2009 HYUNDAI ELANTRA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 246 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (124 complaints · 50.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 27
  • Fires 11
  • Injuries 22
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2008 →
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 STEERING appears in 124 of 246 owner complaints (50.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 124 complaints, 50.4% of reports STEERING 124 · 50.4% · 4 crash reports AIR BAGS: 29 complaints, 11.8% of reports AIR BAGS 29 · 11.8% · 8 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 18 complaints, 7.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 18 · 7.3% · 1 crash reports 5 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 5.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 5.7% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 13 complaints, 5.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 · 5.3% · 6 crash reports STRUCTURE: 7 complaints, 2.9% of reports STRUCTURE 7 · 2.9% · 3 crash reports ENGINE: 6 complaints, 2.4% of reports ENGINE 6 · 2.4% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 2.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 2.4% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 4 complaints, 1.6% of reports VISIBILITY 4 · 1.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 39 complaints, 15.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 39 · 15.9% · 5 crash reports 5 fire 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)
STEERING 124 50.4% 4 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 29 11.8% 8 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 18 7.3% 1 crashes · 5 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 5.7% 1 crashes · 2 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 5.3% 6 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 7 2.9% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 6 2.4% 1 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 2.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 4 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 39 15.9% 5 crashes · 5 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 2009. 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2013-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2014-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2015-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2015-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2017-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2018-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Jul 2009 Jul 2026 Investigation DP21003 ● Investigation DP21003
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 3
2010-Q2 Owner reports 2
2010-Q3 Owner reports 3
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 3
2011-Q2 Owner reports 2
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q4 Owner reports 3
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 10
2013-Q3 Owner reports 4
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 10
2014-Q3 Owner reports 5
2014-Q4 Owner reports 6
2015-Q1 Owner reports 5
2015-Q2 Owner reports 10
2015-Q3 Owner reports 7
2015-Q4 Owner reports 4
2016-Q1 Owner reports 10
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 3
2016-Q4 Owner reports 6
2017-Q1 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 4
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 4
2018-Q2 Owner reports 4
2018-Q3 Owner reports 8
2018-Q4 Owner reports 7
2019-Q1 Owner reports 4
2019-Q2 Owner reports 4
2019-Q3 Owner reports 10
2019-Q4 Owner reports 5
2020-Q1 Owner reports 4
2020-Q2 Owner reports 3
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 5
2021-Q2 Owner reports 3
2021-Q3 Owner reports 3
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 4
2022-Q3 Owner reports 7
2022-Q4 Owner reports 2
2023-Q1 Owner reports 3
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q3 Owner reports 5
2023-Q4 Owner reports 4
2024-Q1 Owner reports 2
2024-Q2 Owner reports 4
2024-Q3 Owner reports 4
2024-Q4 Owner reports 4
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 2
2026-Q3 Owner reports 3
Defect investigation 1 DP21003
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 246 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