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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.

Owners have filed 251 safety complaints about the 2019 Hyundai Elantra with the US government. Of those, 12 describe a crash, 3 mention a fire, 4 people were injured and 1 death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the engine.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 133 complaints, 53% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 50,400 miles, the median across the 57 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2019 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

251 complaints on file

251

Complaints

12

Describe a crash

3

Mention fire

4

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.

Complaints rose 46% year on year: 51 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 35 in the twelve before.

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
ENGINE 133 · 53%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 65 · 26%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 · 15%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 · 10%
POWER TRAIN 11 · 4%
STEERING 9 · 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7 · 3%
SEAT BELTS 6 · 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 4 · 2%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 · 2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 2%
0 54 108

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 251.

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 2023 at 44.

48 36 24 12
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 2019 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 2019 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.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

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

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.

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
I am reporting that there is not a recall but a factor warranty from the manufacture. Stating that the o ring in the 2019 hyundai elantra was not properly tempered. Which will cause the car to stall, rod bearing to break, and cause the car to set on fire. My report is that my 2019 hyundai elantra with 139,000 miles has did exactly that. O ring was bad and the rod bearing broke. When calling hyundai to report it they claim that my vehicle Vin number doesn't fall under that manufacture recall. Why doesn't it? This is exactly what happen to my car!!! Can anyone please help me. Thanks

NHTSA complaint 11767110. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

120,286 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 35-40 MPH on a bridge, the engine made a loud banging and knocking sound, and the vehicle stalled. The driver shifted into neutral, coasted down the bridge with the engine off, and pulled over to the side of the road. The driver noticed an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence, where the contact's husband performed an oil change and discovered a hole in the side of the engine block. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer, where it was confirmed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000 (Engine); however, the repair was not

NHTSA complaint 11762242, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
2019 Hyundai Elantra with 2.0L Nu MPI engine suffered catastrophic engine failure at approximately 118,530 miles. Vehicle is currently at the [XXX] Hyundai dealership. Vehicle appears to fall within the exact parameters of Hyundai Recall 203/NHTSA 21V-301. Have spoken to the dealership as well as Hyundai corporate and they have refused to either honor their own recall campaign or do a goodwill service to replace the engine, citing my VIN does not fall under their recall campaign, however they have yet to provide any reason, and according to their own campaign 203 recall information my vehicle meets the exact criteria. I am concerned the recall population may exclude vehicles suffering the

NHTSA complaint 11762038, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Car sudden stopped then would not turn on Currently being looked at but for suspected timing chain, VVT, and related parts Others have reported these same issues and other model with same engines have been recalled

NHTSA complaint 11761307. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
On 6/12/26, the engine had a sudden, catastrophic failure that caused a life-threatening hazard on a 2-lane highway in a remote mountain grade with no shoulder. Prior to this incident, the forward collision system had falsely gone off several times in dark or rainy conditions when there was no actual hazard or oncoming traffic on the road, which is very distracting and dangerous. Hyundai is not abiding by the terms of the federal class action lawsuit settlement, refuses to replace the defective engine, and is generally a danger to the public. What is the NHTSA going to do the next time a Hyundai catches fire and causes a catastrophic disaster in Southern California? I was fortunate the

NHTSA complaint 11758964, quoted in part. 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.

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
2018 282 0 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 2019 Hyundai models

Tucson 380 Santa FE 200 Kona 193 Sonata 161 Kona Electric 54 Veloster 42 Accent 31 Santa FE XL 25

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