What 258 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Hyundai Elantra Hev

Drove my 2015 Hyundai Elantra on the coldest day of the year to an appointment. Car was fully warmed up. Pulled into a gas station to park and was going less than 3 mph, making a left hand turn into the space. Elantra suddenly accelerated hard and the car hit a cement pole, causing extensive front end damage. If car had full insurance coverage, it would have been a write off. Hood crumpled, radiator damaged, front grill broken, bent the engine bar in half. Significant damage but the air bag did not deploy. Had to have it towed home 35 miles. Damage was in the middle of the front of the car, so I was already in the parking space. No warning lights of any sort before this happened. Very dangerous and I would never buy another Hyundai. I bought this car brand new in 2015 and have had recalls taken care of (anti theft software one). Over the course of owning this car, other odd things have occurred as well, such as white smoke coming out of the engine upon acceleration, accelerated wear on the tires due to the back end, and engine will suddenly stop for no reason while driving (this happened twice) Inferior product!

NHTSA ODI 11643595

On [XXX] I was parking in my parking spot outside my house, went to pull up 3 more inches in my parking spot when the vehicle accelerated at an extremely rapid speed, went over the high curb, up my front lawn into the tree in my front yard. It was a battle between the brake and the gas acceleration event. Then I put it gently in reverse, my car fled rapidly down into the parking lot at such a high rate of speed, I turned the wheel, my car hit 3 cars across the parking lot, shot across the parking lot, popped over that curb, went down an extremely steep hill, hit the cross street, went still in reverse over an island, wiped out two signs and crashed into a car in the middle of the 4 way stop and stopped. My insurance is blaming it on driver error like they are blaming thousands of drivers over the same experience, stating that I mistook the gas pedal instead of the brake and also stating that I did not attempt to brake, that is so far from the truth, you can look at the track marks on the ground and tell I was standing on the brake. What is being done about these awful scenerios. My car is currently in copart being assessed. My car was serviced at the hyundai dealership ever since I purchased it, all the records are there and in my possession, I had low mileage, less than 48,000 miles and planned on holding onto the vehicle for at least 6 more years. Now my car is sabotaged, being blamed like 1,000 of other drivers over the car malfunctioning. There is a sensor for the Throttle, a sensor for the Gas Accelerator that the Computer Control Unit brain waits for the analytical data from both sensors and adds additional throttle to the situation. Once the car is turned off the entire system resets itself, so there is no evidence of high throttle, gas accelerators sticking and the driver is blamed. Since the insurance companies have insured these vehicles there is a lot at stake for these cases to be proven and for the Hyundai manufacturer as well. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11639306

The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while pulling out of a parking spot, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal several times, but the vehicle failed to respond and crashed into a building. The driver's side air bag deployed; however, there was flame in the air bag upon deployment. The contact stated that the fire went out on his own. The contact sustained chest pain, and bruises on the chest, stomach, and legs. The contact did not seek medical assistance and was recovering at home. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V651000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) that she related to the brake failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11557229

THE CAR WAS ON HIGHWAY AND AS I WAS GETTING OFF THE CAR WOULD NOT STOP AND IN FACT AS I TRIED TO PRESS THE BRAKES TO STOP THE CAR WOULD NOT STOP UNTIL IT CRASHED,

NHTSA ODI 10824058

I BEGAN MY LEASE ON MY ELANTRA IN SEPT OF 2014. AT MY YEAR ANNIVERSARY I HAD IT SERVICED BY THE DEALER OF THE LEASE AND WAS GIVEN A CLEAN BILL OF CAR HEALTH. HOWEVER, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE CAR HAD, AS I CALLED IT, "A MIND OF ITS OWN" MEANING THAT WHILE I WAS DRIVING, USUALLY SOMEWHERE AROUND 40-55 MPH WITHOUT ME PUSHING DOWN ON THE GAS PEDAL THE CAR WOULD ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN. IT WOULD STOP AS SOON AS I COMPLETELY LET OFF THE GAS PEDAL BUT IT HAPPENED ENOUGH TO BE CONSIDERED STRANGE. I WAS PLANNING TO ASK THE DEALER ABOUT IT AT MY NEXT OIL CHANGE. NOT NECESSARY NOW! SUNDAY AFTERNOON 10/18/15, I WENT TO START THE CAR AND IT SPUTTERED AND STALLED OUT. I TURNED THE KEY IN THE IGNITION AGAIN AND IT REPEATED. AFTER THE 3RD TIME AND GIVING IT SOME GAS THE CAR STARTED AND RAN OK. I HAD 3 STOPS THAT I MADE, EACH TIME THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF AND BACK ON WITH NO ISSUE. I RETURNED HOME AND NOT EVEN 5 MINUTES AFTER THE CAR WAS PARKED AND SHUT OFF, THERE WERE FLAMES SHOOTING OUT BETWEEN THE HOOD AND WINDSHIELD. I HIT THE FIRE EMERGENCY ON MY HOUSE ALARM SYSTEM TO SIGNAL FOR THE FIRE DEPT AND THEN RAN OUTSIDE WITH MY HUSBAND AND 2 FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, EMPTYING ONE AND HAVING ZERO EFFECT ON THE FIRE. MY HUSBAND THEN TURNED THE HOSE ON AND WAS TRYING TO CONTAIN THE FIRE WITH THE HOSE WATER. IN THE 10 MINUTES IT TOOK FOR THE FIRE DEPT TO GET THERE, THE ENTIRE FRONT END WAS LITERALLY A SHELL OF REMAINING METAL AND DRIPPING MELTED PLASTIC. THE ENTIRE WINDSHEILD EXPLODED FROM THE HEAT OF THE FIRE AND WAS INSIDE THE CAR. INSURANCE INSPECTOR SAYS THE SOURCE CAME FROM BEHIND THE BATTERY - WHICH HE SAID WAS EITHER THE ELECTRIC OR COMPUTER PANEL. EITHER WAY.. IT WAS A SCARY SITUATION. 10 MINUTES IS NOT A VERY LONG TIME TO HAVE THE ENTIRE FRONT END DISINTEGRATE FROM FIRE

NHTSA ODI 10785569

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE ACCELERATED RAPIDLY AND CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE RAPID ACCELERATION WAS A RECURRING FAILURE PRIOR TO THE CRASH. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,700.

NHTSA ODI 10765193