4.0

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
30,263 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Hyundai Elantra drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Hyundai Elantra Owner Comments

problem #17

Mar 062023

Elantra

  • miles

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

My Hyundai Elantra started completely shutting off while I was driving. This happened on multiple occasions like in slow traffic and while going high speeds on the highway. This is scary and dangerous when my toddler child is in the car. I took it to 3 different mechanics and no one can find any codes or anything wrong with it---but it continues to happen and put my life and my daughters life at risk. I have seen so many people complaining of the same thing--but nothing has happened? This last dealership has had my car for 3 weeks (and counting) but still cannot find the issue. I have about 125,000 miles on the car.

- Lindenwold, NJ, USA

problem #16

Feb 032023

Elantra

  • miles
Car stutters at low speed.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #15

Aug 292022

Elantra

  • miles
I believe it is the transmission/ power train that failed. It slides gears and the engine stalls. While driving, I was almost hit because I could not speed up. I had to decelerate in order for the gear to not stutter.

- Apple Valley, CA, USA

problem #14

Jun 102022

Elantra

  • miles

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

On 06/10/2022 Going down the road went to shift gears and it was stuck in 5th gear. Finally got it released and safely made it home. Ever since you can shift the gears and reverse while engine isn-€™t running but once I turn on the vehicle it refuses to shift into any gears including reverse. I have a FIXD OBD2 sensor and it showed no warning messages before, during, and now. No codes are showing up when plugged in. Matter of fact it says there-€™s no issues with my car ? I had a mechanic take a look since he was willing to come to my house considering I currently don-€™t have the funds to get it checked out & he said it-€™s probably my clutch has went out, but that can-€™t be the case considering it will turn on still. I have no messages appear on the dash & I have plenty of transmission oil. Today is 07/08/2022 and it has just been sitting there due to the fact I-€™ve lost my employment and can-€™t afford to have it looked

- Monterey, TN, USA

problem #13

Jun 032022

Elantra

  • miles
April 2022 Car engine stalls while at stop sign or light. Started happening once or twice every few weeks. Took the vehicle to two repair shops but could not diagnose the issue. Vehicle giving no diagnostic codes or warning lights. May 2022 vehicle is now stalling and losing acceleration while driving on busy highway, leaving me and my children on the highway shoulder. Car loses acceleration and coasts to a complete stop. No warning lights have come on previously. Could not book an appointment with Hyundai dealer until June 25, 2022. As of June 3rd 2022, check engine light is on and car having trouble starting back up after stall. Vehicle is stalling and losing acceleration 2-3 times a day no matter the speed. Booked appointment with Hyundai dealer in another area for June 9, 2022.

- Gwynn Oak, MD, USA

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problem #12

Feb 262022

Elantra

  • miles
My 2016 Hyundai Elantra started jerking and losing acceleration power. I got stuck at a stop sign because the car lost the ability to change gears. It felt very unsafe to be stuck in the middle of traffic and have to wave people around my vehicle at night. I-€™ve taken it to two different mechanics who have both said my vehicle has experienced premature transmission failure due to a factory defect. The car has 90,000 miles. I am a second owner so my warranty ended at 60,000 miles. There was no warning or dash lights. It was very abrupt and unexpected.

- Euharlee, GA, USA

problem #11

Aug 252021

Elantra

  • miles

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

My vehicle is only 5 years old and the transmission has problems. I was driving and the car stopped with an impact force. I thought that someone or something had hit me from behind. For over over 2 months, I have been without a vehicle because the mechanic shop states that the transmission need part replacements.

- Saint Petersburg , FL, USA

problem #10

Sep 292021

Elantra

  • miles
Check engine light didn't come on until the car no longer went into gear. Prior to light coming on car started jumping like 3 feet when going from park to drive sometimes and would do the same sometimes after proceeding from a stop. After about 2 weeks of doing this car would only go in reverse then the check engine light came on. Had it towed to dealer to be serviced. They said i need a new transmission and cost over $6800. Car has been in shop for 3 weeks now. I filed a complaint with you guys and was told to see if Hyundai would make things right and make it a recall since it was a huge safety issue i think. However they said there was nothing they could do cause my warranty was up cause I'm almost to 130000 miles. That shouldn't even matter it was still a safety issue. I was reading and found that a lot of people were having similar issues and Hyundai does nothing about it.

- Perris, CA, USA

problem #9

Sep 212020

Elantra

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that after the vehicle had been driven for over an hour, the vehicle shut-off while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that the oil warning light flashed on the instrument panel prior to the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to two independent mechanics who were unable to duplicate the failure. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Riverdale, GA, USA

problem #8

Sep 072020

Elantra

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 15 mph, an abnormal odor and an abnormal sound was heard coming from the vehicle. The vehicle loss motive power without warning. The contact stated that vehicle was leaking fuel from the front of the vehicle. The contact veered to the shoulder of the road, turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to resume normal operation. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The following day the vehicle was towed to wayne Mazda (1244 state route 23, wayne, NJ 07470) where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the warranty was expired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

- Orange, NJ, USA

problem #7

Jul 172020

Elantra

  • 106,894 miles

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

I was driving on the street when I reached a stop light. I came to a complete, full, and safe stop. The car was stationary. And before this day that this all happened, the car was in perfect driving condition. Nothing was wrong from what I could tell. I then turned the car off and turned it back on, in the front of traffic forming behind me. It kept shutting off every time I would stop or slow down. It happened about 7 times before I went back to the dealership I bought it from.

- Norfolk, VA, USA

problem #6

May 122020

Elantra 4-cyl

  • 55,970 miles
I have had problems with my vehicle for a year now. I took the car to Hyundai several times to get my vehicle service and each time they were unable to duplicate the problem. The problems I am experiencing are a delay in acceleration, car shuts off occasionally while driving, car shut off occasionally when switching to reverse, the car always shakes and makes a weird noise just before shutting off. The car jerks when driving spontaneously, low tapping noise under the hood that could be heard inside the vehicle. I have videos of my car shutting off while driving and backing up. I also have videos of the tapping noise and shaking just before shutting off. The last time I took my car to be serviced I was told that the oil pressure pump and exhaust cvt need replacement. I was told the Hyundai techline instructed the technician not to make any repairs because the technician was unable to duplicate the problem. I was advised by a Hyundai case manager to take my vehicle to another Hyundai shop to see if they can duplicate the problem.

- Oxon Hill, MD, USA

problem #5

Apr 152019

Elantra

  • 78,800 miles
I am told I need to have my engine replaced. My car had been making ticking and knocking noises as if it was struggling to function. The day it broke down, it was beginning to knock exceptionally loud. I was afraid it was going to stall while driving as the car would not accelerate when I pushed on the gas pedal. It stalled again at the next intersection. Then would not start at all. I had to ask for help to push my car to a safe area. This happened on a city streets. I had the car towed to the Hyundai dealership believing it was covered under warranty. I was told I needed a new engine at a cost of about $8,000. If I replace the engine with the same engine, who's to say this won't happen again? I bought the Hyundai because of the 10 year/100,000 mile warranty knowing I'd be putting on the miles for work. I don't expect engine failure at the 78,800 miles (I bought it used from enterprise car sales with 18,000 miles on it). The selling point was the 10 year/100,000 mile warranty that I expected to have. I learned it does not pass to the second owner. Why not" how does the driver change the apparently defective manufacturing of the engine"! as I pressed on with the Hyundai representative, he told me (after consulting with his supervisor) it is only covered for a second owner if it was a certified pre-owned vehicle. I said it was cpo and that is how enterprise marketed their vehicles. Hyundai then said the ownership for the warranty is under alamo/enterprise, not me. News to me, but, again, why does it matter if the engine is defective" these "nu" engines have already been established to be defective. What engine bites the dust at 78,800 miles" my car was serviced regularly although not by the dealership. The representative then proceeded to tell me the warranty would be invalid anyway if it was not serviced by Hyundai.

- Parker, CO, USA

problem #4

Oct 152018

Elantra

  • 111,814 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the transmission started slipping and abnormal clicking noises were heard. The dealer (sport durst Hyundai, 4507 durham-chapel hill blvd, durham, nc 27707) was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 111,814.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #3

May 042018

Elantra

  • 0 miles
This 2016, Hyundai Elantra sport suffers from dangerous hesitation when accelerating from a stop. This is dangerous because when pulling out into traffic there is an expectation of have acceleration from a stop. This has occurred on numerous occasions since the car was new. I called the dealer about a year ago and asked if there was any transmission reprogramming or anything else the factory had developed to cure this problem they said no. Today it was particularly dangerous when I pulled out and it just would not go for several seconds. Barely missed being involved in a head on collision. I believe it is time this gets reported as a significant safety deficiency. We had bought the "sport" version of the car to get better acceleration from its larger engine, because some owners had complained that it was weak of acceleration, but this did not cure the problem. It is only a problem on accelerating from a stop. Moving acceleration is pretty good.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #2

Apr 122016

Elantra

  • 5,000 miles
I was driving on a city street going approx. 30 mph when the car felt like it had downshifted into a low gear. The tachometer wa revving between 4,000 and 5,000 rpms even though I was slowing. I pulled to the side of the road but was unable to put the car in park as the gear shift was stuck in drive. After several attempts to put the car in park, I pulled the gear shift down as low as it would go past D(rive) and then I was able to push it up into the park position. Once I put the car back into drive again the engine and transmission were normal.

- Revere, MA, USA

problem #1

Feb 162016

Elantra

  • 6,000 miles
I have taken my car to 2 Hyundai dealerships to be looked at. When I drive my car gets stuck in a high gear & gives me a hard time driving unless I accelerate dramatically to drop the rpms & the car will drop gears. I live on a very steep hill & came close to a very dangerous accident due to this issue. My car did not want to make it up my hill because the car makes a loud noise. The day this happened it was snowing & I had to accelerate to make it up & almost crashed because my car was rolling back down the hill & I live off of a busy intersection.

- Revere, MA, USA

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