2021 Hyundai Elantra Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Elantra years
- Fewer complaints than other years 22nd of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 6 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 5 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 132 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Hyundai Elantra. That ranks 22nd out of 32 Elantra model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is forward collision avoidance (32 complaints, 24%). Complaints mention 8 crashes, 1 fire, 3 injuries. There are 6 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 132owner complaints
- 6safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 8complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2021 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 32 | 24% | — | — | — |
| Electrical System | 31 | 23% | 51,192 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 29 | 22% | 1,315 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 27 | 20% | — | — | — |
| Engine | 13 | 10% | 71,250 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 10 | 8% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 8 | 6% | 26,150 | — | — |
| Power Train | 7 | 5% | — | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 6 | 5% | — | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 5 | 4% | — | — | — |
| Steering | 5 | 4% | 376 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 4 | 3% | — | — | — |
| Back Over Prevention | 3 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 3 | 2% | 39,573 | — | — |
| Structure | 3 | 2% | 300 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Suspension | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Visibility | 2 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Child Seat | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Seats | 1 | 1% | 11,117 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2021 Hyundai Elantra recalls (6)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Back over prevention: sensing system: camera
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.
Seat belts:front; seat belts:pretensioner
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Accent, 2021-2022 Elantra, and 2021-2022 Elantra HEV vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
Risk: An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Fix: Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioner(s) with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 28, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 229. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall numbers 21V-796, 22V-069, 22V-218, and 22V-123 for Accent, Elantra, and Elantra HEV vehicles. All Accent, Elantra, and Elantra HEV vehicles already repaired under the previous recalls will need to have the new remedy completed.
Seat belts:front; seat belts:pretensioner
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Elantra and 2020 Accent vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver and passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
Risk: Exploding seat belt pretensioners can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed on May 31, 2022. A second notice will be sent once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 223. This recall is replaced by NHTSA recall number 22V-354. Vehicles already repaired under this recall will need to have the new remedy completed.
Visibility:windshield
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash.
Risk: A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
Seat belts:pretensioner; seat belts:front
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, Genesis GV80 and 2022 Genesis GV70 vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioner(s) may explode upon deployment.
Risk: An exploding seat belt pretensioner could project metal fragments into the vehicle, striking vehicle occupants and resulting in injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 211 and 009G. This recall is replaced by NHTSA recall numbers 22V-354 for Elantra and Elantra HEV vehicles, 22V-458 for Venue vehicles, and 23V-094 for Genesis vehicles. Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, and Genesis vehicles already repaired under this recall will need to have the new remedies completed.
Seats:front assembly:recliner
Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Elantra vehicles. The driver and front passenger seat back recliners may have been improperly welded.
Risk: An improperly welded seat back recliner could separate from the seat back frame during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and if necessary, replace the seat back frame assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on June 21, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-888-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 204.
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
- Loss of Motive Power (DP22003) — opened Sep 12, 2022, closed Dec 12, 2023.
- Seat Belt Pretensioners May Rupture (RQ22003) — opened Aug 8, 2022, closed May 26, 2023, led to recall 23V094000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
my car has 60,000 miles and the horns on the car have been replaced 3 times Hyundai issued an extended warranty for the horns on certain 2021-2025 model year ELANTRA, 2022-2025 model year ELANTRA N and 2021-2025 model year ELANTRA Hybrid vehicles' for the 10 years or 120,000 miles from the date of…
The passenger side headlight has significant condensation inside the housing. The car is slightly over five years old, with 40,000 miles It was rarely driven the first year due to the pandemic. I have seen there is a TSB regarding the headlights, but clearly this is a far more significant issue…
Windshield wipers intermittently malfunction in the intermittent setting. The wipers stop at random locations in the middle of the windshield, pause, move a short distance, stop again, and behave erratically. This can obstruct the driverâs forward visibility. The problem occurs without snow, ice…
Vehicle was serviced to remediate Recall 271- backup camera replacement in January, 2025. In June 2026, vehicle is exhibiting the same issue. Rear camera is non functional in the following ways: 1. Vehicle is shifted to reverse, backup camera does not function; 2. Vehicle is in park backup camera…
See attached document for complaint.
Other Hyundai Elantra years
← 2020 Elantra · 2022 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 | 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 Elantra | 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 2021 Hyundai Elantra?
Owners most often report forward collision avoidance, electrical system, unknown or other problems. The top one, forward collision avoidance, accounts for 32 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2021 Hyundai Elantra?
Yes, 6 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2021 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 2021 has fewer complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.