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Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid

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

Owners have filed 29 safety complaints about the 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering back-over prevention.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 11 complaints, 38% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 17,326 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers July 2021 to January 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

29 complaints on file

29

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 · 38%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 10 · 34%
ENGINE 8 · 28%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 17%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 · 14%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 · 10%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 · 10%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 3%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 3%
SUSPENSION 1 · 3%
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 29.

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 12.

16 12 8 4
21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2021 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 2021 Hyundai ELANTRA HYBRID, 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 10.1%
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

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

24V879000 · November 21, 2024

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 226,118 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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:HYBRID MANAGEMENT

44,900 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH during ice and snow, the engine revved, and there was an abnormal sound coming from the Hybrid battery. While turning, the contact stated that the vehicle had unintendedly accelerated. Additionally, the tire pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact believed that the failure was related to the Hybrid battery. The vehicle was driven to the residence, where it remained parked and was not driven since. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,900.

NHTSA complaint 11708400. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The headlights and back lights turn off at random times when the headlights are on the automatic setting. This problem happens very frequently at night, putting my family at risk when the lights go off and cannot see what is ahead of us. In addition to a cop pulling me over for not having my lights on and he asked me if I was playing with the lights since they were going on and off and luckily the cop did not give me a ticket when I explained and he saw the problem (he advised me to get on this website and to make a report). I have reported this problem to the Hyundai dealership for the past 3 years and I don’t even think they take the time to investigate. The dealership just keeps telling

NHTSA complaint 11672296, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Check Hybrid System alarmed in heavy traffic and derated my car and put me in a very dangerous situation.

NHTSA complaint 11671060. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am writing to report a serious and ongoing safety issue with my 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid that remains unresolved despite multiple visits to Hyundai service centers and independent repair shops. I’ve also found numerous consumer discussions online describing nearly identical issues with the same model and newer Elantra Hybrid models, suggesting this may be part of a wider systemic defect. The core issue lies within the vehicle’s hybrid system. Shortly after a recent system/software update performed at a Hyundai dealership, a warning message began appearing at random intervals stating: “Check Hybrid System.” This typically first appears after extended driving — often around 3 hours — but

NHTSA complaint 11661670, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have a safety recall is with a Rear view camera that hasn’t had a solution.

NHTSA complaint 11632655. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Hybrid charging system fails once the vehicle is above 75 mph. After about an hour or two, the vehicle will die on the highway. This is a reoccurring issue putting our safety at risk. The dealership cannot find what the problem is. Online forums show similar issues with dealerships unable to solve the problem.

NHTSA complaint 11624498. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 5 1 —
2023 55 0 —
2022 40 1 —

Other 2021 Hyundai models

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