CSR

Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2020 Hyundai Elantra

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

242

Complaints

20

Crashes

6

Fires

15

Injuries

2

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Hyundai Elantra have filed 242 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2019 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 102 of them (42%). The typical failure was reported at 9,174 miles, the median across the 74 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

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

SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT

19V721000 · October 9, 2019

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020 Elantra vehicles. The lower control arm ball joint fasteners may have been insufficiently tightened allowing the ball joint to detach from the lower control arm.
The risk
A detached ball joint can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, tighten the ball joint fasteners, free of charge. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 185.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 744 vehicles across all model years covered

WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS

19V720000 · October 9, 2019

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019 Ioniq Hybrid and 2020 Elantra vehicles. The right-side rear wheel lug nuts may have been insufficiently tightened, allowing the wheel to detach from the vehicle.
The risk
A wheel detaching from the vehicle increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, tighten the lug nuts, free of charge. The recall began November 15, 2019. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-251-0871. Hyundai's number for this recall is 184.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 48 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 242.

ENGINE 102 42%
POWER TRAIN 45 19%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 27 11%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 25 10%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23 10%
STEERING 19 8%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 13 5%
SERVICE BRAKES 13 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 9 4%
STRUCTURE 7 3%
AIR BAGS 5 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2021 at 48.

2019 2021 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.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

2 deaths · 1 injured · crash · towed · 16,500 miles

AT APPROXIMATELY 16,000 ' 17,000 MILES THE CAR STARTED HAVING TECHNICAL AND ELECTRICAL ISSUES. THERE SEEMED TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE REGULAR HEADLIGHTS AND HIGH BEAM SETTING. ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR, THE GLOVE BOX LIGHT, THE OVERHEAD READING LIGHT, AND THE CHARGING PORT FOR CAR ADAPTERS ALL STOPPED WORKING. SHORTLY AFTER THOSE THINGS WENT OUT IN THE VEHICLE, WE WERE IN AN ACCIDENT. WE WERE DRIVING FROM MISSOURI TO CALIFORNIA AND WHILE DRIVING ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY THROUGH KANSAS, THE CAR UNEXPLAINABLY JOLTED TO THE LEFT INTO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION LANE OF TRAVEL. I WAS GOING AROUND 65 MPH WHEN THIS HAPPENED. IT SEEMED THE CAR THEN ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN WITH THE RPMS GOING TO THE RED.

NHTSA complaint 11383011, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

2 injured · fire · crash · towed

Car emitted carbon monoxide into car cabin, causing driver to lose consciousness and crash on highway and burst into flames

NHTSA complaint 11430751. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

2 injured · fire · crash · towed

Car stalled while driving on highway… causing the car to crash. The air bags deployed and me out! The car burst into flames and I was rescued by another motorist

NHTSA complaint 11432397. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed · 7,000 miles

A CAR DARTED INTO MY LANE AT 90 DEGREES. MY RENTAL CAR RIGHT CORNER ENDED UP AGAINST THE OTHER CAR'S LEFT FENDER. THE DRIVER AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY BUT DID START TO INFLATE. A LOT OF DARK GRAY SMOKE ISSUED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN FOR A LONG TIME AFTER THE BAG STARTED TO DEPLOY. THE BAG COVER APPEARED TO EXTEND ABOUT 6" FROM THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE SIDES LOOKED PLEATED, LIKE AN ACCORDION BELLOWS. ALSO SOMETHING HAPPENED UNDER THE DASH AROUND THE PEDALS. I SAW A RECTANGULAR LIGHT COLORED AREA 4-9' TALL AND 10-20" WIDE AS IF A PANEL HAD BLOWN OFF A LOWER AIRBAG BUT NO INFLATION OCCURRED THERE AT ALL. JAN. 22, 2020 ON BON AIR RD, KENTFIELD. NOT SURE IF I WAS ABLE TO BRAKE. PASSENGER SIDE

NHTSA complaint 11310064, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
At 105,000 MI. My car stalled out and the engine stopped. It needs a new cam shaft, timing chain set, cam phaser and timing cover. We also had to replace the Variable valve timing solenoids as the metal melted.

NHTSA complaint 11755778. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
"I was not notified of Campaign 974 and later experienced engine problems/failure. I am requesting review of whether the campaign was completed and whether the failure is related to the condition the campaign was intended to detect. My engine failed while pulling up to a house, stopping, then preparing to move again the car stalled, car stalled, car would not start for several times tried, then started was able to drive for about 10 miles then stalled again and would not start, car has been intermittently working, car has recent and regular oil changes on time with correct oil and still failed now there is metal in the oil per the mechanics there is knocking sort of like ticking sounds -

NHTSA complaint 11753202, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I have a 2020 Hyundai Elantra Limited that was purchased new in December of 2020, has 17,764 miles, and no damage. At the end of May/early June of 2026, the car gave warning messages for the following: check forward collision avoidance assist system, check lane keep assist system, and check high beam assist system. The car was inspected by the dealership, from which it was purchased, on June 29, 2026. The technician report says error codes C1604 and C1606 were found and that the car required replacement of the front camera system at the cost of $1991.49. Front camera failure negates the ability to use the advanced safety features of this car. These features are so important to alert and,

NHTSA complaint 11748184, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
A few weeks ago, I was driving home on a 3-Lane local state route here in NJ from a family outing on a rainy dark evening when a large portion of the body paint from the hood flaked / peeled off and somehow got stuck under the drivers side windshield wiper as they were on during the rain at highway speed. It was a large enough piece (at least 3" wide) , to not only get stuck under the wiper, but create a serious issue for me to see out the windshield where the wiper wouldn't clear my vision out of the windshield. I managed somehow to safely pull to the side of the road and get out to inspect what it was.. I was able to remove the large piece of peeling paint from under the wiper but it did

NHTSA complaint 11746043, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Reporting on 2020 Hyundai Elantra. I have owned since 2023, my car is currently at a Hyundai certified dealership for it's 3rd transmission in the three years I have owned it. All 3 transmission were inspected and then replaced by Hyundai certified technicians. The Safety aspect is the inability to get you vehicle off the highway.

NHTSA complaint 11743760. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Currently, there are 30,564 miles on my vehicle and I am the original owner of the vehicle since early 2021. This is a continuous intermittent problem that can occur at any time when trying to accelerate the vehicle. The vehicle could be moving down the road and you go to accelerate and the RPM's drop dramatically, giving you no power. The same thing has happened when trying to accelerate from a stop. The vehicle would start to accelerate and then all of a sudden the RPM's drop, giving you no power. I have had the vehicle to the dealership for this problem and I am being told that they can't do anything about it because they can't duplicate it. If this happened when it was necessary for me

NHTSA complaint 11742932, 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 52 1
2023 93 2
2022 97 5
2021 129 5 1
2019 246 1 1
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 2020 Hyundai models

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