FaultScore

Worst years for a Hyundai Elantra

Owners have filed 12,072 complaints about the Hyundai Elantra with NHTSA across model years 1992 to 2026. More of them are about the engine & cooling than anything else.

Avoid

2013 Hyundai Elantra

1,862 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly brakes.

Cleanest on record

1993 Hyundai Elantra

39 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Hyundai Elantra year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2026 1 0 0 Wheels
2025 C 31 6 0 4,000 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2024 C 93 11 0 21,000 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2023 C 156 11 0 11,500 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2022 B 142 6 1 23,825 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2021 C 214 11 1 15,500 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2020 D 333 30 11 8,100 Engine & Cooling
2019 C 330 19 5 43,500 Engine & Cooling
2018 D 405 16 12 27,800 Engine & Cooling
2017 D 1,074 58 9 41,000 Engine & Cooling
2016 D 395 30 6 54,128 Engine & Cooling
2015 D 356 45 12 51,100 Engine & Cooling
2014 D 550 58 23 54,000 Engine & Cooling
2013 F 1,862 159 57 44,000 Brakes
2012 F 920 74 15 60,000 Engine & Cooling
2011 D 589 29 11 70,000 Engine & Cooling
2010 D 504 71 17 62,000 Steering
2009 C 319 39 17 78,000 Steering
2008 D 424 57 39 55,409 Steering
2007 D 365 26 19 70,530 Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
2006 C 209 37 0 68,250 Airbags
2005 C 180 43 5 51,500 Airbags
2004 D 209 32 3 31,000 Airbags
2003 D 310 59 1 65,500 Suspension
2002 D 431 80 7 72,000 Suspension
2001 D 445 100 10 69,000 Airbags
2000 D 259 43 2 48,000 Engine & Cooling
1999 C 183 24 4 92,750 Transmission & Drivetrain
1998 B 75 10 0 72,000 Engine & Cooling
1997 C 196 26 0 89,000 Transmission & Drivetrain
1996 B 138 11 4 92,000 Engine & Cooling
1995 C 179 32 5 Airbags
1994 C 110 26 2 Airbags
1993 B 39 2 1 Engine & Cooling
1992 46 1 5 Transmission & Drivetrain

What breaks on a Hyundai Elantra

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Engine & Cooling 1,958 16.2%

Worst in 2017

Airbags 1,362 11.3%

Worst in 2013

Steering 1,145 9.5%

Worst in 2013

Electrical System 1,090 9.0%

Worst in 2013

Brakes 1,079 8.9%

Worst in 2013

Worst in 2017

Worst in 2017

Suspension 618 5.1%

Worst in 2002

Body & Structure 500 4.1%

Worst in 2017

Lights 440 3.6%

Worst in 2013

Worst in 2013

Worst in 2008

Worst in 2007

Worst in 2021

Exactly what failed on a Hyundai Elantra

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Body 347 27.5%
Frontal 248 19.6%
Automatic Transmission 164 13.0%
Sensor/Control Module 88 7.0%
Gasoline 83 6.6%
Front 77 6.1%
Engine 76 6.0%
Warnings 69 5.5%
Control ARM 59 4.7%
Automatic Emergency Braking 53 4.2%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Hyundai Elantra, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Jan 1995 peak 140 Aug 2026

Hyundai Elantra problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Hyundai Elantra

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.