444 of the
2,760 complaints filed about the Hyundai Accent
are about the airbag system —
16% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2007.
While traveling on a public roadway under wet conditions, the vehicle was unable to stop within a safe distance despite brake application, resulting in a rear-end collision with the vehicle ahead. The primary concern is that the airbags did not deploy during the impact, despite significant front-end damage. The collision caused severe deformation of the hood and extensive damage to the front-left area, including the fender, bumper, and headlight assembly, with visible intrusion into the engine compartment. The vehicle was subsequently determined to be a total loss, which raises concerns about whether the airbag system functioned as intended under these impact conditions. Prior to the incident, there were no warning lights, dashboard messages, or other indications of a malfunction. The issue has not been reproduced or evaluated by a dealer or independent service center due to the extent of the damage. The incident was documented by responding law enforcement, and the vehicle has been reported to an insurance carrier. The failure of the airbags to deploy in a collision resulting in severe front-end damage may have increased the risk of injury to the driver. The vehicle is no longer available for inspection.
NHTSA complaint #11741551 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have had this vehicle for 5 years and even replaced the engine in this vehicle for it to end up with the same issue. I take very good care of it and get its maintenance done. But the car is slow to get up to speed and misfires really bad. I replaced the spark plugs in it and they were coated in oil. The airbag sensor will come on indicating it’s not operating properly. Overall a very unreliable vehicle that has multiple issues. It has ended in catastrophic engine failure twice now
NHTSA complaint #11721938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The airbags failed to deploy in my 2012 car accident. I suffered facial injuries from hitting my face on the dashboard. I got a broken nose, c2 neck fracture and skull fracture.
NHTSA complaint #11713337 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Airbag light turned on my dashboard and when I took it to the dealership -regional Hyundai in broken arrow in Oklahoma I was told by the rep that helped me that there is a defect in the passenger airbag and that it would cost me about 1700.00 usd to fix it. If I chose not to fix it then if I get into a car wreck the passenger airbag would deploy, this is a risk hazard for lives and there is no reason why a fairly new car, 2020 should have issues with the airbags. This is a potential risk that passengers should not experience in the case of an unfortunate wreck
NHTSA complaint #11681215 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The passenger seat airbag seat sensor does not work properly. The sensor wiring gets loose making the airbag system not work. It’s a common problem in this make and model. So I don’t understand why it hasn’t been recalled yet.
NHTSA complaint #11672630 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated while the contact's daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact's vehicle was involved in a head-on collision. The contact stated that the oncoming vehicle failed to stop at the stop sign, and resulted in a head-on collision. In addition, the contact stated that it resulted in a five-vehicle crash. The contact's vehicle was severely damaged to the entire front of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact's vehicle was towed to the local tow yard. The paramedics and the police arrived on the scene. A Police Report was filed, however the information was unavailable. There were a total of four occupants in the vehicle. There were two adults seated in the front seats and two minor children seated in the rear seat. All four passengers were transported to the local medical center. All four passengers sustained concussions and received medical treatment. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.
NHTSA complaint #11624719 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated while driving 32–33 MPH, the rear of the vehicle was shaking, and the vehicle stalled. There was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the system needed to be reset. There was an unknown fault with the air bag. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle began to shake, and the driver was able to pull over. There was an abnormal odor of smoke detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the same local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the coil needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred nine days later. While exiting the garage, the vehicle stalled. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 20,000.
NHTSA complaint #11589598 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owned a 2014 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. As a result, the contact's vehicle careened to the shoulder of the roadway and came to a complete stop after colliding with a barrier wall, completely compressing the rear of the vehicle. The air bags did deploy but failed to reach maximum inflation. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact was transported to an area hospital by a relative and was treated for nondescript injuries to her neck and back. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11588568 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This reports a recurring Safety Restraint System (SRS) airbag warning light issue for no apparent reason other than potentially defective components. Please investigate this! Any issues with the SRS system of a vehicle by default puts the safety of the vehicle's passengers at risk. The SRS airbag warning light first turned on randomly in June 2023 and remained on for a few weeks every time the car was on or being driven. (I am the second owner of the car, and this happened a year after purchase; I do not know if the original owners also had issues with this SRS warning light.) This SRS warning light turned itself off randomly a few weeks later. I had scheduled with a Hyundai Service Dept. to diagnose the issue for the price of $184.50 but ended up cancelling since the SRS light turned itself off 2 weeks before my appointment. The rough phone estimate by this Hyundai Service Dept. said that depending on if it is a sensor, control module, or something else, it could cost between $500 to $3000 to resolve. I was told that an issue with the SRS would not be investigated/covered by the manufacturer original warranty. (But SRS is a non-maintainable system so should work properly for the lifetime of the vehicle.) The SRS airbag warning light remained off until on Dec. 22, 2023, when it turned on again randomly. It stayed on again (anytime the car was on or being driven) for a few days then turned off randomly again. The SRS airbag warning light turned on again 1/26/24, then turned off on again on 1/29/24. It turned on AGAIN on 1/30/24 and is still on (2/1/24). This recurring SRS light issue indicates an urgent, underlying issue with the SRS system that has occurred randomly, without warning or reason, to my vehicle and to others with this vehicle according to this NHTSA web site. This SRS warning light issue suggests that the SRS system may not be working properly and could case the airbags to deploy incorrectly, or not deploy when needed, which is unacceptable.
NHTSA complaint #11569397 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The airbag SRS light started to blink on and off and now stays on full time. I took the car to the dealership and they ran diagnostics and got code B1440 and B1774. They stated the entire passenger seat cushion must be replaced with the MAT sensor. This is a common problem per this website and there is no recall issued for some reason. Please investigate this issue as it was a common problem with earlier models 2006 through 2011 and later models are still having the same issue. This is a costly fix and it is suspicious that this sensor failed right after the warranty expired.
NHTSA complaint #11565335 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
October 2017 I purchased a 2017 Hyundai Accent. During my very first month driving this car right bumper clip broke. As I was under warranty took car in complained to the dealership. A tech came out and basically wacked it back in place. So now I notice both left and right sides of bumper are off track. My son is a licensed mechanic. Before I took it back to dealership he had checked and said mom your clip is broke. So he looks back under it again and now BOTH clips are broke. On 9/13/17 go back in. Hyundai notes in my paperwork clips are broke but failed to repair again at a little over 30,000 miles they note it again and failed to repair. This is a safety issue and I feel it should be a recall. The clips are cheap plastic and if it comes off I fear I will be in an accident.I have also been throwing PODS module defect codes and they just keep resetting it.This air light and OCS mat defect has shown up since I first purchased the car. So for 6 years code just keeps getting reset. After calling Hyundai they are FINALLY going to repair it. So my family has been endangered for 6 years. I'm also throwing a catalytic code and that's been going on since a little over 50,000.I called a local Hyundai dealership and was told warrenty only covers a certain part of the converter. I'm at 79,000 and fed mandates say manufacturer must cover it up to 80,000. I don't know what to do and all codes just keep being reset. Car is currently undergoing a fuel consumption test as it's been eating oil like crazy since a little over 50,000.
NHTSA complaint #11561024 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s side air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after a visual inspection of the vehicle, she became aware that the vehicle was leaking oil. The check engine warning light was also illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with failures to the passenger’s side occupant sensor and the catalytic converter. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11557888 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Once my 2015 Hyundai Accent reached 80K the airbag light came on. I took into the dealership for them to look into and found that the passenger side air bag sensor failed and needed replaced. Cost of new sensor was $1000.00. Did some research on the issue and found that air bag sensors are failing on the passenger side for many Hyundai Accent owners. I believe some reported to this very agency. I plan on having the sensor replaced, however wanted to report the issue and the amount of reports on forums and reports to the NHTSA in hopes that it will be recalled so that future Hyundai Accent owners can be aware of the issue and protect their passengers.
NHTSA complaint #11556184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My airbag check engine light kept going on and off for a couple weeks. A diagnostic was done on it at the auto repair shop and they told me the pods module came back with an error. They said with this malfunction none of the airbags will deploy if there's an accident, which is a huge safety risk. They said it will cost $2500 to fix but Hyundai had an airbag recall out where the airbags will not deploy in an accident, it just didn't include 2017 Hyundai Accent. I believe this may be part of a recall, that 2017 may need to be included in the formal recall. I have an appointment scheduled with a Hyundai dealership to get another diagnostic at the end of November but I'm sure they will say the same thing is wrong. I just want to see if 2017's are actually part of the recall and save other people the trouble of driving a faulty car and having to pay over $2000 for an issue that's actually a recall. This is my family's only car and I won't be able to afford to fix this issue right now, so I'm worried about using the car with faulty airbags and risking everyone's life.
NHTSA complaint #11552290 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car facing Air bag light ON few days ago. Mechanical Shop inspect the car the scan shows code B1490 ( PODA ( Passenger Occupant Detecting System) Sensor (Bladder) defect Contact the Hyundai Customer care to check if there is any extend warranty on the this part, they said NO, open case # 21683569
NHTSA complaint #11530698 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owned a 2014 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, another vehicle intersected her lane, causing her to steer to the right and crashed into another vehicle. No air bags were deployed and the front driver-side seat belt failed to retract, causing her to hit her right knee with the dashboard and her chest on the steering wheel. The contact was unable to lift her legs or hip and was taken to the emergency room where by ambulance and sought medical attention. The contact stated the other driver sustained unknown injuries and also sought medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot first and then to the Copart lot. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
NHTSA complaint #11519969 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.