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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 11
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
34,824 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.
I was just leaving for work and I tried to start the car, and I turned the key all the light on the dash light up and nothing happen, no sound nothing was turning, I could use the radio and rolls the power windows up and down and I had to remove the key and tried it 2 more times and then it started up with no problems this is the second time this happen and both times I left the car overnight and tried it start it in the morning.
First incident happened in April of 2014. Pulling out of my driveway the power steering went out. Called the dealership, made an appointment for the following week to bring my car in and it had only happened once at low speeds. Power steering went out 2 more times during the day, called the dealership back and informed them I was bringing my car in at that moment as I felt unsafe. On my way to the dealership driving down the highway, the power steering gave out on me while exiting the highway going 75 mph. I was able to get off and luckily the dealership was right off the exit. The eps light was on and it threw a code. They told me my steering column was bad. They replaced it and all was fine. Then I had an issue with my factory installed remote start a few months later. They told me a circuit was blown and it had to be replaced. Now this year (may of 2015) I have had the remote start and the power steering go out on me once again. My car is in the shop, was told I needed steering column replaced again. I refused this answer, and they are digging deeper and have figured out there is an electrical problem with my car. I have had a loaner car for 4 days and they still are no closer to figuring out what is wrong.
Snow predicted. Left home to go run errands at 9:30 am, car looked showroom new, got 1/2 mile, car pulled itself right (as it has previously) and bumped a small tree, no damage. Car backed up to roadside 10', car cut itself off (as it had before), windshield went from 30 degrees to 450 degrees in 3 seconds. I left my purse (with $1200 in it) and everything and fled across road to save my life. Asked man there if he had a fire extinquisher, he didn't, asked me to stay because it was so cold, and I said no, I wanted to check my car and in that 60 seconds, I walked out and stood in his driveway and car was totally a blaze. It happened so quickly I would not have survived had I not fled the vehicle the car from day 2 rarely cranked, often cut off going 5-55 mph, pulled off road to right, and scared me speechless. Like it was haunted and drove itself. I only had it 4 months. It was a death trap and should never have been put on the highway. For some reason, I got arrested, I was totally sober and had no medication in my system. Trooper had a breath alyzer, never used it. Cuffed me very tightly, read me no rights, and took me to station entrance. He grabbed my arm and drew blood (illegally), no phone call, finally read my rights, and denied me seeing my lawyer 3 times. Illegally. For 3 days & nights, I was never allowed a phone call or code, am disabled and have osteoporosis & had to sleep on a 1/4" of flat plywood, though my joints don't touch, I have restless leg syndrome & must sleep elevated, it was impossible. I also went without any of my prescriptions 3 days. All because this scary car burned to bent metal with no dash, no engine or parts, no tires, seats, nothing. So not only was I in shock, out of any contact without my prescriptions, and had to pay $475 bond, though I only get $969, this car ruined my life over a year ago, and I haven't had a car since.
My son was driving home from work one morning and he said he began to see a light glow from inside the accessories compartment above the shifter. He stated a couple of seconds later it melted away and flames were coming from the hole. I have not taken it to the dealer yet due to them telling me they are busy and it would be about a week before they could get it in.
When reaching 45-50 mph, steering became so loose that it was difficult to stay in my lane. Pulled over to see if there were any apparent problems with the tires, but none were seen. Tried driving again, same problem occurred at about the same speed (noticed it around 40 mph this time). Could not continue trip; had to be towed 50 miles back to indianapolis. Have an appointment with the dealership tomorrow (closed for thanksgiving holiday today). Traction control had briefly engaged about 10 minutes earlier on a slick area, but seemed to be an appropriate response, and the light went off. Not sure if this is related.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
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Car would not start. After a few attempts with holding the key on start position it would start as normal. It was taken to local dealership who state the engine ground wires were corroded. It's a 2013 Elantra when asked what caused the corrosion, the dealership stated they didn't know but they have had 8 other vehicles with the same issue this month. I'd be concerned this could become a fire hazard and it cause the vehicle to shut off while running. Thank you for your time.[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Car loosely steered barely off road, 1/8 mile from home, bumped tree 15' away, backed up, engine shut off (as usual since day 2 of lease), windshield heated to over 150 degree's in 35 degree weather, so I vacated car, which was in flames 2-3 minutes and burned to ash..had 5 months, daily problems, battery, fuses, ignition, numerous calls to dealer, shop, no help, could easily have died in firetrap alive, car dove itself, when & where it pleased, and was uncontrollable.even Hyundai motor finance has not paid on gap coverage in 11 months, ruining my credit to boot, and was over financed past legal limits, on a total new lemon and not only was car not replaced as promised, I cannot get a response from Hyundai, or Hyundai finance.,this was the biggest mistake of my life, and I will tell everyone to never purchase a Hyundai product. You should be ashamed.and lose your franchise license.I will have to sue to ever begin to be compensated for all you have done to me, and because of your product.
The indicator light continues to go off and on because the door is being indicated as open. It subsequently unlocks the doors and turns the dome lights repeatedly on and off again. This causes a safety concern because I don't know what other car functions turn off if the door is "open".
Unable to insert the key in the ignition no matter how hard we tried.this happened fairly soon after we purchased the car from the dealer; it has happened numerous times and has been towed to the dealer 3 times, but the dealer eventually gets the key in the ignition and claims there is no problem "can not duplicate the problem". at one incident the drive of the tow truck hammered the key quite hard in the ignition and forced the key in! I have contacted Hyundai motor and they say they can not do anything for me and claim that" this is a common problem, and I need to steer the steering wheel really hard to get the steering mechanism loose" this should not happen with 6 months old car while it is still under warranty.any input or advice would beappreciated. Thank you.
I purchased this vehicle in June 2013. I had no complaints until July of 2014, wherein my car picks and chooses when to start. I have looked online and there are many others who seem to have this complaint. I finally gave in on Aug. 24, after my car sat for two days because I could not get it to start. I called the Hyundai 24 hour roadside and had them tow it to the nearest dealership. The tow truck driver initially tried to start it, and it didn't. he popped the button nearest the top of the shifter and pressed it in, and put the car in neutral, it then started but sputtered like it wanted to turn off. He was able to drive the car onto the tow truck. The next morning, I spoke with the mechanic at the dealership who indicated that the car was starting for them just fine. He said there are so many sensors that it could be one, but they wouldn't know where to start as there are so many and could not make an educated guess. He wanted to keep it overnight to see if it would act up for them. It is now 2pm two days later and the mechanic claims there is still no issue, he said they have let it run all morning and it is fine. This has become ridiculous, especially when I see so many others with the same complaint, yet nothing being done. Help, NHTSA!
Was taking trash to the dump, 1 person's worth, going 5 mph 1/ of mile from my home, car veered to right edge of pavement, and where a bulldozer had drug road edges and broke pavement off, caused me to hit a tree at a very slow speed. I reversed car, backed up 50 ft. And car shut itself off & windshield got extremely hot, and I got out of vehicle, smoke coming from hood area, left my purse, and walked across road to ask for fire extinguisher. Man had just got up, hadn't had coffee, and invited me in. I went back outside and saw car was burning, so I stayed on his porch, then front yard. I knew trash may have aerosol canisters, and not worth my life to try to go through fire to save my purse. Cops came (9:45-10:15 am, and said I looked funny and arrested me accusing me of being under the influence of medication. I was not on any medicine and definitely not drinking. Car was a total loss after explosion and I have not had another for over 8 months. I am on disability for fibromyalgia, neuralgia, & osteoporosis, and hollow bones. I fall quite often (one leg is shorter than other). Officer himself drew my blood in a public place, and refused to let me see my attorney 3 times. I never got to use a phone in 2 days. But vehicle was problematic from day 1, battery would not hold a charge, jump a riding lawn mower, and would just cut off while I was going down the road. Steering was also a problem from day one, like tires were never aligned.
Over the past 11 month this car has had several incidences where it just will not start. On a few occasions it started after a couple of tries and a few occasions where it would not start when I needed it to but had no problem starting an hour or two later. This weekend was the biggest issue. I parked my car Friday evening with no indication that there was an issue but on Saturday the car would not start, later on Saturday the car would not start, Sunday the car would not start. Hyundai roadside assistance sent someone out to jump my car but the car would not start. They sent out a tow truck to take the car to the dealership and he used the shift override to put the car in neutral and the car started right up once it was in neutral and it drove just fine. When this issue occurs the instrument panel lights up but when I turn the key to start the car, the panel goes out and there is nothing but silence from the engine. The last time it happened I took the car to the dealership but they said they could not duplicate the issue so there was nothing they could do because it is not causing any codes to go to the computer.
When I was driving my car shut off without warning. This is the 4th time this has happened. I took it back to todd archer Hyundai and they looked at and it told me it was the electrical grounds but it just happened again. Please help. Im in the military and I need my car for work. The car is unsafe they won't swap it out. Initially it was a demo car.
While driving my vehicle at highway speed, the vehicle suddenly stalled without any apparent reason. I was in the middle lane of a three lane highway. I had to coast over to the side of the highway with no steering or brakes due to the engine failure. Once at the side of the highway, the vehicle re-started immediately and ran normally again for about a week when the same thing happened again, this time on a side street at approximately 15 mph. The vehicle once again started back up with no problem. It has run normally again as of this posting. Updated 10/23/2014
This car is equipped with daytime running lights, but there is no way to turn them on without also turning on the parking lights. When the daytime running lights and parking lights are illuminated, the taillights are on and the instrument cluster is dimmed so that it is difficult to read. This creates an unsafe and in some states (California and others) illegal situation if the daytime running lights are turned on.
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, the trunk and front end of the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The fire department extinguished the flames and informed the contact that the fire was contributed to an electrical issue. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the fire. The approximate failure mileage was 17,227.
I purchased a new 2013 Elantra GT in may of this year. A week after taking it home the tire pressure light went off while driving. We pulled over & immediately blue link sent an alert telling me a malfunction in my TPMS was found & to take the car to service asap. Took it to the dealership & was told that is was a simple learning failure. Reset code & was sent on my way. The next week the car did the same thing with the TPMS. Back to the dealer it went. Had it scanned again. Was told nothing was wrong & they cleared the codes thru blue link. I was then told to just ignore it & it should be ok. Mostly it is just electronically interference. I parked the car & used my husbands car for a while. I start using my car & going down 295 it happened again. Pulled over & blue link sent the alert again. Called the dealership & made an appointment. I was told that they had a certified Hyundai professional technician that was going to look my car over. After 4 hrs of waiting I was given a paper asking me not to use electronics in the car as this was causing my TPMS issue. They paper was dated March 2007. Really? at that point I was frustrated so I called Hyundai Corp office. After an hr conversation I was told to take it to another dealership for service. So that Friday off the car went to another dealership. At the dealership I was told that the car needed an alignment bad & that my tires were over inflated by 8lbs each. So 3 hrs & a lot of patience I was told the car was all set. 20 mins after leaving the dealership the TPMS light goes off again with the blue link alert to service the car asap. The following day back to the dealership again. This trip I was told I needed a sensor changed. 3 hrs later I leave & half way home TPMS again. That's 5 times no repair. Now they can't provide me a loaner but want to keep the car overnight. Car has been parked for 2 weeks waiting.
I parked my vehicle in a shopping center in a space with a very slight incline. (3-4 degree). I shut off the engine, but was distracted and the car was left in drive. This vehicle has a remote lock/unlock and start/stop key. The key dropped from my pocket and onto the drivers seat and as I exited the vehicle it started to roll backwards. I ran to the back to prevent it rolling into another vehicle and a car coming toward me saw I was in trouble and the driver got out and ran to my front door and quickly put the car in park. I think this is a very dangerous situation that the car could roll with the engine off and the car in drive. The remote key having dropped on the seat made it difficult to re-enter the closed door without pushing the buttons to unlock and if it hadn't been for help from another driver the car would have crashed. I am a fit 73 year old, but an older driver would easily panic. The car should not be able to roll with the engine off and the remote key system needs to be reviewed.
I purchased a 2013 Hyundai Elantra SE coupe on 13 April 2013 (6300 miles). On 9 May 2013 (7000 miles) I entered car to start it and battery completely dead. Called Hyundai roadside assistance and they sent someone to jump it. Car started and took it to motorworld wilkes-barre where I had purchased car. They turned car off and waited 5 hours. Car started again and the man in service told me that he could not do anything since the battery was fine and he didn't see any issue. If I wanted battery or sensors replaced, I would have to pay out of pocket for it. I was told if it happened again, have it towed in without letting it be jump started. Only diagnostic done was check of battery which read as no problem. On 26 May 2013, (7400 miles) again I went out to start car and again it would not start. As I could not miss work and it was memorial day with service dept at dealership closed, had car jump started and went to dealership on my lunch break. While there, salesman who sold me car had me turn off the automatic setting for headlamps. When I did that, it also caused the steering wheel controls for blue tooth and radio control to no longer function. I was told there was recall on brake stop switch? that was not apparently corrected before selling me the car. The car has electrical wiring issues. It doesn't take an electrical engineer to know that the steering wheel controls should not be run through the headlamps switch and that the headlamps switch is faulty when it is causing a drain of battery when it is set to shut off lamps when ignition turned off. Tomorrow the 27 May 2013, I will be back at dealership demanding this is repaired or they replace the car as I have owned it approximately 6 weeks and have had this issue 2 times with 7400 total miles on car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Beaverton, OR, USA