Avg. Price Paid:$8,723 - $9,471
Original MSRP: $13,970 - $17,670
MPG: 24 City / 33 Hwy
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Hyundai Elantra Recalls & Reliability

These scores and this review are from when the car was new.

Scorecard

Overall: 2008 Hyundai Elantra U.S. News Best Cars 8.3
Critics' Rating: 8.7
Performance: 7.4
Interior: 8.0
Safety: 9.2
Reliability:
How we calculate scores
Research analyzed for this review

Pros & Cons

  • Exceptional fun-to-drive factor
  • Comfortable and supportive seats
  • Loaded with standard safety features and excellent scores in crash tests
  • Some find the interior and exterior styling too conservative, bland
  • Mixed response from the reviewers on the light steering
  • Shifting on the manual transmission can be tricky

Research Other Years

Review Last Updated: 2/17/09

Recalls

There have been 4 safety recalls issued from NHTSA.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULERecall Date: 03/15/2011
  • Consequence: THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG COULD DEPLOY IN CRASHES IN WHICH IT SHOULD NOT DEPLOY, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT FROM THE DEPLOYED AIR BAG.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 11V143000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 188,697
  • Summary: HYUNDAI IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2007-2009 ELANTRA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 14, 2006, THROUGH NOVEMBER 1, 2008. THE FRONT PASSENGER SEATS IN THE VEHICLES CONTAIN A WEIGHT SENSOR DESIGNED TO DEACTIVATE THE RIGHT FRONTAL AIRBAG WHEN OCCUPANTS OF CERTAIN WEIGHTS OCCUPY THE SEAT. THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR THE WEIGHT SENSOR IS LOCATED UNDER THE CENTER CONSOLE, BETWEEN THE FRONT SEATS. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES THE CONNECTOR COULD BECOME CONTAMINATED AND MALFUNCTION SUCH THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL DEPLOY REGARDLESS OF THE WEIGHT OF THE OCCUPANT.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A PROTECTIVE COVER OVER THE WEIGHT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CONNECTOR TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTING TO BEGIN DURING APRIL 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI'S CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.
  • Notes: HYUNDAI'S SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER IS 099. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULERecall Date: 03/15/2011
  • Consequence: A HIGHER PRESSURE DEPLOYMENT THAN INTENDED INCREASES THE RISK OF INJURY RESULTING FROM AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 11V179000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 95,783
  • Summary: HYUNDAI IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2007-2008 ELANTRA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 14, 2006, THROUGH AUGUST 29, 2007. THE DRIVER'S SEAT TRACK POSITION SENSOR DETERMINES THE SEAT'S FORE AND AFT POSITION AND ALLOWS THE DRIVER'S FRONTAL AIR BAG TO DEPLOY AT THE PRESSURE APPROPRIATE FOR THAT SEATING POSITION, WITH A LOWER PRESSURE DEPLOYMENT IN THE MOST FORWARD SEATING POSITIONS. THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE MAY RECEIVE AN UNSTABLE ELECTRICAL SIGNAL FROM THE SEAT TRACK POSITION SENSOR SUCH THAT, IN A CRASH THAT REQUIRES DRIVER FRONTAL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT, THE DRIVER'S AIRBAG MAY DEPLOY AT THE HIGHER PRESSURE THAN INTENDED IF THE SEAT WAS POSITION IN ONE OF THE FORWARD POSITIONS IN WHICH A LOWER PRESSURE DEPLOYMENT IS INTENDED.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTING TO BEGIN DURING APRIL 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI'S CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.
  • Notes: HYUNDAI'S SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER IS 100. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPRecall Date: 12/29/2008
  • Consequence: AS A RESULT, POOR ENGINE STARING AND HESITATION MAY RESULT. OTHER ENGINE PERFORMANCE ISSUES MAY ALSO RESULT AND LEAD TO A CRASH.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 08V694000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 347
  • Summary: HYUNDAI DE PUERTO RICO (HPR) IS RECALLING 347 MY 2008 ELANTRA VEHICLES. THE FUEL PUMP MOTOR MAY NOT HAVE THE PROPER, UNIFORM INTERNAL ELECTRICAL SURFACE CONTACT. THIS MAY CAUSE THE FUEL PUMP TO PRODUCE LESS PUMPING PRESSURE THAN REQUIRED TO SUPPLY THE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE VEHICLE'S FUEL PUMP SUBASSEMBLY. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING FEBRUARY 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HPR AT 1-800-981-0188.
  • Notes: HPR RECALL NO. 086. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMPRecall Date: 08/19/2008
  • Consequence: POOR ENGINE STARTING AND HESITATION MAY RESULT. OTHER ENGINE PERFORMANCE ISSUES MAY ALSO RESULT INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 08V429000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 65000
  • Summary: HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 65,000 MY 2008 ELANTRA WITH 2.0 LITER BETA ENGINES. THE FUEL PUMP MOTOR MAY NOT HAVE THE PROPER UNIFORM INTERNAL ELECTRICAL SURFACE CONTACT. THIS MAY CAUSE THE FUEL PUMP TO PRODUCE LESS PUMPING PRESSURE THAN REQUIRED TO SUPPLY THE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP SUBASSEMBLY FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING SEPTEMBER 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
  • Notes: CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Reliability

Our reliability score is based on the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) rating or, if unavailable, the J.D. Power Predicted Reliability rating.

Dependability Ratings1 2008
Overall Dependability
Powertrain Dependability
Feature & Accessory Dependability
Body & Interior Dependability

1These scores come from consumer ratings of their vehicles after three years of ownership.

  • Key:
  • Among The Best
  • Better Than Most
  • About Average
  • The Rest

J.D. Power and Associates Power Circle Ratings do not include all information used to determine J.D. Power and Associates awards. See JDPower.com for more information on Power Circle Ratings. Your experience may vary.

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Warranty

Hyundai provides a stellar five-year or 60,000 mile limited warranty for its Elantra. In addition, the Elantra has a powertrain warranty good for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Potential buyers should note several 2008 Elantras with the 2.0-liter engine were recalled due to a faulty fuel pump motor, which could cause poor engine starting and hesitation. Call (800) 633-5151 for details.

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