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:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,121 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.
When cornering and the road is slightly uneven the car skitters side ways, or in bad cases if you hit a bump the car steps sideways. Depending on the speed or the tightness of the turn, the car can drift sideways by quite a distance.
I previously owned a 2012 Elantra and had no complaints, I traded it for the 2013 and have serious concerns. When the roads are dry the car drives great, however when the roads are wet or plowed snow I have very little control over the rear of the vehicle. I spent $800 for new snow tires hoping that would make a difference but it does not. I drive 150 miles per day round trip for work and it is mostly interstate. When it rains or snows I am not able to safely drive over 40-50mph without the rear end swaying and fishtailing. Every other car is traveling at highway speeds and there I am in the right lane just struggling to keep my car on the road at 45mph. I am frustrated that my Hyundai dealer and the Hyundai office are totally disregarding my safety by not acknowledging that this is a serious safety issue. Keep in mind that this is not a tire issue because the problem exists even after new snow tires are put on the car. Also, it is not a winter driving issue because the car reacts the same way when it is raining outside.
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would become unstable after driving over a bump or pot hole in the road. The contact indicated that the vehicle was very difficult to drive in a straight line. Also, the brakes had malfunctioned on multiple occasions after driving over a bump or pot hole. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. After changing the coil springs and replacing the tires the vehicle continued to experience the failures. The manufacturer was notified of the failures but no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 2,000.
I purchased the 2013 Hyundai Elantra gls with 13,400 miles on February 15, 2014. After a few days of driving the vehicle I realized that the car floats all over the road when driving pretty much at any speed. You have to hold the steering wheel with both hands to keep control of the vehicle. The rear of the vehicle also jumps around when driving over imperfections on the roadway. The back end suspension is very stiff and when going over these imperfections the vehicles veers into another lane or shoulder. I have called Hyundai with no response and emailed them only to be told to bring it to a Hyundai dealership. I brought the vehicle to the freehold Hyundai dealership twice now and was told the vehicle operates to factory specs. This is an unacceptable answer. I have a family and fear that an accident is going to occur with this vehicle due to the poor handling and someone is going to get injured or even killed. I demand Hyundai reimburse me for what I have paid for this vehicle or issue a recall and fix the problems that many of the Elantra owners are dealing with.
While driving on freeway and driving through normal traffic flow, drove on wide curve portion on road, I ran into some uneven portions of road when on curve and rear end of vehicle felt like swaying (slightly loosing control). Felt real loose. This also happens on uneven roads on straightaways. This happened at speeds between 60-70 as this happened quite often on uneven roads. Did not notify dealer on this directly, notified them on Hyundai (E-mail to me) on vehicle satisfactory suggestion report.
- Fontana, CA, USA
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Driving on freeway at speed of approx. 65-70, hit off level pavement on right side on road while braking to slow (for traffic) and brake pedal hardened (pedal hard to press for few seconds) while making clicking sound, but then functioned properly. Felt like front pass wheel. Figured nothing. Months passed, driving in shopping center and going over speed bump at about 5 mph and front wheel made clicking again while braking to slow further and brake pedal hardened again (difficult to press for few seconds) then functioned properly. Took car to dealer for regular maintenance and informed dealer of situation and service rep claimed it was how the ABS system worked and that was all it was, the ABS system working. Told him this problem does not happen when the left wheel is involved hitting or going over bump. First time owned vehicle with ABS but I think the brake pedal is not suppose to harden up while ABS system is functioning as this would limit any braking capacity. Feels like there is a bigger problem and dealer is not taking it seriously. Original owner since 7/31/13, this problem has happened at least 4 times and all seemed to only involve the front passenger wheel.
Car purchased new (limited trim) in December 2012. During winter 2013 (Dec/Jan timefrime), I hit a significant pothole ona local highway on-ramp blowing out the front passenger-side tire. After being towed to a local repair shop (no spare tire supplied), tire was replaced with a new identical tire. Service station called asking for authorization to replace D/S front tire also since it had a side-wall bubble. I declined permission and when I picked up the car brought it to advantage Hyundai for the second tire. On July 11, 2014, I found another sidewall bubble on the D/S front tire and had the same dealer again sell me a new tire. Today 10 days later, another front D/S tire sidewall bubble. No abnormal potholes encountered. Including the blowout, this is four tire failures in 19 months and 25,000 miles. Tires are 17" low profiles and rubber is from hankook. Situation is unsettling. This is a dangerous situation for anyone driving in this vehicle.
I have found that since purchasing my Hyundai Elantra that anytime I hit a pothole or bump that the whole car shifts to the right or left. I went around a corner the other day at a low speed and hit a bump, the whole back end slid to the right. I find this very unsettling. I'm not sure if this is a suspension problem with my vehicle or a vehicle defect in general with this car. I find it unsettling and unsafe that my car cannot handle even the slightest bump without the whole car shifting to one side or the other. Have you had any other complaints about this vehicle? I was not made aware of any issues when purchasing this car but am concerned enough about it to bring this to your attention.
On my way to work I was exiting the highway and I hit a bump. I was taken by surprise as what felt like the rear of the car bounced up abnormally and lurch toward the guard rail. The handling on rough surfaces is awful. This could lead to an accident. I just bought this car used and the engine is noisy which I am told this is the timing chain. I never had a car like this in my long life. The handling really worries me. Sucks!
The first time this happened I had my car for about two weeks. I was driving my 2013 Hyundai Elantra on a rough road and the rear end felt like it was fish tailing. It was a very scary experience. I was driving approx 30-35mph. This happens every time I drive on an uneven surface. I have to hold the steering wheel as tight as possible with both hands and the car still feels uncontrollable. I have taken it to the dealer but they drove it and said that there is nothing wrong with the car. It is so scary that this company will let people drive a car around that is this dangerous. I have three children and it scares me to drive the car with them in it. I have also had problems inter-mentally with the car failing to start. The dash lights come on, the radio and A/C all come on but the engine will not turn over. After several attempts it finally starts. I took the car into the dealer and they said that the car had no problems starting for them. I have had this car for a little over a year now and the problems continue. I bought this car based on the reputation of Hyundai. What a mistake!
When driving on the freeway approx 65 mph and you hit a pothole or uneven road the car sways back and forth like a boat I have new tires and just got it aligned thinking it would help but it still sways and feels like it will jump into the other lane. I had noticed it before but didn't think too much until my son drove it and mentioned something. I have viewed the other complaints about this so I know I am not alone thinking this is unsafe.
Rear of car bounces around when traveling over bumps are speeds as slow as 25 mph. Now at 14,000 miles the rear drivers tire is wearing badly on inside of tire. Car is getting increasingly or unstable at speeds when going over rough roads, rr tracks. Dealer has been rude and uncooperative and tells me to change my driving style. This is a dangerous car for the inexperienced driver, I have to compensate for the defect.
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. While driving over a small bump at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle bounced roughly. The failure occurred for three months. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000. Updated 8/12/14
When you drive over a bump / pot hole / road irregularity the rear end of the car jumps and acts as if it is going to fishtail (like hitting a patch of ice in the wintertime). This occurs at any speed above 25 and get more pronounced the faster you are driving. A quick search of the internet indicates that this is not isolated to just my car.
Continuous issue with control of car when windy or wet roads. Any time I'm on an uneven patch of road or a bump, it's like I lose control of my car. Car wanders out of control on wet road or when windy.
Rental car, Hyundai Elantra 2013, from enterprise. Vehicle unsafe to drive, can lose steering control very easily, which I experienced first hand during rainy conditions. The other drivers in front and behind me did not have any issues with steering, but this vehicle lost control...updated 07/15/14
The car literally rides like a truck, with a very light back end. When going over even slight bumps the ride (suspension) feels like a big hole or very rough road. There are times when the back end does not feel very stable when going of "washboard types of roads". road noise is distinctly loud at times.
Vehicle fishtails and sways when hitting a bump or a seam in the road. This happens every time. Yesterday evening I hit a seam in the road on a curve (dry pavement) and it threw me into the other lane. I'm grateful there was not a car in the other lane it would have caused an accident. Dealership states there is no recall or known issue but this is a very dangerous characteristic of this vehicle and it's going to cause great injury to an owner or passenger. In researching this problem there are many other 2013 Elantra owners experiencing this same issue.
From the day I bought the car home seemed alittle funny how the back of the car shifts around. Thought maybe after a few miles it would go away. The next day my dad took the car out for a drive and noticed the same thing. Now today on the highway was driving back from work and hit a little bump with a very small curve and I thought I would crash into the dividers. The back of the car shifted around alot. Almost lost total control of the car for a good few seconds. Scared the hell out of me. Wondering why Hyundai has not made a recall on this situation. By the way it is not my first time I noticed the car doing this. Was searching around seems like this is a very big problem on the Elantra's. is Hyundai just waiting for a big lawsuit to happen?
While traveling on the interstate, if you hit a bump, the rear end sways. Sometimes it sways so much it feels as if I am not in control of the vehicle. It seems to happen at speeds over 45 mph. The car doesn't feel safe to drive.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brooklyn, NY, USA