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Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2010 Hyundai Accent

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 87 safety complaints about the 2010 Hyundai Accent with the US government. Of those, 4 describe a crash, 4 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the exterior lighting.

The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 17 complaints, 20% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 60,000 miles, the median across the 67 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2009 to January 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

87 complaints on file

87

Complaints

4

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

4

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
SERVICE BRAKES 17 · 20%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 16 · 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 · 14%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 11 · 13%
AIR BAGS 10 · 11%
VISIBILITY 8 · 9%
ENGINE 7 · 8%
STEERING 7 · 8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 · 7%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 5 · 6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 4 · 5%
SUSPENSION 4 · 5%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 87.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2014 at 19.

20 15 10 5
09 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2009 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2010 Hyundai Accent. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

15V566000 · September 8, 2015

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Hyundai Accent vehicles manufactured March 1, 2009, to February 11, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the brake light switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning brake light switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning brake light switch may also prevent the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position.
The risk
Failure to illuminate the brake lights during braking or the inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake switch, free of charge. The recall began on October 21, 2015. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 1-855-671-3059 or by visiting www.HyundaiUSA.com/Campaign131. Hyundai's number for this recall is 131. This recall is an expansion of 13V-113.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 99,500 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 95,400 miles

WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONT-END COLLISION ON FEBRUARY 12, 2016, THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CAR'S HISTORY INDICATED NO PRIOR ACCIDENTS OR AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. THE CAR WAS IN MOTION (55 MPH) AND DRIVING STRAIGHT ON A STATE HIGHWAY. THE OTHER VEHICLE ENTERED AN INTERSECTION WITHOUT LOOKING, AND THE HYUNDAI HIT IT BROADSIDE AT FULL SPEED, AS THERE WAS MINIMAL STOPPING TIME.

NHTSA complaint 10836520. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

1 injured · crash · 75,400 miles

I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20MPH WHEN I HEARD A BREAKING NOISE FROM UNDERNEATH MY 2010 HYUNDAI ACCENT WHEN I LOST STEERING POWER, THE BRAKES DIDN'T WORK AND THE ACCELERATOR AS WELL. THIS CAUSED ME TO LOSE CONTROL OF MY CAR RESULTING IN ME CRASHING INTO ANOTHER PARKED VEHICLE. THANK GOD IT WASN'T ON A HWY GOING 65-70 MPH. I SEE THERE AREN'T ANY RECALLS ON ANY OF THE MENTIONED PROBLEMS. ALSO TO NOTE I HAD TO REPLACE A COIL PACK THAT I READ ANOTHER OWNER HAD PROBLEMS AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND I'M THINKING THERE'S ALSO A PROBLEM WITH THAT TOO. THANKS HYUNDAI FOR NOT KEEPING YOUR CONSUMERS SAFE. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE IN ACCIDENTS CAUSE OF MANUFACTURE DEFECTS BEFORE THEY INVESTIGATE

NHTSA complaint 10626227, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured

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. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed · 101,803 miles

TAKATA RECALL: I WAS DRIVING SLOWLY IN THE RAIN WHEN SOME CARS IN FRONT OF ME STARTED TO STOP. I SLOWED DOWN BUT AS I HIT THE BREAKS THE CAR DIDN'T RESPOND. I PRESSED THE PEDAL MORE AND NOTHING HAPPENED, THEN IT WENT DOWN ALL THE WAY. I MOVED THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT TO PREVENT A CRASH BUT IT STILL HAPPENED. MY CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. MY AIRBAGS DIDN'T GO OFF EITHER AND I HAD NO BREAK LIGHT INDICATING THAT MY BREAKS WOULD FAIL OR THAT THEY WERE FAULTY.

NHTSA complaint 11235101. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Brake line corrosion and leak on drivers side. Location approximately where drivers door meets passenger door. It appears that all of the brake lines except a one foot section in the above location are coated with a hard rubber for corrosion protection. The one foot section in question however is raw metal which is "protected" on the bottom side by a removable plastic covering. The covering is clearly inadequate as the brake line rusted through, potentially causing a serious accident. I notice that Canada has some recalls on Hyandai vehicles other than the Accent for rusty brake lines.

NHTSA complaint 11583122. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The wiring connection between the blower motor into the hvac resistor is melting. There looks to be burn marks on the plastic female plug that goes into the resistor. I sometimes smell like plastic is burning. I have to keep fan at MAX speed to not use the resistor at all. I believe this could be a fire hazard.

NHTSA complaint 11501208. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Whenever I get gas even when I pump really slow when I go to remove the nozzle gas spurts out. I have had the charcoal cannister replaced as well as replacing the gas cap but it still happens. This is very dangerous since gas is leaking onto the car and area surrounding it.

NHTSA complaint 11476057. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
Last week my airbag red light came on out of no where, no accident led to this.This car has been maintained and any repairs done in a TIMELY FASHION I CALLED HYUNDAI HEADQUARTERS AND SPOKE TO A SUPERVISOR. SHE WENT ON AND ON ABOUT EVERYTHING BUT WHAT I WAS CALLING ABOUT. SHE THEN DEVULGED SOME INTERESTING ISSUES REGARDING MY VEHICLE. FIRST SHE SAID THERE WAS A RECALL. ON MY VEHICLE.I BELIEVE SHE SAID 944, WHICH SHE SAID WAS A RUST ISSUE RECALL ON THE UNDERCARRIGE. SHE THEN WENT ON TO SAY THE PASSENGER SIDE SAFETY was an issue and complaints from other accent owners of airbag light SHE THEN SAID OH I BET THATS WHY YOU AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON . SHE DID ALSO SPkEAK OF MY CAR HAVING SOME SORT OF

NHTSA complaint 11439154, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The air bags randomly stopped working. I was not in a collision or near anything that would have made my air bags deploy or stop working. I have two air bag lights that are staying on to let me know that the airbags are not working. I had a mechanic do a free consultation and he could not find anything wrong with the airbags besides the airbag being faulty.

NHTSA complaint 11436585. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Accent

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2022 17 2 —
2021 16 4 —
2020 12 4 —
2019 31 1 —
2018 19 1 —
2017 68 0 —
2016 101 0 —
2015 70 2 —
2014 79 1 —
2013 141 1 —
2012 153 2 1
2011 38 1 —

Other 2010 Hyundai models

Elantra 379 Sonata 345 Santa FE 259 Veracruz 91 Genesis 88 Elantra Touring 75 Genesis Coupe 68 Tucson 59

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Hyundai on this site — 205 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst