Hyundai Elantra Complaints (2018)

284 consumer complaints on file.

#11641667February 10, 2025
ENGINE
My 2018 Hyundai Elantra had an oil pressure light on and the timing chain was slapping the side of the engine. I changed the timing chain, oil pump, oil sending unit, and oil filter. When I dropped the oil pan, there was paint chips in the pan. Who paints the inside of an oil pan? I removed the oil pick up tube and discovered the inlet screen was covered with these paint chips. I cleaned the inlet and reinstalled the tube and oil pan. I no longer have the low-pressure issue. This is causing engines to have major issues and / or making them seize up. Now, I believe there are a lot of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the junk yards today because of this very issue. Majority of people will not take their engine apart to find out why it stopped working. They ether stop paying on them or junk them. As you can see in the attached photos, you will notice the pain in the pan, inside the oil pick-up tube, how much of the screen was exposed. This is a major fault of the manufacturer and Hyundai and Kia should be held responsible for the repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637058January 20, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Out of curiosity, after searching up my current car I pulled a vehicle report from a NMVTIS approved site for my former car listed above. Upon searching up the vehicle history i learned i was a victim of odometer fraud. The miles listed for the owner of the car before me was 63,000 miles. However, when I purchased the car it was somehow listed as 20,518 miles. I am listed as title 4 and I registered the car in Atlanta, Georgia. I will attach the report below. I purchased this vehicle in September of 2021 from Efrid Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership in Florence, South Carolina.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11627384November 25, 2024
ENGINE
My car lost power on a busy highway which almost caused a tractor trailer to rear end me. I had the car towed and the mechanic said the engine is bad because of issues with this engine losing oil quickly and there is no recall on it but on other years. Now I have no car but still owe money on it and can’t get to work. Luckily i wasn’t hit by the tractor trailer but this should be a recall and i should be able to get it fixed without being out thousands of dollars.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11626528November 20, 2024
AIR BAGS
I was in a car accident. I was hit on the passenger rear side and the car spun out of control but none of the airbags deployed. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer but we did reach out to them and are in the process of filling out a questionnaire. The vehicle is currently being assessed in a body shop as we work with the insurance to see the final damages.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11624546November 11, 2024
ENGINE
Engine seized up at 142K miles. Had regular oil changes and maintenance. Connecting rod crank shaft end / bearing blew apart and seized engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11622343October 28, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Engine is knocking cannot find a solution for this problem car stalls wen coming to a stop the car completely powers off , noticing a weird smell now ,
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11622044October 26, 2024
STEERING
My car's steering wheel is making a weird rubbing noise after driving for a short time on wet roads. It sounds like rubber is being turned against something (ie not metallic-sounding) This occurs whether I am in park, drive, reverse, and occurs when turning the wheel in any direction. No warning lights turn on. Currently, it only occurs after driving on wet roads (it doesn't actually have to be actively raining; just for the roads to be pretty wet from a recent rain). My mechanic did hear it one time when I was able to drive over immediately after it rained, and said it sounded like it was coming from the area of the MDPS, but, was later unable to duplicate it (the sound usually goes away after sitting for 2-3 hours). I've contacted the dealer because there are numerous TSBs out regarding the steering column; however, they said since they can't duplicate it, they will not repair it under warranty or as a courtesy (the jury is out as to whether it is covered under my drive-train warranty, but, as I said, since it's only a TSB, they won't cover it anyway at this point). I am concerned it will get worse and cause me to lose power steering/cause an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11621744October 24, 2024
AIR BAGS
Driver airbag light came on. My car has 33,000 miles on it. I live in California and the car is garaged. I think the maker has had airbag recalls on other models
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618352October 6, 2024
ENGINE
Driving on the freeway around 55 MPH the engine would stall. Scared the heck out of me this started around 130000 miles on the car. Fixed a sensor still didn’t fixed the issue did an oil change that seemed to fixed the stalling. Low oil light never came on. So for years after that when the car stalled I did and oil. change. Finally at 183000 the engine gave out. Did my research found out Hyundai knew there was a problem with the engines. On 2019 and 2020 Elantra engines have been recall. 2018 not enough complaints on th engine. There was a knock sensor recall on the car. I never got a recall notice. Sent an email to Hyundai saw that the email was received but no one has responded this was a month ago. Taking my Hyundai to the dealership to see if they’ll do anything for me. My miles are all highway miles. Engine should have lasted longer. Very disappointed that Hyundai has known that the 2.0 liter engines since 2015 has had issue over 500000 cars are effected with this issue but Hyundai doesn’t want to fix the issue. It’ll all about the money for the company producing defected cars even Kia have the same issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615507September 19, 2024
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the fuel pump. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V528000 (Fuel System, Gasoline), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,300. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11613029September 6, 2024
ENGINE
The engine experienced rod bearing failure while driving the vehicle. The vehicle died on the road in a high traffic area, which put me and others at risk as they tried to maneuver around the car and as I tried to get the car off the road. The car had just had the oil changed, and had consistent/regular maintenance. No warning lamps lit up on the dashboard at all until the engine died, at which point the oil indicator lit up. The vehicle has been taken to Hyundai and confirmed to have rod bearing failure, a known issue with engines in Hyundais and Kias.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11612581September 4, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
See attached document for complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11611717August 29, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
My husband filed a complaint about the lighting on his Hyundai sonata and I have a Hyundai Elantra that is doing the same thing. Twice now while I’ve been driving at night, my headlights have gone off an and come back on by themselves. They were off about 15 seconds each time. Then this week I had my back break light (the one close to the windshield) and the passenger side headlights go out suddenly. My car is a 2018 Elantra with 70k miles on it. I just got through replacing both headlights about a year ago when my car had 60k miles on it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11610650August 24, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While driving vehicle the black nylon fuel line started spraying fuel over the top of the hot engine. At highway speed the passenger compartment filled up with gasoline fumes. Pulled over to open the hood and saw fuel streaming from the fuel line on top of engine. Vehicle was shut down, and AAA towing called to tow vehicle 85 miles from StAugustine Fl, to Gainesville Florida to Hyundai Dealership of Gainesville. The vehicle has been in the shop on [XXX], for repairs. This vehicle only has 44000 miles on it. Hyundai states that they don’t have the fuel line in the USA and had to order the part from Korea. I was stranded 352 miles from my home. I called Hyundai corporate to notify them of this issue with the defective fuel line. They said there is no recall on this part, and not covered under the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. They told me it’s going to cost me $1124.26 for the repair. I almost lost my life potentially being barbecued in this vehicle, not to mention other innocent people getting hurt. I have owned many cars in my lifetime and this is the most dangerous vehicle I ever had. Potential to explode and catch fire while driving on expressway. I think NHTSA should look into this vehicles safety before other innocent people get killed. An extremely dangerous road hazard. Note this vehicle only has 44,000 miles and is maintained properly. Hyundai doesn’t care about safety, and their customers. When I purchased this vehicle they told me how safe it was and the best auto warranty in the world. Please look into this fuel line defect before someone gets severely injured or killed by fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11610656August 24, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel line on top of engine cracked spraying fuel on top of hot file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/1f/15/4DC59D25-4F9E-41E5-A17E-A14F53B29DE4/IMG_6793.MOV
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604651July 26, 2024
ENGINE
Hyundai engine from 2017 and up are not good engines my experience on my 2018 Hyundai engine is the same as what I see 90 percent of Hyundai owners are having regardless of the year there all the same engines it’s burning oil it’s making ticking noise with regular maintenance no neglecting y’all have to understand there are so many ways and possibilities of engine premature failure then it is Maintaining the engine during buliding these engines you have metal particles over tighten the heads the blocks not seating the piston rings properly dirt that can clog up the oil galleys to luberciate the moving parts poor design there’s so many ways to say it’s not a manufacturer defect and they tell us change the oil ok how come I’m having more issues and hearing issues from a engine then the transmission you do more maintenance on a engine then a transmission these transmission are not the problem you are hearing engine problems even when people do maintenance so sounds to me the manufacturer should recall 2018 models as well it’s beyond me for you to skip a year and say that model isn’t having issues it’s definitely happening in 2018 models as well the transmission is fine I never heard or experience and transmission failure in these cars when there are a lot of people complaining about a similar issue in the same model car at that point it has to be a issue manufacturer aspect we’re told as consumers and vehicle owners change your oil that’s it there’s no way I should be dealing with major issues on a simple solution you don’t hear Toyotas breaking down Hondas breaking down with regular maintenance oil changes you hear Hyundais engine all across the board and it is a safety issue going on with these cars not just 2017 2018 engine it’s ticking because lack of lubercation the manufacturer could have left metal particles in the engine could have warped heads over tighten bolts dirt that was already in those engines a bunch of causes poor design I really hope they replace it
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604764July 26, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
This has happened a couple of times where in the middle of driving, my car automatically shuts off, I can not turn my steering wheel I can not push the brakes, everything stops working. I have to wait till my car comes to a complete stop on its own, put the car in park, turn off the ignition, turn my keys and start my car again. Then it sometimes acts like there is no power to accelerate when I'm at a full stop. RPMs go crazy, but acceleration doesn't occur. No warnings have ever come up. I received an notice about a recall, but it's for 2019 Elantra and up. Mine is a 2018, but the issues for that recall is the same thing that is happening with my car. This is DANGEROUS and can lead to serious repercussions or even death. Something needs to be done to fix this. I don't not have thousands of dollars to pay for an issue with the manufacturer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11595397June 19, 2024
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
About 4 weeks ago (mid-May) I was driving in stop and go traffic on a major highway. My car is a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, manual transmission. After about 30 minutes of this, the car started to just cut out, the engine cut out when I was changing gears. It did this about 6 times on my drive home. I noticed that when the rev meter got below 1, the engine would just stall out, so I tried to give it gas to keep the revs up. In addition, the engine was making a knocking sound. I took it to my mechanic's the next day and when he heard the sound, he said it needs a new engine. He has had a few customer's with similar issues with their Hyundais. He told me to tow it to the dealer and they would help me get the engine replaced. That same day, I had it towed to a dealer nearby. They charged me $195 for a diagnostic and said it needed new spark plugs and replaced cylinder 1 coil, which they did. ($900) I picked it up, but I could tell it still wasn't right. The mechanic assured me he fixed it. However, they also told me the "check engine" light was on (it wasn't). When I was driving it, it started to stall again when I was changing gears. I brought it back to the dealer, he told me his mechanic had trouble getting it into reverse, there was a problem with the clutch. He would need to "tear down the transmission" for $2,000 and even then, he wouldn't know what the problem was. This just didn't feel right--I got the impression they didn't know what they were doing and that this mechanic couldn't even drive stick. I took it back to my own mechanic who couldn't find the problem. He told me to drive it around and when it makes the sound/cuts off, to bring it back. I drove it home--today--and the knocking sound started after 15 minutes. I recorded it and texted it to my mechanic. He called me and said "it's the engine. the dealership mis-diagnosed your problem and overcharged you." I called a different dealer, got an appointment for next week and must play the $200 diagnostic .
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11591175May 28, 2024
ENGINE
May 24 2024, while driving on Interstate95 at approx 70mph, I experienced catastrophic engine failure, with metal shards and screws shooting out, oil spewing, and smoke billowing everywhere. Loss of control of vehicle and nearly hit by passersby while trying to guide vehicle to swale. There were absolutely no warning lights or signals, and vehicle had just been serviced at Hyundai dealership at 77k miles (odometer reading 81k at time of incident). Independent mechanic diagnosed engine failure, hole in block, and provided attached photos. Vehicle was towed to Wallace Hyundai, in Ft Pierce, where it awaits dealer mechanical inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11586953May 4, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
The white paint on the vehicle is peeling and bubbling in various areas of the vehicle around the hood, fender and roof
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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