Owner complaints for this model most often concern:
Engine3,740 (15.7%)Official recall records for this system: 12, covering model years 1999–2024.
Air bags (restraint system)2,654 (11.1%)Official recall records for this system: 23, covering model years 1995–2026.
Steering2,292 (9.6%)Official recall records for this system: 6, covering model years 2005–2017.
Where a mileage was given (9,348 reports), it averaged 67,189 miles.
These are counts of records held, not a failure rate: no vehicles-in-service figure exists in this data, so no reliability score can be derived from it.
Hyundai Elantra coverage spans 1995-2026 with structured year, market, configuration, evidence-state, and inspection context. It is not a reliability score.
Key takeaways
Supported years: 1995-2026.
Structured variants: 260.
Tier: Tier A.
Recall applicability must be checked by VIN.
Complaint signals do not prove defects or frequency.
CarFaultIQ's structured records for the Hyundai Elantra span six generations from 1996 to the current model, in four-cylinder configurations from 1.4 to 2.0 litres on regular gasoline, with a hybrid recorded on the newest generation. Every one of those six generations has its own coverage page here.
The Hyundai Elantra hub gathers everything CarFaultIQ tracks for this model: common problems by year, the strongest and riskiest years to buy, and what a used-car inspection should focus on.
Mostly economical to own; recurring reports include engine ticking and oil consumption on 2011–2016 cars and a cheap-but-annoying steering coupler wear item.
Start with the common-problems page below, then cross-check any candidate car against the symptom and OBD-code pages it links to.
Evidence-backed model intelligence
Hyundai Elantra diagnostic overview
Structured coverage spans 1995-2026. Use the exact model year and symptoms when narrowing a fault.
Vehicle coverage
Powertrain evidence: Premium Gasoline and Regular Gasoline
Electrification: Hybrid
Drivetrain coverage: FWD
Start with the evidence you have
A symptom and an OBD code are separate evidence channels. Use either one; do not assume a stored code proves a particular repair.
Coverage below spans the explicitly mapped model years. Records do not apply to every model year or configuration.
US safety recalls
58 distinct official identifiers · US
Campaigns matched to recorded model years. Only an official VIN check can confirm whether an individual vehicle is affected.
26V307000 — model years 2015, 2016
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra and 2016 Elantra GT vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may rupture during deployment.
26V254000 — model years 2025, 2026
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Elantra N, 2026 Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), and Elantra vehicles. The B-pillar impact sensors may have been misassembled, which can delay air bag deployment.
24V879000 — model years 2021, 2022
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail…
Manufacturer service communications are not safety recalls and do not prove that every vehicle has the described condition.
11036204 — model years 2019, 2020
Certain Elantra (ADA) vehicles may have been incorrectly updated with Cylinder Noise Detection System (CNDS) software that can set DTC P132700; this software was intended only for Korean-built Elantra (AD) vehicles. In addition, the California Air Resources Board has determined that these vehicles may be…
11036202 — model years 2019, 2020
Certain Elantra (ADA) vehicles may have been incorrectly updated with Cylinder Noise Detection System (CNDS) software that can set DTC P132700; this software was intended only for Korean-built Elantra (AD) vehicles. This bulletin provides instructions to perform a software update for the Engine Control Module…
11033844 — model years 2025
Some Elantra (CN7), Elantra Hybrid (CN7 HEV), and Elantra N (CN7 N) vehicles may exhibit loose windshield side garnishes. This bulletin provides instructions to replace the windshield side garnishes with improved parts to correct the condition.
An investigation records a regulator review of a suspected defect. It is not automatically a finding or a recall.
AQ23002 — model years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units…
DP22003 — model years 2017, 2021
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America,…
RQ22003 — model years 2021, 2022
Multiple source assertions are retained for this identifier. Consult the official record for configuration-specific details.
Canadian-market records remain separate from US campaigns. Confirm applicability with Transport Canada and the manufacturer.
2026234 — model years 2015, 2016
Issue: On certain vehicles, the driver-front airbag inflator could rupture when the airbag deploys in a crash. If this happens, the airbag may not fully inflate and fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants. Safety Risk: An airbag inflator that ruptures can create a risk…
2026235 — model years 2024, 2025, 2026
Issue: On certain hybrid vehicles, a problem in the hybrid power control unit (HPCU) could cause it to overheat. Note: This problem could cause the vehicle not to start or to enter a reduced power mode and the malfunction indicator lamp to display. Safety Risk:…
2025636 — model years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Multiple source assertions are retained for this identifier. Consult the official record for configuration-specific details.
Distinct ODI complaint identifiers, deduplicated across component and product rows. Reports are allegations, not confirmed defects, failure rates or reliability scores.
ENGINE: 1,642 reports
STEERING: 1,114 reports
AIR BAGS: 971 reports
A report can name several components. Do not add component totals together.
Evidence is served from a locally stored official-source snapshot. No external API is called to render this page. These records do not replace inspection or diagnosis. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Every Elantra generation from 1996 onward has its own coverage page — 1996–2000, 2001–2006, 2007–2010, 2011–2016, 2017–2020 and 2021–2026 — each scoped to that generation's real evidence. Fault coverage is comparatively balanced across the fourth through seventh generations here, unlike nameplates where the documented issues concentrate on a single generation.
Seven Fault pages are currently linked to the Elantra, spread more evenly across generations than on some other nameplates here. Three belong to the sixth generation (2017–2020) — engine bearing knock, an A/C evaporator odor, and a trunk water leak. One belongs to the current seventh generation, an IVT/CVT noise record limited to 2021–2023. Three older records — engine ticking and oil consumption, steering coupler wear, and a brake light switch issue — sit on the fourth and fifth generations. No single Fault page describes an issue across the whole model history.
CarFaultIQ holds records for a substantial number of official recall campaigns tied to the Elantra, across eight systems including air bags, engine and cooling, the automatic transmission, reversing cameras, and seat belts. Front seat-belt campaigns recur across 2021–2022 specifically; most of the remaining campaigns are limited to single model years spread from 2019 through 2026. No campaign in CarFaultIQ's current records covers more than a handful of years, so the model year on a given car is the decisive factor.
Eight complaint categories recur in aggregated owner reports for the Elantra, most consistently engine, air bags, steering and suspension, tracked continuously from 2000 through the newest model years. These are owner-filed reports and evidence signals rather than confirmed failure rates, and their persistence over more than two decades reflects where reporting has concentrated.
Used-car checks
No structured used-car checks are verified on this model hub yet.
Recall/safety notes
No hand-written safety notes have been added to this hub. Official recall, bulletin and investigation records held for this vehicle are listed under documented evidence on this page — the absence of a note here does not mean no records exist. Always confirm by VIN.
The Common Problems page below gathers what is documented across the nameplate. For a specific car, its generation page narrows the evidence to the correct years, and given how many campaigns here are limited to single model years, a VIN check is the most reliable confirmation.
