2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 158 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE (32 complaints · 20.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2020 →
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 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE appears in 32 of 158 owner complaints (20.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 32 complaints, 20.3% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 32 · 20.3% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 24 complaints, 15.2% of reports SEAT BELTS 24 · 15.2% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 12.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 · 12.7% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 14 complaints, 8.9% of reports ENGINE 14 · 8.9% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 9 complaints, 5.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 · 5.7% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 7 complaints, 4.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 7 · 4.4% LANE DEPARTURE: 5 complaints, 3.2% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 5 · 3.2% STEERING: 4 complaints, 2.5% of reports STEERING 4 · 2.5% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 3 complaints, 1.9% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 1.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 73 complaints, 46.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 73 · 46.2% · 3 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)
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 32 20.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 24 15.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 12.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 14 8.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 5.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 7 4.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 5 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 4 2.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 1.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 73 46.2% 3 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 Jan 2021. 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2021-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2022-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2022-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 2022-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2023-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2023-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2023-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2024-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2025-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2026-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2026-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2026-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2021 Jul 2026 Investigation RQ22003 ● Investigation RQ22003 Investigation RQ22003 ● Investigation RQ22003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 8
2021-Q4 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 5
2022-Q2 Owner reports 9
2022-Q3 Owner reports 21
2022-Q4 Owner reports 15
2023-Q1 Owner reports 11
2023-Q2 Owner reports 10
2023-Q3 Owner reports 7
2023-Q4 Owner reports 11
2024-Q1 Owner reports 4
2024-Q2 Owner reports 7
2024-Q3 Owner reports 5
2024-Q4 Owner reports 8
2025-Q1 Owner reports 4
2025-Q2 Owner reports 4
2025-Q3 Owner reports 6
2025-Q4 Owner reports 4
2026-Q1 Owner reports 7
2026-Q2 Owner reports 6
2026-Q3 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 RQ22003
Defect investigation 1 RQ22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
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 158 complaints · page 1 of 7

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