CSR
Check a VIN

Look up

About

Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2018 Hyundai Elantra

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

Owners have filed 282 safety complaints about the 2018 Hyundai Elantra with the US government. Of those, 12 describe a crash, 7 mention a fire, 6 people were injured and 1 death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 140 complaints, 50% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 26,600 miles, the median across the 91 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2018 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

282 complaints on file

282

Complaints

12

Describe a crash

7

Mention fire

6

People injured

1

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.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 140 · 50%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 54 · 19%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 43 · 15%
POWER TRAIN 24 · 9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 19 · 7%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 16 · 6%
STEERING 16 · 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 15 · 5%
STRUCTURE 15 · 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 · 5%
AIR BAGS 12 · 4%
WHEELS 10 · 4%
0 58 115

One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 282.

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 2022 at 50.

56 42 28 14
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2018 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 crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2018 Hyundai ELANTRA, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 4 DR FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 10.7%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

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.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 death · 1 injured

UNKNOWN

NHTSA complaint 11521719. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 15,500 miles

VEHICLE HAD THE RIGHT AWAY AND WAS GOING STRAIGHT AND ANOTHER VEHICLE ROLLED A STOP AND BOTH CARS INTERSECTED.

NHTSA complaint 11197193. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

Had a car accident, airbags did not deploy but the airbag light was on. Insurance inspector said they inflated but did not come out of their housing. The airbags did not deploy upon impact. I attached pictures of the accident to show the airbags did not deploy.

NHTSA complaint 11444671. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

I was in a car accident. I was hit on the passenger rear side and the car spun out of control but none of the airbags deployed. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer but we did reach out to them and are in the process of filling out a questionnaire. The vehicle is currently being assessed in a body shop as we work with the insurance to see the final damages.

NHTSA complaint 11626528. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
Steering keeps locking up steering wheel light light and other lights in my dashboard came on which caused my back camera to stop working took it to dealership got a diagnosis it appeared nothing was wrong which they calibrated it and fixed the problem for a month and it started back to the same problem again called the dealership to see why was this issue happening again I was told I would have to have it diagnosed again because it’s been 30 days which I think it’s crazy because they already know what’s going on from the last time I bought it in it’s like the dealership is stealing from us and just doing quick fixes.

NHTSA complaint 11765538. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
After the car was started, I drove 3 houses over when there was a loud knocking sound and the car just shut off. When trying to restart it wouldn't and the check engine, battery, and oil lights came on. After pushing it out of the road we checked the oil and it was empty. The oil has just been changed less than 2 months ago. Now the engine is seized.

NHTSA complaint 11759098. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
On July 13, 2026, my engine light came on and I don't understand why. My oil change was update and not sure what else can be wrong. So, I went to AutoZone so that can do a diagnostic and they gave me a printout of the problem. Took the vehicle to the shop gave him the printout from AutoZone so that he will know what the problem is. Brought the part and that didn't take the engine light off and I paid $300 for nothing because I am still experiencing the issue. I took it back to the shop and the guy said that I need to replace my engine. I have had the car for about three years and not understanding why the engine needs to be replaced already. Then the passenger seat belt light keeps going

NHTSA complaint 11754355, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
While the car is in drive, it would power off in the middle of driving. Took the car to repair and advised regarding the engine. My safety was at risk because I loss power to operation the car in the middle of traffic, which could have called an accident for myself and others. The problem have been confirmed a repair shop. No, the manufacture stated since my vin # is not included in their recall, it will not be cover but clearly its something wrong with the car. When the engine light came on, I took it to the repair shop and was advised regarding the engine.

NHTSA complaint 11753038. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Since having our car, the check engine light came on several times with us being told we will need an engine replacement. Recently, our car stalled out several times while driving on different occasions leading us to look up the recalls.

NHTSA complaint 11753140. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
On XXX, I dropped off my 2018 Hyundai Elantra (VIN: [XXX]) at Hyundai of Downtown Los Angeles for Service Campaign TXXW. The vehicle was in proper working order with no stalling or drivability concerns. The dealership retained it for 159 days before I retrieved it XXX It has now been in their custody 191 days — more than six times the 30-day limit under Song-Beverly § 1793.2(b). COMPONENT/SYSTEM: The engine NOW stalls completely at every stop. A documented clunk in the passenger front was identified in the dealership's own service report as "clunk noise heard from passenger front." Both conditions developed during the dealership's exclusive custody. Vehicle is at 3850 S Figueroa St, Los

NHTSA complaint 11752283, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Elantra

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 54 1 —
2023 98 2 —
2022 101 5 —
2021 131 5 1
2020 252 3 2
2019 251 1 1
2017 767 4 —
2016 292 2 —
2015 262 3 —
2014 384 2 2
2013 1,314 4 —
2012 653 4 —
2011 433 5 —
2010 379 3 1

Other 2018 Hyundai models

Tucson 397 Sonata 373 Santa FE Sport 321 Santa FE 109 Kona 75 Elantra GT 50 Accent 19 Ioniq Hybrid 13

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