2008 Hyundai Elantra Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Elantra years
- More complaints than other years 9th of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 7 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 314 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Hyundai Elantra. That ranks 9th out of 32 Elantra model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is steering (55 complaints, 18%), typically at around 71,405 miles. Complaints mention 38 crashes, 23 fires, 41 injuries. There are 7 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 314owner complaints
- 7safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 38complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2008 Hyundai Elantra problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering problems | 55 | 18% | 71,405 | “electronic power steering” (11%) | — |
| Air Bags | 38 | 12% | 55,819 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 36 | 11% | 1,432 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 32 | 10% | 84,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 30 | 10% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 29 | 9% | 36,454 | — | — |
| Engine | 24 | 8% | 112,283 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 24 | 8% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 24 | 8% | 48,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 22 | 7% | 112,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 17 | 5% | 4,443 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 16 | 5% | 42,150 | — | — |
| Suspension | 11 | 4% | 102,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 10 | 3% | 120,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 6 | 2% | 84,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 6 | 2% | 120,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 6 | 2% | 76,950 | — | — |
| Tires | 5 | 2% | 27,500 | — | — |
| Visibility | 5 | 2% | 65,800 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 1% | 65,410 | — | — |
| Equipment | 3 | 1% | 22,200 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 3 | 1% | 461 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 3 | 1% | 15,500 | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 2 | 1% | 101,725 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 1% | 119,160 | — | — |
| Carry Handle, Shell, Base | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Other/i Am Not Sure | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2008 Hyundai Elantra recalls (7)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip:control unit/module
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2007-2010 Elantra and 2009-2011 Elantra Touring vehicles. On February 21, 2020 Hyundai expanded the recall to include 46,425 model year 2007-2008 Entourage and 2007 Santa Fe vehicles. Moisture may enter the Anti-lock Brake (ABS) Module and result in an electrical short.
Risk: An electrical short within the ABS Module may cause an engine compartment fire, even when the car is turned off, increasing the risk of an injury.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will install a relay in the vehicle's main junction box to prevent the risk of an ABS short-circuit while the car is turned off, free of charge. The recall began April 2, 2020. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 188.
Steering:electric power assist system
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Elantra vehicles manufactured June 1, 2008, to April 30, 2010, and 2009-2010 Elantra Touring vehicles manufactured November 1, 2008, to April 30, 2010. The electronic power steering (EPS) electronic control unit (ECU) may sense a discrepancy in the steering input signals and, as a result, disable the steering power assist.
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Hyundai will verify the proper operation of the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) and update the EPS control unit, free of charge. The recall began April 14, 2015. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for this recall is 127.
Exterior lighting:brake lights:switch
Problem: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Risk: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of Park without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. The safety recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 110.
Air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 elantra vehicles manufactured from july 14, 2006, through november 1, 2008. The front passenger seats in the vehicles contain a weight sensor designed to deactivate the right frontal airbag when occupants of certain weights occupy the seat. The electrical connector for the weight sensor is located under the center console, between the front seats. Under certain circumstances the connector could become contaminated and malfunction such that the front passenger airbag will deploy regardless of the weight of the occupant.
Risk: The front passenger air bag could deploy in crashes in which it should not deploy, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant from the deployed air bag.
Fix: Dealers will install a protective cover over the weight classification system connector to prevent contamination. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expecting to begin during april 2011. Owners may contact hyundai's customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151.
Air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 elantra vehicles manufactured from july 14, 2006, through august 29, 2007. The driver's seat track position sensor determines the seat's fore and aft position and allows the driver's frontal air bag to deploy at the pressure appropriate for that seating position, with a lower pressure deployment in the most forward seating positions. The air bag control module may receive an unstable electrical signal from the seat track position sensor such that, in a crash that requires driver frontal airbag deployment, the driver's airbag may deploy at the higher pressure than intended if the seat was position in one of the forward positions in which a lower pressure deployment is intended.
Risk: A higher pressure deployment than intended increases the risk of injury resulting from airbag deployment.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the air bag control module free of charge. The safety recall is expecting to begin during april 2011. Owners may contact hyundai's customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151.
Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump
Problem: Hyundai de puerto rico (hpr) is recalling 347 my 2008 elantra vehicles. The fuel pump motor may not have the proper, uniform internal electrical surface contact. This may cause the fuel pump to produce less pumping pressure than required to supply the fuel injection system.
Risk: As a result, poor engine staring and hesitation may result. Other engine performance issues may also result and lead to a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the vehicle's fuel pump subassembly. The recall began on february 9, 2009. Owners may contact hpr at 1-800-981-0188.
Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump
Problem: Hyundai is recalling 65,000 my 2008 elantra vehicles with 2.0 liter beta engines. The fuel pump motor may not have the proper uniform internal electrical surface contact. This may cause the fuel pump to produce less pumping pressure than required to supply the fuel injection system.
Risk: Poor engine starting and hesitation may result. Other engine performance issues may also result increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump subassembly free of charge. The recall began on september 15, 2008. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Throttle control system vulnerabilities (DP21003) — opened Nov 12, 2021, closed Jun 20, 2023.
- Engine stalling - fuel pump failure (PE08044) — opened Jul 17, 2008, closed Sep 3, 2008, led to recall 08V429000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Power steering went out, only had manual steering.
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that a week after the dealer performed the recall repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V061000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); the contact was made aware that the brake lights had remained illuminated after the vehicle was parked and turned…
The car was being driven nomore than 1hr. It began to smoke under the hood. The ABS EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT, CHECK ENGINE Then the EPS lights were on. The vehicle was pulled over and stopped. Fire was then observed falling from under the car. The hood was then popped to see the engine mainly on the…
The engine bay of my car caught fire due to the abs pump and module not turning off. I bought a part but never opened the box because I received a piece of mail stating the recall of that exact issue that they would replace all parts damaged. Which they didn't just installed their relay After…
Has not yet been officially diagnosed by a dealer or independent service center, but while turning into a neighborhood at around 15-25 mph the car jerked and the engine suddenly stalled while I was still in the middle of the road. Thankfully I rolled into the neighborhood before an oncoming car…
Other Hyundai Elantra years
← 2007 Elantra · 2009 Elantra →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Elantra | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 Elantra | 22 | 0 |
| 2024 Elantra | 54 | 1 |
| 2023 Elantra | 99 | 2 |
| 2022 Elantra | 102 | 5 |
| 2021 Elantra | 132 | 6 |
| 2020 Elantra | 254 | 3 |
| 2019 Elantra | 251 | 1 |
| 2018 Elantra | 283 | 0 |
| 2017 Elantra | 768 | 4 |
| 2016 Elantra | 293 | 2 |
| 2015 Elantra | 262 | 3 |
| 2014 Elantra | 386 | 2 |
| 2013 Elantra | 1,314 | 4 |
| 2012 Elantra | 653 | 4 |
| 2011 Elantra | 433 | 5 |
| 2010 Elantra | 380 | 3 |
| 2009 Elantra | 254 | 4 |
| 2008 | 314 | 7 |
| 2007 Elantra | 267 | 6 |
| 2006 Elantra | 155 | 1 |
| 2005 Elantra | 137 | 4 |
| 2004 Elantra | 182 | 5 |
| 2003 Elantra | 234 | 5 |
| 2002 Elantra | 342 | 6 |
| 2001 Elantra | 315 | 6 |
| 2000 Elantra | 197 | 1 |
| 1999 Elantra | 128 | 2 |
| 1998 Elantra | 55 | 0 |
| 1997 Elantra | 115 | 3 |
| 1996 Elantra | 100 | 3 |
| 1995 Elantra | 112 | 1 |
See all Hyundai Elantra problems by year, every Hyundai model, or the Hyundai VIN decoder.
Similar Hyundai models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Hyundai Elantra?
Owners most often report steering, air bags, fuel system, gasoline problems. The top one, steering, accounts for 55 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Hyundai Elantra?
Yes, 7 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2008 Hyundai Elantra a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Elantra model years, the 2008 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.