Home · 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid · Complaints

What 29 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid

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 (29)Electrical system (11)Speed control (10)Engine (8)Brakes (5)Driver assistance (3)Fuel system (3)Lights (1)Suspension (1)Transmission & drivetrain (1)

10 of 29 complaints match · Speed control · clear filters

Apr 30, 2024Speed controlFuel system

When gas is pressed (even to floor) in drive, vehicle stalls, does not accelerate. Then vehicle jerks into propulsion after revving. Other instances, at deceleration the car will jerk and shake to a stop. I have mentioned the problem at every scheduled maintenance

NHTSA ODI 11586175

Jun 5, 2023Speed control

I was driving on a 40mph speed road at 45 mph and the car stopped accelerating abruptly and remained stuck at 20 mph even thou my foot was on the gas pedal. I had to put the caution lights on and get to the side of the road. I had every car behind me honk and yell when passing by. This could have been a big crash. I have the video of this when I was driving. This happened various times, in December, Feb and last week.

NHTSA ODI 11525448

Apr 14, 2023Speed controlBrakesEngine

Car will accelerate when pressing on brakes. Once car is able to turn off, the problem does not repeat. This has occurred at least 3 times with the same car and random times while on the road. Dealership is unable to replicate the brake issue every time the car is brought in.

NHTSA ODI 11516987

Mar 15, 2023Speed control

Sometimes upon depressing the accelerator the engine does not respond. The car does not move in a traffic situation. Putting the car in park, shutting it down and restarting makes it go away for a while. Getting on and off the highway is especially dangerous. This has happened intermittently for the past 1-1/2 years. The dealer says that they cannot reproduce the problem. So, they cannot repair it.

NHTSA ODI 11512047

Feb 6, 2023Speed controlBrakes

While driving in stop and go traffic this morning (02/06/2023), at approximately 8:45 am, my Hyundai Elantra began accelerating on it's own. I applied the brakes and the car behaved as though I slammed on the brakes. The acceleration and braking issues happened multiple times during this drive. After the first incident, I shifted the car into neutral, (when it happened subsequently) until it quit accelerating, which was a couple of seconds. I have scheduled service at the Hyundai dealer for tomorrow morning (02/27/2023)

NHTSA ODI 11505880

Jan 26, 2023Speed control

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while the vehicle was idling, right before releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle did not immediately accelerate forward while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. After stopping and turning off and restarting the vehicle the failure was self-corrected. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure or detect the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 2,000.

NHTSA ODI 11503853

Jan 2, 2023Speed controlBrakesEngine

Our problem started a few months ago. At first, we thought it was just a fluke, but this issue has happened too many times to be so. The issues are, the car does not accelerate when we depress the accelerator, we see the tachometer move, but the engine is not actually accelerating. Then at times it will accelerate on it's own, while sitting at a red light, the car tries to move forward despite having our foot on the brake, it acts like we are trying to push the accelerator and the brake at the same time. Even worse, while driving, the car will go into accident-avoidance mode, even though there is nothing in front of us. There are no errors or codes populating on the dash.

NHTSA ODI 11499829

Nov 23, 2022Speed control

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while slowing down and making a left or right turn, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact also stated that while at a stop, he depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle accelerated at an abnormal speed. The contact stated that he applied extra pressure to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but the contact had not yet received a response. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ODI 11494714

Aug 2, 2022Speed control

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that on several occasions while decelerating, the vehicle would lunge forward and the engine would rev. The contact stated that the vehicle would shut off while stopped. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was not determined. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer three times where the failure was not determined. The failure recurred for the fourth time. The contact was awaiting a tow to the dealer Fitzgerald Countryside Hyundai. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 19,651.

NHTSA ODI 11477182

Jul 13, 2021Speed control

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while pulling into the driveway, while slowing down, the vehicle inadvertently lunged forward. The vehicle seemed as though it was attempting to accelerate forward. The contact had to depress the brake pedal with excessive force to keep the vehicle from moving forward. The failure was independently remedied, and the vehicle started to perform as designed. The contact stated that failure occurred on three different occasions. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to find a cause for the failure. The dealer informed the contact that they were aware of other vehicle owners experiencing the same failure with similar vehicles. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,300.

NHTSA ODI 11424595

Working with the data? Download all 29 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 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 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid verdict →