Home · 2018 Hyundai Elantra · Complaints
What 274 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Hyundai Elantra
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.
2 of 274 complaints match · Brakes · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters
Oct 13, 2021Electrical systemBrakesEngineFire
About month ago Sept the car would shut off when driving or stopping and find out it oil I had changed at the tire shop it was changed 2 n half months before that once oil changed running good low tire light ,oil light flash off and on at time well as of 10/12/2021 started do it my again so I check oil there no oil werid where oil go no leak on ground when I leave wherever I parked well went to Walmart get oil put oil in it and started driving not even more 35 miles bout sudden smoke coming from under engine then smell fire I pull over in parking lot at restaurant ran put fire out and it got worse trying grab my stuff and bf with me fire went inside car and under the car hear siren firemen coming if they hadn't gotten there when they did it almost went to the gas tank could of exploded firemen said look like electrical cause fire . Engine light ,oil and tire light were on now undrivable .
NHTSA ODI 11436659
Oct 15, 2019BrakesCrash
I DRIVE A LOT DUE TO COMMUTING TO AND FROM WORK. RECENTLY I HAVE HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY DUE TO RAPID CHANGE IN FLOW OF TRAFFIC. I HAD A NEAR MISS. I WAS 5 CAR LENGTHS BEHIND A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WHEN TRAFFIC CAME TO A HALT. I WAS TRAVELLING AT 55MPH. I HAD STEPPED ON THE BRAKE AS FAR DOWN AND HARD AS I COULD. MY VEHICLE WOULDN'T STOP. I HAD TO SWERVE AROUND THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME IN ORDER TO AVOID HITTING THEM. MY SEAT BELT DIDN'T LOCK AND I FELT AS IF I WASN'T SLOWING DOWN. THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING AT A SLOWER SPEED OF 30 MPH. I BROKE AGAIN HARD AND MY CAR WOULDN'T STOP.
NHTSA ODI 11268677
Working with the data? Download all 274 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 2018 Hyundai Elantra verdict →