Hyundai’s Elantra has been duking it out in the compact sedan market against legends like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla for decades. The seventh generation 2021-2026 Hyundai Elantra hit the ground running with the coveted 2021 North American Car of the Year award. Touting features such as a hybrid option, an assortment of high-tech safety technology standard, and even a 276 horsepower sport tuned version it was a tour de force from Hyundai. But pushing how far you can go on a budget sometimes means things slip through the cracks.
The information presented below was collected from NHTSA.gov complaints, recall information, various Facebook groups and online forums plus experience from covering the industry for the last 15 years.
Backup Camera Failure
Rearview cameras have been a mandated safety feature in the United States since 2018, which is why manufacturers take it seriously when they break. In this case a batch of 2021-2022 Hyundai Elantra rearview cameras had circuit boards with solder joints that could fail over time. According to NHTSA recall #24V-879 the solder that holds the integrated signal processor onto the circuit board may have cracked during production and be made worse by the high temperatures generated by the camera itself. Hyundai is swapping out the faulty units at no charge.
Exploding Seat Belt Tensioners
Most people don’t realize that in the event of an accident, there are more things going on than just airbags deploying. Special mechanisms called pre-tensioners cinch the seat belt down tight to keep the occupant safely in place. A common pre-tensioner design uses pyrotechnics to create a tiny gas charge that then causes the tensioning action. In the case of 178,000 2021-2023 Hyundai Elantra and 2021-2022 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid models there was an issue with how the pre-tensioner behaved when triggered. In some cases the pre-tensioner deployment sent small metal fragments into the passenger cabin. To solve the problem NHTSA recall #22V-354 was issued and Hyundai is adding a special cap to the pre-tensioner to better control the gas charge when it is triggered.
Transmission Oil Pump Fire Risk
Underhood fluids that can burn go beyond gasoline and motor oil, but transmission fluid burns pretty well too. Decades ago it wasn’t uncommon for an overheated transmission to puke fluid out of the dipstick and onto the hot exhaust manifold, causing a lot of smoke or even fire. But for the 2023 Elantra and almost the entire rest of the Hyundai vehicle line, the potential culprit is a faulty electric pump. In this case an electric transmission oil pump was found to have a damaged circuit board capacitor. Per NHTSA recall #23V-526 this problem could cause heat to build up to the point of causing a fire. The problem is serious enough that Hyundai says the following: “Owners can continue driving these vehicles; however, Hyundai recommends parking their vehicles outside until the recall remedy is completed.“ In other words, park your Elantra in the driveway if you get a recall letter. The fix is a new electric transmission oil pump and possibly the associated wiring harness installed at the dealership for free.
Unintended Acceleration
Stopping and going only when the driver says to is extremely important. But for nearly 38,000 2021-2023 Hyundai Elantra Hybrids that may not have always been the case.
“While driving in stop and go traffic this morning (02/06/2023), at approximately 8:45 am, my Hyundai Elantra began accelerating on it’s own. I applied the brakes and the car behaved as though I slammed on the brakes.“ – NHTSA ID# 11505880
“The contact stated that on multiple occasions while the vehicle was idling, right before releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle did not immediately accelerate forward while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration.“ – NHTSA ID# 11503853
“On multiple drives the car has “lurched” or accelerated when foot was NOT on the accelerator pedal.” – NHTSA ID #11457937
As explained in NHTSA recall #23V-589 there were incidents after letting off the brake pedal, the vehicle would slowly accelerate on its own. Hyundai states the issue is with the motor control unit suffering a synchronization error between the transmission and drive motor. The foot brake can still stop the car thanks to a built-in override system. A free motor control unit software update from the dealership should fix the problem.
Conclusion
The Hyundai Elantra is still a stylish and generally reliable compact car. While problems can range from annoying to serious, it still offers a way to experience higher class features at a reasonable price. As compared to previous model years, the 2021-2026 Hyundai Elantra has relatively few complaints, showing that Hyundai continues to learn from its past.
