Emergency braking, electrical system, and lane departure issues are the major source of reported complaints
The Hyundai Elantra is one of the automaker’s top-selling vehicles. It topped 3 million sales in 2017 and increased this figure by more than another ¾ of a million by early 2023. Hyundai boasts that it offers a “significant value advantage” with a package that incorporates advanced safety technologies. This may be so, but owners whose Elantra airbags, emergency braking, faulty electrics, and Lane Keeping Assist systems malfunction aren’t convinced about the safety element.
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The most common problems owners of the 2023 Hyundai Elantra are complaining about relate to forward collision avoidance (28%), and the sedan’s emergency braking system, and the electrical system (26%). There are also complaints to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) about Lane Keeping Assist and airbag failures.
Other components and systems implicated by owners as being problematic include backover prevention, the engine and engine cooling, fuel/propulsion system, latches/locks/linkages, powertrain, seat belts, steering, structure, tires, vehicle speed control, and various issues involving visibility. A few specific problems include headlight and door lock malfunctions, as well as sunroofs exploding, and rodents eating windshield wiper hoses.
The wiper issue came to the attention of an owner in Florida who found that water wasn’t coming out of the windshield wiper hose. He tried to fill it with water, but it all dripped out. He took the sedan to a Hyundai dealer who said rodents had eaten the hose and charged him $252.43 to replace it.
“I read online (about) many claims against Hyundai for using soy-based products in the engine components that attract rodents. I learned that two of my friends who own Hyundais had similar problems with rodents eating wires and hoses. If it was at night when my windshield was compromised I could have had an accident. Hyundai has turned a defect into a moneymaker. Shame on them! Please help.”
There are also two serious recalls that affect 2023 Hyundai Elantra vehicles.
In July 2023, Hyundai announced an urgent safety recall, NHTSA Campaign Number 23V526000. Identified as a powertrain problem, it warned 52,109 Hyundai owners to park away from structures of any sort due to a vehicle fire risk. The issue was that the electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly might contain damaged electrical components that could cause the pump controller to overheat. By October 29, 2024, the NHTSA reported that 43,654 (83,7%) vehicles had been inspected, and if necessary, repaired. Of the remaining 8,455 vehicles, they had been unable to deliver recall notices to 158 owners and a further 422 had been “removed” (either scrapped, stolen, or exported). This means that there were still 7,875 owners needing to have their vehicles inspected.
NHTSA Campaign Number 22V632000, issued in August 2022, states that hundreds of 2022 and 2023 Elantra vehicles have emblems on the driver’s front airbag that may not have been welded properly. The issue is that if these detach when the airbags deploy, there is a danger that they will strike someone in the car, increasing the risk of injury. By October 29, 2024, 77% of the vehicles had been inspected and the airbag was replaced if it was found to be faulty.
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| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Engine | |
| Power Train | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Vehicle Speed Control | |
| Steering | |
| Air Bags |
Also reported as being forward collision avoidance issues, the Elantra’s emergency braking problem is nothing new. There are many complaints on forums and to the NHTSA about the same issue affecting 2021 and 2022 models. Yet, NHTSA complaints about the 2023 model have been recorded since September 2022, soon after its U.S. launch, and they have continued for two years.
A complaint filed on September 27, 2024, by an owner in California, is one of many. When the Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist feature is set to “Active Assist,” the vehicle “applies automatic emergency brakes when another vehicle passes close by from behind in an adjacent lane.” Although designed to operate when the turn signal is turned on in the direction of the detected vehicle, “the car applies brakes even when the turn signal is off and the vehicle is driving straight within its lane, without changing lanes.”
In another NHTSA complaint, an owner from Arizona states he was “driving at about 40 mph on a city street with no cars in front” of the Elantra. The “car dash flashed red advising (that it was) engaging emergency braking,” which is applied for a couple of seconds. It “then stopped and (the) warning went away.
Another owner from California describes a “false emergency braking” incident that happened when a car from behind was passing. While driving in the left lane at about 43 mph, with no vehicles ahead, he saw a vehicle applying emergency brakes, and a message popped up. “At the same time, there was a small truck passing me from behind in lane 2 at a higher speed than me. It looks like the system is falsely detecting there is a crash from (the) back and applying brakes.“
This owner posted the same complaint on Hyundai-Forums. Another member of the forum responded that “I had the exact same thing happen to me. Reported.” To which the owner from California replied saying that “Hyundai is not willing to take this up. I reported to (the) dealer and Hyundai Care, but no support.”
Electrical system problems are varied and many complaints are combined with issues about other components.
An owner from Georgia complained that the right back and front windows of the Elantra not working. “There are times when all 4 windows do not work and all 4 doors will lock up and cannot be opened from inside or outside. This is a huge safety hazard.” After taking it back to the dealer six times, with no fix, he wrote that he believed the car was a lemon and wanted a buyback. After being “ignored,” he went to another dealer who confirmed that the Elantra was a lemon! About five months later, when he laid the NHTSA complaint, he was still “paying for a car that I can’t even drive.”
“The horn constantly fails and needs to be replaced,” states an owner from Utah. He was told by the local dealership that it is so common for them to fail, they always keep many in stock. “I’ve gone through 2 horns in less than a year. This is complete negligence on Hyundai’s part, as the horn is a critical safety feature of any highway vehicle. They replace it knowing it’s going to fail, completely disregarding the safety of both the operator and nearby car and foot traffic.”
An owner from California states that the Elantra’s “electronic key fobs and Bluelink become deactivated every 12 hours after (the) vehicle is parked.” Between June 2023 and February 2024, this happened 163 times! Dealerships couldn’t recreate the issue and the vehicle battery tests didn’t reflect any issues. To start the vehicle, it had to be manually unlocked and the 12V battery reset. “The vehicle’s security features become deactivated during the lapse in battery/electronic functions.”
Rodents eating wiring is another cause for electrical system complaints.
An owner from Texas states in an NHTSA complaint that on multiple occasions, on highways and urban roads, “the Lane Keeping Assist system has forced me out of my lane.” It is clearly a malfunction because it takes control of the car’s steering wheel “to move me out of the lane while also failing to trigger my Lane Departure Warning. One time, LKA jerked over into a lane of oncoming traffic. Another time it jerked me out of my lane into a near collision with a concrete lane barrier. And another time, the LKA jerked out of the lane almost into a curb.”
The driver of a 2023 Elantra crashed after the Lane Keeping Assist feature failed. The complaint states that while it was activated, “the vehicle independently steered to the right” and crashed into a ditch. “The transmission and other unknown parts were detached from the vehicle,” and it was deemed a total loss. The complaint adds that the Elantra had previously been taken to the dealer “because of failure” and a sensor of some sort was replaced.
An owner from Florida reports 13 “episodes” between February 2 and August 8, 2024, where safety features, including lane departure, failed. “On one occasion the car failed to accelerate in the middle of an intersection, the car did move slowly and (the) operation returned to normal after turning off the car and pressing the 12V reset button. Diagnostic codes found on (the) car APP include both C164286 and C164202 for all 13 episodes. Despite being told this code is ‘for the speed sensor because it saw a voltage drop from the battery system’ the dealer claims there is nothing they can do because they can’t recreate the problem.”
Despite the recall, there are multiple NHTSA complaints about airbags that have malfunctioned, sometimes causing injury.
An owner from Missouri complained to the NHTSA in April 2024 describing how only the steering wheel airbag was deployed in a crash. The driver was traveling at 35 mph when the Elantra was struck on the driver’s side door by a vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign. The impact sent the Elantra careering 50 feet before it came to a complete stop. The car was deemed a total loss. The driver “was transported to an area hospital by EMS and treated for a concussion and non-descript injuries to her shoulders and back.”
An owner from Georgia was rear-ended by an SUV and pushed into a “box commercial truck.” No airbags were deployed and the driver was seriously injured. This vehicle was also deemed a total loss.
When an owner from Connecticut hit a light post at 5-10 mph, it took 10-15 seconds for the airbags to deploy after the impact — and they cracked the windshield. This car was also considered a total loss.
An animal (probably a rodent) was blamed for chewing the wiring harness of an Arizona owner’s Elantra. It reportedly caused an airbag malfunction warning and transmission failure. “My safety was put at risk because the airbag wouldn’t work and the transmission failed while I was driving. The vehicle is being repaired right now with a new harness. Talking with the insurance adjuster, I was informed this was a common issue with this vehicle due to the materials the manufacturer uses. The harness is not properly designed with the proper materials for the environment it is used in.”
If you have recurring problems that make you think your 2023 Hyundai Elantra is a lemon, it’s a good idea to get a lemon lawyer to do an assessment. There’s nothing to stop you from approaching Hyundai yourself, but most times you’ll have more success with a professional doing the negotiations for you. Every year manufacturers like Hyundai replace, buy back, or trade in vehicles to lemon owners. And the law makes Hyundai pay lemon law legal fees.
Lemberg Law is a lemon law firm that has helped many lemon car owners get compensation from automakers because their vehicles were indeed lemons. If you’d like us to assess your
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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2023 elantra sel convenience pkg with 20,600 miles transmission failed, waiting to hear from dealer, as this just happened today.
Purchased a 2023 Hyundai Elantra Sel with convenience pkg New from dealership, at 1023 miles Friday Aug 4 2023 transmission slipping, celebrating, not shifting gears. Huge error screen popped up. Got appt thru carlink for Monday Aug 7th. Was told car needs a new transmission at 1032 miles, as I had to drive it there. Car is less than 6 months old. I feel like I should get a new car, this car is tainted.
Car tire issues. At 600 miles the dealer replace front drivers side tire due to a huge tire bulge. Tonight on way home with zero pot holes sudden boom like a blow out but not flat, got home and bulge again on drivers side front tire as big as a golf ball! I need the car to go to work and although have tire warranty on car appointments at suresky in Goshen NY are a month out – I can’t afford to miss work so I’ll have to replace tire and pay out of pocket. I’ve been driving for 30 years and never ever had this happen with car tires!
Also the stay in lane system barely works. It’s always loosing the lanes. We have a ford escape 2022 and that had it and we never ever have issues. Car drives well but having tons of issues!
I purchased a new Hyundai Elantra in September 2022. At first I liked it but very quickly, my car was breaking by itself for no reason whatsoever. Today, I almost got into a bad accident on a highway. I was driving 60 miles per hour (limit was 65). I was on the left lane. This was a 2 lanes road. Cars were right behind me. A school bus made a right turn from the right lane and my car did break by itself. A pick up truck behind me almost went to the ditch trying to avoid me. I am driving 200 miles a day and this happens at least 3 times a day. Today was the scariest experience with emergency breaking.