2016 Hyundai Elantra

Above average

Owners filed 292 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine. It has been recalled 2 times.

When it fails
020k40k60k90k120k200k
54,964 milesMedian miles at failure

123 complaints record an odometer reading. Failures cluster around 010,000 miles.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine102
120
Unknown or Other39
000
Air Bags26
15114
Power Train16
000
Structure › Body13
111
Service Brakes13
100
Electrical System13
010
Steering11
001
Vehicle Speed Control10
200
Wheels9
000

2 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Air Bags › Frontal › Driver Side › Inflator Module26V307000
Filed May 14, 20263,493 vehiclesHyundai Motor America

Defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra and 2016 Elantra GT vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may rupture during deployment.

Risk. An air bag inflator that ruptures may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or passengers, increasing the risk of injury or death.

Remedy. Dealers will inspect and replace the air bag inflator, as necessary, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 3, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated August, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 300. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 16, 2026.

Latches/Locks/Linkages › Trunk Lid › Latch24V146000
Filed Feb 23, 2024186,588 vehiclesHyundai Motor America

Defect. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."

Risk. A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy. Dealers will replace the trunk latch base sub-assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 5, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 256.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine
Filed Aug 29, 2026NJ

Vehicle stalls while driving which is very dangerous. All dashboard lights go on prior to stalling. No engine light is on. Knocking sound coming from engine. Dealer states engine needs to be replaced. Car has been serviced regularly despite that Hyundai denies engine replacement. The knocking sound that engine does is common between this model and year but mysteriously there has not been engine recalls.

Engine
Filed Aug 29, 2026MA

The motor started to make a ticking noise 5 months earlier. 5 months later at 180,000 miles a borascope finding, reveled all 4 cylinder walls were worn related to cylinder slap. Called Hyundai dealership and was told ithe car is too old and the milage too high for a warranty coverage.

Power Train
Filed Jul 25, 2026NC

P0420 P0441 P0014 P1326 C1260 C1688 C2130 These are the codes that's affecting my car

Engine
Filed Jul 16, 2026OH

Engine burned oil and had knocking sound, despite having regular oil changes. Stalked out while driving took to dealer initial said it was covered by the exerted coverage but ultimately denied. It had 111,000 miles on it. I believe this engine has the same issues as the others.

Engine
Filed Jul 14, 2026SC

The oil light & check engine started flashing. Took it to the auto shop. The mechanic stated that the oil level is very low and the engine has a bad lower-end knock. Removed the oil filter and found metal debris in the oil. No oil leaks were found under the vehicle at all. Oil is being burned out through the exhaust. The vehicle needs an the ngine replacement.

Power Train
Filed Jul 10, 2026FL

Transmission P0731 code. Vehicle will not shift into 1st gear when idle but will stay in 3 or 4 gear. Speedometer would indicate high speed when pressing on accelerator. At traffic light when light turn green car rev but would not shift into gear. Has only 130K miles. Car was towed to dealer and required a new transmission.

Power Train
Filed Jul 8, 2026UT

2016 Hyundai Elantra (75k miles) experiences severe, un-commanded Loss of Propulsive Power and a Severe Drivetrain Instability Hazard. At steady highway speeds, the automatic transmission completely loses hydraulic pressure, slips out of gear, and unexpectedly drops into a temporary "neutral." The engine suddenly revs up to high RPM on its own while losing all forward acceleration. After coasting helplessly, it violently slams back into gear, causing the vehicle to lurch forward. This also happens from a complete stop.The vehicle's OBD-II system fails to illuminate the Check Engine Light or store fault codes during these flares, providing zero warning before a loss of propulsion.This dangerous transmission slipping has occurred intermittently for several years. I repeatedly took it to an authorized Hyundai dealership to address this crash hazard. Because there was no active Check Engine Light, the dealership dismissed my concerns, refused to document it, and sent me away without a diagnosis. Recently, the service department acted in bad faith by misrepresenting my warranty terms (falsely claiming it was only 7 years) and refusing a live-data diagnostic scan. The bad faith dealership was Murdock Hyundai of Murray in [XXX], specifically the service manager Tyler as well as Krateton. The car is a verified vehicle under the Hyundai Nu 1.8L Piston Slap Class Action Settlement (TXXK Campaign). An official safety escalation case is open with Hyundai Motor America under my corporate

Unknown or Other
Filed Jun 25, 2026CA

My driver side window has not been working for almost 3 years now. I have taken it to 4 mechanics and they fix it but only last a couple days. They have all say they can’t really do anything about it since they need an original piece. My AC is another issue I have that I have tried fixing 3 times now. The same issue happens they fix it and it last about a week or so. The longest it has lasted was 2 weeks. The mechanics each say it needs a new compressor and I’ve bought 3 new compressor already. I’m not sure what to do anymore.

Electrical System
Filed Jun 14, 2026FL

The vehicle's security system malfunctioned immediately after service at Parks Hyundai of Gainesville on 05/27/26 for Recall 256 & Campaign P33. The alarm blares & emergency lights flash while I am driving on public roads. This defect first presented in the dealership parking lot upon pickup. This creates a severe safety risk: the high-decibel alarm is a major distraction, the flashing lights confuse other motorists, & the malfunction prevents me from using turn signals, violating safety protocols. I demonstrated this to the service manager on 06/10/26. While the technician acknowledged the defect during a road test & performed a 'cap reset' (documented on the repair order), this attempt failed to resolve the issue. Despite this, the service manager refuses to acknowledge the defect, claiming it is an 'intended feature' of a 2023 recall at a different facility (993). This contradicts the technician's findings & my years of incident-free driving until the work on 05/27/26. The dealership initially omitted my return visit from their records, only acknowledging it after I confronted them in writing. An independent shop confirmed this electrical failure likely stems from P33, but requires proprietary dealer tools to diagnose. Attached video proves the vehicle runs while the alarm blares, confirming no relation to old Campaign 993 logic. Attached Repair Order proves the technician acknowledged the defect & attempted a repair. Despite this, the service manager ignores the documenta

Unknown or Other
Filed Jun 14, 2026TX

The car turns off while driving it without warning or anything. Place where I got it don’t want to fix it

Engine
Filed May 10, 2026NC

Car randomly will not start or will start but have no RPM's. Last year showed a crank shaft sensor code and had it replaced but car is doing it again.

Engine
Filed May 7, 2026GA

Unknown

Unknown or Other
Filed Apr 9, 2026NC

THE BACK DOOR ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOES NOT LATCH PROPERLY. THE DOOR WILL TRY TO CLOSE BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP SLAMMING THE DOOR UNTIL IT WILL FINALLY LATCH. I ONCE DROVE A FEW FEET AND THE DOOR HAD TO BE HELD SHUT. IT FINALLY CLOSED. THE DEALERSHIP WAS CONTACTED LAST YEAR (2025) ONCE I READ ON REDDIT THAT A TSB/EXTENDED WARRANTY WAS ISSUED. BUT I WAS TOLD THAT IT DIDN'T COVER MY VEHICLE AND IF I BROUGHT IT IN, A DIAGNOSTIC FEE AND FEE TO FIX IT WOULD BE CHARGED. SO I DO NOT OPEN THAT DOOR ANYMORE, BUT THAT IS NOT SAFE. I''M AFRAID IT WILL OPEN AT SOME POINT WHILE I AM DRIVING.

Unknown or Other
Filed Mar 28, 2026PA

Car just turns off randomly. This has happened at least 6 times within a month. Once on a highway. Last time it turned off a strange sound was coming out of the car also.

Engine
Filed Feb 15, 2026FL

So I have a suspicion oh a connecting rod, might be a bearing but it’s making a tik tik noise, no other issue than that, no engine light no nothing, been doing it for a while but car still goes great

Unknown or Other
Filed Feb 10, 2026TN

Issue: Hyundai recall denial for paint peeling defect My vehicle qualifies for the Hyundai paint-peeling recall, and the paint deterioration matches the defect described by Hyundai. Despite this, Hyundai has denied my recall repair twice. Approximately 2 1/2 years before the recall was issued, I applied a small touch-up to the affected area to slow the deterioration. This was done solely to protect the vehicle and occurred long before any recall existed. Hyundai is now using that minor touch-up as a reason to deny the recall repair, even though the underlying paint defect was already present. The paint continues to peel and worsen. Hyundai's refusal to honor the recall appears unreasonable and inconsistent with the purpose of a safety/defect recall, especially since the touch-up did not cause the defect and was done years before Hyundai acknowledged the issue. I am requesting that NHTSA review Hyundai's handling of this recall and their denial of legitimate claims.

Unknown or Other
Filed Feb 2, 2026MI

My car turned off while it was in drive. The oil pressure light flashed on for a second then disappeared. The car did not have anything else seem like it is wrong. I was put in dangers way because it turned off right before I was about to turn onto a very busy street and if it had done that in the middle of the street I would have gotten into an accident.

Air Bags
Filed Jan 22, 202653,600 milesNY

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic, who informed the contact of a Manufacturer's Extended Warranty Coverage for the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer for assistance. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 53,600.

Service Brakes
Filed Jan 18, 2026MA

No accident has occurred as of yet (for my case). Ongoing issues with Hyundai left brake bulb and center brake bulb burning out due to over-amperage. These two are on their own 10A circuit separate from the 5A circuit for the right brakelight bulb. It appears that these two bulbs are possibly receiving 15A and therefore burning out prematurely (3 months or less). I recently replaced these two bulbs at the same time, and now my battery is shorted. To keep my battery charged, I need to pull my 15A Brake Lamp fuse while the car is parked. This has now caused my ABS light to come on, as that system relies on the signal from the 15A brake lamp circuit. I suspect that some 15A components (10A+5A) received 20A (15A+5A) and welded shut. I am still looking for it to trace it down, resources are limited and I'm intent on just buying the $35 diagnostics book. Hyundai dealership did not inform me that this fuse was pulled while I drove home from the shop yesterday, creating an unsafe condition. They quoted me $500 to replace a brake lamp relay and the ABS (I'm assuming the whole ABS, but maybe just the control module), I declined. My plan for now, as this car isn't driven much, is to trace it down and find the shorted component. From my research, this is clearly affecting many years of Hyundais and Kias, not just my Elantra and not just my year. In fact, it's SO common that there are facebook groups (such as this one [XXX] ) dedicated to helping owners remedy this defect. I think a recal

Engine
Filed Jan 9, 2026AZ

I received confirmation from my local Hyundai dealership that my 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT is consuming over 1.8 quarts of oil every 1000 miles. The mileage is currently 70k miles. This is not the result of lack of maintenance or neglect but because of Hyundais engine design. I was told by the local dealership that I would need a total engine re build. This was the only option to fix the issue 100%. I was told that if the issue is not fixed it will result in engine failure. Hyundai is not recalling their engines or acknowledging the inherent danger this will cause. I am at my engines will if I cannot afford this repair because Hyundai won’t honor the Powertrain warranty.

20 of 292 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2013
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20262100Routine
202522000Routine
202453100Routine
202398200Routine
2022100510Routine
2021130611Fatalities reported
2020250362Fatalities reported
2019250131Fatalities reported
2018281071Fatalities reported
2017767460Above average
2016 — this page292250Above average
2015261380Above average
20143822152Fatalities reported
20131,3134310High concern
20126524110Above average
2011432580Above average
2010379391Fatalities reported
20092524110Above average
20083147230High concern
20072666130Above average
2006155100Routine
2005137430Routine
2004182520Routine
2003234510Above average
2002342642Fatalities reported
2001315641Fatalities reported
2000197120Routine
1999128220Routine
199855000Routine
1997115301Fatalities reported
1996100332Fatalities reported
1995112150Routine
199476220Routine
199324010Routine
199229040Routine

Compare every Elantra year →

Reading this record

Complaint volume is well above typical for a single model year.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: May 14, 2026. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.