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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
41,250 miles · Mar 11, 2020
Power TrainVehicle Speed ControlWheels

WHEN ACCELERATING AFTER STOP CAR LUNGES AND THEN STARTS TO MOVE, SINCE BOUGHT IT I HAVE TOLD DEALERSHIP SEVERAL TIMES THEY SAY NOTHING WRONG THAT HOW IT IS. ALSO TIRES HAVE ALL FELL APART OR WENT FLAT AND HAVE WIRE SHOWING ON INSIDE . I FEEL THIS IS SAFETY CONCERN AND WHEN BUYING A NEW CAR TIRES SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN 1 YEAR I…

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WHEN ACCELERATING AFTER STOP CAR LUNGES AND THEN STARTS TO MOVE, SINCE BOUGHT IT I HAVE TOLD DEALERSHIP SEVERAL TIMES THEY SAY NOTHING WRONG THAT HOW IT IS. ALSO TIRES HAVE ALL FELL APART OR WENT FLAT AND HAVE WIRE SHOWING ON INSIDE . I FEEL THIS IS SAFETY CONCERN AND WHEN BUYING A NEW CAR TIRES SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN 1 YEAR I SHOULD NOT ACCELERATION PROBLEMS EITHER.I HAVE SOME PICTURE

NHTSA ODI #11317599

11,045 miles · Feb 3, 2020
Wheels

WARNING LIGHT FOR TIRE PRESSURE COMES ON EVERY 4 TO 5 DAYS. TIRE PRESSURE GOES DOWN, EVEN AFTER TIRES HAVE BEEN ROTATED.

NHTSA ODI #11306637

57,000 miles · Jan 16, 2020
EngineCrashFire

GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT BUT THERE WAS IMMEDIATELY AN ENGINE FIRE

NHTSA ODI #11299711

67,206 miles · Jan 9, 2020
Unknown Or Other

HEATING HOSE ASSEMBLY AND UPPER AND LOWER RADIATOR HOSES WORE OUT IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS ON A BRAND NEW CAR. I WAS TOLD IT WAS DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. 5 DAYS AFTER I HAD AN OIL CHANGE AND MULTIPOINT INSPECTION DONE ON MY CAR, THE ENGINE OVERHEATED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I HAD GOTTEN IT …

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HEATING HOSE ASSEMBLY AND UPPER AND LOWER RADIATOR HOSES WORE OUT IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS ON A BRAND NEW CAR. I WAS TOLD IT WAS DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. 5 DAYS AFTER I HAD AN OIL CHANGE AND MULTIPOINT INSPECTION DONE ON MY CAR, THE ENGINE OVERHEATED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I HAD GOTTEN IT SERVICED.

NHTSA ODI #11298124

30,000 miles · Jan 5, 2020
Wheels

I PURCHASED A NEW HYUNDAI ELANTRA 2018 WITH THE ORIGINAL TIRES, HANKOOK VENTUS S1 NOBLE 2. THE TIRES ARE BALANCED, ROTATED, AND ALIGNED EVERY 5,000 MILES. I NOTICED THE SIDEWALLS HAVE SEVERE CRACKS ON ALL 4 TIRES. I FEEL THIS IS A HUGE DEFECT AND IN NO WAY NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. I ALSO BELIEVE IT IS ALSO A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. …

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I PURCHASED A NEW HYUNDAI ELANTRA 2018 WITH THE ORIGINAL TIRES, HANKOOK VENTUS S1 NOBLE 2. THE TIRES ARE BALANCED, ROTATED, AND ALIGNED EVERY 5,000 MILES. I NOTICED THE SIDEWALLS HAVE SEVERE CRACKS ON ALL 4 TIRES. I FEEL THIS IS A HUGE DEFECT AND IN NO WAY NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. I ALSO BELIEVE IT IS ALSO A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING AS THE TIRES ARE NOT UNDER WARRANTY. I ALSO CALLED THE HYUNDAI COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT AND WAS TOLD THE SAME THING. THEY TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED TO CONTACT THE TIRE MANUFACTURER, HANKOOK. I HAD DONE THAT TWICE BEFORE, AND WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO TAKE THE CAR TO AN AUTHORIZED HANKOOK DEALER. I THEN TOOK THE CAR TO A TIRE KINGDOM, AN AUTHORIZED HANKOOK DEALER, AS RECOMMENDED BY HANKOOK. THE SERVICE MANAGER LOOKED AT THE TIRES AND AGREED THAT THE CRACKED/SPLITTING SIDEWALLS WERE INDEED A DEFECT, CALLED HANKOOK HIMSELF, EXPLAINED WHAT HE SAW, AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING HANKOOK COULD DO. THE CRACKED SIDEWALLS ARE INDEED A SAFETY ISSUE AND AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. THIS IS AN ISSUE WHICH HAS OCCURRED BEFORE WITH THESE SAME HANKOOK TIRES (VENTUS S1 NOBLE 2) ON HYUNDAI VEHICLES, IN WHICH A RECALL WAS ISSUED AND TIRES (47,000) WERE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL WAS FOR TIRES PRODUCED BETWEEN MAY 2013 AND FEB. 2015. ALTHOUGH MY TIRES HAVE A DIFFERENT DOT, IT SEEMS THEY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM OR WORSE. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AND THE PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE REMEDIED BEFORE PEOPLE GET HURT OR IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO FAULTY TIRES.

NHTSA ODI #11297248

7,000 miles · Dec 28, 2019
Suspension

SINCE MY CAR HAD 7,000 MILES, I AM EXPERIENCING A CREAKING SOUND AROUND FRONT WHEELS WHEN TURNING AT SLOW SPEED, MORE SO WHEN ON UNEVEN PAVEMENT.

NHTSA ODI #11291741

29,000 miles · Oct 29, 2019
Engine

CAR CONTINUOUSLY SAYS IT OVERHEATING. FIRST TRIP TO DEALERSHIP COULD REPLICATE THE ISSUE. SECOND TRIP A MONTH LATER. REPLACED HEAD GASKET DUE TO LEAK AND EXHAUST PIPE. CURRENTLY SITTING IN IT WAITING FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. STILL OVERHEATING NOT EVEN A WEEK LATER ALSO NOW PUTTERS AND SHAKES WHEN I TRY TO START IT.

NHTSA ODI #11276973

52,000 miles · Oct 15, 2019
Service BrakesCrash

I DRIVE A LOT DUE TO COMMUTING TO AND FROM WORK. RECENTLY I HAVE HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY DUE TO RAPID CHANGE IN FLOW OF TRAFFIC. I HAD A NEAR MISS. I WAS 5 CAR LENGTHS BEHIND A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WHEN TRAFFIC CAME TO A HALT. I WAS TRAVELLING AT 55MPH. I HAD STEPPED ON THE BRAKE AS FAR DOWN AND HARD AS I COULD. MY VEHICLE WOULD…

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I DRIVE A LOT DUE TO COMMUTING TO AND FROM WORK. RECENTLY I HAVE HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY DUE TO RAPID CHANGE IN FLOW OF TRAFFIC. I HAD A NEAR MISS. I WAS 5 CAR LENGTHS BEHIND A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WHEN TRAFFIC CAME TO A HALT. I WAS TRAVELLING AT 55MPH. I HAD STEPPED ON THE BRAKE AS FAR DOWN AND HARD AS I COULD. MY VEHICLE WOULDN'T STOP. I HAD TO SWERVE AROUND THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME IN ORDER TO AVOID HITTING THEM. MY SEAT BELT DIDN'T LOCK AND I FELT AS IF I WASN'T SLOWING DOWN. THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING AT A SLOWER SPEED OF 30 MPH. I BROKE AGAIN HARD AND MY CAR WOULDN'T STOP.

NHTSA ODI #11268677

26,600 miles · Sep 3, 2019
Service Brakes

I HAVE MID 26K MILES I CHECKED MY BRAKE FLUID AND PADS THEY ARE BOTH GOOD. THE BRAKES FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS ROUGHLY 15K MILES (I DRIVE 5K MILES A MONTH) HAVE BEEN SPONGY AND SOFT. UNLESS I HIT THE BRAKES HARD THEY BARELY WORK. SOMETIMES I HAVE. TO PUMP MY BRAKES 2 OR 3 TIMES TO HAVE THEM FEEL NORMAL. I'M GOING TO TAKE MY CAR TO…

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I HAVE MID 26K MILES I CHECKED MY BRAKE FLUID AND PADS THEY ARE BOTH GOOD. THE BRAKES FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS ROUGHLY 15K MILES (I DRIVE 5K MILES A MONTH) HAVE BEEN SPONGY AND SOFT. UNLESS I HIT THE BRAKES HARD THEY BARELY WORK. SOMETIMES I HAVE. TO PUMP MY BRAKES 2 OR 3 TIMES TO HAVE THEM FEEL NORMAL. I'M GOING TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND LOOK OVER THE ABS SYSTEM AND BRAKING SYSTEM SINCE IT SEEMS VERY UNSAFE AND I HAVE A NEWBORN. IT SEEMS LIKE THE CAR ONLY DOES IT AT SPEEDS ABOVE 25 OR 30MPH

NHTSA ODI #11253050

59,000 miles · Aug 22, 2019
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE ON AN INCLINE, THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER WHERE METAL SHAVINGS WERE FOUND IN THE ENGINE. THE DEALER ALSO TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND WAS ABLE TO RECREATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALE…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE ON AN INCLINE, THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER WHERE METAL SHAVINGS WERE FOUND IN THE ENGINE. THE DEALER ALSO TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND WAS ABLE TO RECREATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V568000 (ENGINE). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 59,000.

NHTSA ODI #11245834

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