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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Hyundai Elantra — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 1,330 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

1,330
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
95
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
31
Involved Fire
owner-reported
68
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

253 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Service Brakes 285 reports
Steering 271 reports
Engine 235 reports
Air Bags 169 reports
Electrical System 155 reports
Unknown Or Other 128 reports
Hydraulic 116 reports
Suspension 99 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Engine ODI 11633166 12/30/2024

The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with piston failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaire…

Suspension ODI 11164059 12/30/2018

'TAKATA RECALL' WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED IF I HIT A SLIGHT BUMP OR IRREGULARITY IN THE ROAD REAR END OF CAR JUMPS AROUND. ON WET OR SLICK ROADS IT IS EVEN WORSE. FROM THE COMPLAINTS I HAVE READ I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM. HYUNDAI NEEDS TO RECALL THESE VEHICLES AND FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE LOSES THEIR LIFE. I NOTICED AN ISSUE WITH STABILITY WHILE DRIVI…

Unknown Or Other ODI 11057678 12/30/2017

FREQUENTLY TIRE SIDE WALLS BULGE AND CRACKS. CANNOT SEE AS THE PROBLEM FOUND INSIDE AND PROBLEM INDICATED BY LOW TIRE PRESSURE WARNING IN DASH BOARD. SERVICE DEALER CONCLUDED TIRE DAMAGES FROM POT HOLES. FIRST TWO DAMAGES OCCURRED AT 11557 AND 13116 MILES. THIRD AND FOURTH TIME DAMAGES TOOK PLACE AT42244 AND 45634 MILES. DURING FIRST TIME FAILURE, CONTACTED HYUNDAI CUSTOM…

Exterior Lighting ODI 10938730 12/30/2016

I AM REPLACING BRAKE LIGHT BULBS A LITTLE TO OFTEN I BELIEVE. AND WHEN I CONTACT HYUNDAI THEY SAID THEIRS NO RECALLS SO MAYBE ITS ELECTRICAL ISSUE THAT THEY HAVEN'T DISCOVERED YET. WELL OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T BE HAPPENING TO MY CAR SO OFTEN. BUT AFTER REPLACING THE BRAKE LIGHT BULBS MAYBE GOING ON 6 TIMES NOW MY FIRST HEADLIGHT SOCKET BURNT OUT I WENT TO AUTO ZONE AND…

Service Brakes ODI 11562575 12/29/2023

The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V651000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were n…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 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 2013 Hyundai Elantra reliable?
Owners have filed 1,330 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 Hyundai Elantra, most often about service brakes. 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.