2023 HYUNDAI ELANTRA HYBRID — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

I was performing a low-speed maneuver to reverse-park into my driveway. After making a right turn between my driveway and the driveway of a neighboring townhouse across the street, I came to a complete stop. When I shifted the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle did not reverse as expected and instead unexpectedly accelerated forward. I applied the brake but was unable to stop the vehicle before it traveled forward into the driveway across the street and struck the garage door of a neighboring townhouse. The maneuver was being performed at low speed. Weather conditions were clear, and the driveway surface was dry. The cause of the unexpected acceleration is unknown at this time. No warning lights, messages, or alerts were observed prior to or during the incident. Immediately following the collision, I placed the vehicle into park and applied the parking brake, at which point the vehicle came to rest. Upon impact, the driver-side front airbag deployed. Smoke and a burning odor were observed coming from the deployed airbag. The incident posed a safety risk due to the vehicle’s unexpected forward movement during a low-speed maneuver and resulted in property damage. No injuries were reported. The vehicle remains available for inspection.

I was performing a low-speed maneuver to reverse-park into my driveway. After making a right turn between my driveway and the driveway of a neighboring townhouse across the street, I came to a complete stop. When I shifted the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle did not reverse as expected and instead unexpectedly accelerated forward. I applied the brake but was unable to stop the vehicle before it traveled forward into the driveway across the street and struck the garage door of a neighboring townhouse. The maneuver was being performed at low speed. Weather conditions were clear, and the driveway surface was dry. The cause of the unexpected acceleration is unknown at this time. No warning lights, messages, or alerts were observed prior to or during the incident. Immediately following the collision, I placed the vehicle into park and applied the parking brake, at which point the vehicle came to rest. Upon impact, the driver-side front airbag deployed. Smoke and a burning odor were observed coming from the deployed airbag. The incident posed a safety risk due to the vehicle’s unexpected forward movement during a low-speed maneuver and resulted in property damage. No injuries were reported. The vehicle remains available for inspection.

I was performing a low-speed maneuver to reverse-park into my driveway. After making a right turn between my driveway and the driveway of a neighboring townhouse across the street, I came to a complete stop. When I shifted the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle did not reverse as expected and instead unexpectedly accelerated forward. I applied the brake but was unable to stop the vehicle before it traveled forward into the driveway across the street and struck the garage door of a neighboring townhouse. The maneuver was being performed at low speed. Weather conditions were clear, and the driveway surface was dry. The cause of the unexpected acceleration is unknown at this time. No warning lights, messages, or alerts were observed prior to or during the incident. Immediately following the collision, I placed the vehicle into park and applied the parking brake, at which point the vehicle came to rest. Upon impact, the driver-side front airbag deployed. Smoke and a burning odor were observed coming from the deployed airbag. The incident posed a safety risk due to the vehicle’s unexpected forward movement during a low-speed maneuver and resulted in property damage. No injuries were reported. The vehicle remains available for inspection.

The Elantra had less than 15,000 miles on it. I was driving on [XXX] at about 80MPH for about 1 hour. With no warning, while going up over a very large, high bridge/overpass (above a large outlet emptying from the everglades into the Atlantic ocean near Stuart Florida) the power totally died. A warning light came on saying the hybrid system was not functioning instructing me to pull over to the shoulder. This happened just as I crested the top of the overpass. I was able to coast to the bottom of the bridge, cross two lanes with large 18 wheeler vehicles making this challenging and park on the shoulder at the bottom of the bridge. The vehicle was towed to a nearby dealer. Their mechanic determined the "brain" between the hybrid battery and the drivers controls (the gas peddle) had failed, which disabled all power to the wheels. Had I not been cresting the top of the bridge it would have been impossible for me to move to the shoulder. This was an incredibly dangerous scenario that occurred with no warning. This failure of a key electronic component put me at extreme risk of a high speed accident on a very busy turnpike with no control whatsoever of the speed of the vehicle. There should be a redundant "brain" that would take over in this "failure" situation that would provide power at least for a limited time allowing a driver to maneuver to the shoulder. It was a miracle I was not killed. Had I been driving on limited access high speed lanes (as exist in Orlando where I live and my wife frequently drives which has no real shoulders one can safely pull over onto) the situation would have absolutely life threatening. These high speed toll lanes eliminate any ability to actually safely park and exit the car. I traded the car in (warranty covered repairs) the next day for a normal gas powered Hyundai. I will never drive a hybrid again until this type breakdown has been addressed so it can never occur. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2023 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid has has defective windshield washer nozzles 2 times so far. The factory nozzles clogged and had to be replaced. Then I got replacements installed under warranty by the local dealership. Those are now clogged exactly the same as the originals. The replacement nozzles failed much faster than the factory original equipment parts did. I am only using standard washer fluid. The fluid was tested by the dealership and is normal. Even high pressure compressed air can’t get through the nozzles at all. I am having a second replacement set ordered as of today. I suggest a recall or redesign of these defective nozzles. If you are driving just after it has rained and a passing vehicle hits a puddle and splashes dirty water all over your windshield you have no way to spray it off and clean it, so you can’t see where you are going at all. This is a major safety issue and will definitely cause an accident in such circumstances. It has been raining in my area several days per week for the past couple of months. There is lots of construction and road construction in many areas, so there is lots of dirt/mud after each rain on the roads. This creates a potentially dangerous and possibly life-ending situation if you are driving, get your windshield splashed with muddy water and can’t spray it off to clear it and can’t see where you are going suddenly, while you are on a highway. If you can’t see through the windshield you can’t even see if it is safe to pull off to the side of the road or not. These windshield nozzles need an emergency redesign and recall issued.