AI Damage2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring: common problems
Owners of the 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring filed 29 complaints with NHTSA, most often about vehicle speed control and engine. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 29
- involving a crash
- 4
What fails most often
- 1 Vehicle speed control 24% of all complaints
- 2 Engine 17% of all complaints
- 3 Air bags 14% of all complaints
- 4 Powertrain 14% of all complaints
- 5 Service brakes 14% of all complaints
- 6 Electronic stability control 10% of all complaints
- 7 Steering 10% of all complaints
- 8 Wheels 7% of all complaints
- Vehicle speed control: 7 complaints (24% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine: 5 complaints (17% of all).
- Air bags: 4 complaints (14% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 4 complaints (14% of all).
- Service brakes: 4 complaints (14% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 29 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle speed control | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Seats | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Suspension | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Was parked in a parking lot of a drug store for maybe 10 minutes. Started the car and backed out of parking space. When I put the car in drive to go forward the car accelerated to a very high speed and ran into two parked cars.
Front seat passenger hit her head on the dashboard resulting in a bruise and black eye and whiplash because seat belt did not restrain her, and airbags did not deploy. Driver's seat slid backwards, loosening his seatbelt. He hit his hip and knee on the door and experienced whiplash.
Luckily, there was no major harm, but my side airbag did not deploy, and my head slammed against the driver side window. No one contacted me.
Attorney representing consumer writes in regards to front and side airbags did not deploy during accident. Prior to the accident, the air bag light illuminated. The dealer informed the consumer, it was an electrical problem, and claimed the problem was resolved.
While driving various speeds, an abnormal ticking noise was heard coming from the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the noise was persistent. Luther burnsville hyundai ([address], burnsville, [ZIP], [phone]) informed the contact to bring the vehicle in to be diagnosed.
After getting on the on-ramp on the highway I shifted my manual transmission from 4th to 5th gear to accelerate to 50 mph but the gear didn't shift to 5th and the engine was inadvertently revved up to 4 on the tachometer without any increase in speed; it felt as if I stepped down on the gas pedal while in neutral.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 hyundai elantra touring. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. On several occasions, while the vehicle was stopped at a traffic light, the rpms revved while the brake pedal was being depressed.
My daughter bought the car used from carmax with 88,000 miles and 2 weeks later had a knocking and clicking sound from the engine. She took it back to carmax and they repaired it noting that the problem was with the cam shaft. 2 years later and 110,000 miles, the same noise occurred with regular oil changes.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 6,958 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 19% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Elantra Touring has 29 complaints (6 years in the data). This year has 29, about average.
What to check before buying
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Engine. Cold start, unusual noises, oil leaks and engine codes.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: vehicle speed control, engine, air bags. Total complaints: 29. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: airbags did not deploy (10%), windows, sunroof (10%), airbag warning light (7%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2011 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.