2021 Hyundai Accent problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Seat Belts (6) · Engine (4) · Wheels:lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Accent model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Seat Belts:front 2022-05-19 · campaign 22V354000 · 230,233 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Accent, 2021-2022 Elantra, and 2021-2022 Elantra HEV vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
Risk: An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Fix: Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioner(s) with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 28, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 229. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall numbers 21V-796, 22V-069, 22V-218, and 22V-123 for Accent, Elantra, and Elantra HEV vehicles. All Accent, Elantra, and Elantra HEV vehicles already repaired under the previous recalls will need to have the new r
Steering:column 2022-05-06 · campaign 22V311000 · 2 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Accent vehicles. A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly, which can cause the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.
Risk: Loss of steering control can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and tighten the lower steering column u-joint retention bolt, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 5, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 226.
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2022-02-09 · campaign 22V069000 · 354 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Accent vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioner(s) may explode upon deployment.
Risk: An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, striking vehicle occupants and resulting in injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 24, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 219. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 21V-796. This recall is replaced by NHTSA recall number 22V-354. Vehicles already repaired under this recall will need to have the new remedy completed.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:master Cylinder 2021-12-02 · campaign 21V937000 · 76 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Accent vehicles. The brake master cylinder may have been manufactured with sharp edges that can damage the inner oil seal, resulting in reduced braking performance.
Risk: Reduced braking performance can cause longer brake pedal travel or extend the distance required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 213.
Service bulletins (51)
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.
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
Electrical System 2025-12-19 · P33 OL · Other
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 i
Electrical System 2025-12-15 · 25-01-089H DCS · Other
upon customer's request only, the technical service bulletin (tsb) 25-01-089h provides the service procedure for installation of a key cylinder reinforcement protector assembly and two anti-theft decals on the front windows. this repair procedure is being provided in addition to the previous anti-th
Showing the 6 most recent of 51 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-07-01 · Engine“the contact owns a 2021 hyundai accent. the contact stated that while driving on the highway at 40 mph, the vehicle lost automotive power. there was no warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed; however, the contact was informed there was no fault found with the vehicle. the vehicle was not r…”
2025-04-26 · Service Brakes“hard time stopping and controlling the vechile…”
2024-10-01 · Engine“the contact leased a 2021 hyundai accent through enterprise rent-a-car. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle lost motive power for about 5 seconds while accelerating and decelerating through traffic. the contact stated that he was able to duplicate the failure five times and related the failure to the engine; however, the vehic…”
2024-05-11 · Wheels“during a tire swap, another lug nut broke off while trying to remove it. this issue has occurred before, and it seems that the faulty lug nut problem is still present. the car has only been serviced at hyundai dealerships, and the tires were last rotated during a service at an authorized hyundai dealership before this incident. the affected lug nut…”
2023-11-21 · Engine“my 2021 hyundai accent has randomly not started a in more than 10 different times. the lights go on and you can hear it trying to start but it never catches to actually start. it’s under warranty but the dealer says if they can’t see it when it’s happening then they can’t fix anything. i bought a new battery with dealer recommendations but i still …”
2023-04-22 · Wheels:lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs“this is the fourth lugnut/stud that has failed. this time it was during routine maintenance at an authorized dealership during tire rotation.…”
2023-04-22 · Wheels:lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs“fifth lug nut failure within a span of less than 6 months. today during winter to summer tire snow change, front passenger side lug nut broke while it was being removed. this is the 4th incident in my vehicle with regards to the lug nuts. less than two weeks ago, during routine maintenance at a hyundai dealership, another lugnut broke and i have al…”
2023-01-24 · Seat Belts“the contact owns a 2021 hyundai accent. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 22v354000 (seat belts) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the contact h…”
2022-12-05 · Wheels:lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs“the studs and the lug nuts have consistently cross-threading and corrosion issues in a barely-year-old vehicle. i have had to visit the dealer twice to have this problem fixed and paid out of pocket. this started to happen ever since my last service at a hyundai dealership. i suspect that this is because of low quality or defective lugnuts/studs th…”
2022-11-29 · Seat Belts“the contact owns a 2021 hyundai accent. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 22v354000 (seat belts) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was not …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.