2015 Hyundai Elantra — Known Issues & Recalls

Your engine is experiencing a known defect that's causing excessive oil consumption (losing half a quart every 800 miles), blue smoke from the exhaust, and engine knocking sounds. The mechanic's diagnostic codes indicate misfires in multiple cylinders, and Hyundai's own recall documentation acknowledges a fire risk with this issue. Your dealer has refused to repair it based on your vehicle's VIN number, even though your symptoms match the documented defect.

Your engine has developed a persistent knocking sound that has worsened significantly, making the vehicle unsafe to drive. You're concerned about potential fire hazards and engine stalling on the highway. The issue appears to be related to internal engine components (lifter knock/piston slap), and the manufacturer has refused to repair it despite multiple service visits. Resolving this will likely require engine diagnostics and internal engine component repair or replacement.

Your engine randomly stalls without warning while driving at any speed — from 15 mph to 70 mph on the highway — and about half the time it stalls, your power steering stops working too. When this happens, you have to coast to the side of the road, shut off the engine, and restart it; in one instance it happened 8 times in just 25 minutes. This is a serious safety hazard, especially at highway speeds. The fix may involve diagnosing the cause of the stalling (which could be related to fuel system, ignition, or engine control issues) and addressing the underlying electrical or mechanical problem.

Your 2015 Elantra is burning through oil faster than normal. After topping off the oil on November 28, the low oil warning light came on just 16 days later following a trip from Baltimore to New Haven, Connecticut — you had to add about a quart of oil. You haven't noticed any oil leaks underneath the car, which suggests the engine is consuming the oil internally rather than losing it to a leak. The mechanic will likely need to inspect the engine for worn piston rings, valve seals, or other internal damage that could be causing excessive oil consumption.

Your 2015 Hyundai Elantra may experience transmission gear slipping without warning. Hyundai has been replacing transmissions at no cost under a class action settlement, but only for original owners with vehicles under 100,000 miles — as a second owner, you're not covered by this program. A transmission replacement typically costs $4,000 or more and may involve removing and rebuilding or replacing the entire transmission assembly.

Your engine started knocking and rattling between 0-40 mph around 129,000 miles, which mechanics couldn't initially diagnose. At 133,000 miles, your vehicle stalled repeatedly and was found to have a failed timing chain and is burning about a quart of oil per 1,000 miles. After the timing chain was replaced, you experienced power loss during low-speed acceleration and engine rumble, diagnosed as a wrist pin failure in cylinder 2. The repair will likely involve engine disassembly to replace the damaged wrist pin and possibly further inspection of internal engine components.

Your check engine light is on with a misfire code, and the car runs rough. A mechanic found that your timing chain is loose, which causes the engine to skip or misfire and could snap unexpectedly, creating a safety hazard. The repair typically costs around $2,000 and involves tightening or replacing the timing chain.

Your car is shutting off while you're driving without any warning lights or indication it's about to happen. The steering wheel doesn't lock up, but the engine cuts out and you have to pull over and restart it — which always works. This happens intermittently, sometimes frequently and sometimes not for weeks at a time. Despite having four different mechanics inspect it and replacing multiple sensors and coil packs, the problem continues.

Your trunk latch is stuck and won't open at all, trapping anything inside. You can't fold down the rear seats to access the trunk from inside the car either, which means if something gets trapped in there, you have no way to retrieve it. This is a safety concern that your dealership says isn't covered by a recall. The fix will likely involve replacing or repairing the trunk latch mechanism.

After your trunk latch recall was performed in June 2024, your trunk stopped opening with the key fob—the latch would click but not release. A few weeks later, the manual release lever by the driver's seat stopped working too, leaving you unable to open the trunk at all. When you took it to a different dealership, they found the recall part had been installed incorrectly and replaced the entire trunk latch assembly at a cost of nearly $700.

The complaint does not contain specific information about what problem the owner experienced with their vehicle. Without details about what isn't working or what symptoms they noticed, it's not possible to identify the issue or recommend a solution.

No complaint details were provided in the submission. Without specific information about what's wrong with your vehicle, it's not possible to identify the issue or recommend a repair.

Your car won't shift into forward gears, even though the engine is running and the car will shift into reverse. This happened while you were at a red light, and the problem persists in both automatic and manual shift modes. The transmission may need to be inspected for internal failure or fluid issues, which could require a transmission fluid change, filter replacement, or internal repair.

Your engine failed completely twice — once at 38,000 miles and again at 85,000 miles on the replacement engine. You heard a slight knocking noise about 5 minutes into driving, and 10 minutes later the engine shut down completely, leaving you stranded. This suggests a serious internal engine problem that may require a full engine replacement or major internal repair.

Your brakes failed to stop the vehicle during normal driving, causing a crash into a guardrail at approximately 150,000 miles. The airbags did not deploy during the collision, resulting in serious facial injuries requiring hospitalization. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by a dealer or independent mechanic to determine why the brakes and airbags failed.

After having recall work done on your car, the ABS light, traction control light, and e-brake light all came on and stayed on — the opposite of what should have happened. You've experienced complete brake loss at times, making the car unsafe to drive. The recall service didn't fix the underlying problem, and you're concerned Hyundai may not have a real solution.

Your car suddenly accelerated on its own while you were slowly turning into a parking space at less than 3 mph, causing it to hit a cement pole and resulting in severe front-end damage. The airbag did not deploy despite the impact. You've also experienced other issues with this vehicle including unexplained engine shutdowns while driving, white smoke from the engine during acceleration, and premature tire wear.

While parking, your car suddenly accelerated rapidly despite you attempting to brake, causing it to hit a tree on your lawn. When you shifted to reverse, the car accelerated again at high speed, striking multiple vehicles in the parking lot and across the street before stopping. You believe the issue involves the throttle or accelerator sensor system rather than driver error, and note that the system resets when the car is turned off, leaving no diagnostic evidence of the malfunction.

The owner reported an issue with the airbags, seat belts, or vehicle structure but did not provide specific details about what the problem is.

While driving at 65 MPH, your 2015 Hyundai Elantra started shuddering and the check engine light came on. The dealer diagnosed an engine misfire but couldn't identify the cause and didn't perform any repairs. You also received notice of a brake system recall, but the replacement parts weren't available at your dealer, and the manufacturer has taken longer than expected to make them available.