Hyundai Elantra Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability

While driving to work my engine of my Hyundai Elantra Hybrid caught fire. The fire was able to be put out but there are no active recalls currently on my vehicle. All of the safety sensors turned on and off and my car locked and would not move. I couldn't go anywhere it was stopped. I started seeing smoke coming out of the front and opened my hood to find a flame burning to the lower right-hand side of my engine. The flame was small, but I moved away and called 911. The flame grew and went through the hood toward the windshield. The interior was not damaged just the engine. The fire dept was able to neutralize the fire.

While being driven on a residential street, the vehicle suddenly displayed a 'Stop Safely' warning on the dashboard. Upon an attempted restart, the vehicle suffered a total electrical blackout and complete loss of propulsion power while in the middle of a live roadway. All internal and external lights, steering assistance, and power systems failed simultaneously. The vehicle was manufactured in 2025 and has been out of service since March 16th. The dealership (Napleton Downtown Hyundai) is attributing this total system collapse to 'bad fuel' to deny warranty coverage, despite the failure being a catastrophic high-voltage electrical shutdown. This incident created an immediate safety hazard for the driver and other motorists, leaving the vehicle stranded and unresponsive in traffic

The contact rented a 2025 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving 80 MPH with the cruise control activated, the braking system failed to engage, causing the contact to manually depress the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure had occurred three times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 10,308.

The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Elantra from a loaner vehicle program. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact started to choke. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact’s hands became very sticky. While continuing to drive, the contact developed a severe headache, and the contact’s hands started swelling, and there were yellow marks on the fingers, bumps on the forehead, and swollen lips. Due to the symptoms, the contact sought medical attention at an emergency room. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the health-related complications experienced. The contact believed that the vehicle might have been improperly provided with a failing chemical, Xenon gas, which caused the health issues. The contact stated that using the heater caused a chemical reaction, resulting in fumes that were inhaled. The failure mileage was not available.

HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE ----- 2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid (blue trim) The instrument panel showed Hybrid System Failure, and the ENGINE DIED on the freeway at 70 mph. Luckily, I was able to pull to the right shoulder on a busy freeway. I tried restarting the car, but the instrument panel turned off after one second for the first two tries, and then nothing would turn on. I had it towed to Lithia Hyundai of Fresno on February 11, 2025. The car is still at the dealer being diagnosed and repaired for Hybrid System Failure with Total Power Loss. Extremely dangerous to have the engine cut out at 70 mph on a busy freeway.

Dear NHTSA, I am writing to formally report a safety concern regarding my vehicle involved in a car accident on December 19, 2025. Details of the incident: Vehicle Make/Model/Year:Elantra SEL Sport 2025 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): [XXX] Date of Accident: December 19, 2025 Location of Accident: Dec 16,2025. Silver Spring, MD the Takoma Park. City of Takoma Park Police 7500 Maple ave Takoma 20912 Nature of Accident: Rear-end collision; the back of my vehicle was pushed in. Airbags: Did not deploy during the collision. Injuries Sustained: Significant back injury requiring medical attention. Despite the collision, the vehicle’s airbags failed to deploy, which I believe is a safety defect. I am concerned that this poses a serious risk to myself and other passengers. I am requesting that NHTSA: Investigate the potential airbag defect in my vehicle. Determine if there are recalls, safety notices, or manufacturer defects associated with this make and model. Provide guidance on any additional actions I should take regarding safety and potential claims. Attachments: Photos of vehicle damage Accident report / police report XXX Medical documentation of injuries I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Please let me know if you require any additional information. Sincerely, INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Anytime vehicle is over 35mph brakes fail, vehicle has to coast to a lower speed before you can engage braking. When you attempt to brake at the higher speeds, it click click clicks repeatedly while depressed fully, a mild grind and force against foot from pedal once you coast enough it suddenly will make the sounds less then all the sudden brakes work. Called one dealer (Hyundai sherman oaks CA) and as soon as we said brakes don't work over 35mph were hung up on, twice. The exact same words. Then downtown LA Hyundai basically said we don't accept tow one right now which obviously a non braking car won't drive. Hyundai of America is the ones that called downtown and connected us to them aware of the issues and time frame as we had just purchased the car from carvana and it was this way on delivery. Now returning vehicle to carvana since we can't seem to get a dealer to repair even though it has warranty.

Car was operating fine, then when we got on the highway, we noticed the check engine light had come on but were unable to get off the highway. The vehicle then began slowing down despite pressing down on the gas pedal. Vehicle continued to slow to about 15mph and we were hit by another car.

The “consider taking a break” is extremely distracting and this feature is unable to be disabled. Spurious alarms create a distracting, unsafe driving condition, contrary to what it is aiming for.

Excessive vibration starting at 50 MPH. Its so bad that you hand becomes numb after one hour of driving. The vibration and shake gets so bad over 65 MPH that it becomes unless for a long trip. Vibration is happening on a 2025 Hyundai Elantra hybrid blue trim after 2,000 milles on a brand new vehicle purcahsed 2 months ago from Platinum Hyundai in Tracy, CA. Took it back to the same dealer twice for repairs. First they did wheel balance, and second time they did alignment. After both repair they said issue was fixed, but nothing changed, as it continues the same level of vibration over 50 MPH. Issue still presist and now Platinum Hyundai dealership in Tracy, CA says that is normal. If you are having same issue, please file complaints with NHTSA, so maybe they can do a recall on the vehicles. Hyundai Corporation of America is useless, as selling defective vehicles! THIS IS PERFECT EXAMPLE WHY I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT AMERICAN QUALITY MADE VEHICLES, instead of JUNK FROM HYUNDAI!

Component/System Involved: Driver-side rear seat back latch / locking mechanism. The rear seat back would not latch or lock in the upright position. The vehicle and seat are available for inspection upon request. Description of the Incident: During normal use of the vehicle, the driver-side rear seat back unexpectedly moved forward because it was not latched. At the time of the incident, we were not aware that the seat back would not latch or could not be secured in the upright position. The condition was discovered only after the incident occurred. Safety Risk: Because the driver-side rear seat back was not latched, the seat back or attached child seat moved forward and struck a child passenger seated in the rear. This created a serious risk of injury and represents a failure of a safety-related interior component. Confirmation / Reproduction: After the incident, attempts were made to secure the driver-side rear seat back. The seat could not be latched under any condition. A Hyundai dealership later inspected the vehicle, confirmed there was an issue, and ordered parts. A dealer representative stated on video that a component appeared to be missing. Inspections: The vehicle has been inspected by a Hyundai dealership. No collision occurred. The vehicle has not been modified. Warnings or Prior Symptoms: There were no warning lights, messages, or indicators. No prior warning or indication of the seat latch failure was known before the incident. Cause (Best Assessment): UNKNOWN. Based on post-incident inspection and dealer findings, the condition appears consistent with a defective, improperly installed, or missing rear seat latch component from the factory.

The “Consider Taking a Break” notification while driving is incredibly loud and distracting even when on the lowest setting and can repeat up to every 20’ while driving. While it is helpful to take a break on extended trips, it is not reasonable to stop that frequently. On long drives, this alert becomes nothing more than an irritant and distraction. There is no option to disable or silence this warning outside of turning off ALL safety notification sounds.I will probably do that just to avoid this notification, which compromises all of the other safety notification sounds that are far more important (ex. Lane departure, forward collision, and blind spot detection).