Sedan, hybrid, FWD/Front-Wheel Drive, built in South Korea. Owner complaints on file from Jan 7, 2023 to Sep 29, 2026.
Owner complaints about this model year, by the year they were filed with NHTSA.
Owner complaints by component. Hover or focus a bar for the crash, fire, injury or death count.
Check a specific vehicle by VIN on NHTSA's site: a campaign may cover only part of a model year's production.
| Campaign | Filed | Subject | Component | Vehicles | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23V-589 | Aug 18, 2023 | Software error in the motor control unit may cause unintended vehicle acceleration after the brake pedal is released | Electrical system | 37,997 | Software update |
The full text of every complaint filed with NHTSA about this model year, newest first. Complaints are filed by owners and are not verified by NHTSA; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
55 complaints on file, page 1 of 3.
The passenger rear tail light started to show condensation and pooling water after a rain. The technician stated it was fine. The passenger rear tail light started to work intermittently and now only the break light works because it is a bulb light not an LED. Replacement requires an entirely new light system put in. Even though it was showing issues before 60,000 miles, they will not honor the warranty because it completely stopped working past the warranty mileage. When attempting to find a replacement, I discovered thousands of rear passenger tail lights with the same issue. This is a manufacturer defect that needs corrected.
NHTSA complaint 11767725I am the original owner of a 2023 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Limited. At approximately 114,719 miles, the vehicle began exhibiting intermittent shaking, rumbling, swaying, wobbling, and lateral instability. The condition is most noticeable at highway speeds and after bumps or other road disturbances, although it has also occurred at lower speeds. At times, the vehicle continues swaying after the initial disturbance has passed. Wind or passing vehicles may amplify the movement, but it also occurs without those factors. Both front lower control arms were replaced. Both front struts were later found bent and replaced. The vehicle has undergone multiple inspections, alignments, balancing attempts, adjustments, and road tests without a satisfactory diagnosis or lasting correction. Rear-suspension concerns included uneven appearance, a rear coil spring that appeared incorrectly oriented, and replacement of the rear-driver strut. The vehicle has also been operated with three Goodyear Reliant 91V tires and one Arroyo 94Y XL tire. The dealership documented differences in sidewall construction and measured circumference between the mismatched tire and the other three. The vehicle was returned with unequal tire pressures, which I documented and corrected to the specified cold pressure of 32 PSI. I gave the dealership descriptions of the driving conditions and multiple suggested diagnostic routes and testing options. I authorized extended road testing, including a technician taking the vehicle home. The dealership adjusted steer-ahead and reset the steering-angle system, but returned the vehicle without identifying the cause of the instability. Immediately after pickup and during subsequent driving to work, daycare, and home, the rumble and occasional sway remained, although less severe. On August 17, 2026, at approximately 120,630 miles, the rumble and intermittent sway remained present. I also noticed an intermittent light metallic rattle and possible passenger-side hum
NHTSA complaint 11757470I am reporting a serious safety issue involving my 2023 Hyundai Elantra. The vehicle experienced a sudden mechanical and/or electrical malfunction that made it unsafe to operate. While driving, the vehicle began displaying warning indicators and experienced abnormal performance consistent with a system malfunction. Hybrid system failed, radar malfunction, blind spot malfunction. I couldn't control the car , while I was exiting the highway XXX and took a excit on [XXX] where the incident was happend. Stering wheel got licked out , braking system got soft , failure notification on my dashboard. I couldn't do anything, stuck on that car , it was trying to go left , n trying to flip over. I had used my full forced to pull it back on the road. Had to find parking spot , let it coast drive and I had to press on the engine start button to stop the car. Due to malfunction caused me the collusion incident, my driver side got scratched on my rims and the tiers The issue raised concerns about potential loss of power and vehicle reliability during operation. This created a significant safety risk, as the failure could occur unexpectedly while driving in traffic, increasing the risk of an accident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint 11733456Got a check hybrid system while driving on a busy road. Car couldn’t accelerate and had to come to a complete stop.
NHTSA complaint 11732109I was performing a low-speed maneuver to reverse-park into my driveway. After making a right turn between my driveway and the driveway of a neighboring townhouse across the street, I came to a complete stop. When I shifted the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle did not reverse as expected and instead unexpectedly accelerated forward. I applied the brake but was unable to stop the vehicle before it traveled forward into the driveway across the street and struck the garage door of a neighboring townhouse. The maneuver was being performed at low speed. Weather conditions were clear, and the driveway surface was dry. The cause of the unexpected acceleration is unknown at this time. No warning lights, messages, or alerts were observed prior to or during the incident. Immediately following the collision, I placed the vehicle into park and applied the parking brake, at which point the vehicle came to rest. Upon impact, the driver-side front airbag deployed. Smoke and a burning odor were observed coming from the deployed airbag. The incident posed a safety risk due to the vehicle’s unexpected forward movement during a low-speed maneuver and resulted in property damage. No injuries were reported. The vehicle remains available for inspection.
NHTSA complaint 11708433The Elantra had less than 15,000 miles on it. I was driving on [XXX] at about 80MPH for about 1 hour. With no warning, while going up over a very large, high bridge/overpass (above a large outlet emptying from the everglades into the Atlantic ocean near Stuart Florida) the power totally died. A warning light came on saying the hybrid system was not functioning instructing me to pull over to the shoulder. This happened just as I crested the top of the overpass. I was able to coast to the bottom of the bridge, cross two lanes with large 18 wheeler vehicles making this challenging and park on the shoulder at the bottom of the bridge. The vehicle was towed to a nearby dealer. Their mechanic determined the "brain" between the hybrid battery and the drivers controls (the gas peddle) had failed, which disabled all power to the wheels. Had I not been cresting the top of the bridge it would have been impossible for me to move to the shoulder. This was an incredibly dangerous scenario that occurred with no warning. This failure of a key electronic component put me at extreme risk of a high speed accident on a very busy turnpike with no control whatsoever of the speed of the vehicle. There should be a redundant "brain" that would take over in this "failure" situation that would provide power at least for a limited time allowing a driver to maneuver to the shoulder. It was a miracle I was not killed. Had I been driving on limited access high speed lanes (as exist in Orlando where I live and my wife frequently drives which has no real shoulders one can safely pull over onto) the situation would have absolutely life threatening. These high speed toll lanes eliminate any ability to actually safely park and exit the car. I traded the car in (warranty covered repairs) the next day for a normal gas powered Hyundai. I will never drive a hybrid again until this type breakdown has been addressed so it can never occur. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint 11685657My 2023 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid has has defective windshield washer nozzles 2 times so far. The factory nozzles clogged and had to be replaced. Then I got replacements installed under warranty by the local dealership. Those are now clogged exactly the same as the originals. The replacement nozzles failed much faster than the factory original equipment parts did. I am only using standard washer fluid. The fluid was tested by the dealership and is normal. Even high pressure compressed air can’t get through the nozzles at all. I am having a second replacement set ordered as of today. I suggest a recall or redesign of these defective nozzles. If you are driving just after it has rained and a passing vehicle hits a puddle and splashes dirty water all over your windshield you have no way to spray it off and clean it, so you can’t see where you are going at all. This is a major safety issue and will definitely cause an accident in such circumstances. It has been raining in my area several days per week for the past couple of months. There is lots of construction and road construction in many areas, so there is lots of dirt/mud after each rain on the roads. This creates a potentially dangerous and possibly life-ending situation if you are driving, get your windshield splashed with muddy water and can’t spray it off to clear it and can’t see where you are going suddenly, while you are on a highway. If you can’t see through the windshield you can’t even see if it is safe to pull off to the side of the road or not. These windshield nozzles need an emergency redesign and recall issued.
NHTSA complaint 11676929The horn has failed four times on my vehicle, and I have owned and maintained it since November 2022. While Hyundai has replaced it under warranty at no charge, I foresee this being a continuing issue.
NHTSA complaint 11668620This vehicle I am driving has going on 24,000 miles only and over the course of the 23,000 miles it started making me do a 12V reset which very scary when you in traffic, have to pull to the side of the road, the car blinks "Check Hybrid System" with the little what looks like a tire pressure monitor system but it is a exclamation point and says "HEV" inside. My vehicle will die while pulling off to the side of the road, I have to park it, and 12V reset it, and start the car up again, in order to get to where I was going. I can not sit in one place. In fact this battery reset happened two times last night on June 18th at a drive thru while waiting for dinner and once while waiting on a pharmacy drive thru line about two weeks ago. All this is idling. I never had a lockout issue with my car where I had to get in with my key and 12V reset it. It's only when the car is on and idling. I'm well aware of Hyundai hybrids having 2 batteries, so it is definitely not the battery controlling my acc, it's controlling my main controls. I have done so much research on my vehicle and just know this will be such a hassle to get replaced although I paid very good money for my vehicle, and the batteries are under warranty. I will have to roll the dead battery into Hyundai's lot so they do something, but even then they think 12V resetting will be a normal thing, not when I'm travelling down the freeway during rush hour. A 12V reset should be there for utmost emergencies, not to be used on a daily basis multiple times a day. Hyundai needs to take ownership and do something about it. Is it an alternator to the battery or is it their lithium ion batteries they use, is it a wire that sucks, they need to do something and get all the hybrids fix because it's not just Elantras, many Tucsons, sonatas, etc. Have the same issue all across the years I have seen to 2020. Very faulty.
NHTSA complaint 11667914During driving, vehicle displayed a system error indicating an issue with the hybrid system. The vehicle then immediately, and without warning, completely shut off and caused the driver to have to manually guide the vehicle to the side of the road without power assistance. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request, however we have taken it to the dealership who have inspected the vehicle but told us they could not find an issue, even though we clearly experienced on. The incident can easily be verified by our insurance company, who had to tow the vehicle. This incident put our safety at risk as it not only caused a sudden vehicle failure which could have further risked accident, but the driver also suffered heat stroke waiting for the tow truck. As stated earlier, the service center at the dealership could not reproduce or confirm the issue and have simply stated that the vehicle should just be driven as is. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. I'd like to further note that this service station and dealership is called Horne Hyundai and is located in Apache Junction, Arizona. They have ignored this issue, gaslighted us, and left us with no option but to report them and this vehicle.
NHTSA complaint 11662138The issue involves the hybrid electric powertrain or electrical control system in my 2023 Hyundai Elantra Limited Hybrid. The vehicle has shut off multiple times while driving, with complete loss of power and propulsion. This poses a serious safety risk, as it happens without warning in the middle of the road. Restarting the car requires shifting into Park and trying multiple times to turn it off, but the vacuole turns back on the first try. I have experienced this issue several times, including twice during a 300-mile highway trip. After each shutdown, the dashboard displays multiple warning lights, including the Check Engine Light, Battery Light, Oil Pressure Light, and Hybrid System Warning (orange car icon). I took a photo immediately after the most recent failure to document these warnings. The vehicle has been inspected three times by two different Hyundai dealerships. Both confirmed the vehicle is under warranty but have not repaired or diagnosed the issue, citing that they cannot replicate it. They have driven it ~200 miles without success. However, they have not pulled ECU data or freeze-frame codes, even though warning lights were active at the time of failure. There are no symptoms or warning messages before the failure — the vehicle shuts off suddenly. The car is available for inspection, and I am in the process of opening a formal case with Hyundai. This is a significant and recurring safety hazard that must be addressed. This issue has an occurred a various speeds including during acceleration and braking. The picture attached is the dashboard after the I indent has occurred and have shifted to park after stopping to try and restart the car to get out of the middle of the road.
NHTSA complaint 11661795The cruise control function ceased to properly function after automatically increasing the speed to 110 mph. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This is a safety risk for myself and for others on the road. If another combination with this fault were to occur (either physically to the driver or to the software), this could lead to an extreme hazard due to the potential for excessive speeds. The first occurrence for this vehicle happened on 4/21/2025; however, additional instances have been reported going back at least a year for other owners of this same model. Initial issue occurred while setting cruise control from 45 mph to 35 mph and then back to 45 mph. The last instance of 45 mph is when the cruise control quickly increased the set speed to 110 mph. The set speed could not be reduced after the issue occurred. This issue is difficult to reproduce, but will always occur after the first instance until the vehicle is restarted. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer. This is a known issue that has occurred for more than a year now. It appears to not be addressed due to the lack of reproducibility. However, when the software issue happens, it is continually reproducible until the vehicle is restarted. No other warning lamps or erroneous events occurred at the time of the software malfunction.
NHTSA complaint 11655984While driving in a parking lot. The car wouldn't accelerate. Kept pressing on the gas pedal but the car wouldn't move. After about 5 seconds the car shut down. I had to place the car on P then press the start button, pressed the brake pedal and then the start button again and the car turned back on
NHTSA complaint 11653347The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the contact became aware that the driver's side headlamp was not functioning. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that condensation had caused damage to the LED headlamps. The contact was informed that the headlamp assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 16,000.
NHTSA complaint 11649220When driving in bad weather the car started to slide when my husband tried to turn the steering wheel and the steering wheel locked not allowing him to turn the car to avoid the curb. My husband has driven in snow for years as he was born in upstate NY and he has never had a vehicle lock when sliding.
NHTSA complaint 11647994UNKNOWN I had the lane assist feature on and was taking the second lane from right to turn off to exit when the alarm went off, the wheel turned itself and it started braking. There was nothing where it was trying to avoid and actually almost had me run into another by turning me left back onto the freeway while trying to stop. It’s never happened to me before and I take that way regularly.
NHTSA complaint 11644933I bought my car April 2023 brand new. I noticed today the horn was not working. I have less that 30k miles on my car. Hyundai is telling me the horn is not included in the warranty. Someone cut me off and I tried to honk my horn to tell them they were close and it didn't work.
NHTSA complaint 11637515For the second time in two years, my horn suddenly stopped working. About 6 months after purchasing the car, the horn began to sound high pitched. Then about three weeks later the horn stopped working, requiring the replacement of the horn. A month later, the horn sounded high pitched again. Hyundai advised me the horn is a "two-horn system" in which a high pitch and low pitch horn produce the horn noise. The low pitch keeps failing. About 4 months after the horn was only sounding a high pitched sound, the horn stopped when I hit the horn to avoid an oncoming driver.
NHTSA complaint 11632327I purchased the car brand new March 2023. I noticed the front driver headlight fogs and has condensation in cool weather. I mentioned to the Dealership and they said it was a known issue but no fix for it. The light was sealed properly. This has been on going since 2023. The condensation has gotten worse and is a safety visability issue.
NHTSA complaint 11628351The horn on my car has completely stopped working. We have checked the fuses, but that is not the issue. A "Google" search reveals that this is a common, and known, issue and happens to the 2023 trim models; not just the Elantra, but others as well.
NHTSA complaint 11628233Technical service bulletins and other notices the manufacturer sent to dealers. A bulletin is not a recall.