IllustrationSINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR I NOTICED A LACK OF CONSIDERABLE LIGHT OUTPUT COMING FROM THE FRONT HEADLIGHTS. TURNING ON THE BRIGHTS IS JUST WORST AS IT LOWERS THE LINE OF SIGHT INSTEAD OF INCREASING IT. THE OVERALL LIGHTS ARE DIM. CHANGING THE BULBS DOES NOTHING. THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT AS YOU CAN'T SEE VERY WELL.
2019 Hyundai Elantra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2019 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
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 57 of 250 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
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 132 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 65 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 37 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 reports3 fire reports3 injury reports
Electrical System complaints
37 reportsHIGH BEAMS HEADLIGHTS STOPPED WORKING
THE CAR HAS HAD 4 EPISODES OF A DISCHARGED BATTERY OVER APPROXIMATELY 4MONTHS BETWEEN 11K AND 14K MILES. IT BEGAN WHEN THE CAR WAS LESS THEN A YEAR OLD. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP EACH TIME. THEY REPLACED THE BATTERY THE 2ND TIME. THE 3 AND 4 TIMES THE CAR WAS SEARCHED FOR A PARASITIC BATTERY DRAIN BUT COULD NOT FIND A PROBL…
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
LEFT FRONT SPEAKER CUTS OUT RANDOMLY.
AFTER HAVING MY 2019 HYUNDAI THAT I BOUGHT BRAND NEW MY HEADLIGHTS QUITE SWITCHING TO HIGH BEAMS AND WOULD ONLY RUN LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS BUT INSTEAD OF BEING BRIGHT THEY WERE DIMMER THAN WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO BE. I TRIED TO EXCHANGE THE HEADLIGHTS TO SEE IF THE BULBS WERE BURNT OUT AND EVEN WITH BRAND NEW BULBS THE HEAD LIGH…
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AFTER HAVING MY 2019 HYUNDAI THAT I BOUGHT BRAND NEW MY HEADLIGHTS QUITE SWITCHING TO HIGH BEAMS AND WOULD ONLY RUN LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS BUT INSTEAD OF BEING BRIGHT THEY WERE DIMMER THAN WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO BE. I TRIED TO EXCHANGE THE HEADLIGHTS TO SEE IF THE BULBS WERE BURNT OUT AND EVEN WITH BRAND NEW BULBS THE HEAD LIGHTS STILL WOULDN'T SWITCH OVER TO HIGH BEAMS AND WERE STILL VERY DIM WITH BRAND NEW BULBS. TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS EVEN THOUGH I TOLD THEM THERE WAS A BURNING SMELL COMING FROM THE WIRING HARNESS FOR BOTH HEADLIGHTS AND WHAT LOOKED LIKE A RELAY BOARD FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHT SWITCH LOOKED BURNT UP INSTEAD OF IT LOOKING LIKE A SHINY NEW SILVER BOARD. THEN ABOUT A WEEK LATER BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT COMPLETELY OUT AND I COULDN'T DRIVE AT NIGHT DUE TO NOT HAVING ANY HEADLIGHTS SO I REPLACED THE BULBS AGAIN AND AGAIN THEY GAVE ME A DIM LIGHT WITH NO HIGH BEAM LIGHTS. SO TO THIS DAY I AM STILL HAVING PROBLEMS WITH .MY HEADLIGHTS AND NO ONE FROM HYUNDAI CAN SEEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON ON THIS BRAND NEW 2019 HYUNDAI ELANTRA SE
MY BRAKE LIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS HAVE WENT OUT ROUGHLY 5 TIMES IN THE LAST MONTH AND I JUST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE A MONTH AGO. MOSTLY OCCURS WHILE DRIVING AND RANDOMLY GOES OUT. THE ENTIRE CASING WAS REPLACED AND THE ISSUE IS STILL OCCURRING.
CAR REPEATEDLY HAS THE BLIND SPOT SENSOR SYSTEM ALARMING OUT AND SHUTTING OFF TILL CAR IS RESTARTED, COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE IF YOU DONT REALIZE THAT IT IS NO LONGER WORKING. 10 TIMES BETWEEN 275 MILES AND 1300
Official recalls
121V301000 · Engine
Apr 28, 2021
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Elantra, 2019-2021 Kona and Veloster vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which could result in engine damage.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Hyundai will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. Owner notification letters were mailed August 24, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460.
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.