"How reliable is the 2004 Hyundai Elantra?"

"Based on 209 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Hyundai Elantra has a median complaint mileage of 31000 miles. The most common issue is Air Bags."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Hyundai Elantra?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Hyundai Elantra is Air Bags, accounting for a significant portion of the 209 total complaints filed."

2004 Hyundai Elantra: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 209 complaints

209

Total Complaints

31,000mi

Median Mileage

Air Bags

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

2,307 25th Percentile

31,000 Median Mileage

79,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Air Bags

Sensor/Control Module

Frontal

Seat Belts

Vehicle Speed Control

Engine And Engine Cooling

Suspension

Side/Window

Engine

Child Seat

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE AIR BAG OFF LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHEN THERE WAS A PASSENGER IN THE SEAT. THE SEAT SENSORS WAS REPLACED, HOWEVER IT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE CONSUMER GAVE THE FIRST ELANTRA BACK TO THE DEALER AND WAS GIVEN A REPLACEMENT SAME MODEL AND YEAR, BUT THE PROBLEM EXISTED IN THAT CART AS WELL. *AK ..."

"PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG SENSOR IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. THE PASSENGER-SIDE FRONT SEAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A SENSOR THAT ACTIVATES THE AIR BAG SYSTEM WHEN SOMEONE OVER 56 POUNDS IN WEIGHT SITS IN THAT SEATING POSITION. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. THE AIR BAG SYSTEM SENSOR WILL INTERMITTENTLY O..."

"BACK COVER ON PASSENGER SEAT CONTINUES TO POP OUT. WHEN CERTIFIED DEALER SAID THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED, ONE DAY LATER THE BACKING WAS AGAIN AJAR. RISK FOR FINGERS TO BE CAUGHT. HAPPENS REPEATEDLY. *JB"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Air Bags 57 complaints

25th: 16,826 mi Median: 57,635 mi 75th: 91,670 mi

Sensor/Control Module 34 complaints

25th: 20 mi Median: 400 mi 75th: 9,750 mi

Frontal 18 complaints

25th: 2,035 mi Median: 7,800 mi 75th: 19,427 mi

Seat Belts 8 complaints

25th: 65,000 mi Median: 66,000 mi 75th: 139,000 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 7 complaints

25th: 53,000 mi Median: 73,750 mi 75th: 85,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 26 NY: 23 CA: 20 TX: 15 VA: 13 PA: 12 OH: 10 WA: 7 CT: 7 MD: 7

Who Files Complaints?

48.8%

Original Owners

51.2%

Second+ Owners

Hyundai Elantra — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	46	-	Automatic Transmission	1
1993	39	-	Engine	2
1994	110	-	Frontal	26
1995	179	-	Frontal	32
1996	138	92,000	Gasoline	11
1997	196	89,000	Automatic Transmission	26
1998	75	72,000	Gasoline	10
1999	183	92,750	Automatic Transmission	24
2000	259	48,000	Frontal	43
2001	445	69,000	Air Bags	100
2002	431	72,000	Air Bags	80
2003	310	65,500	Suspension	59
2005	180	51,500	Air Bags	43
2006	209	68,250	Air Bags	37
2007	364	70,530	Visibility/Wiper	26
2008	423	55,409	Steering	57
2009	315	78,000	Steering	39
2010	494	62,000	Steering	67
2011	588	70,000	Engine	29
2012	911	60,000	Engine	72
2013	1839	43,000	Steering	157
2014	540	54,000	Engine	58
2015	344	50,550	Engine	45
2016	378	54,128	Engine	30
2017	1054	41,000	Engine	57
2018	385	23,892	Engine	14
2019	309	43,500	Engine	19
2020	294	6,200	Engine	28
2021	205	15,500	Warnings	11
2022	127	23,500	Seat Belts	5
2023	131	7,000	Unknown Or Other	11
2024	86	7,654	Unknown Or Other	11
2025	23	-	Unknown Or Other	4

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28