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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2012 Hyundai Elantra — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 675 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

675
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
49
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
12
Involved Fire
owner-reported
47
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Hyundai Elantra — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

454 complaints

461 complaints

675 complaints

1,330 complaints

386 complaints

262 complaints

293 complaints

767 complaints

283 complaints

251 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 140 reports
Electrical System 129 reports
Air Bags 128 reports
Service Brakes 100 reports
Steering 90 reports
Unknown Or Other 68 reports
Suspension 51 reports
Electronic Stability Control (esc) 44 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Steering ODI 10938950 12/31/2016

STEERING GETS STICKY OR STUCK. IT'S NOT LIKE IT GETS COMPLETELY STUCK THAT YOU CAN'T TURN THE WHEEL, BUT THERE'S A NOTICEABLE RESISTANCE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT AND WANTING TO CHANGE LANES. LEFT OR RIGHT IT DOES IT BOTH WAYS.

Unknown Or Other ODI 10669240 12/31/2014

CAR WON'T START ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. FOR ABOUT A WEEK STRAIGHT, I WOULD TRY TO START MY CAR IN THE MORNING AND IT WOULD NOT START. ALL LIGHTS COME ON IN THE CAR SO IT'S NOT THE BATTERY. AFTER ABOUT 3 TRIES, CAR STARTS. ALSO HAPPENS WHEN I LEAVE WORK AT LUNCH TIME AFTER IT HAS BEEN JUST SITTING FOR A FEW HOURS. USUALLY IT STARTS AFTER 2 OR 3 TRIES AND TURNING THE KEY ALL THE W…

Engine ODI 11445532 12/30/2021

Car has been properly maintained for years. No accidents or known major issues. Suddenly the car would not start one workday morning. The tow truck driver was unable to start the car; towed car to repair location. Nationally known major service station said the car was low on oil, they filled with 2 quarts. No prior oil problems, no oil or engine idiot light on dashboard was l…

Suspension ODI 10816949 12/30/2015

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE DRIVING OVER A BUMP, TAR, OR ROUGH PAVEMENT, THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE WOULD BECOME UNSTABLE AND SWAY VIOLENTLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE AN ALIGNMENT WAS PERFORMED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. DUE TO THE FAULTY SUSPENSION SYSTEM, THE TIRES WOULD BECOME WORN AT AN ACCELERATED RATE. THE MANUFACTU…

Structure ODI 10490501 12/30/2012

THE FRONT PILLARS CREATE VERY LARGE BLIND SPOTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING. THE REAR VIEW MIRRORS ARE NOT SUFFICIENT. DUE TO THE UPSWEEP DESIGN OF BACK WINDOWS THE REAR PILLARS CREATE LARGE BLIND SPOTS WHEN CHANGING LANES. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS I HAVE ALMOST WRECKED BECAUSE OF THIS. I WILL BE GETTING RID OF THIS CAR DUE TO THE VERY POOR AND DANGEROUS VISIBILITY. *TR

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2012 Hyundai Elantra, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2012 Hyundai Elantra reliable?
Owners have filed 675 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2012 Hyundai Elantra, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Hyundai Elantra years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.