"How reliable is the 2020 Hyundai Elantra?"

"Based on 294 NHTSA complaints, the 2020 Hyundai Elantra has a median complaint mileage of 6200 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 2020 Hyundai Elantra?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2020 Hyundai Elantra is ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 294 total complaints filed."

2020 Hyundai Elantra: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 294 complaints

294

Total Complaints

6,200mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

3,000 25th Percentile

6,200 Median Mileage

28,831 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE

POWER TRAIN

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

STEERING

SERVICE BRAKES

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM FAILED TO WARN OF AN ICE BUCKET IN THE ROADWAY. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO AVOID THE ICE BUCKET, THE CONTACT STRUCK THE ICE BUCKET WITH THE PASSENGER SIDE BUMPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS PHYS..."

"WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH ON OHIO TURNPIKE THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED OUT OF GEAR AND WOULD NOT ALLOW THE CAR TO SHIFT INTO ANY GEARS. AFTER PULLING OVER AND RESTARTING THE CAR THE FASTEST IT WOULD GO WAS 10 MPH ."

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.

ENGINE 91 complaints

25th: 4,775 mi Median: 20,500 mi 75th: 63,000 mi

POWER TRAIN 38 complaints

25th: 3,062 mi Median: 4,850 mi 75th: 12,658 mi

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 25 complaints

25th: 12,935 mi Median: 19,790 mi 75th: 31,500 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 22 complaints

Median: 4,500 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21 complaints

Median: 11,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 46 FL: 25 NJ: 24 NY: 20 NV: 13 OH: 12 PA: 12 IL: 10 MO: 9 OK: 9

Who Files Complaints?

2.4%

Original Owners

97.6%

Second+ Owners

Hyundai Elantra — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	46	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	1
1993	39	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	2
1994	110	-	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	26
1995	179	-	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	32
1996	138	92,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	11
1997	196	89,000	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	26
1998	75	72,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	10
1999	183	92,750	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	24
2000	259	48,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	43
2001	445	69,000	AIR BAGS	100
2002	431	72,000	AIR BAGS	80
2003	310	65,500	SUSPENSION	59
2004	209	31,000	AIR BAGS	32
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
2021	205	15,500	FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 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