10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
119,913 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Hyundai Elantra engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Hyundai Elantra Owner Comments

problem #17

May 252024

Elantra

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Air bag light is on as soon as car power on until it turns off passenger airbag is off I dont know if my airbags will deploy if I get in an accident. While driving steady speed of 50-60 mph while pressing gas sometimes it doesn-??t increase speed but instead jerks until I let go of the gas and then depress it again it happenes maybe 2-3 times during a drive.

- Chicago , IL, USA

problem #16

Aug 032023

Elantra

  • miles
Drove about 1 hour using cruise control part of the time. Don't usually use it, but used it 2 months ago with no problem. After 1.5 hour visit, drove home. Did not use cruise control, but at last 10 minutes acceleration issue started where car would "rev" even though I was not accelerating. Able to manage it with brake and normal driving. Tried to reset cruise (turn on/off), but car still had episodes of "revving". Did not accelerate to dangerous level and controllable. After car sat in garage for 2 hours, I drove out of neighborhood to empty stretch of road and accelerated to 50 with no problems and no revving of engine. Service check scheduled.

- Westerville, OH, USA

problem #15

Jan 212020

Elantra

  • miles
Acceleration faulty cruse control

- Manchester, NH, USA

problem #14

Dec 042018

Elantra

  • 120,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated when the gear was placed in reverse. When the brake pedal was applied, the vehicle surged to an unknown high rate of speed. When placed in neutral, the vehicle failed to decelerate. As a result, the contact sideswiped another vehicle. A police report was not filed. The driver was not injured. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was parked at the contact's residence due to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

- Colonia, NJ, USA

problem #13

Jan 102018

Elantra

  • 113,000 miles
I was pulling out of a parking lot today going about 20mph when my car started speeding up. I started braking, but the engine seemed to just want to go. I was coming to a stop sign and cars were coming so I just turned off the switch and it stopped. When I restarted it, it seemed normal and I drove very carefully home. I am going to try to rent a car till this gets checked. It scared me to death and has never happened before.

- Dawsonville, GA, USA

problem #12

Apr 232017

Elantra

  • 1,225,138 miles
Car accilerater gets stuck and will accelerate when car is first started, whether stationary or in motion. Gas pedal will stick. Seems to function normally after the car has warmed up. I tapped on the gas pedal to see if it would un-stick and it accelerated at very high speed and was stuck until I pulled over and turned the car off. Acceleration dropped down slowly after I turned the car back on and left it in park. Resumed normally after.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #11

Dec 012016

Elantra

  • 92,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the vehicle independently accelerated several times without warning. In addition, while parked in a driveway, the vehicle surged with a high rate of speed and independently crashed into the driveway. The driver was not injured. The vehicle was towed to a collision center and then towed to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the accelerator pedal and springs needed to be replaced because they were sticking. The contact had not received any confirmation that the manufacturer investigated the failure other than replacing the parts. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.

- Richfield, MN, USA

problem #10

Nov 272014

Elantra

  • 91,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the vehicle accelerated independently causing her to crash into the front of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a broken knee that required medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

- Cumby, TX, USA

problem #9

Nov 192014

Elantra

  • 115,000 miles
Sudden acceleration while in slow traffic. Seemed like it went full RPM. I held the brakes and put it in neutral. Rpms came down and I drive off. Kinda scary though.

- Wilbraham, MA, USA

problem #8

Mar 192014

Elantra 4-cyl

  • 63,000 miles
This has happened to me 2 times, upon driving the car it randomly accelerates all on its own. Its as if someone is putting the pedal to the metal and trying to brake at the same time.. slamming on the brakes only slows it down but not enough then I proceed to pull the emergency brake all the way which only assits a little.. so at this point I am at the complete mercy of a vechicle with a mind of its own.. im stuck driving a car that wont stop for 3 exits in the breakdown lane and 2 seconds away from calling the state police for assistance... putting it into neutral didnt stop it either it kept going!!! took it immediatly to the Hyundai dealership and after putting 100 miles on it to try and recreate the issue ( which thats a very dangerous issue to recreate ) it didnt occor for them so I was handed my keys and told to drive off in a possible death machine with a mind of its own. I take my car for the scheduled maitinece and do my part so Hyundai should not want thier loyal consumers driving such hazards.... ive read several simailar stories and people have had no luck in getting this matter resolved thier soulution was to get a new car... if only it was that easy.

- Manchester, CT, USA

problem #7

Sep 012013

Elantra 4-cyl

  • 86,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle abnormally accelerated to 60 mph without warning. The contact had to coast onto the road shoulder and restart the engine to regain normal functions. The failure was recurring. The dealer advised the contact that the failure did not exhibit any warning codes therefore a diagnostic could not be performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 89,000. Updated 02/11/14 the dealer found the throttle cable binding. Updated 02/14/14

- Middleboro, MA, USA

problem #6

Apr 282013

Elantra

  • 46,543 miles
Traveling on interstate, using cruise control (as I had the day previously and for approx 150 miles this day) attempted to stop vehicle due to vehicles slowing down in front of me. Could not get out of cruise control - in fact, the vehicle accelerated -- and brakes did not work. Fortunately, I was in the right lane and was able to exit the highway without hitting the guardrail (approx. 20 feet away when I left the highway), traveled at a high rate of speed down a slight embankment and into a field, where fortunately there were no obstacles, and was able to stop the vehicle approx. 500 feet from leaving the highway. The engine was still running, now at a normal rate. I attempted to return to the interstate but was not successful due to the embankment. I drove through my previous tracks in the field and was able to get onto a nearby exit ramp. The vehicle functioned normally after that. Please note, this vehicle has a manual transmission. I did not attempt to engage the clutch to put the transmission in neutral because I had both hands on the steering wheel trying to maneuver through the field, which was quite green, actively growing, and approximately 15 inches high. The crop scraped the underside of the vehicle, which is now in the shop waiting to have the new part replaced. The mechanic will check for damage on the underside. I am not sure if the vehicle stopped B/C the brakes finally kicked in or the vegetative growth slowed me down.

- Draper, UT, USA

problem #5

Dec 032012

Elantra 4-cyl

  • 37,000 miles
I was driving home from work on sun night prior to my accident went around a curve and car started loosing control was able to regain control and headed home. Next morning was driving vehicle noticed ESC light was on and would not reset even after shutting car off.driving down another road at approx. 40-45 mph went to negotiate a slight turn to the left when car started sliding out from under me tapped brakes trying to get them to grad and car under control but had no response car did a 180 and slammed in a telephone pole on passenger side vehicle seemed to hit with more force than 40 miles an hour. Thankfully I had no passenger because they may not have made it.

- Chambersburg, PA, USA

problem #4

Oct 022012

Elantra 4-cyl

  • 13,135 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving 2 mph the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact hit a concrete wall resulting in $4,227.40 in damages. It was the third time it happened this year. The failure recurred whenever the contact would attempt to park the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle body was filling up with gasoline causing the surge. The mechanic stated that the accelerator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the would contact him at a later date. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 13,135...updated 11/09/12 updated 11/14/12

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

problem #3

Apr 252012

Elantra

  • 4,700 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into another vehicle. The contact was not injured during the crash. The contact notified the dealer regarding the sudden acceleration, but the dealer did not offer any assistance. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 4,700.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #2

Oct 152011

Elantra

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns 2009 Hyundai Elantra. While driving approximately 15 mph the contact depressed the brake pedal when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front of her. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and repaired. After the vehicle was repaired, the failure occurred three times within ten minutes. The contact stated the rpms also increased when the failure occurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #1

Nov 052009

Elantra

  • 2,000 miles
2009 Elantra gas pedal gets stuck under floor mat. What should I do?

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

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