2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,294 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (219 complaints · 16.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 93
  • Fires 29
  • Injuries 66
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2012 →
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 219 of 1,294 owner complaints (16.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 219 complaints, 16.9% of reports STEERING 219 · 16.9% · 6 crash reports 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 207 complaints, 16.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 207 · 16.0% · 13 crash reports 4 fire reports ENGINE: 154 complaints, 11.9% of reports ENGINE 154 · 11.9% · 3 crash reports 8 fire reports AIR BAGS: 115 complaints, 8.9% of reports AIR BAGS 115 · 8.9% · 29 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 68 complaints, 5.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 68 · 5.3% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 68 complaints, 5.3% of reports SUSPENSION 68 · 5.3% · 2 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 67 complaints, 5.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 67 · 5.2% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports WHEELS: 48 complaints, 3.7% of reports WHEELS 48 · 3.7% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 41 complaints, 3.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 41 · 3.2% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 330 complaints, 25.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 330 · 25.5% · 15 crash reports 12 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 219 16.9% 6 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 207 16.0% 13 crashes · 4 fires
ENGINE 154 11.9% 3 crashes · 8 fires
AIR BAGS 115 8.9% 29 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 68 5.3% 1 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 68 5.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 67 5.2% 1 crashes · 3 fires
WHEELS 48 3.7% 3 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 41 3.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 330 25.5% 15 crashes · 12 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 Apr 2012. 2012-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2013-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2013-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2013-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q1: 33 owner reports 33 2014-Q2: 35 owner reports 35 2014-Q3: 44 owner reports 44 2014-Q4: 26 owner reports 26 2015-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2015-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2015-Q3: 24 owner reports 24 2015-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 2016-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2016-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2016-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2016-Q4: 24 owner reports 24 2017-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2017-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2017-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2017-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2018-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2018-Q2: 32 owner reports 32 2018-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2018-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2019-Q1: 36 owner reports 36 2019-Q2: 33 owner reports 33 2019-Q3: 34 owner reports 34 2019-Q4: 47 owner reports 47 2020-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2020-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2020-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2020-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2021-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2021-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2021-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2021-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2022-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2022-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2022-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2022-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2023-Q1: 19 owner reports 19 2023-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2023-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2023-Q4: 51 owner reports 51 2024-Q1: 71 owner reports 71 2024-Q2: 61 owner reports 61 2024-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2024-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2025-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2025-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2026-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2026-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2026-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Apr 2012 Jul 2026 Investigation EA12008 ● Investigation EA12008 Investigation DP21003 ● Investigation DP21003 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation AQ23002 ● Investigation AQ23002
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2012-Q2 Owner reports 4
2012-Q3 Owner reports 6
2012-Q4 Owner reports 7
2013-Q1 Owner reports 16
2013-Q2 Owner reports 21
2013-Q3 Owner reports 22
2013-Q4 Owner reports 11
2014-Q1 Owner reports 33
2014-Q2 Owner reports 35
2014-Q3 Owner reports 44
2014-Q4 Owner reports 26
2015-Q1 Owner reports 24
2015-Q2 Owner reports 23
2015-Q3 Owner reports 24
2015-Q4 Owner reports 30
2016-Q1 Owner reports 18
2016-Q2 Owner reports 13
2016-Q3 Owner reports 19
2016-Q4 Owner reports 24
2017-Q1 Owner reports 18
2017-Q2 Owner reports 18
2017-Q3 Owner reports 31
2017-Q4 Owner reports 16
2018-Q1 Owner reports 30
2018-Q2 Owner reports 32
2018-Q3 Owner reports 25
2018-Q4 Owner reports 35
2019-Q1 Owner reports 36
2019-Q2 Owner reports 33
2019-Q3 Owner reports 34
2019-Q4 Owner reports 47
2020-Q1 Owner reports 22
2020-Q2 Owner reports 23
2020-Q3 Owner reports 27
2020-Q4 Owner reports 21
2021-Q1 Owner reports 17
2021-Q2 Owner reports 19
2021-Q3 Owner reports 16
2021-Q4 Owner reports 19
2022-Q1 Owner reports 10
2022-Q2 Owner reports 14
2022-Q3 Owner reports 16
2022-Q4 Owner reports 12
2023-Q1 Owner reports 19
2023-Q2 Owner reports 15
2023-Q3 Owner reports 25
2023-Q4 Owner reports 51
2024-Q1 Owner reports 71
2024-Q2 Owner reports 61
2024-Q3 Owner reports 19
2024-Q4 Owner reports 7
2025-Q1 Owner reports 7
2025-Q2 Owner reports 8
2025-Q3 Owner reports 10
2025-Q4 Owner reports 10
2026-Q1 Owner reports 6
2026-Q2 Owner reports 11
2026-Q3 Owner reports 3
Defect investigation 1 EA12008
Defect investigation 1 DP21003
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 AQ23002
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 1,294 complaints · page 1 of 52

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