Problems · NHTSA complaints

2008 Hyundai Elantra problems

Owners filed 316 complaints about the 2008 Hyundai Elantra with NHTSA between Dec 2007 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is steering (55).

Complaints
316
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
38
Reported by owners
Fires
24
Reported by owners
Injuries
41
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Steering55
  2. Air bags38
  3. Fuel system, gasoline36
  4. Service brakes32
  5. Electrical system31
  6. Power train29
  7. Engine24
  8. Exterior lighting24
  9. Vehicle speed control24
  10. Engine and engine cooling17
  11. Service brakes, hydraulic16
  12. Suspension11
  13. Structure10
  14. Visibility/wiper7

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20071
200851
200923
201018
201123
201216
201327
201422
201515
201615
201715
201815
201915
202024
202110
20228
20238
20242
20255
20263

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Steering

55 reports4 crashes1 related recall
“I want to go start my car just now to go to the store and when I turned it on and started it up the ABS lights emergency brake light and EPS light always lit up on my dashboard so I grabbed the manual to try to figure out what it is seen what each was individual thing standard for so I googled each individual and that's when I realized there's a recall for this from my vehicle for the ABS malfunction”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 30, 2024Steering, Service brakesODI 11597834

Air bags

38 reports22 crashes2 related recalls
“The contact owned a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while the wife was driving at 30 MPH, the contact's wife was involved in a no-fault accident. The other vehicle involved was a 2020 Yukon Denali, which ran a stop sign and crashed the front driver's side. The contact stated that none of the air bags deployed. The contact's wife was taken by ambulance to the hospital for medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The vehicle was condemned to total loss by State Farm. The contact stated his wife suffered bruises and a herniated fifth disk in her back that required medical attention. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,200.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 1, 2023Air bagsCrash reportedODI 11553034

Fuel system, gasoline

36 reports2 related recalls
“The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with fuel pump failure. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled intermittently. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 172,600.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 21, 2025Fuel system, gasolineODI 11655889

Service brakes

32 reports4 crashes4 fires
“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 driver side was totally catching fire. Then it spread. The engine needle never showed over heated. The car took no more than 6 minutes to catch fire from the time it started smoking. It was very scary”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 30, 2025Electrical system, Service brakes, EngineODI 11702148

Electrical system

31 reports2 crashes10 fires
“The contact owned a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that upon pulling into the driveway, the power steering and ABS warning lights illuminated. After researching the warning lights online, the contact turned off and exited the vehicle. The contact became aware of smoke coming from underneath the hood. Upon opening the hood, the contact noticed that the under hood was on fire and called the Fire Department. The Fire Department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. The contact was informed that fire had originated under the dashboard nearby the computer. The vehicle was inspected, towed, and then deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired for an engine overheating failure two weeks prior to the fire. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 26, 2026Electrical system, FirerelatedFire reportedODI 11773810

Power train

29 reports3 crashes
“2008 Elantra should be added to the crankshaft Theta II recall. 2098 Elantra has the 2.0L engine unlike its prior years where they are made with a 1.6L engine. Last week my 2008 Elantra exhibited all the signs of this malfunction (A knocking noise from the engine that increases in frequency as the engine rpm increases. Reduced power and/or hesitation and vibration. Illumination of the “check engine” light in the instrument cluster. Illumination of the “engine oil pressure” warning lamp.) When this occured i had taken it to Auto Zone and had the computer scanned for error codes. (See attached report). Based on the report a tune up was done, ignition coil replaced and sensor replaced. Car would still not start. When my mechanic furthe diagnosed it (he could not find the issue until he used his scope camera)he found the issue was that there is damage to the "trigger wheel" inside the crank shaft. He also said this almost never happens in a car and does not know what could have made this happen. Please investigate this issue further, this is a dangerous situation of engine seizing and should be investigated immediately and thoroughly.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 31, 2022Power train, EngineODI 11499650
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.