Complaint volume
271 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Hyundai Elantra Complaints
271 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Hyundai Elantra, grouped by component category.
271 Total complaints
11 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
6 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, unknown or other, air bags. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 11 crash reports, 7 fire reports, 6 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 90 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 41,237 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, unknown or other, air bags?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Hyundai Elantra?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Hyundai Elantra
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Hyundai Elantra complaints?
11 Crash
7 Fire
6 Injury
1 Fatality
20 Towed
6 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Hyundai Elantra complaint categories?
ENGINE 80
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 29
AIR BAGS 8
STEERING 8
STRUCTURE 8
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 7
POWER TRAIN 6
WHEELS 6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 5
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5
271 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2024 | AIR BAGS | I was in a car accident. I was hit on the passenger rear side and the car spun out of control but none of the airbags deployed. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer but we did reach out to them and are in the process of filling out a questionnaire. The vehicle is currently being assessed in a body shop as we work with the insurance to see the final damages. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ENGINE | Engine seized up at 142K miles. Had regular oil changes and maintenance. Connecting rod crank shaft end / bearing blew apart and seized engine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | Engine is knocking cannot find a solution for this problem car stalls wen coming to a stop the car completely powers off , noticing a weird smell now , | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | STEERING | My car's steering wheel is making a weird rubbing noise after driving for a short time on wet roads. It sounds like rubber is being turned against something (ie not metallic-sounding) This occurs whether I am in park, drive, reverse, and occurs when turning the wheel in any direction. No warning lights turn on. Currently, it only occurs after driving on wet roads (it doesn't actually have to be actively raining; just for the roads to be pretty wet from a recent rain). My mechanic did hear it one time when I was able to drive over immediately after it rained, and said it sounded like it was coming from the area of the MDPS, but, was later unable to duplicate it (the sound usually goes away after sitting for 2-3 hours). I've contacted the dealer because there are numerous TSBs out regarding the steering column; however, they said since they can't duplicate it, they will not repair it under warranty or as a courtesy (the jury is out as to whether it is covered under my drive-train warranty, but, as I said, since it's only a TSB, they won't cover it anyway at this point). I am concerned it will get worse and cause me to lose power steering/cause an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | AIR BAGS | Driver airbag light came on. My car has 33,000 miles on it. I live in California and the car is garaged. I think the maker has had airbag recalls on other models | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | ENGINE | Driving on the freeway around 55 MPH the engine would stall. Scared the heck out of me this started around 130000 miles on the car. Fixed a sensor still didn’t fixed the issue did an oil change that seemed to fixed the stalling. Low oil light never came on. So for years after that when the car stalled I did and oil. change. Finally at 183000 the engine gave out. Did my research found out Hyundai knew there was a problem with the engines. On 2019 and 2020 Elantra engines have been recall. 2018 not enough complaints on th engine. There was a knock sensor recall on the car. I never got a recall notice. Sent an email to Hyundai saw that the email was received but no one has responded this was a month ago. Taking my Hyundai to the dealership to see if they’ll do anything for me. My miles are all highway miles. Engine should have lasted longer. Very disappointed that Hyundai has known that the 2.0 liter engines since 2015 has had issue over 500000 cars are effected with this issue but Hyundai doesn’t want to fix the issue. It’ll all about the money for the company producing defected cars even Kia have the same issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the fuel pump. The vehicle was repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V528000 (Fuel System, Gasoline), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,300. The VIN was not available. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 6,300 |
| Sep 2024 | ENGINE | The engine experienced rod bearing failure while driving the vehicle. The vehicle died on the road in a high traffic area, which put me and others at risk as they tried to maneuver around the car and as I tried to get the car off the road. The car had just had the oil changed, and had consistent/regular maintenance. No warning lamps lit up on the dashboard at all until the engine died, at which point the oil indicator lit up. The vehicle has been taken to Hyundai and confirmed to have rod bearing failure, a known issue with engines in Hyundais and Kias. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | See attached document for complaint. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | My husband filed a complaint about the lighting on his Hyundai sonata and I have a Hyundai Elantra that is doing the same thing. Twice now while I’ve been driving at night, my headlights have gone off an and come back on by themselves. They were off about 15 seconds each time. Then this week I had my back break light (the one close to the windshield) and the passenger side headlights go out suddenly. My car is a 2018 Elantra with 70k miles on it. I just got through replacing both headlights about a year ago when my car had 60k miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | While driving vehicle the black nylon fuel line started spraying fuel over the top of the hot engine. At highway speed the passenger compartment filled up with gasoline fumes. Pulled over to open the hood and saw fuel streaming from the fuel line on top of engine. Vehicle was shut down, and AAA towing called to tow vehicle 85 miles from StAugustine Fl, to Gainesville Florida to Hyundai Dealership of Gainesville. The vehicle has been in the shop on [XXX], for repairs. This vehicle only has 44000 miles on it. Hyundai states that they don’t have the fuel line in the USA and had to order the part from Korea. I was stranded 352 miles from my home. I called Hyundai corporate to notify them of this issue with the defective fuel line. They said there is no recall on this part, and not covered under the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. They told me it’s going to cost me $1124.26 for the repair. I almost lost my life potentially being barbecued in this vehicle, not to mention other innocent people getting hurt. I have owned many cars in my lifetime and this is the most dangerous vehicle I ever had. Potential to explode and catch fire while driving on expressway. I think NHTSA should look into this vehicles safety before other innocent people get killed. An extremely dangerous road hazard. Note this vehicle only has 44,000 miles and is maintained properly. Hyundai doesn’t care about safety, and their customers. When I purchased this vehicle they told me how safe it was and the best auto warranty in the world. Please look into this fuel line defect before someone gets severely injured or killed by fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Fuel line on top of engine cracked spraying fuel on top of hot file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/1f/15/4DC59D25-4F9E-41E5-A17E-A14F53B29DE4/IMG_6793.MOV | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ENGINE | Hyundai engine from 2017 and up are not good engines my experience on my 2018 Hyundai engine is the same as what I see 90 percent of Hyundai owners are having regardless of the year there all the same engines it’s burning oil it’s making ticking noise with regular maintenance no neglecting y’all have to understand there are so many ways and possibilities of engine premature failure then it is Maintaining the engine during buliding these engines you have metal particles over tighten the heads the blocks not seating the piston rings properly dirt that can clog up the oil galleys to luberciate the moving parts poor design there’s so many ways to say it’s not a manufacturer defect and they tell us change the oil ok how come I’m having more issues and hearing issues from a engine then the transmission you do more maintenance on a engine then a transmission these transmission are not the problem you are hearing engine problems even when people do maintenance so sounds to me the manufacturer should recall 2018 models as well it’s beyond me for you to skip a year and say that model isn’t having issues it’s definitely happening in 2018 models as well the transmission is fine I never heard or experience and transmission failure in these cars when there are a lot of people complaining about a similar issue in the same model car at that point it has to be a issue manufacturer aspect we’re told as consumers and vehicle owners change your oil that’s it there’s no way I should be dealing with major issues on a simple solution you don’t hear Toyotas breaking down Hondas breaking down with regular maintenance oil changes you hear Hyundais engine all across the board and it is a safety issue going on with these cars not just 2017 2018 engine it’s ticking because lack of lubercation the manufacturer could have left metal particles in the engine could have warped heads over tighten bolts dirt that was already in those engines a bunch of causes poor design I really hope they replace it | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | This has happened a couple of times where in the middle of driving, my car automatically shuts off, I can not turn my steering wheel I can not push the brakes, everything stops working. I have to wait till my car comes to a complete stop on its own, put the car in park, turn off the ignition, turn my keys and start my car again. Then it sometimes acts like there is no power to accelerate when I'm at a full stop. RPMs go crazy, but acceleration doesn't occur. No warnings have ever come up. I received an notice about a recall, but it's for 2019 Elantra and up. Mine is a 2018, but the issues for that recall is the same thing that is happening with my car. This is DANGEROUS and can lead to serious repercussions or even death. Something needs to be done to fix this. I don't not have thousands of dollars to pay for an issue with the manufacturer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | About 4 weeks ago (mid-May) I was driving in stop and go traffic on a major highway. My car is a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, manual transmission. After about 30 minutes of this, the car started to just cut out, the engine cut out when I was changing gears. It did this about 6 times on my drive home. I noticed that when the rev meter got below 1, the engine would just stall out, so I tried to give it gas to keep the revs up. In addition, the engine was making a knocking sound. I took it to my mechanic's the next day and when he heard the sound, he said it needs a new engine. He has had a few customer's with similar issues with their Hyundais. He told me to tow it to the dealer and they would help me get the engine replaced. That same day, I had it towed to a dealer nearby. They charged me $195 for a diagnostic and said it needed new spark plugs and replaced cylinder 1 coil, which they did. ($900) I picked it up, but I could tell it still wasn't right. The mechanic assured me he fixed it. However, they also told me the "check engine" light was on (it wasn't). When I was driving it, it started to stall again when I was changing gears. I brought it back to the dealer, he told me his mechanic had trouble getting it into reverse, there was a problem with the clutch. He would need to "tear down the transmission" for $2,000 and even then, he wouldn't know what the problem was. This just didn't feel right--I got the impression they didn't know what they were doing and that this mechanic couldn't even drive stick. I took it back to my own mechanic who couldn't find the problem. He told me to drive it around and when it makes the sound/cuts off, to bring it back. I drove it home--today--and the knocking sound started after 15 minutes. I recorded it and texted it to my mechanic. He called me and said "it's the engine. the dealership mis-diagnosed your problem and overcharged you." I called a different dealer, got an appointment for next week and must play the $200 diagnostic . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | ENGINE | May 24 2024, while driving on Interstate95 at approx 70mph, I experienced catastrophic engine failure, with metal shards and screws shooting out, oil spewing, and smoke billowing everywhere. Loss of control of vehicle and nearly hit by passersby while trying to guide vehicle to swale. There were absolutely no warning lights or signals, and vehicle had just been serviced at Hyundai dealership at 77k miles (odometer reading 81k at time of incident). Independent mechanic diagnosed engine failure, hole in block, and provided attached photos. Vehicle was towed to Wallace Hyundai, in Ft Pierce, where it awaits dealer mechanical inspection. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | STRUCTURE | The white paint on the vehicle is peeling and bubbling in various areas of the vehicle around the hood, fender and roof | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ENGINE | I am losing engine oil all the time to the point the car engine shut off My engine start losing oil after 2000 miles 1000 miles before oil change [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | I was driving about 45 mph when the car just turned off the first time. I was able to put it in neutral and start it back up to get to the side of the road and it died on me again. I was about 30 feet from my destination at this point so I got it where I was going and turned it off. When I turned it back on it was making a terrible knocking/grinding noise. It didn’t have a drop of oil in it (about a thousand miles after my last oil change mind you) so I put oil in it and started it again and the sound quit. I went to drive it and it died before I could accelerate to a decent speed, got it cranked and rolling again and it slowly got up to 40 mph, but the second I started to slow down again it would die. So I had it towed to my mechanic who at first thought it was because the timing chain had a lot of slack in it, assuming it jumped time so he changed that, but it was still dying. He ended up finding the cause to be the exhaust cam sprocket? I’ve never heard of this before but I do know that ever since I bought the car 3 years ago it never felt like it would get up and go whenever I hit the gas. Since I picked it up from being fixed, this thing zoom zooms everywhere now! But it is still using an ungodly amount of oil between oil changes. | Crash: No Fire: No | 136,000 |
| Apr 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | I had to replace my Cadillac converter twice and it keeps messing up on my car and I have to keep replacing my headlight bulbs on my vehicle. They keep going bad and the vehicle tells me when the headlight bulbs is out, but I don’t replace the headlight bulbs, four times and the catalytic converter three times And my Blindspot detection system and rear across traffic alert system keeps going out on my car and I done replaced it and recalibrated it six times already and there should be recalls for all this on the vehicle and my license plate lights keep blowing out on my car and placed those seven times All this need to be recalled for 2018 Hyundai ELANTRA and there is loud clicking noises from the steering wheel when I turn left to right on 2018 Hyundai ELANTRA that also needs to be recalled that’s a safety issue and I replaced my brakes six times and the rotors on my 2018 Hyundai ELANTRA and this is a big safety issue that needs to be recalled so they can get fixed So the customer owner, don’t have to keep Pay for it | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormally loud popping sound. Two other drivers alerted the contact that flames were coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact checked the rearview mirror and noticed smoke coming from the vehicle's rear end. The steering wheel then seized, and the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine and several other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and exited the vehicle. No injuries were sustained, and no medical attention was received. The flames extinguished themselves. There were no police or fire department reports filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a seized crankshaft and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 224,809. | Crash: No Fire: Yes Towed | 224,809 |
| Apr 2024 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact continuously depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle responded significantly, causing the contact to depress the brake pedal to drive safely. The contact stated that the vehicle would shudder while responding on some occasions. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while driving at various speeds. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the failure recurred, and the vehicle and the steering wheel were shuddering temporarily. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven twice; however, the failure could not be duplicated. Additionally, the vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys, but the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and several cases were filed. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 38,000 |
| Apr 2024 | ENGINE | AT LESS THAN 62,000 MILES THE ENGINE NO LONGER HAS PRESSURE AND THE CAR IS INOPERABLE. VEHICLE BEGAN STALLING 1 WEEK PRIOR TO CAR BECOMING INOPERABLE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | CAR DOESNT REGISTER MAPS WELL FREEZES DASHBOARD GPS LIGHTS FLICKER. KEEPS MAKING NOISE BEEPING REQUESTING PASSENGER PUTS SELT BELT ON WHEN THERES NO ONE THERE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE | ON THE FREEWAY GOING ABOUT 45 MPH TRIED TO SPEED UP AND SWITCH LANES AS I PRESSED THE GAS YOU CAN HEAR THE ACCERATION BUT THE CAR DIDNT INCREASE IN SPEED THE WHOLE DASHBOARD WENT BLANK (BLACK). CAR WAS UNRESPONSIVE. ITS VERY DANGEROUS THAT THE CAR FALFUCTIONS IN CRITICAL CONDITIONS LIKE BEING ON THE FREEWAY. YES I HAVE TOOKEN IT TO HYUNDAI AND THEY NEVER FIND ANYTHING WRONG. ALSO AT TIMES THE CAR WONT EVEN TURN ON. NO TYPE OF WARING LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |