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What 258 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Hyundai Elantra Hev

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 (258)Crash / fire / injury (34)Engine (89)Brakes (55)Steering (25)Airbags (23)Electrical system (23)Transmission & drivetrain (17)Speed control (15)Body & structure (14)Fuel system (10)Suspension (9)

2 of 258 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Feb 19, 2025Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlFuel systemCrash

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

Feb 21, 2018Transmission & drivetrainEngineCrash

ONE MORNING I STARTED MY CAR LIKE ANY NORMAL DAY AND THERE WAS A TICKING SOUND. IT WAS COLD OUT THAT MORNING SO I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT BUT I TOOK IT TO GET ITS OIL CHANGED THE NEXT DAY AND THATS THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS SOMETHING INTERNAL AND I SHOULD TAKE IT TO A DEALER. I TOOK IT TO A DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS AN ENGINE KNOCK AND THAT THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT WAS TO BASICALLY GET A NEW ENGINE.

NHTSA ODI 11074012

Working with the data? Download all 258 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 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 2015 Hyundai Elantra Hev verdict →