1990 HYUNDAI EXCEL — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 38 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (6 complaints · 15.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1989 →
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 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 6 of 38 owner complaints (15.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 15.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 15.8% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports ENGINE: 6 complaints, 15.8% of reports ENGINE 6 · 15.8% · 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 13.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 5 · 13.2% POWER TRAIN: 5 complaints, 13.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 5 · 13.2% VISIBILITY: 4 complaints, 10.5% of reports VISIBILITY 4 · 10.5% WHEELS: 4 complaints, 10.5% of reports WHEELS 4 · 10.5% AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 2.6% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 1 · 2.6% SERVICE BRAKES: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 2.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 33 complaints, 86.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 33 · 86.8% · 3 crash reports 2 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)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 15.8% 1 crashes · 2 fires
ENGINE 6 15.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 5 13.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 5 13.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 4 10.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 4 10.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 2.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 33 86.8% 3 crashes · 2 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 Mar 1990. 1995-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1995-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 1995-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 1990 Jul 2001 Recall campaign 90V053000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V053000 Recall campaign 93V192000 ◆ Recall campaign 93V192000 Investigation PE91053 ● Investigation PE91053 Investigation EA91039 ● Investigation EA91039 Investigation EA92032 ● Investigation EA92032 Investigation PE94043 ● Investigation PE94043 Investigation PE95060 ● Investigation PE95060
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 5
1995-Q2 Owner reports 9
1995-Q3 Owner reports 6
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q3 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 90V053000
Recall campaign 1 93V192000
Defect investigation 1 PE91053
Defect investigation 1 EA91039
Defect investigation 1 EA92032
Defect investigation 1 PE94043
Defect investigation 1 PE95060
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 90V053000

    Report date
    Component:
    WHEELS
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD CAUSE WHEEL BEARING FREEPLAY AND COULD RESULT IN BEARING DAMAGE, AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL THROUGH WHEEL FAILURE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE LOCK WASHER ON EACH FRONT WHEEL AND REPAIR AREA AROUND LOCK WASHER AS NECESSARY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 93V192000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, THE FUEL SPILLAGE CAN RESULTIN A FIRE IF EXPOSED TO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
    Remedy:
    HYUNDAI HAS DEVELOPED AN APPROPRIATE COUNTERMEASURE THAT WILL COMPLY WITH ALL REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS 301.
    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 38 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