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Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2019 Hyundai Elantra

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

246

Complaints

12

Crashes

3

Fires

4

Injuries

1

Deaths

Owners of the 2019 Hyundai Elantra have filed 246 safety complaints with NHTSA between March 2019 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 128 of them (52%). The typical failure was reported at 50,200 miles, the median across the 56 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose 35% year on year: 50 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 37 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

ENGINE

21V301000 · April 28, 2021

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Elantra, 2019-2021 Kona and Veloster vehicles equipped with 2.0L Nu MPI engines. The piston oil rings may not have been properly heat-treated, which could result in engine damage.
The risk
A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge. In addition, Hyundai will deploy Piston Ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software. Owner notification letters were mailed August 24, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 158,493 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 246.

ENGINE 128 52%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 65 26%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 15%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 10%
POWER TRAIN 11 4%
STEERING 9 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 2%
SEAT BELTS 6 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 4 2%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 44.

2019 2023 2026
2019 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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

STEERING

1 death · fire · crash · towed

TL* THE CONTACT CALLED ON BEHALF OF THE DRIVER OF A 2019 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE DRIVING, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO TREES AND A SMALL ABANDONED HOME. THE VEHICLE BURST INTO FLAMES. THE DRIVER WAS TRAPPED INSIDE THE VEHICLE AND BURNED TO DEATH. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN UNKNOWN LOCATION. THE STATE TROOPER CONTACTED HYUNDAI OF DOTHAN (LOCATED AT 2329 ROSS CLARK CIR, DOTHAN, AL 36301, (334) 699-6416) WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CAUSE OF THE STEERING FAILURE WAS UNKNOWN. THE VIN AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE UNKNOWN.

NHTSA complaint 11197230. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

2 injured · crash

The driver and passenger headlight has been replaced and the bulbs but the headlights keep going out was told it is an electrical problem and contact manufacturer. Also emergency braking did not work in recent accident nor did forward collision warning.

NHTSA complaint 11654195. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash · towed

The brake system of my vehicle failed completely when I was attempting to reduce my speed and exit the freeway. I exited through a red light and hit the light pole at freeway speed. Seconds later the cars to my right hit my car causing it to flip over. People involved in the collision got off to help me flip the car back over and by doing so my wrist broke. I also suffered from extreme whiplash.

NHTSA complaint 11423413. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

1 injured

The component that failed was the pistons in my engine on my 2019 Hyundai Elantra Se which I see is on recall. I understand that my VIN may have been missed or looked over during the recalling systems decision making. I was on my way to work when my engine just shut off in the middle of traffic! Since that happened my anxiety levels has been extremely high! I took my car to the dealership and they confirmed that it was my pistons and to keep checking the recall website because they have seen something like this before. Before the engine cut off there was abosulutly no warning! Date of incident [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11683822. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
About two months ago, I had to replace the camshaft on my vehicle. Then about 3 weeks ago while driving down the road I began to hear a grinding slap near the front right of the vehicle. Then the power died and the vehicle limped into a parking lot. After stopping for about 30 minutes, I was able to restart the vehicle and get it home. The same noise occurred the whole drive. I couldn't start it again, and had it towed to my mechanic. The mechanic's review showed that the engine had seized up despite only being down a quart of oil. The engine was getting plenty of oil to give him confidence that missing oil wasn't the cause of the problem. The vehicle has about 104000 miles on it. To date,

NHTSA complaint 11753489, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The engine failed for my 2019 Hyundai Elantra. We bought it at Atlantic Hyundai dealership. They used a passing recall inspection to clear a defective engine, misdiagnosed the ensuing failure as an oil pan leak, and abandoned me with a vehicle that stalled dangerously in traffic. We brought car to Atlantic Hyundai told them that the car just stopped on the highway in the middle of driving. Our mechanic told me to tell Hyundai the car was rapidly consuming oil. Hyundai said oh no it’s just an oil pan snd we trusted them allowed them to fix it. Several weeks later the car completely stopped in middle of driving on exit ramp. Police came to make sure traffic was diverted so they could help me

NHTSA complaint 11752383, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The car was driving on the highway and out of nowhere the car just stopped in the middle of the highway. I brought it to my mechanic who said the car was rapidly consuming oil and my cars engine was seizing. and he safely brought me and the car to Atlantic Hyundai where I had bought the car to have them diagnose and fix the issue. After several days they diagnosed the issue as a simple oil pan issue and replaced the oil pan and sent me on my way. The same issue with the engine seizing up in the middle of driving on the highway endangering my life and others. I am still terrified thinking of this. We brought car back to Hyundai by tow truck because I was scared to drive it and after 2 weeks

NHTSA complaint 11751244, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
At 86,000 miles After replacing the camshaft and timing chain with a mechanic friend, we turned the engine over and heard the beginning of an engine knock, he said this engine is notorious for knocking and failing before 100000. Kia recalled the exact same engine. However Hyundai did not. I feel this is very unsafe.

NHTSA complaint 11749856. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
While driving vehicle on a highway exit ramp, the engine suddenly failed. There were no warning lights, messages, noises, or other signs before it happened. The vehicle lost power and became undrivable, which was scary and dangerous because I was still on the road near highway traffic. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. The dealership inspected it and said the engine had failed. I was given a repair estimate of about $9,100. I was also told the repair would not be covered under warranty and would not be covered under a recall. I believe this is a serious safety issue because the engine failed without warning while I was driving. If this had happened at a different time or

NHTSA complaint 11748649, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA complaint 11747729. 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 52 1 —
2023 93 2 —
2022 97 5 —
2021 129 5 1
2020 242 3 2
2018 280 0 1
2017 762 4 —
2016 290 2 —
2015 261 3 —
2014 381 2 2
2013 1,310 4 —
2012 651 4 —
2011 432 5 —
2010 379 3 1

Other 2019 Hyundai models

Tucson 371 Santa FE 192 Kona 185 Sonata 157 Kona Electric 54 Veloster 42 Accent 29 Santa FE XL 25

Every Hyundai on this site — 201 vehicles, 276 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

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