CarComplaints.com Notes: We're not used to seeing any major problems with Hyundai, which makes the early signs of trouble with the 2013 Elantra very surprising, in a bad way.

Early trends show problems with the steering wandering / pulling to one side along with premature tire wear. Elantra owners have tried sensor adjustments, wheel alignments, even replacing axles, most with no luck. Hyundai has made vehicle buybacks through arbitration, but that rarely works out well financially for owners in the end.

Also there is a pattern of complaints about the 2013 Elantra brakes grinding at very low mileage. It seems there was a bad batch of OEM pads & rotors, but so far Hyundai is not doing a recall. Instead Hyundai issued a TSB & dealers have been replacing pads & rotors on a per-complaint basis.

The final straw is that for several years in a row, Elantra owners report significantly lower gas mileage than the EPA estimates, & there's a small trend of engine problems.

8.5

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$3,000
Average Mileage:
10,500 miles
Total Complaints:
42 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (42 reports)
2013 Hyundai Elantra fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2013 Hyundai Elantra Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #42

Sep 192018

Elantra Limited 1.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased this from the dealership thinking I was getting a good deal (boy how wrong I was). I didn't start noticing the issue until I looked at the MPG I was getting after about a month of use. I tried driving this like a grandma and I was still getting like 21mpg in the city if I was lucky. I feel like I would have saved more money if I had purchased a V6 with more power. How was there never an actual lawsuit against them for this model year?

- Qahar R., beaverton, OR, US

problem #41

Jul 122012

Elantra Coupe Std

  • Automatic transmission
  • 0 miles

I have never gotten more than 20 MPG around town, or maybe if I am lucky 28 mpg on the highway, even long trips!!! WTH? They send me some stupid debit card every year or two for $30 or $40 thinking that is going to make up for all the gas I never planned to buy? Pathetic.

- Melissa B., Chesterbrook, US

problem #40

Sep 012016

Elantra Coupe

  • Automatic transmission
  • 32,000 miles

I am taking the car into a dealership today. My son drives the car to school which is less than 3 miles away. He drives around town sometimes and is getting less than 14 mpg! I knew he'd been getting less than expected since I was filling it up often, but when we checked what the mpg was on the last fill-up we were amazed! I Googled the problem and found that several other owners of the same type car complaining of the same problem. I must say ours seems to be the worst discrepancy I've seen. I am hoping that the problem can be fixed. I'm guessing it's covered through the Hyundai factory warranty since it seems like an engine/transmission problem. We'll see.

Update from Sep 6, 2017: The dealership found nothing wrong. They said there was a class-action suit against Hyundai for this problem, but I wasn't able to join because they had already closed the suit. It is still pending, but I spoke with a lawyer at Hyundai and he said it would never be settled because Hyundai would just keep repealing. So basically I am out of luck.

The mileage continued to go up and down with no reason why. Then the brakes went out when my son was driving and he hit a brick wall and fence. Thankfully the airbag was deployed, but the car is a total loss. Now we are in the process of finding out why the brakes failed.

- deejemama, Federal Way, WA, US

problem #39

Dec 032016

Elantra Limited 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 33,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The sticker on the window of my 2013 Hyundai Elantra Limited says the MPJ is 28-38. I'm averaging 24.5 on the highway (I'm alone in the car and not hauling anything)! Any idea why this is an industry secret?! Edmunds, Consumer, etc... all ranked this car as one of the most fuel efficient. 24 MPG is fuel efficient for 1990 and not even competitive now. Why don't any of these rating sites warn us of the lie?! Why didn't the dealership warn me of the lie?! This would've been a deal-breaker for me and now I'm stuck with this car! Now I hate the dealer and Hyundai for this - Hope they both reap the benefits of this dishonesty!

- Tim S., Dover, PA, US

problem #38

Sep 232013

Elantra GT 1.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 230 miles

Hyundai told me that the mileage would get better when the engine broke in. I have never gotten more than 31 mpg on highway driving. Day in and day out, I average 27.5 mpg. I tried to turn this car in under the Lemon Law, but they brought their lawyers. They wouldn't allow my gas receipts (I recorded gas mileage on every tank of gas). They tested my car and they said it got 41.3 mpg. I guess if you jackup the front wheels, turn off the air conditioning and set cruise control at 30 mph, that may be possible. They got fined $300,000,000 by the government for false mileage claims, but I never got a nickel. I can hardly hear anyone on the phone when I'm driving: they designed it that way to keep people off the cell phones. I will never buy another Hyundai.

- zanemorgan, Boynton Beach, FL, US

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problem #37

Apr 022016

Elantra GLS

  • Automatic transmission
  • 37,000 miles

Wish I had known about this site before. I just bought this stupid Elantra and it get 14/27 for a combined 22mpg. You literally can see the gas gauge goes down as you drive. Unbelievable for the crappy performance you get from this car. I am going to sell it even if I lose more than the cost of the extra gas because it is just stupid to drive this car.

- Zack H., San Diego, CA, US

problem #36

Apr 102013

Elantra GLS 1.8L I4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 190 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Purchased this car for the Great Fuel Mileage. Was unable to get even CLOSE to the 40 (later changed to 38) MPG that the car was supposed to get the best I ever saw was a trip to Vegas at over 250 miles with just my wife and myself in the car. I got a poor 31mpg. Mind you this is 100% highway at 70 mph... while my 16 year Civic gets 362 miles per 9.7 gal on the last fill up. You can do the math.

I feel cheated every single time I get in the car and it upsets me that I settled for this car that can't even get its rated MPG. I had a 2003 Altima that was rated 28 on the highway. That same trip to Vegas? I got 31 out of it? so Why did I downgrade to a smaller car with less power and comfort for the same fuel econ? Just knowing that Hyundai cheated on the EPA test means more about the confidence they put in their cars....

- zyphron, Hesperia, CA, US

problem #35

May 182015

Elantra Limited

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20,000 miles

This car gets nowhere near the gas mileage promised by the dealership. I'm now down to 21/34 and about 267 miles to empty on a full tank. I'm trying to dump this car if at all possible because I'm constantly have to fill it up. Don't buy this car.

- Barbara B., Saint Louis, MO, US

problem #34

Jan 142016

Elantra

  • Automatic transmission
  • 88,000 miles

Hyundai advertised avg. 37mpg...you'd have to have over 37 and right under 37 do average 37!!!!! This car doesn't even come close! 30 maybe 32 in the summer! False advertisement - AGAIN! Won't buy another one!

- Denise K., Westwood, KS, US

problem #33

Feb 042014

Elantra

  • Automatic transmission
  • 3,500 miles

Hyundai Elentra 2013 does not get advertised gas mileage.This is major for me.This is a deal breaker!!!

- Constance F., Canton, GA, US

problem #32

Nov 012015

Elantra GL 1.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2013 auto Elantra (built in S.Korea) with 30000+ miles of driving has averaged an excellent 39mpg with 15% city driving & using 100% ethanol-free gasoline(E0). Top mpg with extra highway driving has been 43mpg. When using E10(10% ethanol), mpg drops to 36 & lower with excess city driving & stop&go traffic.The car is now in the hands of another family member & we purchased a 2016 manual Elantra. MPG is lower, down to 35.5 mpg, but in heavy stop&go traffic, 25% city, & more use of E10. When E0 was used in a trip to the ocean, with stops for pix & beach walking, travel over hills & a bit of stop&go I-5 traffic, we got 46mpg. Elantra only has 130lbs-ft of torque. MPG goes away quickly, with anything but the easiest of featherfooting.

- litesong, Everett, WA, US

problem #31

Jun 012013

Elantra

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30,000 miles

Bought the Elantra in December of 2012. The first few months we had decent mileage, but then it went south quickly. We traded our 4runner in to save money but we only get low 30's for gas mileage on the highway, and low 20's in town. We feel betrayed, and it just plain ticks me off!

- kck-tx, Waco, TX, US

problem #30

Jun 012015

Elantra GLS

  • Automatic transmission
  • 12,000 miles

The Elantra MPG is totally a lie. I've driven this car for almost 2 years (half local and half highway), and the average mpg is 25, anything but close to the advertised mpg. During the first few months when I first noticed the problem, I went to the dealer and they told me there's an ease-in period, and once I got 5000 miles, the mpg would pick up. However, that never happens, even with 12000+ miles now.

Before this brand new Elantra, I had a used 2002 Honda Civic. It had much better mpg, 32 on average. So Elantra doesn't save me money at all.

I wanted to love this car - indeed, it looks sleek and pretty from outside. But its performance is disappointing. Very unhappy with the misleading advertising of Hyundai. Will not buy from Hyundai again.

- Ann W., Bothell, WA, US

problem #29

Sep 242013

Elantra Limited 1.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,200 miles

Purchased my Elantra in March of 2013. Loved it. Was getting 35MPG combined city/highway. The following September (2013) over a period of 3 fill-ups, I watched my great gas mileage drop from @350 miles on a 10 gallon fill-up to 335. Okay things happen. The next fill-up it dropped to 320. The next fill-up was down to 290 miles. And it stayed there. After 3 more fill-ups of less than 300 miles per tank, I made an appointment with the dealer. This was a drop off of almost 20%. The dealers answer, "it's winter gas". Really? I bought the car last March in "the winter!" But they insisted winter gas was the cause. I got no satisfaction from the dealer. It's now a year and a half later. I've gotten about half of it back. Getting @ 32MPG now. But I guess my days of 35MPG are gone forever.

Also need to mention that this drop in mileage coincided with an acceleration issue that also couldn't be resolved. But that's another complaint.

- bobmc, Feasterville, PA, US

problem #28

Jul 012013

Elantra

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5 miles

My 2013 Hyundai Elantra gets 18-20% less mileage (city/hwy/combined) than originally advertised (I measure mileage by filling the tank up and calculating based off my odometer). I told the dealer and Hyundai Canada and they said there were no reported problems they need to fix and the car is fine. Then they fed me the regular excuses like, your car isn't 'worked in' (I have 30k now), or you don't drive it efficiently.

The class action lawsuit seems to have been cutoff right around my model VIN. Has anyone considered another class action lawsuit for 2013 Hyundai owners that were not covered in the original settlement? Sign me up !

- P L., B, NS, Canada

problem #27

Sep 162014

Elantra

  • Automatic transmission
  • 26,000 miles

Mileage has been down year to year throughout the lease, which began August 2012. The drop was extreme, however, since we moved and my commute was cut from 25 miles to 7 each way, where in the space of 1 fill-up, my mileage went from about 27 MPG, which itself was inadequate and below par to me, to around 20 mpg (The lying gauge usually indicates 23.5 thereabouts, but it always showed me more than I really got)..

After a wasteful back and forth with the dealer about it, both the service manager and Hyundai itself finally decided that my mileage stinks because I don't drive long enough. So I should maybe take a 15 mile out of the way detour to and from work every day to increase my mileage? What kind of @#$% is that?

I should warm up the car for about 10 minutes before driving? What am I, driving a 1965 Oldsmobile that it has to sit idling cold for an eternity before it will move? I start it up in 70 plus degree weather every morning. It needs to be warmed up? WHAT KIND OF S@%T IS THAT?

So I'm punished by Hyundai for having a blessedly short commute. If you drive only 7 or so miles each way, you can only get about 20 MPG. My old 1986 Grand Marquis could nearly match that.

No solution and no satisfaction. They lied through their teeth about the mileage, period, no discussion!

Very unhappy.

- hyundaisucks, Charlotte, nc, US

problem #26

Apr 132014

Elantra LTD 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30 miles

Manufacturers estimated MPG should to be close to MPG. Hyundai uses as a selling point for their cars an inflated MPG .

- Daniel M., Wilmington, DE, US

problem #25

Nov 282013

Elantra

  • Automatic transmission
  • 40 miles

I bought my 2013 hyundai elantra in November 2013, within weeks of having it I noticed the fuel gauge is inaccurate. I learned this by being on the side of the road when my hyundai dashboard said I had 42 miles to E left. I took it to the dealership the issue was never resolved. I was told they recalibrated it. I took it to the dealership in Raleigh and was told that is common with hyundai.

- cassiem, Durham, NC, US

problem #24

Nov 242012

Elantra Gls Pzev 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20 miles

The sticker shows 32 MPG combined,28 city, we were told it would be closer to the 32 MPG for city. I average about 26 in the summer, in the winter I'm getting anywhere from 19-22. Terrible, terrible!!

- Stephen K., East Amherst, NY, US

problem #23

Apr 172014

Elantra ES 1.8L 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,500 miles

I'm getting 18mpg city driving. Just horrible considering I should be getting 28 city. We drive it to and from school (about 5 miles each way) daily. We drive it normally. I would never have bought this car if I new the gas mileage would be so poor.

- carrieca, Mission Viejo, CA, US

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