CarComplaints.com Notes: We're not used to seeing any major problems with Hyundai, which makes the early signs of trouble with the 2013 Elantra very surprising, in a bad way.
Early trends show problems with the steering wandering / pulling to one side along with premature tire wear. Elantra owners have tried sensor adjustments, wheel alignments, even replacing axles, most with no luck. Hyundai has made vehicle buybacks through arbitration, but that rarely works out well financially for owners in the end.
Also there is a pattern of complaints about the 2013 Elantra brakes grinding at very low mileage. It seems there was a bad batch of OEM pads & rotors, but so far Hyundai is not doing a recall. Instead Hyundai issued a TSB & dealers have been replacing pads & rotors on a per-complaint basis.
The final straw is that for several years in a row, Elantra owners report significantly lower gas mileage than the EPA estimates, & there's a small trend of engine problems.
My battery light was coming on and off. This particular Saturday on a busy freeway in stop and go traffic, my battery light came on. Within a mile of this on going bumper to bumper traffic, I lost my pwr steering, than all the dashboard lights came on, then I lost the radio. I tried to pull off to the side but never made it. Battery dead. Called a tow truck and dropped it off at the dealership in Markham. I was towd for 35 kms and the cost of a tow is not cheap.
Called the dealership in the morning and explained the problem. Well we have to do an diagnostic test and that will cost you x amt of money. They had it all day and said it was the battery. 3 yrs old and needed a new battery .. come on! Ok got a new battery.Warrant was over ... nice. Had to miss work as they do not have a courtesy car and I work 30 kms from the dealer. A week later the light came back on. Called them several times and finally they returned my call. Had me bring it in again .. this time they said there was a loose wire that was causing the problem.
Again they had it all day, but this time I demanded a car and they rented one from Enterprise. I virtually got 3 kms away from the dealer and the light came back on. I called 3x to the dealer and they would not pick up the phone. I was going out of town the next day 3.5 hrs away and could not afford another breakdown and left stranded so far away. The light was on for almost 2 hrs that day. The light then went off.
The light went off and has been off for almost a month until just the other day. Light is on and a msg on the radio/GPS screen says battery discharge make sure the car is turned on .. I'm driving .. the car is on .. what is going on?
Called the dealer and no one has returned my call .. as well there is a recall on my car.
How can a 2013 battery go bad in 2 years. Of course it happened on a Sunday and I could not call the dealer. I had to replace the battery myself so I could go to work Monday. It was so dead, the interior lights would not come on.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
You buy a used car and you have to manually turn off the headlights when you turn car off or it drains battery.
- Tina P., Plymouth, US