the pump shuts off and clicks as if the tank is full. I have to twist the pump in one specific position and place it about 3/4th of the way in. Sometimes I have had to leave and go to a different gas station if the accordian plastic part of the nozzle is long. It just clicks and shuts off the pump. This happened from the day I first got the car, got gas and never ceases.

NHTSA ODI #11446741

Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2022
Seat BeltsUnknown Or Other

Heater and defrost does not work. I was unable to see out windshield. I took it for repair at dealership under warranty. They replaced a thermostat and there was no heat or defrost after. It is dangerous to drive in winter. My passenger seatbelt alarm goes off when the seat is empty. I have to pull over to lock the seatbelt to m…

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Heater and defrost does not work. I was unable to see out windshield. I took it for repair at dealership under warranty. They replaced a thermostat and there was no heat or defrost after. It is dangerous to drive in winter. My passenger seatbelt alarm goes off when the seat is empty. I have to pull over to lock the seatbelt to make it stop. Dealership states cannot duplicate. I have several videos of it happening.

NHTSA ODI #11446738

Mileage unknown · Dec 27, 2021
Air BagsCrash

When I first purchase the car It was stated that i had no issues, I have records stating this. Also, I was having tremendous issues with the tires. Four months later I encountered an car accident. I was getting off of an exit and as I was getting off there was a car in the middle of the street that was broken down with no hazar…

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When I first purchase the car It was stated that i had no issues, I have records stating this. Also, I was having tremendous issues with the tires. Four months later I encountered an car accident. I was getting off of an exit and as I was getting off there was a car in the middle of the street that was broken down with no hazardous lights on. I suspected that the car was moving but it was not. As I am braking I was somewhat too close to the car and I ended up hitting the back of the car. At this time, the air bags did not deploy. Once the car was evaluated by the insurance company the car was considered totaled. The insurance company took the car to a salvage. This could have taken my life.

NHTSA ODI #11445043

Mileage unknown · Dec 22, 2021
Air BagsCrashInjury

Had a car accident, airbags did not deploy but the airbag light was on. Insurance inspector said they inflated but did not come out of their housing. The airbags did not deploy upon impact. I attached pictures of the accident to show the airbags did not deploy.

NHTSA ODI #11444671

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