Hyundai Elantra: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Hyundai Elantra model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 672 | 4 | 49 | 12 | 95.8 High | ENGINE |
| 2013 | 1,325 | 4 | 95 | 30 | 83.3 Medium | SERVICE BRAKES |
| 2014 | 381 | 2 | 35 | 14 | 140.7 High | ENGINE |
| 2015 | 259 | 3 | 27 | 8 | 137.5 High | ENGINE |
| 2016 | 289 | 2 | 22 | 5 | 87.9 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2017 | 759 | 4 | 36 | 6 | 48.0 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2018 | 276 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 64.5 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2019 | 244 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 56.6 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2020 | 240 | 3 | 20 | 6 | 131.7 High | ENGINE |
| 2021 | 128 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 79.7 Medium | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE |
| 2022 | 95 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 61.1 Medium | SEAT BELTS |
| 2023 | 90 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 88.9 Medium | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2024 | 52 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 69.2 Medium | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2025 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 285.7 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
Across 14 model years, the 2025 Hyundai Elantra carries the highest severity index (285.7, driven by unknown or other), while the 2017 is the cleanest at 48.0.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.