2020 Hyundai Elantra Reliability Report

The most common symptom is a grinding, rubbing, or whirring noise from the steering column, mostly at low speed. Shops trace it to the worm shaft, and owners report the repair is not covered for every VIN. More serious reports describe the car pulling sharply left or right, the wheel not turning in a corner, or assist abruptly switching between stiff and loose at 40 to 70 mph. Lane keeping assist is also said to jerk the wheel back and forth. These reports include five crashes, one fire, and two injuries.

High beams that flicker or strobe instead of staying on are the most repeated problem, and some owners say the VIN shows no open recall. One report describes a fire in the passenger headlight assembly while parked. Other complaints cover backup cameras that go blank or flicker, repeated headlight bulb failures, and no-start problems traced to the starter or a loose starter cable. A few describe random stalling with rising engine speed. Separate reports cover forward collision and lane camera failure, and theft.

Theft and break-ins are the most common topic here. Thieves tear open the steering column, and one owner says the anti-theft software update did not prevent the car from being stolen. Other reports repeat problems seen elsewhere: transmission failure with engine speed racing near redline, engine seizure, and stalling on the highway. Additional complaints describe a timing belt snapping twice around 25,000 miles, lane keeping assist failing as the wheel locked up, and a sunroof stuck open. Three crashes, one fire, and four injuries are reported.

Phantom braking is the clearest pattern. The car brakes hard with nothing ahead, and following drivers nearly hit it. Other reports describe a brake pedal that becomes very hard to push, grinding when stopping around 26,000 miles, and wheels locking during light braking in rain, which led to a skid into a curb. One complaint says the forward collision system gave no warning before a crash. Three crashes and two injuries appear in these reports. Dealers often cannot find a fault.

False activations are the main complaint. The system brakes or cuts throttle with no hazard present. Low morning sun is one reported trigger at highway speeds. Cutting the throttle can leave the car stalled mid-turn in an intersection or a parking lot entrance. One report describes the opposite problem, no warning before hitting an object in the road, which ended in a crash. Dealers tend to say the system is working as designed or is simply very sensitive.

Failure to deploy in serious crashes is the pattern. One report describes a driver-side T-bone collision where no bag fired, and another a frontal impact with a tree where neither front bag deployed. A third describes a driver bag that only partly inflated while heavy dark smoke poured from the steering column. All three complaints involve crashes, with four people injured, including concussions and a forearm fracture. The count is small, but each report pairs a crash with injuries.

Only one usable report exists, and it is serious. While the car was cornering at low speed uphill, the driver heard a snap, traction control activated, and the car went out of control and hit a telephone pole. The driver was injured, and no warning light came on beforehand. The second complaint in this category contains no details. Two reports are too few to show a pattern, but this one describes a sudden loss of control.