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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 · Jul 29, 2021
Electrical SystemExterior Lighting

It appears the parking lamps stay on when car turned off while headlights are in AUTO. This leads to unintended battery drain leading to unoperational car. Per Owner's Guide: The system automatically turns off the parking lamp when the key is removed (remote key) or when the driver turns the engine off (smart key) and opens the…

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It appears the parking lamps stay on when car turned off while headlights are in AUTO. This leads to unintended battery drain leading to unoperational car. Per Owner's Guide: The system automatically turns off the parking lamp when the key is removed (remote key) or when the driver turns the engine off (smart key) and opens the driver-side door. This does not meet the Owner's Guide's language. Dealerships and inspection services did not confirm/reproduce this. There are no warning lights or indicators of this.

NHTSA ODI #11426915

Mileage unknown · Jun 25, 2021
Engine

Engine Seized Completely On 6 /20/2021 Car Was Only highway Driven and has had Regula Oil changes Using Quaker State Synthetic Oil As Is Recommended by the Automaker We still owe $10 K on this Car Its Outragous that Hyundai Has Had So Many Of these Seize But Yet It Keeps Going On We Have Had a Licensed Owner /Mechanic Look …

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Engine Seized Completely On 6 /20/2021 Car Was Only highway Driven and has had Regula Oil changes Using Quaker State Synthetic Oil As Is Recommended by the Automaker We still owe $10 K on this Car Its Outragous that Hyundai Has Had So Many Of these Seize But Yet It Keeps Going On We Have Had a Licensed Owner /Mechanic Look the car over and Will Provide A Letter We Fully Expect This Engine Be Replaced At Hyundai's FULL EXPENCE

NHTSA ODI #11422323

Mileage unknown · Jun 9, 2021
Unknown Or Other

My multifunction switch appears to be defective. I have taken it to 2 different dealerships to be looked at. They have been unable to replicate any issues either time. Occasionally at night time the headlights will randomly turn off. This happened in auto mode as well as when it was pouring down rain and the wipers were on. The …

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My multifunction switch appears to be defective. I have taken it to 2 different dealerships to be looked at. They have been unable to replicate any issues either time. Occasionally at night time the headlights will randomly turn off. This happened in auto mode as well as when it was pouring down rain and the wipers were on. The headlight indicator on the dash stays lit but the lights themselves turn off. This also happened driving to work in the early morning. When it is cold outside and also randomly the left signal indication doesn’t work in the lane changing function. I sometimes have to hit it 3-4 times before it decides to come on. Neither dealership I have used knows what is happening with the vehicle and I am not keen to spend $600 to have it fixed if it’s not going to 100% fix the issue.

NHTSA ODI #11420333

Mileage unknown · Jun 1, 2021
Engine

While driving the vehicle this past January, I experienced a brief “clunking” noise in the engine, and the car stalled. The check engine came on briefly and then disappeared. The code identified was a “faulty crankshaft” code. I made an appointment with the dealership to take it in to be inspected, but later that day my son was …

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While driving the vehicle this past January, I experienced a brief “clunking” noise in the engine, and the car stalled. The check engine came on briefly and then disappeared. The code identified was a “faulty crankshaft” code. I made an appointment with the dealership to take it in to be inspected, but later that day my son was driving to pick me up from work and the vehicle literally died in the middle of an intersection. No warning, all lights came on in the vehicle, the electrical system terminated, and the vehicle died. I had to have it towed to the nearest garage, which was a Pep Boys, and they diagnosed the problem as an alternator and battery, serpentine also. So. 1300 dollars worth of work later…. Turns out the car has an engine issue.

NHTSA ODI #11419179

Mileage unknown · May 28, 2021
EnginePower Train

no warning at all the engine blew apart sling oil in the road car lost all power I was turning into the drive way or about too when this happened I had to clean the road way and tow the vehical home hundyai would not help I cannot get help from hundyai dealer which told me it would be 3 months becor they could look at it o…

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no warning at all the engine blew apart sling oil in the road car lost all power I was turning into the drive way or about too when this happened I had to clean the road way and tow the vehical home hundyai would not help I cannot get help from hundyai dealer which told me it would be 3 months becor they could look at it or pay for it to be towed to Memphis

NHTSA ODI #11418838

30,302 miles · May 26, 2021
Fuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming excessive amounts of fuel. The contact stated that there was no evidence of a fuel leak nor an abnormal fuel odor. The contact compared the fuel consumption to a previous vehicle owned that was the same year, make, and model. The contact n…

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The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming excessive amounts of fuel. The contact stated that there was no evidence of a fuel leak nor an abnormal fuel odor. The contact compared the fuel consumption to a previous vehicle owned that was the same year, make, and model. The contact needed to add $10-20 daily whenever the fuel gauge showed a half tank of gasoline. The contact's one-way trip from her residence to work was 35.3 miles. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was test-driven for 7 miles and it was confirmed that the fuel gauge was providing inaccurate fuel readings. The dealer informed the contact to bring the vehicle back when the fuel gauge was empty to be able to have a code reading. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that there was also no code appearing on the code reader however, there was a powertrain failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,302.

NHTSA ODI #11418580

Mileage unknown · May 10, 2021
Wheels

THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM CONSISTENTLY INDICATES LOW TIRE PRESSURE ON 3 OF THE 4 WHEELS WHETHER STATIONARY OF WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. MANUAL CHECKING OF THE TIRE PRESSURE INDICATES THE TIRES ARE AT CORRECT PRESSURE. THIS PROBLEM FIRST BEGAN WHILE IN WARRANTY. HYUNDAI DEALER DID A REPAIR. NEXT TIME IT OCCURRED, THE …

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THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM CONSISTENTLY INDICATES LOW TIRE PRESSURE ON 3 OF THE 4 WHEELS WHETHER STATIONARY OF WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. MANUAL CHECKING OF THE TIRE PRESSURE INDICATES THE TIRES ARE AT CORRECT PRESSURE. THIS PROBLEM FIRST BEGAN WHILE IN WARRANTY. HYUNDAI DEALER DID A REPAIR. NEXT TIME IT OCCURRED, THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND DEALER WANTED A LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO REPLACE THE SENSORS AND MONITORING SYSTEM. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED ON THIS SITE FOR THIS MODEL. I UNDERSTAND THERE'S ACTUALLY A RECALL ON A SIMILAR MODEL. PLEASE INVESTIGATE.

NHTSA ODI #11416023

100,100 miles · May 5, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

STARTED LOOSING POWER THEN THROW A ROD THROWING OIL EVERYWERE RIGHT AFTER 100000MILES

NHTSA ODI #11415224

18,218 miles · May 5, 2021
Steering

I HAVE A 2018 HYUNDAI ELANTRA LIMITED.. I NOTICE WHEN I'M DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS MY CAR IS CONSTANTLY SWERVING LEFT AND RIGHT.I THOUGHT MAYBE MY TIRES AND ALIGNMENT WAS BAD GOT BRAND NEW TIRES AND AN ALIGNMENT DONE BUT THE CAR STILL SWERVES TOOK IT TO MIDAS THEY PUT IN A NEW TIE ROD BUT NOTHING CHANGED ITS EVEN WORST WHEN TH…

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I HAVE A 2018 HYUNDAI ELANTRA LIMITED.. I NOTICE WHEN I'M DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS MY CAR IS CONSTANTLY SWERVING LEFT AND RIGHT.I THOUGHT MAYBE MY TIRES AND ALIGNMENT WAS BAD GOT BRAND NEW TIRES AND AN ALIGNMENT DONE BUT THE CAR STILL SWERVES TOOK IT TO MIDAS THEY PUT IN A NEW TIE ROD BUT NOTHING CHANGED ITS EVEN WORST WHEN THE ROADS ARE WET..

NHTSA ODI #11415211

44,500 miles · Apr 30, 2021
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR IT JUST STOPS. I HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR 1 YEAR AND THEY KEEP TURNING ME AWAY. MY BATTERY WAS REPLACED AND THAT IS IT. I WAS TOLD I WAS EXAGGERATING THAT THIS WAS NOT HAPPENING. YESTERDAY WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER TIMES IT STOPPED. MY CAR STOPPED ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AND I ALMOST R…

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WHILE DRIVING MY CAR IT JUST STOPS. I HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR 1 YEAR AND THEY KEEP TURNING ME AWAY. MY BATTERY WAS REPLACED AND THAT IS IT. I WAS TOLD I WAS EXAGGERATING THAT THIS WAS NOT HAPPENING. YESTERDAY WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER TIMES IT STOPPED. MY CAR STOPPED ON A BUSY HIGHWAY AND I ALMOST RAN OFF THE SIDE OF THE RODE A CLIFF BECAUSE THE WHEEL AND BRAKES LOCKED UP. NO ONE IS TAKING THIS SERIOUS. AS I AM DRIVING THE CAR WILL JUST SHUT OFF. THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP ADVISED ME TO DRIVE EVEN FURTHER TO GET IT FIXED. HOW IS THIS SAFE? I WAS TOLD BY RICH ITS MY CAR I OWN IT ITS NOT THEIR PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI #11414653

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