What 128 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Hyundai Elantra Gt

Door Lock Actuator, the door latch is stuck on unlock and it won’t close or lock when the lock button is pressed on key fob.

NHTSA ODI 11745530

Daytime and night time running lights turn off and on randomly with brights engaging random as well. Turn signals not operating but intermittently and wipers not turning on intermittently. This Started in Nov 2025. First time dealership could get it in was Jan 2026, stated Multifunction switch was bad and covered under warranty, now not covered after getting it in 3.5 months later. Due to the this being a known safety concern for Hyundai Genesis with extended warranty put in place, would love a review on Elantra as well because there are several spots in threads stating the same issue. Thank you for your time and consideration.

NHTSA ODI 11726986

My vehicle has been in the shop here at McGrath Hyundai in Chicago, IL 30+ times since I bought it 5/21. Electrical, (rear), 6 horns, 6 blower motors, multiple warranty and recalls and now my front driver seat belt. They’re refusing to fix it even though I have reported it before. They’re saying over 60,000 miles makes it no longer under warranty. I reported it before and they said that it was okay. It was not okay and still isn’t okay and they think I’m going to pay $1500 to get it fixed now as well as re wiring the back of the vehicle for $600, which I have been reporting issues with for years.

NHTSA ODI 11717820

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 51,192 and at the time of receiving the vehicle from the dealer it was discovered that the mileage was 50,310.

NHTSA ODI 11702957

The Horn never worked since I bought it in August 2023, i’ve been in a countless near accident situations where I was rendered helpless. I’ve had several instances where I get locked out of my car because the vehicle would not read the key. I tried fix the issue because I assumed it was a dead car or key battery but the same problems kept happening shortly after. I became aware of the issue with the horn not working, when I recently purchased the vehicle. I tried to contact the ALM dealership salesman to report the issue and they told me he had recently quit. They mentioned bringing it back to the shop but it wasn’t guaranteed that the issue would be fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11683767

Engine shots off while on the automatic stop and go idle . It is being doing it for a while but it is happening more often even with the auto idle off and it even happened at the freeway. It gives me a message to put it in park or neutral and turn the engine on manually. Making this a very dangerous situation because cars behind me don’t know that my engine suddenly shots off. Thanks

NHTSA ODI 11678266

Unintended acceleration is happening. After about 15-30 minutes of driving, accelerating from a stopped position becomes very difficult in the sense that the vehicle does NOT accelerate when gas pedal is pressed. This can be extremely dangerous as you do not know when the vehicle will no longer accelerate and could get hit when crossing an intersection or turning onto any road at all. ESC warning light came on today and vehicle will no longer start but goes into auxiliary mode. This is not the first time, second, third, nor even 5th time a report on this vehicle has been made and with each report more issues are arising with seemingly NO fix in sight.

NHTSA ODI 11662054

My back up camera fails to work consistently. This issue appears to only worsen with every use. Sometimes to screen will appear half on and half off. I have yet to receive any notice of a recall and would like to get this fixed if at all possible. Thank you!

NHTSA ODI 11647073

Constant sound of flowing water throughout the front of the vehicle. Several service appointments later and there is still no solution to the issue that has been going on for over a year. Thia can be heard like a stream of water flowing. Engine ticking, loud rattling from engine. You can hear in from inside of the car.

NHTSA ODI 11635269

The reverse camera does not work

NHTSA ODI 11632318

Back up Camera. When reversing cannot see out back window do to incline of glass making hard to reverse. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle or component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. There was not any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear.

NHTSA ODI 11621366

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding a significant safety issue with my vehicle’s backup camera system. The backup camera consistently malfunctions, displaying glitchy images with distorted lines across the screen. This issue renders the camera essentially unusable, as it fails to provide a clear view of the area behind the vehicle, posing a serious safety hazard. This malfunction directly impacts my ability to safely reverse, especially in crowded areas where visibility is crucial. The camera’s unreliability puts pedestrians and other drivers at risk, as I am unable to fully ensure that my path is clear when reversing. I strongly believe this defect poses a significant safety concern that needs to be addressed by the manufacturer. I request that the NHTSA investigate this issue and take appropriate action to ensure that this problem is resolved for myself and the many other affected vehicle owners. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

NHTSA ODI 11621050

Rear backup camera suddenly stopped working and when in reverse the sensors kick in and breaks the vehicle when there's no object or vehicle behind. Also the code for the backup sensor came up but dealer didn't do anything.

NHTSA ODI 11604198

My car has two warning lights on my dashboard. First one is Check Foward Safety system. Second one is Check Smart Cruise Control System. Both of them turned on when I was driving in the middle of a highway. These warning lights activated out of the blue, without any unusual circumstances.I cannot use my smart cruise control system and the car is not able to alert me about forward collision. This issue has already been addressed through a recall for my vehicle's model and year in Korea. My vehicle was produced in Korea and was imported to the United States; however, Hyundai has not issued a recall regarding the same problem in the United States. This is a safety concern, and Hyundai should repair it free of charge, and the company should compensate customers who have already undergone repairs for the repair costs.

NHTSA ODI 11596221

Since last year around 55k miles, my backup camera has stoped working. The first incident happened as I was about to back out of my garage. I opened the garage door and put my car into reverse. As I looked down at the screen and began to back up, I realized the screen showed me an image of a closed garage door ever though the door was open. Almost as if it had taken a screenshot or froze. The second occurrence was similar except it was when I was parking in a job site parking lot. When I put my car in reverse to park, what came on my screen was the image of the highway about 15 minutes prior. I’ve had several experiences like this where the backup camera freezes, has static-like lines all over the screen, discoloration, or delayed effects. This is dangerous because if someone is looking down at the screen and doesn’t realize the backup camera is giving an incorrect output, this can result in an accident (whether it be a single car or multiple car accident). This is because you can end up hitting something/someone if you get delayed feedback on the camera and don’t realize.

NHTSA ODI 11593541

Back up camera doesn’t work. When put in reverse the screen is static and when you press the back up camera button it won’t turn on

NHTSA ODI 11593549

The contact owned a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked unattended. Approximately thirteen hours later, he was notified by the fire department that the vehicle had caught fire. A police report was filed. There were no reported injuries. The vehicle was parked where the fire occurred. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and later the contact's insurance provider declared the vehicle a total loss, the cause was assumed to be electrical. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

NHTSA ODI 11570259

I have had to get the horn replaced on my ELANTRA six times the horn goes out and this can be a very big safety hazard as it has caused people to almost hit me because they didn’t see me and my horn wasn’t working to alert them this needs to be addressed as soon as possible as this could cause someone to lose their life in the wrong instance

NHTSA ODI 11569887

When driving at 55MPH with cruise control on, the car suddenly accelerated to 75MPH, this happened on the open road and was able to keep under control. Auto has less than 10,000 miles. I will be contacting Hyundai customer service for a case number on this incident. First indication of a problem was cruise control, auto braking failed iin June of 2023. This follows a replacement of defective front radar unit by Hyundai which was replaced at 8295 miles on July 26, 2023. This problem first occurred in late June/early July of 2023. There was no warning.

NHTSA ODI 11558627

The horn stops working. It is not a fuse related issue. It is the horn itself. There are multiple reports of horn failure in this model, 2021 and 2022, on the internet and social media. There are people reporting that dealerships are also seeing a lot of cars with horn failure. This is a serious safety issue. Someone could go off the road into the woods and crash, unable to signal with a horn that they’re there. Unable to beep their horn to get the attention of a child or animal that is about to run into the road. There are countless scenarios where the horn is important. Cellphones don’t work everywhere… a horn should always work. There are far too many reports of the horn issue for it to not be a manufacture related issue. Please look into this. This could have pretty tragic implications that could otherwise be avoided. I will attach a screenshot from a social media Hyundai group of the 2022 model. I need to get into the dealership to have mine repaired and will do so asap. I’m just very concerned about the safety of everyone. Some are reporting dealerships are not clear about if the horn issue, which involves replacement of the steering assembly, is covered, while others are saying it is.

NHTSA ODI 11548798

My car has 76,000 miles on it fully maintained and recorded at hyundai dealerships. One day I’m driving and a check engine light pops up the same day I get it taken in to have it diagnosed, few hours go by I get a call they tell me that the Integrated thermal management module on my car has burnt out. I was surprised because my car is fairly new I asked them how could it prematurely fail they could not give me answer and they told me I would have to pay out of pocket for it and I did. They advised me that I should not drive the car as it could pose severe risk to engine failure as coolant is connected to the part in question. So I left my car there and they ordered a new part and it got fixed the very next day, it was ready for me to pick up. I’m frustrated because I’m not the only one who had this problem and warranty did not cover Hyundai did not want to work with me to resolve my issue and as a result it costed me money and time. I’m not the only one who has this problem but is it really safe for my car to have this part if it could cause engine damage worse fire in that area due to a design flaw.

NHTSA ODI 11547821

On three occasions while turning out into an intersection my steering wheel will lock up and my forward collision warning system will engage and my just stop in the road. Out of those three times, my car has been towed to the dealership twice. The dealer has been working very hard to identify the issue while working with Hyundai tech services. They have poured countless hours and money into this car and still have not been able to identify and correct it. My vehicle has become a deathtrap waiting to happen.

NHTSA ODI 11541394

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle decelerated and lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on three occasions; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

NHTSA ODI 11527205

Horn stopped working.

NHTSA ODI 11506585

car problems started with back up camera not working, it has caused dash lights to go out, headlights to go out while driving safety sensors to sound for no reason. I have also started having problems with radio flashing and going blank. The vehicle has been checked by Hyundai dealer they did say back up camera bad but no answers for rest of issues.there were no warning lights prior to any of these problems. I still do not know what is really wrong and cannot drive vehicle at night or bad weather for fear of losing headlights. Vehicle is 2021 hyundai elantra with 10,500 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11491030