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.
We bought this Hyundai Elantra new in 2013. So far we have replaced tires 5 times!!!!! This is clearly a defect in manufacturing and unsafe. The size of the rim and tires which are provided by Hyundai should be recalled. Despite all of the complaints out there, there has not been a class action suite. The dealer has no solution and the tire warranty is a joke... It expires just before the next blowout. Hyundai should accept responsibility for this poor design.
My first new car ever, and the third Hyundai I have owned. The rear driver tire blew after I had the car less than a year. I am disabled--had to have it towed. Hyundai refused to do anything and I had to pay for a new tire.
Hyundai is by far the worst car I have ever owned and it happens to be MY first brand new car. I've driven a lot of beaters and I rather deal with them on my own than with Hyundai. This is tire number 4 on my passenger front and rear that have blown on and off the highway. I am so sick and tired of paying for new tires with zero support from Hyundai. They haven't even offered to buy or replace my tires. They also have zero explanation for the cause of the blow outs. I am at my wits end.
I too have had a side wall blow out of a low mileage tire. Had to be towed of course because there is no spare. No offer to repair under warranty. Tires are abominations and I will replace at my cost as well as put in a spare. Never feel safe when on the road.
Whoever thought of these low wall tires and an "inflator" as an accessory? Tires should be top grade in small cars. My bad for trusting Hyundai and the publications who recommend its reliability or commitment to safety. I believe there will be serious accidents due to these tires and the sorry suspension that causes near loss of control when encountering rough pavement.
Unfortunately, once you have bought this type of problem vehicle, you are compelled to either take a huge loss or spend out of pocket to make it safer.
Not long after leasing this vehicle tires blew out on a regular basis. After spending too much time and money on this crap car I handed it down to my son who only drives locally. These are low profile tires that suck and cannot be driven anywhere near a highway. Cant believe Hyundai had the nerve to sell a brand new car with no spare or donut. Cheaping out all the way. Heard all these new cars only come with an air compressor and sealant now. How the hell does that help if you have a blow out!!! Good job Hyundai
- lauradona,
Manalapan, US
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Check review under engine problems. This winter and last winter alone I've had over 20 tire blowouts and one cracked rim, that they raped me on for $750. Insane. They don't give a spare and you have to get towed to a dealer. These tires get bubbles easily and you don't need to even hit a pothole for tire to blow. Suspension sucks, so the low profile tires take the brunt of the roadways....
First flat was out in the country. Took hours to get to a dealer and get replaced. Since then I have had to buy four more of these expensive low profile tires. Hate them. Have never had this trouble with any previous vehicles. Pathetic
This is the 4th tire blowout under similar conditions: regular-size pothole causes rim to destroy the tire. This hasn't happened to any of our cars, past and present. Judging from other listed complaints, Hyundai seems unwilling to respond to this issue. Any ideas for recourse?
My daughter was driving our 2013 Elantra to school and had a blow out at a very low rate of speed. The OEM Hankook Optimo blew and she pulled over immediately. There was no evidence of rim damage and no tire sidewall damage, confirming her story that she pulled over immediately. The tire was non repairable and the replacement cost was quoted to be $153.67. Two hours later, I received a call from the dealer that the rim was cracked and needed to be replaced. I have owned 8 vehicles and several flat tires and I have never had a cracked rim. There was no mechanism that would crack the rim and no other reason than manufacture defect. I have contacted the dealer and Hyundai customer care. I have been offered no assistance and I am responsible for a new tire and a new rim. The retail price of the rim is $399, in addition to the $153 for the new tire.
Purchased 2013 Elantra less than a year ago. Driver side tire blew out on 6/15/14 at 11k miles. Thank God it happened going around a corner at slower speed than highway driving. Another tire on the rear was also blistered and ready to pop - we had to change before driving. Anyway, to make a long story short, neither dealer or tire manufacturer would not take responsibility for this defect and cover under it their warranty. Out of pocket expenses currently at $1600. Had to Purchase 4 Good Year tires (including rim, alignment, strut, etc) since no one is safe driving with tires that came with vehicle (18 yr old daughter is primary driver).
I bought a brand new Hyundai Elantra Limited in January of 2014. As of this date 06/08/2014 I have experienced four tire failures. I have had two blow outs and two tires have gotten bubbles. The tires are way too skinny to absorb any type of potholes. Even a very small pothole will cause failure. I am presently in negotiations with the dealer for a permanent solutions. I feel there needs to be a class action lawsuit against Hyundai to make them fix this problem. Fill free to email me at icon801@hotmail.com
I used to own a 2011 Hyundai Elantra (bought brand new). In 2 years, I had 2 flat tires. This was kind of weird because I never had flat tires on any of my previous vehicles (I have owned a Pontaic Sunbird, a Ford Escort, a Pontiac Fiero, a Chevy Celebrity, and a Jeep Commander). Anyway, I traded in my 2011 for my current 2013 Elantra GT. I really do love the car, but..... I have now had 4 flat tires.
The first occurred this January when I hit a pothole going 25 miles per hour on Lancaster Avenue in Villanova (right side, passenger front tire). I paid $180 for a new tire and alignment not realizing I had purchased the road hazard insurance through my dealer (whoops). Anyway, about 1 week later, I hit a pothole on City Ave in Haverford. Not only did my front passenger side tire blow out, but my rim cracked. I took the car to the dealer, found out I had road hazard insurance, and they replaced the rim and tire for free. About 1 month later, I hit another pothole on interstate 476 - blew out my left side driver-side front tire. Had to get AAA to put tire on, drive to dealer, and they replaced that tire. Approximately 1 week ago I went to get my car inspected and found out that it won't pass because my front passenger side tire has 3 balding spots (one the size of a golf-ball). While this certainly might have been the result of potholes on City Ave again, it just seems completely ridiculous that in 3 years I have had 6 flat tires and 1 broken rim when I have never had any wheel/tires issues before in my life.
I think someone needs to get a lawsuit started here so they can recall these cars and get better rims and tires!
Update on 06/04/14: So this is my 5th tire and 2nd rim on this vehicle in less than 6 months.... I realize the winter was really bad. I know the city of Philadelphia sucks at keeping their roads driveable. But seriously?! I have never had so many damaged, flat, destroyed, etc. tires in my life! No one around me blew out their tires! And the odd thing about this one is that it appears the tire might be OK - it completely came off the rim which is now destroyed. This was a brand new rim, I might add. These nitrogen filled tires are horrible.
Driving on NYS Thruway had a blowout in front left tire. Car does not come with a spare. Had car towed to dealer. Service dept call me next day and says the front right tire had a bubble. I needed to replace two tires. I had 350 miles on the car at the time. I spoke to service manager who did nothing. I also spoke to tire manufacturer and they did nothing. This is obviously defective tires that both Hyundai nor the tire manufacturer wants to warranty.
Flat tire on a 2013 Hyundai Elantra GLS with less than 4000 miles on it. Defective Hankook Optimo Tire went completely flat. Dealership refused to do anything about it, had to pay $124.56 to replace the tire.
Hyundai doesn't give a spare tire or a jack, so if you get a flat tire where there is no cell phone service, be prepared for a long day.
I spoke to Hyundai directly about this, who also did nothing. So far, I am very disappointed with Hyundai and will never recommend their brand every again.
I have a seven month old Hyundai Elantra SE with about 3,000 miles on it: I know, I don't drive that much....However, I am the designated driver for taking the animals to the Vet. On this very hot July morning, (90 degrees by 10:00AM), my daughter and I were taking our GSD Sarge home from the vet. We were cruising along at 55mph when all of a sudden - BOOM!!! This loud explosion came from the right front of the car and then the tire pressure gauge came on. I was able to pull off the road safely and immediately called AAA for a tire change. A very nice Sherriff's Deputy pulled up behind us and offered his assistance. We went into the trunk to find the spare so it would be ready when AAA arrived. Low and behold - NO SPARE - not even a mini- only this contraption that will (possibly?) refill and seal the tire. We were both flummoxed!!
What car doesn't come with a spare???? Well, apparently Hyundai's DON'T! (N.B. - the dealer never informed us of this; but in his defense, I should have asked). The kind Deputy called in to dispatch and had them inform the tow company that this was now a tow, not a tire assist. Remember, it's in the 90's, I have a 115# GSD in the car, and we're STUCK waiting for a tow....While I'm working with AAA, my daughter calls Dad to come and get the dog because the tow guy can't take him in the truck; granted, there is NO ROOM for three adults and a LARGE dog in the cab of a truck.
Now my husband had to leave work, come and get the dog, drive him back to our house and then drive back to work - about a 60 mile round trip! BTW the tow guy was just as surprised as we were that there was no spare in the trunk, and since I had had a blow-out, the pump could not be used on what was left of the tire. The Deputy's K-9 was in his vehicle and was NOT HAPPY that we had our dog out walking around trying to stay cool while waiting for AAA so he made us wait in the car. His dog still wasn't happy, so he left as soon as the tow arrived. In the process of getting the car towed, the tow guy found that the tire wall had blown - no obvious glass, metal, etc. in other words I hadn't driven over something and nobody had taken a pot shot at my tires.
At the shop, the repair man was incredulous that a tire with less than 5,000 miles on it would blow for no obvious reason. Luckily, it was under warranty and I had my car back the next day. If something like this happens again, I would hope that I wouldn't have one of my dogs in the car or worse yet, the cat! I will say that the car handled fairly well after the blow-out, it wasn't as difficult as I had expected.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
We bought this Hyundai Elantra new in 2013. So far we have replaced tires 5 times!!!!! This is clearly a defect in manufacturing and unsafe. The size of the rim and tires which are provided by Hyundai should be recalled. Despite all of the complaints out there, there has not been a class action suite. The dealer has no solution and the tire warranty is a joke... It expires just before the next blowout. Hyundai should accept responsibility for this poor design.
- carmom, Scarsdale, NY, US