The lowest complaint count of any Elantra we track — and eight recalls, most of them paperwork.

Hyundai is recalling certain 2021 and 2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra and Elantra HEV vehicles, plus 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV models, because a damaged printed circuit board may cause the rearview camera image to fail to display. That makes the car non-compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, the rear-visibility rule, and the stated consequence is reduced visibility and increased crash risk. Dealers replace the camera free of charge, owner letters were mailed on 14 January 2025, and Hyundai's number is 271. Owners in the file describe a black screen with the guidelines still moving across it, and one reports the same fault on a car whose VIN the recall lookup does not cover — which is a reminder to test the camera physically as well as checking the campaign. Put it in reverse before you buy.

A small-sounding defect with an obvious consequence. Hyundai is recalling certain 2022 Elantra N and 2022 to 2023 Elantra vehicles because the emblem on the cover of the driver's front airbag may not have been welded properly, which can result in the emblem detaching upon deployment. NHTSA's stated consequence is that a detached emblem may strike a vehicle occupant. The remedy is not a trim repair — dealers replace the airbag, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed on 14 October 2022 and Hyundai's number is 234. Quick to confirm on a VIN check and there is no reason for it to still be open.

The most repeated complaint on this generation, and one of the few problems with a genuinely good answer. Hyundai's bulletin states that certain Elantra, Elantra N and Elantra Hybrid vehicles may experience an inoperable horn, and that warranty coverage for the horn replacement under this condition has been extended to 10 years or 120,000 miles from original retail delivery or first use, valid for original and subsequent owners, with dealers instructed to install the latest design. The companion bulletin puts the scope at 2021 to 2025 Elantra, 2022 to 2025 Elantra N and 2021 to 2025 Elantra Hybrid. The 2022 file shows why: one owner on their second replacement in a year, another who only found out the horn was dead when a car almost reversed into them, another told the repair parts were back-ordered. Press it on the viewing. It is a warranty extension, not a safety recall, and it is free for a decade.

A consistent cluster with no recall behind it. Owners describe the forward radar malfunctioning and disabling everything that depends on it — forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alert. Several report the opposite failure too, with automatic emergency braking activating hard for nothing: one owner describes the car braking and swerving left on a clear motorway with no vehicle ahead, on the same stretch of road three separate times. Another logs a fault where the traction and stability control intervene intermittently with no cause. The community video covering this model year independently flags the radar as interfering with all the driver-assistance features. There is no Hyundai bulletin for this in the Elantra file, so it is a complaint-sourced pattern and a repair you would pay for. On the test drive, check that no assist warnings are latched on the dashboard and try the adaptive cruise control.

The 2022 Elantra Hybrid draws 39 complaints and they concentrate on two things. First, recall 23V589 covers 2021 to 2023 Elantra HEV vehicles where a software error in the motor control unit may cause unintended vehicle acceleration after the brake pedal is released; dealers update the motor control unit software free of charge, letters went out on 29 September 2023, and Hyundai's number is 248. Second, and without a recall, the hybrid-system shutdown: owners get a "Check Hybrid System, Stop Safely" message, the car drops to 20 or 30 mph and will not accelerate, and it is restored by pressing a 12-volt reset button. One describes it happening twice in a day on a freeway with a family aboard; another reports it recurring after a dealer performed a hybrid control unit software update. Hyundai's bulletin covers the condition on Elantra, Sonata and Tucson hybrids as diagnostic code P1BB20, 12V Lithium Battery Cell Voltage High, causing a warning light and in some cases limp mode, remedied by a Battery Management System software update. One owner's dealer priced the 12-volt lithium battery itself at $545.92, non-refundable, against roughly $282 online. Ask about the BMS update by name and about the battery's history.

The Elantra N arrives for 2022 and it is not a trim, it is a different machine: the independent mechanic in our sources is emphatic that its 2.0-litre turbo is a completely different engine from the ordinary car's 2.0-litre, with a turbo and direct injection, and calls it the halo model. It comes with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic or a six-speed manual, and it carries two recalls the ordinary Elantra does not. 22V746 covers a fail-safe limited-mobility drive mode that may be impaired when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power; dealers inspect and replace the transmission as necessary and update the transmission control unit software, free of charge, letters went out on 10 January 2023, and Hyundai's number is 236. 24V528 covers a fuel pump that may fail, again causing loss of drive power; dealers update the engine control module software and inspect and replace the fuel pump assembly as necessary, free of charge, with letters from 9 September 2024 and Hyundai numbers 262 and 023G. Behind the second one is a warranty extension worth knowing: Hyundai's bulletin describes a fuel control valve inside the high-pressure fuel pump whose plunger wears, letting excess fuel through and producing a rich mixture and code P0088, and extends coverage on that pump to 15 years or 150,000 miles for original and subsequent owners. The N's own complaint file adds dual-clutch shudder from a standstill, one clutch failure at 28,000 miles, and a loose engine splash guard owners say is not covered.

Worth knowing before it frightens you. Elantra N owners report the car throwing a check-engine light and dropping into limp mode after heavy rain or a car wash, at motorway speed in several accounts. One was told by a dealer that the N models do it a lot in the rain or through car washes because it triggers false knock-sensor codes. Hyundai's own bulletin confirms the mechanism and, importantly, the prognosis: certain Elantra N, Kona N and Veloster N vehicles may have code P1326 set due to water intrusion in the knock sensor connector during heavy rain or car wash conditions, there is no abnormal engine noise present, and the vehicle may enter limp home mode. In other words the code does not mean engine damage on these cars, which is exactly what the owners filing panicked complaints did not know. If you are looking at an Elantra N with a history of P1326, ask whether a technician found any actual noise, and ask whether the connector has been addressed.

Hyundai's bulletins describe Campaign 993, an anti-theft software upgrade with window decals, alongside Campaign P32 for steering-wheel locks and Campaign 9A5 for a reinforced ignition-cylinder protector, in response to a rise in thefts of 2011 to 2022 Hyundai vehicles not equipped with engine immobilizers, targeted through social media. Every Elantra row carrying these campaigns lists model years 2011 to 2022, which makes 2022 the last Elantra model year in the population — the 2023 is outside it. The related class settlement gives the physical test: cars built without an immobilizer have traditional turn-key-to-start ignitions, so a push-button-start car is not in this group. These are campaigns and a settlement, not safety recalls, and the software is free. Ask whether 993 has been applied.