2021 Hyundai Elantra
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Forward collision avoidance is the leading concern among 131 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 22nd highest complaint count among 26 Elantra model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 8 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 3 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Back over prevention, sensing system, cameraNov 21, 2024
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.
Campaign 24V879000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, frontMay 19, 2022
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Accent, 2021-2022 Elantra, and 2021-2022 Elantra HEV vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioner(s) with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 28, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 229. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall numbers 21V-796, 22V-069, 22V-218, and 22V-123 for Accent, Elantra, and Elantra HEV vehicles. All Accent, Elantra, and Elantra HEV vehicles already repaired under the previous recalls will need to have the new remedy completed.
Campaign 22V354000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, frontApr 1, 2022
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Elantra and 2020 Accent vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver and passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
Exploding seat belt pretensioners can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Dealers will replace the seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed on May 31, 2022. A second notice will be sent once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 223. This recall is replaced by NHTSA recall number 22V-354. Vehicles already repaired under this recall will need to have the new remedy completed.
Campaign 22V218000 on NHTSA.gov
Visibility, windshieldDec 28, 2021
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash.
A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
Campaign 21V00M000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, frontOct 13, 2021
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, Genesis GV80 and 2022 Genesis GV70 vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioner(s) may explode upon deployment.
An exploding seat belt pretensioner could project metal fragments into the vehicle, striking vehicle occupants and resulting in injury.
Dealers will replace the seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 211 and 009G. This recall is replaced by NHTSA recall numbers 22V-354 for Elantra and Elantra HEV vehicles, 22V-458 for Venue vehicles, and 23V-094 for Genesis vehicles. Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, and Genesis vehicles already repaired under this recall will need to have the new remedies completed.
Campaign 21V796000 on NHTSA.gov
Seats, front assembly, reclinerApr 28, 2021
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Elantra vehicles. The driver and front passenger seat back recliners may have been improperly welded.
An improperly welded seat back recliner could separate from the seat back frame during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and if necessary, replace the seat back frame assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on June 21, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-888-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 204.
Campaign 21V302000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
7 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, May 20, 2025
Unintended acceleration is happening. After about 15-30 minutes of driving, accelerating from a stopped position becomes very difficult in the sense that the vehicle does NOT accelerate when gas pedal is pressed. This can be extremely dangerous as you do not know when the vehicle will no longer accelerate and could get hit when crossing an intersection or turning onto any road at all. ESC warning light came on today and vehicle will no longer start but goes into auxiliary mode. This is not the first time, second, third, nor even 5th time a report on this vehicle has been made and with each report more issues are arising with seemingly NO fix in sight.
Power train, Aug 26, 2023
Cars DCT transmission constantly slips into neutral and is very dangerous when getting onto main roads.. every time I accelerate my vehicle it sits in neutral and revs to high rpms and slows down until it abruptly changes gears very hard and it repeats this for every gear after 2nd
Suspension, Power train, Jul 28, 2023
First of all suspension has a noise when going over speed bumps or bumps on the road have taking it to dealer they say they cant find nothing. And the transmission has a pop noise from time to time they say at the dealer that is due to the DCT transmission but it hasn’t stop doing it plus a loud noise when you stop and go. They say there is no recall. Very disappointed with this tranny.
Power train, Engine, Apr 24, 2023
I completed an oil change at Greggs oil express in Porterville California on 02-11-2023. I have the invoice. On 02-24-2023, I went out of town. At approximately, 5:00 pm, I heard a loud bang, large amount of oil pouring out of the bottom of the car, the car became disabled and I pulled over to the side of the road. I had it towed to the closest Hyundai dealership in Victorville Ca. They provided me with a report that stated when receiving my oil change stating due to the drain plug issue is a direct result of a third party and was not covered under warranty. I then made contact with my insurance, an investigator also reported the same. I have both reports. I have made contact with Greggs Express where I received the oil change and it was suggested to report the incident as they have come across situations like this with the particular vehicle. Therefore, I am now stuck. It is not covered under warranty, not covered under insurance, and the cost is 10,000. Besides the fact that I could have been injured.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Dec 1, 2022
I picked up my Hyundai Elantra n-line today 12/1/22. My car was at the dealership for almost 3 weeks for transmission judder (shudder?) issues and they claim to have fixed the issue with a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) from Hyundai with some snap and cable and additional work that was not disclosed. After picking it up and driving only 3 blocks my car went berserk where all dummy lights went on, the car's engine revved to redline, took off and suddenly the front wheels turned left (due to the avoidance features of the car perhaps) and I was able to pull the emergency break and stop the car. The car stopped luckily and if the e-brake did not work I would have ended up hitting the rear corner of a car and into a house. While the car was stopped, it was still on (unable to be turned off), all lights blinking including dummy lights and the car was showing still in DRIVE mode even though the revving stopped and the car was dead stop. After 10 minutes I was able to turn the car off (push button). Dealership dispatched a tow truck and now my car is back at the dealership for investigation. NOTE: TSB is something that is a known issue from Hyundai but not yet to the level of an official recall is what I was told by the dealership.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Oct 28, 2022
Ongoing issues whereby when accelerating the car jerks due to the transmission shuddering. There are many times when acceleration is very slow and the gears slowly shift. Brought this up to the dealership where I bought the car and they keep giving me the run around.
Power train, Seat belts, Engine, Oct 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle shut off. The message "Put Car In Neutral And Restart Engine" was displayed. The contact stated that she shifted into neutral (N) and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure reoccurred persistently. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown activator needed to be replaced. The part was replaced. However, the contact stated that days after the repair, the vehicle would not exceed 25 MPH while driving. The contact pulled into a parking lot. The contact stated that a police officer was able to assist her with correcting the issue under the supervision of the dealer who was on the phone. The contact resumed driving and the vehicle responded as needed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The contact later received recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V354000 (Seat Belts), however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time to complete the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.