The loudest Elantra year we track, and the first one Hyundai's engine coverage does not reach.

Hyundai is recalling certain 2017 Elantras because the vehicles may have a damaged Electronic Power Steering connector, referred to in the campaign as MDPS, resulting in a loss of electric power steering assistance. The consequence NHTSA records is that losing assist requires much higher steering effort, especially at low speeds, which increases crash risk. Dealers replace the EPS motor free of charge and the recall began on 28 April 2017. Hyundai's number for it is 161. The 1A-Auto mechanic covering this generation flags the same system independently, calling a complete loss of power steering a serious safety concern and noting that the whole assembly is motor, sensors, wires and connectors. Confirm this campaign is closed on the VIN.

A second serious one on the same model year. Hyundai is recalling certain 2017 Elantras because the brake booster may fail, resulting in a loss of power brake assist. NHTSA's stated consequence is that this lengthens stopping distance and increases the risk of a crash. Dealers replace the brake system booster assembly free of charge and the recall began on 6 February 2017. Hyundai's number for it is 157. A failed booster feels like a pedal that has gone hard and needs a great deal more leg to stop the car. Two safety recalls on the two systems you steer and stop with is unusual for one model year, and both need to show as complete.

The 2017 Elantra carries two separate driver's frontal airbag campaigns and they are different faults, so check for both. In 16V956, the end seal for the driver's frontal airbag inflator may not have been properly installed, possibly resulting in reduced inflation in a crash; it covers 2017 Elantras built between 15 April and 13 September 2016, dealers replace the driver's airbag module free of charge, and Hyundai's number is 156. In 16V232, the driver's frontal airbag may be missing the chemical enhancer needed for the second stage of deployment, so the second stage does not fire in certain crashes while the primary stage deploys as intended; it covers 2017 Elantras built between 12 January and 22 February 2016, and Hyundai's number is 144. Both are build-date scoped, which means a 2017 Elantra may be in one, both or neither. Only the VIN tells you.

Worth chasing if the car is white, and worth getting right because Hyundai published two different terms for this model year. The general bulletin says certain Hyundai vehicles with exterior white paint may show peeling or bubbling on the metal body panels — hood, fenders, roof, doors, quarter panels and trunk lid — and that coverage was extended from 3 years and 36,000 miles to 10 years with unlimited miles, valid for original and subsequent owners, applying only to factory-applied paint and excluding collision repairs and salvage-title cars. Its Elantra row covers 2015 to 2018. A second, narrower bulletin covers 2017 and 2018 Elantras built by Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama specifically, and gives shorter terms: 6 years with unlimited miles for 2017 cars and 5 years for 2018 cars. Both exist for this model year. Take the VIN to a dealer and ask which one your car falls under rather than assuming the better of the two.

The most visible everyday fault on this generation, and it is covered. Hyundai's bulletin states that certain Elantras may have an internal or external door handle that is inoperative or requires repeated attempts to open the door, and that the warranty coverage for the door latch was extended to 10 years with unlimited mileage from original delivery, valid for original and subsequent owners. The independent mechanic reviewing this generation opens his video unable to get into the car and puts this at number one on his list, noting it most often affects the rear doors and that the only fix is to strip the door and replace the latch assembly. On the test drive, open and close all four doors from outside and from inside, several times each.

The mechanic covering 2017 to 2020 Elantras lists three more that show up in the federal file too. Ignition coils fail and cause heavy misfires, and his advice is to replace all four rather than the one that failed, because they have all done the same mileage; a 2017 owner reports exactly that outcome, with rapid loss of power from ignition coil failure that happened to all four. The canister purge valve, which controls fuel vapour from the tank, sticks open or shut and triggers a check-engine light. The crankshaft position sensor causes stalling when it works intermittently and a no-start when it fails completely. Hyundai has its own bulletins for cylinder misfire codes P0300 through P0304 on 2017 cars. None of these is expensive on its own; together they are the reason a check-engine light on one of these deserves a proper scan rather than a guess.

Hyundai's bulletins describe Campaign 993, an anti-theft software upgrade with window decals, plus Campaign P32, a steering-wheel-lock programme, and Campaign 9A5, a reinforced ignition-cylinder protector, offered in response to thefts of 2011 to 2022 Hyundai vehicles not fitted with engine immobilizers and targeted through social media. A related class settlement makes the identification easy: cars built without an immobilizer have traditional turn-key-to-start ignitions. Every Elantra row carrying these campaigns lists model years 2011 to 2022, so the 2017 is in the population. They are campaigns and a settlement, not safety recalls, and they are free. Ask whether the 993 software has been done; if not, a dealer can do it, and a reinforced ignition-cylinder protector is available on request.

Hyundai sold an Elantra GT alongside this sedan and it is a hatchback on a different platform, filed by NHTSA as a separate model with its own recalls and its own engine coverage. None of the 759 complaints or four recalls in this report belong to it; each record was checked. The distinction is not cosmetic — the GT's connecting-rod-bearing warranty extension runs to model year 2020, while the sedan's stops at 2016, so a hatchback owner and a saloon owner of the same vintage are in completely different positions. If you are cross-shopping five-door Elantras, read them as a different car.