2019 Hyundai Elantra

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 35-40 MPH on a bridge, the engine made a loud banging and knocking sound, and the vehicle stalled. The driver shifted into neutral, coasted down the bridge with the engine off, and pulled over to the side of the road. The driver noticed an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence, where the contact's husband performed an oil change and discovered a hole in the side of the engine block. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer, where it was confirmed that the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V301000 (Engine); however, the repair was not covered because the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 120,286. The VIN was unavailable.

NHTSA ID

11762242

Incident

Aug 4, 2026

Mileage

120,286 mi

2019 Hyundai Elantra with 2.0L Nu MPI engine suffered catastrophic engine failure at approximately 118,530 miles. Vehicle is currently at the [XXX] Hyundai dealership. Vehicle appears to fall within the exact parameters of Hyundai Recall 203/NHTSA 21V-301. Have spoken to the dealership as well as Hyundai corporate and they have refused to either honor their own recall campaign or do a goodwill service to replace the engine, citing my VIN does not fall under their recall campaign, however they have yet to provide any reason, and according to their own campaign 203 recall information my vehicle meets the exact criteria. I am concerned the recall population may exclude vehicles suffering the same engine defect, and their clearly is a clerical error or something on their behalf, and they appear to not be interested in remedying it, which could and has in my case resulted in potential danger. My car died in the middle of [XXX], and had I been in heavy traffic and could not have coasted it down a hill to a parking lot almost certainly would have resulted in a collision. I was fortunate enough to at the time be in light traffic. Upon restarting car motor made a horrendous knocking noise, which is symptomatic of exactly what recall campaign 203 warned of with the defective engines they installed in my series of vehicles. Hyundai denied goodwill solely based on time in service and mileage rather than identifying a different failure mechanism, and as of the time of writing this has not provided an explanation of why according to them my VIN doesn't fall in their campaign, when clearly it should as it is the correct year, correct factory stock engine, correct place if manufacture, and the very same symptoms they published in their campaign. They have told me I need new engine, as was obvious by the fact it's disabled and sounds as if a rod has thrown. I have brought this to their attention every day for going on 2-3 weeks. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11762038

Incident

Aug 24, 2026

Car sudden stopped then would not turn on Currently being looked at but for suspected timing chain, VVT, and related parts Others have reported these same issues and other model with same engines have been recalled

NHTSA ID

11761307

Incident

Aug 28, 2026

On 6/12/26, the engine had a sudden, catastrophic failure that caused a life-threatening hazard on a 2-lane highway in a remote mountain grade with no shoulder. Prior to this incident, the forward collision system had falsely gone off several times in dark or rainy conditions when there was no actual hazard or oncoming traffic on the road, which is very distracting and dangerous. Hyundai is not abiding by the terms of the federal class action lawsuit settlement, refuses to replace the defective engine, and is generally a danger to the public. What is the NHTSA going to do the next time a Hyundai catches fire and causes a catastrophic disaster in Southern California? I was fortunate the engine didn't catch fire...it was lightning-hot when I opened the hood a full 30 minutes after the breakdown. This has a Nu series MPI engine...there are 5 known classes of Hyundai/Kia engines that fail without warning and the company is still getting away with endangering drivers, refusing to replace or reimburse. I have a 10k lien on this vehicle and my livelihood is at risk because of Hyundai's negligence and disregard for the law. My stalled vehicle could have caused a deadly accident when it failed had another driver failed to see it blocking the road. This is happening to millions of Hyundai owners and we're not getting the recourse we were promised. My VIN was excluded from recalls and class action, yet it has the same exact dangerous engine defect. Please investigate the Nu 2.0 MPI engine series if this hasn't already been established as an additional unsafe configuration. It would be in the interest of public safety if Hyundai went out of business; the company's manufacturing is a danger to society and Hyundai doesn't care as long as they continue to profit from consumer hardship and suffering.

NHTSA ID

11758964

Incident

Jun 12, 2026

About two months ago, I had to replace the camshaft on my vehicle. Then about 3 weeks ago while driving down the road I began to hear a grinding slap near the front right of the vehicle. Then the power died and the vehicle limped into a parking lot. After stopping for about 30 minutes, I was able to restart the vehicle and get it home. The same noise occurred the whole drive. I couldn't start it again, and had it towed to my mechanic. The mechanic's review showed that the engine had seized up despite only being down a quart of oil. The engine was getting plenty of oil to give him confidence that missing oil wasn't the cause of the problem. The vehicle has about 104000 miles on it. To date, Hyundai refuses to even acknowledge that it's their problem despite a similar recall (21V301000) already being announced for this Elantra model.

NHTSA ID

11753489

Incident

Jul 11, 2026

The engine failed for my 2019 Hyundai Elantra. We bought it at Atlantic Hyundai dealership. They used a passing recall inspection to clear a defective engine, misdiagnosed the ensuing failure as an oil pan leak, and abandoned me with a vehicle that stalled dangerously in traffic. We brought car to Atlantic Hyundai told them that the car just stopped on the highway in the middle of driving. Our mechanic told me to tell Hyundai the car was rapidly consuming oil. Hyundai said oh no it’s just an oil pan snd we trusted them allowed them to fix it. Several weeks later the car completely stopped in middle of driving on exit ramp. Police came to make sure traffic was diverted so they could help me get car to side of road safely. It was towed back to my mechanic who said same exact thing car is dangerous bring it to Hyundai they need to fix this for you it’s the engine recall. We had it towed to dealership and after 2 weeks they said oh yeah you need new engine. We brought it to independent mechanic because Atlantic Hyundai knowingly sent me off in a dangerous vehicle the first time and no longer did I trust them with safety of myself and others on the road

NHTSA ID

11752383

Incident

Nov 15, 2024

The car was driving on the highway and out of nowhere the car just stopped in the middle of the highway. I brought it to my mechanic who said the car was rapidly consuming oil and my cars engine was seizing. and he safely brought me and the car to Atlantic Hyundai where I had bought the car to have them diagnose and fix the issue. After several days they diagnosed the issue as a simple oil pan issue and replaced the oil pan and sent me on my way. The same issue with the engine seizing up in the middle of driving on the highway endangering my life and others. I am still terrified thinking of this. We brought car back to Hyundai by tow truck because I was scared to drive it and after 2 weeks of waiting they then told me the car needed new engine however they never mentioned what I later discovered was a serious recall for this specific engine . Upon further research my car was listed under the recall however before I bought the car it says it passed the test to see if it needed engine replacement under recall 203 . They knowingly said my vehicle was safe they sold it to me knowing it was unsafe and then they put a bandaid ( oil pan) and sent me on my way knowing I was in danger. I am lucky to be alive because the car stalled out on a major highway .

NHTSA ID

11751244

Incident

Dec 5, 2023

At 86,000 miles After replacing the camshaft and timing chain with a mechanic friend, we turned the engine over and heard the beginning of an engine knock, he said this engine is notorious for knocking and failing before 100000. Kia recalled the exact same engine. However Hyundai did not. I feel this is very unsafe.

NHTSA ID

11749856

Incident

Jul 12, 2026

Hyundai has become aware that your Hyundai Elantra equipped with a 2.0 ATK engine may have been incorrectly updated with Cylinder Noise Detection System (CNDS) software intended only for Korean-built Elantra vehicles and may not meet specifications.

Certain Elantra (ADA) vehicles may have been incorrectly updated with Cylinder Noise Detection System (CNDS) software that can set DTC P132700; this software was intended only for Korean-built Elantra (AD) vehicles. In addition, the California Air Resources Board has determined that these vehicles may be releasing air pollutants which exceed Federal and California standards.

Certain Elantra (ADA) vehicles may have been incorrectly updated with Cylinder Noise Detection System (CNDS) software that can set DTC P132700; this software was intended only for Korean-built Elantra (AD) vehicles. This bulletin provides instructions to perform a software update for the Engine Control Module (ECM) to revert to the original ROM ID, apply the emissions label under the hood, and provide the vehicle owner with Proof of Correction.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN). These inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehicle manufacturers and have primarily been found in vehicles that previously experienced a crash and underwent airbag replacement using non-genuine parts. These dangerous inflators have ruptured during deployment, posing a serious risk of injury or death due to metal fragments entering the vehicle cabin. To date, Hyundai is aware of three people who have died while driving a Hyundai vehicle with one of these substandard replacement airbag inflators that deployed in what likely would have been a survivable crash. NHTSA has issued a public advisory urging vehicle owners and service professionals to have vehicles inspected if there is reason to believe that a non-genuine replacement airbag may have been installed. Vehicles with salvage or rebuilt titles, prior airbag deployments, or unknown repair histories may present a higher risk. NHTSA strongly cautions against self-inspection by vehicle owners and recommends inspection by trained technicians.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN), that have been identified in U.S. vehicles following prior crashes, theft, or non‑certified airbag replacements. These inflators are not approved for use, may rupture during deployment, and have caused serious injuries and fatalities. Please see attached announcement, provided by NHTSA, for more details.

In response to this trend, we engineered a software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method and made it available to owners of eligible models free of charge at authorized Hyundai dealers since early 2023. In addition to the anti-theft software, we’ve developed a new zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector hardware upgrade that can be installed at the ignition cylinder location to provide additional protection against the social media theft method. Because your Hyundai vehicle with the VIN listed above (“Subject Vehicle”) was not factory-equipped with an engine immobilizer and was previously eligible for the software upgrade, you are now eligible until March 31, 2027 to have the ignition cylinder protector installed — if you request it — at no cost to you through an authorized Hyundai dealership.