2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Suspension (5) · Air Bags (4) · Power Train (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Elantra Touring model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
21 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Structure:frame And Members 2014-06-10 · campaign 14V310000 · 35,000 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Elantra Touring vehicles manufactured December 15, 2009, through May 7, 2012. The affected vehicles have a support bracket attached to the headliner that may become displaced during a side curtain airbag deployment.
Risk: If the headliner support bracket makes contact with an occupant during a crash, it may cause a laceration injury.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will apply adhesive strips to the headliner, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2014. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 117.
Service bulletins (49)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Back Over Prevention: Warnings 2026-10-15 · 26-GI-004H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some hyundai vehicles may be equipped with a parking distance warning (pdw) sensor(s) that may trigger various dtcs and display warning messages on the instrument cluster, resulting in the pdw sensor(s) failing to detect nearby objects or triggering multiple false alarms. this condition may be a res
Engine 2026-10-08 · 26-EM-016H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning procedure for vehicles diagnosed with this condition. all internal combustion engines consume some engine oil during normal operatio
Engine 2026-10-07 · 26-EM-015H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures for vehicles exhibiting this condition. all internal combustion engines consume engine oil as part of normal engine operatio
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DL · Other
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 vehi
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DCS · Other
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
Exterior Lighting 2025-11-06 · 25-BD-012H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to the accumulated moisture in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (drl), or fog lamp. this tsb illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. lamp assembly replacement is not necessary
Showing the 6 most recent of 49 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2019-07-19 · Steering · 102,000 mi“with the engine started and in park you can turn the steering wheel right or left and it has a thumping noise. it seems like it doesn't affect the steering but this is the car my wife drives and it makes her very nervous. it makes you very uncomfortable driving the car because you don't know if the steering wheel is going to lock up and cause a ser…”
2019-06-28 · Exterior Lighting“unable to read the part of the dash that tells milage during the day. only able to read it at night. therefore, when i had my oil changed today, the mechanic had to ask me if i knew the mileage since he was unable to read it. i told him approx what i had last noticed it last night. this is a problem when going on trips and my navigation system says…”
2019-06-28 · Unknown Or Other · 8,000 mi“i am the original owner of this vehicle. i have had four instrument clusters replaced due to the display panel fading in the hot weather. the problem is happening again and it would appear that i now need a 5th instrument cluster. surely, there must be some thing that hyundai can do to fix this ongoing issue. the odometer, mileage range and gear po…”
2019-06-08 · Unknown Or Other · 72,000 mi“the driver window dropped to the door while i was driving. i went to the hyundai dealer who charged me over &400 and stated that this issue is very common for elantra. i have elantra touring and my car is no qualified for recall.…”
2019-04-06 · Suspension · 76,000 mi“in the left rear suspension, the trailing arm broke off where the anti-roll bar is mounted, to where the anti-roll bar is no longer connected to the suspension. the clunking noise that resulted from this was first noticed in early march 2019, and occurs when going over bumps in the road. the date of occurrence of 3/1/19 is approximate. …”
2019-03-16 · Engine · 100,939 mi“my issue is with automaker hyundai and a known manufacturing defect in the engines of some 2011-2013 hyundai elantra cars. i own one of these cars. it is for my daughter, 17, who paid the majority of the $7000 with her own money to buy the car. she has put around 6-7 thousand miles on it since she bought it and despite having the car looked at by …”
2019-01-07 · Air Bags · 62,500 mi“the dashboard srs airbag warning light went on yesterday and remained on as long as my vehicle was in motion. after turning off the engine, the warning light did not turn on again. the dealer's service technician thinks it is probably the clock spring because this is a common issue. he said to bring it in right away because the airbag will not depl…”
2018-02-15 · Power Train · 95,000 mi“the power train does not shift at times, sticks in 3rd gear, pops in and out while driving between 30 and 35 mph.…”
2016-04-15 · Power Train · 100,000 mi“when accelerating the car gets stuck between 25 and 40 mph. it wont proceed to the next gear. i have to lay off the gas, let it drop back down and hope that it works the next time i accelerate. the transmission fluid is not low. the car is in motion while this issue happens.…”
2016-04-15 · Electrical System · 20,000 mi“the odometer is completely unreadable. i know this sounds strange, the only time i can see it completely clear is in cold fall weather in the early morning. it has been this way for quite a while. it was not covered under warranty when i reported it to the dealer. we cannot afford to replace the cluster lighting that would fix it. this is in mot…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.