CarComplaints.com Notes: Be aware that there's a significant trend of owners complaining that the Elantra's fuel economy is significantly less than the EPA estimates.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
45,946 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.
Vehicle accelerated on it's own, and applying break pressure only slowed vehicle but kept accelerating. Hyundai reports no issues, yet this incident is all over the internet doing searches on Hyundai. Hyundai reports no recalls. When car placed in park mode, RPM shot to maximum of 8 and stayed there. When placed car back in drive, car RPM went to 2 and car wants to accelerate fast. Please NHTSA, apply pressure for recall for this very unsafe condition on a vehicle.
Hello, well, I am the first owner, and there was not any accident before. Last Thursday, after I started my car, I tried to shift the gear to drive, and the car was suddenly shook. I kept tried to drive it, but whenever the RPM goes up to 2000, the car was bouncing like that I stepped on the brake or so. I was not even able to drive it, and it was even so dangerous to drive. Therefore, I just tried it again at night, and the engine light turned on. I put my car into the fitzgerald Hyundai service center in gaithersburg, md on Friday morning (11/7/14), and I got my car back yesterday. When I picked up my car, I asked them what was the wrong with it, and they told me that the transmission sensor did not lead the temperature. Therefore, I told them that I put my car into the Hyundai service center in fairfax, va three months ago for the exact same problem, and the fairfax representative told me that they could not find any problems with it, so they just reset the software so that it is going to be fine. However, this happened again after few months. A man from fitzgerald told me that this time they update some numbers, so it is going to be fine. I do not know whenever this happens, the engine light turned on, too, and it seems like that it is breaking transmission and the engine together. Since this was not my first time, I reported this to the Hyundai recall service center. They called me yesterday and told me that they do not know the reason, but they fixed it. How come they can fix it even if they do not know the reason" I kept complained about it, and they just told me that they will expand the dates for the warranty so that I can fix it whenever it happens again! they also said that they do not know the next step for it. How irresponsible! now, all I can think of is that this is the defected car. Can you please investigate this" thank you.
While stopped in traffic (restaurant drive thru lane), vehicle lurched forward; attempted to put transmission shifter into park (automatic transmission) to check the problem; vehicle would not go into park or reverse; would only go into drive or neutral. Hyundai dealer inspected and identified problem as a defective shift assembly. I have been in contact with Hyundai customer care expressing concerns regarding potential safety issues (not being able to reverse vehicle; vehicle not being able to be restarted if engine died). Vehicle is only 2 years old and just out of the 60,000 warranty period. Hyundai (at this point) is refusing to repair under customer good will.
I left home for a 1,000 mile road trip starting on the date specified above. Mileage indicated above is a close approximation to when the incident first occurred. On the first day, I stopped for gasoline at a station. When I tried to start the car back up, I had power to everything but my car made no attempt to start. After trying several times over the course of about 5-10 minutes, it finally started and ran fine. This happened five times over the course of the trip lasted 8 days. I have made an appointment at the dealership to look it over, again. I say "again" because I took the car in to the dealership less than 500 miles prior for what I believe to be a related issue. The automatic transmission shift lever would not leave the "drive" position when I stopped at one point and needed to get out of the car. I could not because I could not put it in "park", gear shift lever was stuck in "drive". back to the "won't start" issue - wiggling the automatic transmission shift lever seems to have helped me start the car when it previously would not. Dealer said they could not find the cause of the stuck automatic transmission shift lever.
On several occasions, I had noticed that it was hard to shift to park from the reverse and drive gear positions. It seemed as if the gear would jam on something and after a while of trying to get it to move forward it would advance to the park position. Now, just yesterday I was getting into my car from work and when I attempted to start it just said quite. Everything else worked, but the engine would not turn. I attempted to shift out of park and it would not let me. I pressed on the brake pedal so that it would release but it did not work. I must have tried 10 times to start it and as I was about to call the tow truck, I tried it one more time and then it started.
- Houston, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Intermittent problem: Car didn't turn over. I waited a few minutes, tried it again and it started. Dealer couldn't find the problem. Second occurrence: Wouldn't start, then it did when I tried it a third time. That same day, car was idling for about 3 minutes as I was sitting in it. I had put it in park and when I tried to put it in drive, it wouldn't budge out of park. I turned the car off (fearing the worst) and it started and allowed me to put it in drive.
The car shut itself off while we were driving. The car would not restart or shift into park and the key would not come out. Finally got the car to start in neutral and car sputtered and it registered no rpms, so it didn't move. After about 20 minutes car did start in neutral and we were able to make it home.
Vehicle brought to lester glenn Hyundai toms river NJ on March 21, 2014 for noise in engine or trans...said there was nothing wrong..they pushed car out and told me it was a clamp for my exhaust..I continued to hear noise..(it did not happen all the time) so the car was returned to the dealer 3 weeks later..they did diagnostics on vehicle and pushed my car out telling me that I had "aggressive tires" on the vehicle.and they charged me $243 for diagnostics..my vehicle is under warranty..they told me if I didn't pay I wouldn't get my car back...I have brand new cooper touring tires on and the problem was there before the tires..on 05/12/2014 I drove to New York to visit my daughter and when I left was on 278 West traveling to toms river NJ. I was on 278 for approximately 5 minutes..I tried to accelerate and the car wouldn't move..the RPM's were going crazy, speed of vehicle would not accelerate more than 25mph..white smoke started pouring out of rear and undercarriage of vehicle..it was not overheating..my pressure fine..I managed to get to side of brooklyn queens expressway and shut vehicle off..3 pedestrians stopped because they thought my vehicle was on fire..a tow was called..arrived in 1.5 hours..only 1 tow company allowed on the bqe..I had no choice but to take the tow..it cost me $660 to get my vehicle back to lester glenn Hyundai..toms river NJ...they diagnosed my vehicle saying it was PCV valve..I do not feel like my vehicle was fixed and I feel very unsafe in it..I work in a full service garage and I had at least 15 mechanics look at my vehicle..they all say its in the transmission and now I do not want to drive my car more than 20 miles..can you help me??
I purchased this car in June 2011 and there have been three separate times that my car will not start. The first time was a few months after I first purchased my car. I went to start my car in the morning and it would not cut on. After letting it sit for the day I tried it and it turned on with no problems. The second incident happened September 2013. I went to start my car in the morning. It would crank but not turn over. I let is sit for about 3 days and everyday I would try it and it still would not start. I finally had it towed to a Hyundai dealer near me and they ran tests and everything came back fine and was told the car started for them with no problem and I probably didn't push in on the clutch all the way. Even though the tow truck driver also tried it and would not start for him too. The most recent incident the same issue happened. Car would crank and not turn over. I did some research online and saw from another Hyundai owner that they had to pump their gas pedal to get their car to start. Once I tried that the car started after a few minutes. This time I drove it to the Hyundai dealer where I purchased the car and once again all tests came back fine and they cannot find a problem.
I bought the Hyundai Elantra 2012 and has been giving me problems. The car will not start sometime till I start moving the steering wheel and the shifter. It has done it to me several times since I bought it and I took it to the dealer I purchased the car and the mechanic said there is nothing wrong. I argued that there is they expect me to leave it at the dealer for a while till they find the problem but the only thing is that it's my only transportation. The shifter locks on me while I'm holding the brake down, I have to use the manual button to unlock it. I notice that when it doesn't want to start and I manually shift the gear to neutral the car starts. The dealer wants me to replicate the problem and I ask my self how"?" it doesn't do it all the time. I have roadside assistance and I called them but by that time they get to me I got the car to start.
Car will periodically not start - all warning lights come on and there is a humming sound. Often occurs when wheel is on an angle. Car will typically not start 4-5 times in a row. Overhead lights work at the time of the failure. A few minutes later, after much jiggling of the steering wheel while turning on ignition, it starts fine. One time it started after emergency brake was released and the car rolled a bit. Brought to dealer who could not replicate problem but acknowledged this problem had occurred with other Elantras. Dealer was about to release car when driver demonstrated that gear shift would not move out of park. Dealer found code C1513 brake switch shorted. Brake switch was replaced. Dealer kept car a few days with no replications. 7 days later, starting problem recurred at driver's home and again after a day at work. In both cases, wheel was not in "12 O"clock" position. In conversation with dealer, we discussed that when the steering wheel is locked (not sure of definition), car should not start. He recommended jiggling the wheel while turning ignition. He also explained that the gear shift will only move out of park if 1) ignition is in on position and 2) foot is on the brake. Why is steering wheel locking so often?
Almost every time I have started the vehicle and placed in drive from reversing out of my driveway, the vehicle jolts and seems that transmission is lagging or changing gears abruptly. The service engine light went on and I had made an appointment. When I took it in for inspection, the dealer said they could not recreate what I was talking describing. In addition, when I drive the power steering has had some issues. It has never drove in a straight line after two alignments. And it can be tough to turn the wheel. When I contacted the dealer about how I hear a clunking sound when driving over bumps, he test drove it and was confirmed that he agrees that there is clunking noise, but said he cant pinpoint it and it will have to get worse before he could tell.
When I accelerate and every time the gear changes, the car would jolt as if I went over a speed bump. It's really uncomfortable when the car jolts while I accelerate, but the real problem is when I'm applying the brakes. The car would jolt and the speed would increase which nearly caused several accidents. I currently have about 13,000 miles and purchased this vehicle about 1.5 years ago. Within that time, the ignition wouldn't start. I would ignite the car and the car would eventually die on me. People said it might be the spark plugs, transmission or even the battery. However, it didn't make sense because the car was purchased only a couple of months before that incident. I never even wasted my battery in any way either. What if the car decides to turn off while I'm on the freeway? I can't afford that to happen.
Car lurched, engine shut off. Car became uncontrollable and all the warning lights on the dash lit up. Eventually managed to get to side of road where the transmission locked into place. Electrical system was still functional but car was completely unresponsive. Occurred again 800 miles later after "repair" both incidents nearly caused accidents.
My car started to clunk and would loose drive train power this happened a 4 separate occasions while accelerating and after being completely warmed up. I brought the car to orlando Hyundai and they called their main office and was told that there were 5 2012 Elantras that had to have the transmissions replaced in the United States but they were not going to replace mine. They said they were going to do some further testing but in all likelihood I would be put back into my car with the problem not being solved. I think this is a safety hazard and Hyundai is not taking this seriously and playing with peoples safety.
This incident happened the night I bought the vehicle. The vehicle will suddenly buck/jolt/jerk as if hitting a speed bump in a very jarring manner. This also happened during a test drive of a vehicle of the same type and color (I'm not sure if they sold me the one during the test drive.). I was informed that the vehicle which jolted in this manner was repaired and sold to another customer. I'm not sure if they were telling the truth or if they gave me the same vehicle. Still, this is a serious defect that is potentially a big safety hazard. The salesman who sat next to me was also concerned when the incident occurred twice in the span of one 10 minute test drive. I bought a brand new vehicle not expecting this type of serious, internal issue. After some testing, I believe that this sudden buck will more likely occur after accelerating then decelerating. Please investigate this issue. Thank you.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving up an incline, the transmission made a loud clunky noise and shifted gears noisily. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer performed a diagnostic and located the failure at the transmission. The transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 139 and the current mileage was 218.
While pulling onto a city street away from a curb, the car lunged forward and would not continue to drive.I checked to see if the gear selector had jumped out of D to N. did not. Tried to continue down the street, and the car did the same thing at different intervals. Transmission would not shift properly out of 1st gear. RPM's and engine continued to operate, but transmission was continuing to grind, bang, jump and not shift. After coaxing the car to my residence, some three or four blocks away, I notified the 24 hour Hyundai assistance line. Being Sunday, they could not help. No way to tow car to dealership. Drove car to dealership at roughly 15 mph. Car continued to balk and jump. Dealer manager was contacted on Monday morning. After checking with Hyundai and a computer readout on auto, it was determined that it was a defective transmission. Transmission was ordered and replaced. Interesting to know if other customers have had same problem. May lead to a total recall of the 2011 and 2012 automatic transmissions on the Hyundai Elantra automobiles. Investigation needs to be conducted!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bolingbrook, IL, USA