1988 HYUNDAI EXCEL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 42 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (15 complaints · 35.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 6
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1987 →
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 ENGINE appears in 15 of 42 owner complaints (35.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 15 complaints, 35.7% of reports ENGINE 15 · 35.7% · 5 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 8 complaints, 19.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 8 · 19.1% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 11.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 11.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 9.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 9.5% STRUCTURE: 2 complaints, 4.8% of reports STRUCTURE 2 · 4.8% · 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 4.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 4.8% · 2 crash reports VISIBILITY: 2 complaints, 4.8% of reports VISIBILITY 2 · 4.8% FUEL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 2.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 1 · 2.4% STEERING: 1 complaints, 2.4% of reports STEERING 1 · 2.4% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 34 complaints, 81.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 · 81.0% · 6 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)
ENGINE 15 35.7% 0 crashes · 5 fires
SEAT BELTS 8 19.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 5 11.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 9.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 2 4.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 4.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 2 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 1 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 81.0% 0 crashes · 6 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 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jun 1989. 1995-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 1995-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1996-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jun 1989 Jul 2005 Recall campaign 89V100000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V100000 Recall campaign 91V225000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V225000 Recall campaign 93V167000 ◆ Recall campaign 93V167000 Recall campaign 94V103000 ◆ Recall campaign 94V103000 Investigation PE90011 ● Investigation PE90011 Investigation EA90021 ● Investigation EA90021 Investigation PE91027 ● Investigation PE91027 Investigation PE91053 ● Investigation PE91053 Investigation EA91024 ● Investigation EA91024 Investigation PE91083 ● Investigation PE91083 Investigation PE91097 ● Investigation PE91097 Investigation EA91039 ● Investigation EA91039 Investigation EA91048 ● Investigation EA91048 Investigation C92001 ● Investigation C92001 Investigation PE94003 ● Investigation PE94003 Investigation PE94043 ● Investigation PE94043
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 11
1995-Q2 Owner reports 4
1995-Q4 Owner reports 4
1996-Q1 Owner reports 5
1996-Q2 Owner reports 5
1996-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 3
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 89V100000
Recall campaign 1 91V225000
Recall campaign 1 93V167000
Recall campaign 1 94V103000
Defect investigation 1 PE90011
Defect investigation 1 EA90021
Defect investigation 1 PE91027
Defect investigation 1 PE91053
Defect investigation 1 EA91024
Defect investigation 1 PE91083
Defect investigation 1 PE91097
Defect investigation 1 EA91039
Defect investigation 1 EA91048
Defect investigation 1 C92001
Defect investigation 1 PE94003
Defect investigation 1 PE94043
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 89V100000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD CAUSE ERRATIC CRUISE CONTROL OPERATION, WHICHCOULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 91V225000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    THE MELTING PLASTIC AIR FILTER CASE MAY LEAD TO A FIREIN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE REED VALVE SUBASSEMBLY WITH ONE WHOSE METAL COMPONENTS ARE FABRICATED FROM CORROSION RESISTANT STAINLESS STEEL.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 93V167000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    SUDDEN STOPS WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING CAN CAUSE VEHICLEOCCUPANTS TO BE THROWN AROUND IN THE CAR, AND CAUSE LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROLWHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    HYUNDAI WILL PERFORM A COST FREE TRANSMISSION OIL CHANGE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 94V103000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    THIS CAN RESULT IN A BURN INJURY TO THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER'S FEET AND LEGS.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE DEFECTIVE VALVE STEMS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 42 complaints · page 1 of 2

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 2026-08-21
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