2013 Hyundai Elantra
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Service brakes is the leading concern among 1,330 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 26 Elantra model years with reports.
Of the 2013 reports, 95 involved a crash and 31 involved a fire. 68 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideSep 22, 2023
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2015 Elantra, Genesis Coupe, Sonata Hybrid, 2012-2015 Accent, Azera, Veloster, 2013-2015 Elantra Coupe, Santa Fe, 2014-2015 Equus, 2010-2012 Veracruz, 2010-2013 Tucson, 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell, and 2013 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module may leak brake fluid internally and cause an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.
An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS fuse, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 10, 2024 through October 11, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 251.
Campaign 23V651000 on NHTSA.gov
Service brakes, hydraulic, pedals and linkagesNov 30, 2017
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Elantra sedan, coupe and GT vehicles. The brake pedal stopper pad can deteriorate allowing the brake light switch plunger to remain extended when the brake pedal is released. This will allow the brake lights to remain illuminated continuously. It can also allow the shift lever to be moved without depressing the brake pedal, or activate the engine management brake pedal override feature.
If the brake light switch plunger does not retract as it should when the brake pedal is not being pressed, the brake lights may stay illuminated preventing accurate communication to following vehicles that the vehicle is slowing or stopping. Additionally, if the brake switch plunger is not retracted, then the transmission can be shifted out of PARK without depressing the brake pedal. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake pedal stopper pad, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 8, 2018. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 170. This campaign expands recall 16V574.
Campaign 17V769000 on NHTSA.gov
Exterior lighting, brake lights, switchAug 2, 2016
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model 2013 Elantra vehicles manufactured December 1, 2012, to April 30, 2013. The brake pedal stopper pad can deteriorate allowing the brake light switch plunger to remain extended when the brake pedal is released.
If the brake light switch plunger does not retract as it should when the brake pedal is not being pressed, the brake lights may stay illuminated preventing accurate communication to following vehicles that the vehicle is slowing or stopping. Additionally, if the brake switch plunger is not retracted, then the transmission can be shifted out of PARK without depressing the brake pedal. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake pedal stopper pad with an improved part, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on September 30, 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 146.
Campaign 16V574000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, side/windowApr 1, 2013
Hyundai Motor Company is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Elantra vehicles manufactured from November 12, 2010, through March 5, 2013. A support bracket attached to the headliner may become displaced during a side curtain airbag deployment.
If the headliner support bracket makes contact with an occupant during a crash, it may cause a laceration injury.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will apply adhesive strips to the headliner, free of charge. The safety recall began during April 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 109.
Campaign 13V115000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
1,330 reports, newest first.
Electrical system, Engine, May 2, 2023
I dropped my 2013 Hyundai Elantra Limited off on 4/3/23 for an oil change and to diagnosis and repair my engine stalling and engine boggling and repair headlight restoration. When I picked up my car I was told that they found metal shaving in my oil and on the oil dip stick and that I would need a new engine. Might I add, I don't have any lights blinking or remaining on such as my oil, engine, etc. I have kept up with all my maintenance over the years and have had my car service when it was due. While driving my car, it'll lose power and jerk forward. Other times, the car will start up with no RPMs registering while the car is moving up to 60 miles. The car has also displaced the sluggish barely moving forward action when the car's RPMs are not registering. The car back fires and putts along and during a traffic lights or stop sign the car will shut off. It even started shutting off while back-up into my parking space. There is clearly something wrong with these engines and should be covered under the manufacturer warranty. I am still in disbelief about my vehicle and have been getting the run around from a couple different Hyundai dealerships saying my particular engine was discontinued and I should check with the service department to see if my car qualifies for the manufacturer warranty repair but no one will answer the phone so I decided to call another dealership well outside my area for service. This car is by far DANGEROUS to drive and without having any codes generated or light indicators advising me of an engine issue is extremely upsetting. I use my vehicle to take my mother to her many doctor appointments, my grandson to various places and I use the car to get to and from work each day. Well before all of these issues, my break lights and some other lights in the rear continued to blow and had to be replaced and no one said anything about there being an issue and I did not have the appropriate direction to submit an issue.
Engine, Apr 27, 2023
Catastrophic engine failure at 75k miles due to metal shavings in oil. Had a recent oil change, had no engine light come on or any issues beforehand. I was driving on the highway when my 2013 Hyundai Elantra started to not accelerate until stalling. I couldn’t pull over at the time of it starting due to construction blocking off any pull off side lane. Luckily was able to have it roll until a safer area to pull off highway, but if it had stalled completely when it started I would of been stranded on a highway with limited room for cars to go around due to construction. When it did stall out I had to put it in neutral and physically push it into a parking lot after it gave up at a busy 4 way stop light. Towed to shop where they reported issues with the bearings and piston causing metal shavings in oil. Engine replacement required. Called dealership, denied warranty to replace engine.
Vehicle speed control, Apr 20, 2023, crash
The driver owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra with 37,657 miles. While slowly turning left into a parking space, the car had a sudden acceleration event. The Elantra sped into the parking space and ran over two concrete parking spot blocks. The Elantra glanced off a grey pickup truck and scraped by a grey SUV. The Elantra entered the empty parking space opposite the SUV and proceeded to impact the side of a blue car in an adjacent spot. The blue car stopped the Elantra. Fortunately, the other affected vehicles were unoccupied and no pedestrians were present. The driver was wearing a seat belt and was not injured. The Elantra air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to the driver's residence and is available for inspection along with all maintenance records. A claim has been filed with insurance; the appraiser came yesterday. There was no warning or symptoms of a problem prior to the accident. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by anyone. The police came and helped identify the owners of the other vehicles.
Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Engine, Apr 20, 2023
My transmission had to be fixed due to stopping unexpectedly due to gear changing automatically by itself, brakes keep leaking fluid then touching the ground with a tire popping sound underneath , and engine is messing up without warning of any problems with
Steering, Apr 9, 2023
The steering coupler is out
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Apr 8, 2023
Check engine light on. Vehicle jerks while I am driving.
Engine, Apr 5, 2023
I have taken my 2013 Hyundai Elantra to 2 different shops where they have both informed me that the engine knock that is occuring is a known issue with this make and model. Unfortunately, it was brought to my attention that my VIN is not part of that recall. I am hoping to have my vehicle included in recall number TXXM warranty. My vehicle has approximately 92,700 miles on it. Thank you for your consideration Amanda Maldonado 720-876-8289
Visibility/wiper, Apr 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while pulling the front drive side visor back in place the visor could not stay in place. The vehicle dealer was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that the visor had fractured and the visor was replaced. On another occasion the front passenger side visor fracture. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the visor had to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 127,000.
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Mar 27, 2023
I have replaced the lights and battery many times and something keeps draining it. The outside brake lights sometimes stay on. So does the front running lights. The car sometimes wants to stall and when I press on the gas pedal it finally catches but still seems like it is going to shut down. The steering column has a really bad clicking in it and doesn’t seem to be tight anymore.
Service brakes, Hydraulic, Engine and engine cooling, Mar 22, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated the while driving at various speeds, while slowing down, the vehicle consistently lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter sensor needed to be replaced. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V769000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage 145,000.
Steering, Mar 17, 2023
Steering coupling failed. Hyundai is repairing this defective part on other models of the Elantra, but will not on the Elantra Gt. Makes no sense as it is the exact same defective part.
Steering, Mar 14, 2023, crash
The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. The contact's daughter was driving at approximately 70 MPH when she heard an abnormal "pop" sound come from under the floorboards. The contact said that as she was following the road on a right-hand curve the vehicle steering was not responding to her steering correction to follow the turn. The contact said that his daughter lost control and spun the vehicle 180 degrees and crashed into a guard rail. The contact stated that she did not notice any warning lights. The vehicle hit the guard first with the front driver's fender and then the entire driver's side hit the guard rail and all forward momentum stopped. The police arrived on the scene and wrote a report. The daughter had not suffered any injuries, however, the vehicle was undrivable and was towed to a towing lot. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact's insurance provider declared the vehicle a total loss. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V311000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Exterior lighting, Mar 13, 2023
Blinkers hyper flash with head lights off, get stuck on one direction. dont work when head lights are on. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM with this car and it is known but nothing has ever been done.
Steering, Mar 13, 2023
When I turn the wheel there is a loud clunking noise
Steering, Mar 10, 2023
2013 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO LOOSE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN.
Steering, Mar 6, 2023
I own a 2013 hyundai elantra with around 53k miles at the time of making this complaint. My problem was that the steering coupler failed and would cause the steering wheel to make a clunking noise when steering left and right. Also when i go over a bump my steering wheel would vibrate and on top of that my car would sometimes drift slightly left or right which puts me at risk for an accident. thankfully i didn’t get into one. From what i’ve heard this is a common problem with these cars and had the coupler replaced which seems to fix the problem and am upset i had to fork out over 600$ to fix it at a hyundai dealer on the day of March 6 2023 and i was hoping i was covered under a warranty but per the hyundai dealer employee he said i wasn’t covered since the warranty expired. i wasn’t the first original owner of the car so the car is past the 10 year warranty period per the dealer employee, i owned it for about 5 years. wish hyundai would extend the warranty or recall this problem on these trash cars.
Engine, Feb 16, 2023
Vehicle randomly stalls without warning due to a manufacturer defect commonly known as Hyundai piston slap. The car stalled on me on the expressway 4 times on a single trip causing a potentially very dangerous situation. No engine warning lights before or after the stall. The vehicle was inspected by my local Hyundai service shop and the fix is to replace the small block. Hyundai is well aware of this issue with these vehicles.
Other or unspecified, Feb 7, 2023
I purchased this vehicle from Carvana and when diagnostics were done I was told the tire rods are bad and if I drove it itwould be like an accident waiting to happen. I have sat in the car. Never driven it yet. My boyfriend says not safe to drive. I am 68 years old and need a vehicle. Carvana sold this to me like this with other problems too and they are doing a runaround to get it fixed.
Steering, Feb 4, 2023
Something in the steering wheel is messed up. When the wheel is turned even a few centimeters, it makes a loud clicking noise like something is not attached correctly. It causes the car the shake when going over bumps/pot holes.
Engine, Jan 30, 2023
Engine failure diagnosed on 2013 Elantra GT at 47,000 miles. No warning light only a ticking sound and in the original lawsuit however my state does not qualify in Nevada for a replacement. Thousands have failed per the lawsuit yet Hyundai appears to be denying claims left and right and many other types, years and models were excluded based on where you live. The lawsuit was a mere band aid with many loopholes that all Hyundai to deny claims and have customers driving in a vehicle that can stall any minute and cause bodily harm or death. Hyundai is keenly aware and I was told by dealership to have my towed in, but no way they will approve it. I am out of pocket $10,000 cash for a car that likely ends up being sold for scrap. Why on earth is your agency allowing this madness to continue? Every single Hyundai that an engine fails in involved in this lawsuit should be replaced or eligible for a buy back but that is not what is happening.
Power train, Jan 29, 2023
TRANSMISSION stopped running at 100,000 miles
Steering, Jan 27, 2023
Unknown The steering clicks and pulls back unexpectedly. No control on steering wheel works
Exterior lighting, Jan 7, 2023
The vehicle brake lamps, both left/right and center continually burn out. The bulbs burn out every few months. The tail lamps remain lit, but the stop lamps burn out regularly. There seems to be a recurring problems with this make and model. Hyundai must be aware as this safety issue presents a crash hazards. Non functioning brake lamps.
Steering, Jan 4, 2023
2013 Elantra GT steering coupler has broken due to poor design and plastic materials. Dealership stated this has been a common issue in other Elantra and Sonata models and has apparently been covered with an additional 10years on the extended warranty on all models of Elantra except the GT. The broken coupler causes a clicking sound in the steering and eventually leads to the steering locking and can be a serious safety issue. This model should be included in the warranty as it has already been an identified safety issue on other models. No warning lights or notification on the dash, but loose handling on the road and I was told by my mechanic that continued driving and wear and tear would lead to the steering locking up and potential accident in the future.
Steering, Jan 3, 2023
The steering coupler has gone out on the car, resulting in a clicking/clunk noise when moving the steering wheel. Confirmed by two separate independent service centers who were able to replicate the problem and identify the issue. The part costs $13.99 to replace but looking at a cost of over $500 to replace for labor.