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:
6 / 11
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,985 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.
My 2013 Hyundai Elantra with approx. 75,000 miles, and no mechanical or cosmetic issues, caught fire while parked and turned off for 10 minutes at tavern in the square restaurant in lowell, MA. Patrons who were parked nearby heard what sounded like electrical sparks and then witnessed smoke coming from the hood which then burst into flames. They ran in to retrieve my family and I and the fire department came within 10 minutes to extinguish the flames but the car was completely destroyed by that time. I have videos and pictures that can be forwarded to you. I have attempted to contact Hyundai customer service but was on hold for 40 minutes and immediately disconnected before speaking to anyone. This has been extremely stressful emotionally and financially. The car was in our garage just 30 minutes prior and this could have been much worse. There is obviously a history of issues with some other Hyundai vehicles which I wasn't aware of until now but I don't see that my car was listed as a possible recall for electrical fires. It was my only mode of transportation and every penny I earned was used to purchase this vehicle less than one year ago. I do not have insurance that would cover this situation so this is a total loss. Please let me know how to proceed and also where to forward the video and photo details.
2013 Hyundai Elantra. While stationary, in city street, turning or not not turning, uncontrolled engine racing to at least 5000 RPM. To stop racing without an accident, I have to put the car in neutral and a) engine speed may go back to normal or B) repeatedly step on gas pedal to disengage racing engine. Or C) turn off engine key and try to restart. This has occurred numerous times
Noticed a oil based leak under vehicle, have it inspected the leak is coming out of a defective air conditioner compressor, emitting toxics freon and ac oil to the air and ground. This should be a recall for safety and pollution.
- Antelope, CA, USA
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For a year straight the car has been shutting off on my while I'm driving on the street's. this is very hazardous because it randomly happens. The car will just shut off as if it lost battery power while still in driving gear. When restarting the car it can sometimes take awhile because it will make a clicking noise like there is either a problem with the engine or starter for the car. When this happens occasionally the check engine light will come on.
Loud ticking in engine, worse on cold start and acceleration diagnosed as connecting rod bearing damage known and ongoing issue on Hyundai engines originally detected on 02/27/2018 check engine light illuminated and cleared by dealership returned on dealership on 02-07-2019. Dealership quoted condition normal. Returned to dealership 02/09/2020 dealership determined connecting rod bearing damage. Hyundai currently only offering 50 % coverage! this is a known and ongoing issue with Hyundai engines and should be covered 100%. vehicle currently has less than 95,000 miles on odometer. Hyundai has issed in extended warranty of $120,000 on several models with the same engine problem. Https://www.hyundaiengineinfo.com/technical-overview/#whattolookoutfor https://www.hyundaiengineinfo.com/ also, the trunk latch has completely failed along with the emergency latch opening in the trunk.
While applying brakes vehicles engine would rev up to over 5000 RPM's making it hard to stop once vehicle was stopped and gear shift was put in park the vehicle was shut off and restarted where it now was running normaly this has happened twice in the last few months once in busy traffic the other while I was pulling into my garage to get the vehicle to stop you really had to put alot of pressure on the brakes my wife won't drive it anymore for she fears she'll be in a accident I'm afraid that these high RPM's may do damage to the brakes, engine and transmission the first time this happened was a few months ago and recently yesterday March 9th 2020
Car chugged and shut off; waited and it started again, but since had ticking noise. Dealer is saying new engine needed; stated Hyundai is aware of the engine wearing out prematurely and Hyundai is trying to help people out if it is past the warranty by paying 90% of the cost. Hyundai should pay 100% if they are aware that it is a widespread problem. And they say it is going to take 2-4 weeks to repair.
Engine light came on car started to skip took two certified mechanic change spark plugs two condensers engine flush and the engine start rattling engine broke loose now engine is destroyed or after a tuneup. Took back immediately and to a different mechanic for second opinion.
I am the second owner and bought it from a Hyundai dealership with 45K miles on it. The car currently has 53K miles on it and the engine failed. I was driving the car and heard a knocking sound and without warning the car shut off. Luckily I was able to pull over and avoid an accent but had just gotten off the beltway. I got it towed to a aaa certified garage and they said they have seen the problem frequently with Hyundai. I had purchased an extended warranty from a 3rd party and luckily the damage is covered under the 3rd party warranty. However, the engine is being replaced by a refurbished/salvaged engine so I won't know whether or not this issue will happen again and it has hurt my resale value because it will now be listed in the carfax.
Suddenly my car developed a new issue of sudden acceleration while stopped/idle. While my foot is on gas, the car will suddenly jerk forward/RPM increase. However, so far while my foot is on the brake, I haven't moved as far as I can tell but fearful it might happen while driving or it will drive forward even with foot on brake.
I've been driving this vehicle as a secondary owner since 64K miles, it's now at about 71K. I keep up with maintenance regularly, but lately it's developed a bit of a noticeable ticking especially when cold, and idles pretty rough when cold, seems to get better as the vehicle heats up. 3 times, all spaced out by a couple of months I've also experience a refusal to start, trying again usually gets it to start but one of those times it almost sounded like it was misfiring since it seemed to stumble and nearly stall. I've taken it to two shops and not one of them and has been able to determine the underlying issue like it's not even there, one of them only suggested a battery replacement which funny enough seemed to help it until recently, will be taking to Hyundai soon perhaps but I see a trend of very similar symptoms on here.
Driving in the passing lane of the highway my vehicle became unable to accelerate then decelerated rapidly. I made my way over to the shoulder in a panic as the vehicle came to a stop and would not start. The check engine light, oil light, and eps light up as the vehicle decelerated. Upon taking to my mechanic I was given a techincal service bulletin and advised to work with the dealership. Once diagnosed at the dealership I was told I need a new engine and it will cost $9,000; I bought this vehicle a year ago and still owe 5,800 dollars on it. I am aware of class action lawsuits against Hyundai for this issue as well as the fact that this vehicle was recalled in Canada for the same issue. I am horrified at the lack of customer service and sympathy exhibited by Hyundai as I made contact with corporate about the issue. I cannot be the only one to experience this safety issue and I am lucky I was able to get to the shoulder safely. This engine should not have failed at 116,000 miles and Hyundai knows that though the appear ignorant to this defect when confronted.
Around 5pm on July 18th after starting up my parked car with no issues I pulled out of a parallel parking spot and made a left turn through a green arrow at the light. I was driving straight and slowly accelerating to about 30mph. I took my foot of the gas a bit to coast. I went to put my foot back on the gas but before I could within about 10sec the car slowed down and came to a halt in the middle of the road. Right as the car was slowing down all of the emergency lights such as check engine and all the other ones on the dashboard flashed. The car was completely shut off. The hazard lights did not even come on. I immediately pressed the break and turned the car back on. It started up immediately and I kept driving. Took car to Hyundai dealer who found no issues after running a diagnostic.
I was driving the car in heavy traffic when the engine shutdown and was almost run into by several cars behind and beside the car. The cars engine has been determined to be seized up even though there was no warning of either low oil pressure or high engine temp or any engine malfunction indicator. The engine has been regularly maintained. This cold have been a disaster had the driver of the vehicle had not taken heroic measures to get the vehicle safely pulled over and stopped. This action could have caused the driver and possibly the other vehicles beside and behind serious injuries and or possibly a fatality. I have done some research on this issue and there are others that this has happened to. Something needs to be done about this issue before someone loses their life over it.
I drove my 2013 Hyundai Elantra Tuesday evening and parked it at 9pm. Went to start my car to go to work at 730am and it would not start. All of the lights came on, headlights and radio worked the car just would not start. I tried to start it 5 more times, it is push start. I called and had my car towed that evening, the tow guy came and put it in neutral and it started right up. I still had the car towed because I have had so many electrical issues with this car. It has been at the Hyundai dealership for 4 days now and no one can tell me what is wrong with it. It has started a couple times for the dealership but not consistently. I keep calling and asking what the issue is but they have no idea what it is. I have read numerous comments about the same issue with this car. This needs to be a recall this is not fair to us as Hyundai customers. This should be recalled and paid for by Hyundai.
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. While driving at an unknown speed, a ticking noise was heard from the engine without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician stated that the failure was a design flaw and a known issue. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic who stated that the failure was due to a piston flap. The mechanic did not assist. The vehicle was taken to buerkle Hyundai (651-484-0231, located at 3350 N. highway 61, white bear lake, mn 55110) where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered a fifty percent discount towards engine replacement. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. The VIN was unknown.
2015-key won't release from ignition, replaced under warranty. 2017-same issue, cant reproduce issue, not replaced by dealer. 2018-car won't start, battery replaced. 2019-car won't start. Dash lights come on, car clicking but won't start. Jumpstarted car. While driving after jumpstart the radio intermittently went off. Took in for repair and alternator and battery was replaced. Next day while driving, charging system light flashes on and off twice. 6 days later-car won't start after driving it 3 miles, clicking again and the engine, oil, and charging system light on. Had to walk home in the dark in a high crime city
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Stamford, CT, USA