2003 HYUNDAI ELANTRA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 231 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: SUSPENSION (51 complaints · 22.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 42
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 33
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2002 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SUSPENSION appears in 51 of 231 owner complaints (22.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. SUSPENSION: 51 complaints, 22.1% of reports SUSPENSION 51 · 22.1% AIR BAGS: 36 complaints, 15.6% of reports AIR BAGS 36 · 15.6% · 25 crash reports STRUCTURE: 22 complaints, 9.5% of reports STRUCTURE 22 · 9.5% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 19 complaints, 8.2% of reports ENGINE 19 · 8.2% · 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 19 complaints, 8.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 19 · 8.2% · 5 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 15 complaints, 6.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 15 · 6.5% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 11 complaints, 4.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 11 · 4.8% STEERING: 11 complaints, 4.8% of reports STEERING 11 · 4.8% · 2 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 8 complaints, 3.5% of reports SEAT BELTS 8 · 3.5% · 3 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 119 complaints, 51.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 119 · 51.5% · 23 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SUSPENSION 51 22.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 36 15.6% 25 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 22 9.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 19 8.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 19 8.2% 5 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 15 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 11 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 11 4.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 8 3.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 119 51.5% 23 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2002. 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2009-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2009-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2010-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2010-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2011-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2014-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Jul 2002 Oct 2023 Investigation PE08017 ● Investigation PE08017 Investigation PE09011 ● Investigation PE09011
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 5
2003-Q2 Owner reports 8
2003-Q3 Owner reports 5
2003-Q4 Owner reports 8
2004-Q1 Owner reports 8
2004-Q2 Owner reports 9
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 7
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 8
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 4
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 4
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q4 Owner reports 9
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 7
2009-Q3 Owner reports 8
2009-Q4 Owner reports 10
2010-Q1 Owner reports 4
2010-Q2 Owner reports 9
2010-Q3 Owner reports 8
2010-Q4 Owner reports 6
2011-Q1 Owner reports 3
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q3 Owner reports 5
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 7
2014-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 4
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
Defect investigation 1 PE08017
Defect investigation 1 PE09011
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 231 complaints · page 1 of 10

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources