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What 672 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Hyundai Elantra Gt

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (672)Crash / fire / injury (64)Engine (139)Electrical system (129)Airbags (128)Brakes (96)Steering (90)Suspension (51)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (44)Transmission & drivetrain (43)Speed control (27)Visibility & wipers (19)

1 of 672 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Oct 24, 2015Transmission & drivetrainBody & structureEngineFire1 injury

HIGHLY FRUSTRATING AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING SITUATION HYUNDAI HAS PUT ME IN. ON SEPTEMBER 11TH MY VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE IN THE REAR BY THE EXHAUST PIPE. PRIOR TO THIS MY VEHICLE HAD BEEN AT RICK CASE HYUNDAI 3 TIMES WITH ME COMPLAINING THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY THE 1ST TIME I WAS TOLD THERE ARE NO CODES SO WE HAVE TO WAIT TILL IT BREAKS, THE 2ND TIME I WAS TOLD NO CODES SORRY, AND THE THIRD TIME THEY ACTUALLY REPLACED A BROKEN PART THAT CONTROLS THE SHIFT TIMES IN THE TRANSMISSION. COULD SHOW THEM MY PROBLEM. I ASKED HYUNDAI CORPORATE TO DO AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE TRANSMISSION AND THE FIRE AND HELP ME RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. THEY WENT THROUGH THEIR 6 WEEK PROCESS AND THEN DENIED MY CLAIM SAYING IT WASN'T FOUND TO BE A MALFUNCTION OF ANY PARTS THAT CAUSED THE FIRE. I HAVE VIDEO OF WHERE THE FIRE STARTED, THE TRANSMISSION NOT WORKING, AND COUNTLESS PICTURES THAT SHOW THE FIRE OBVIOUSLY STARTED AT THE TAILPIPE DUE TO AN INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE BECAUSE OF THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. WHEN I ASK HYUNDAI FOR THE INFORMATION THAT LEAD TO THEIR CONCLUSION THEY SAY IT'S CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY AND WILL NOT LET ME SEE IT. WHEN I TELL THEM THE TRANSMISSION IS STILL NOT WORKING AND EVERYTIME I DRIVE IT THERE IS A BURNING SMELL AND I'M SCARED FOR MY SAFETY AND LIFE DRIVING THIS CAR THEY JUST SAY HYUNDAIS DECISION IS FINAL AND THEY WON'T HONOR MY WARRANTY ON THE CAR. THEY CLAIM IT'S PERFECTLY SAFE TO DRIVE AND OPERATING AS INTENDED AND DESIGNED. I FEEL THEY ARE COVERING SOMETHINGS UP OR NEVER ACTUALLY INVESTIGATED THIS INCIDENT WHICH IS WHY THEY WON'T RELEASE INFORMATION. DURING THE FIRE MALFUNCTIONS IN THE HEAD SHIELD AND TAILLIGHT WIRING WERE DISCOVERED MAKING FOR 4 POSSIBLE LIFE THREATENING DEFECTS MY CAR WAS PARKED AT WORK IN MY PARKING SPACE WHEN THE SMOKE AND FIRE STARTED.

NHTSA ODI 10785750

Working with the data? Download all 672 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2012 Hyundai Elantra Gt verdict →