290 NHTSA owner complaints · 2 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 29.0
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
Engine burned oil and had knocking sound, despite having regular oil changes. Stalked out while driving took to dealer initial said it was covered by the exerted coverage but ultimately denied. It had 111,000 miles on it. I believe this engine has the same issues as the others.
The oil light & check engine started flashing. Took it to the auto shop. The mechanic stated that the oil level is very low and the engine has a bad lower-end knock. Removed the oil filter and found metal debris in the oil. No oil leaks were found under the vehicle at all. Oil is being burned out through the exhaust. The vehicle needs an the ngine replacement.
Transmission P0731 code. Vehicle will not shift into 1st gear when idle but will stay in 3 or 4 gear. Speedometer would indicate high speed when pressing on accelerator. At traffic light when light turn green car rev but would not shift into gear. Has only 130K miles. Car was towed to dealer and required a new transmission.
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 26V307000 | Air Bags:Frontal:Driver Side:Inflator Mo | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra and 2016 Elantra GT vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may ruptu… |
| 24V146000 | Latches/Locks/Linkages:Trunk Lid:Latch | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Elantra vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening… |
EPA combined 31 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $2,000
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Engine (109 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is CAUTION with a reliability score of 46/100, computed from 290 NHTSA complaints and 2 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 2 recall campaign(s) for the 2016 Hyundai Elantra, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 15/05/2026. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-08-20.