2008 Hyundai Elantra engine problems

Filed Nov 30, 2025 · Brakes, Electrical · NY

The car was being driven nomore than 1hr. It began to smoke under the hood. The ABS EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT, CHECK ENGINE Then the EPS lights were on. The vehicle was pulled over and stopped. Fire was then observed falling from under the car. The hood was then popped to see the engine mainly on the driver side was totally catching fire. Then it spread. The engine needle never showed over heated. The car took no more than 6 minutes to catch fire from the time it started smoking. It was very scary

Filed Jul 6, 2023 · Engine · 127,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while idling at a stop sign, the RPMs dropped extremely low, and the vehicle stalled. After a visual inspection, the contact observed white smoke coming from the engine compartment and a coolant leak underneath the vehicle. Upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality. The contact stated that the failure became a regular issue over the next 6 months. No warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Later, the vehicle was taken to a second independent mechanic, who also failed to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 127,000.

Filed Mar 24, 2023 · Engine · GA · fire

When removing the key from the ignition, the cars engine was still running, as I was unable to turn the vehicle off. After a few tries the car was off and the engine stopped. I drove 1/2 mile, smelled something burning, looked down and saw smoke coming up from my lap area, and immediately turned the car off and jumped out of the vehicle..The engine continued to run while the key was removed... Car was eventually towed by Insurance Company tow company to the Factory Authorized service center

Filed Dec 31, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · NY

2008 Elantra should be added to the crankshaft Theta II recall. 2098 Elantra has the 2.0L engine unlike its prior years where they are made with a 1.6L engine. Last week my 2008 Elantra exhibited all the signs of this malfunction (A knocking noise from the engine that increases in frequency as the engine rpm increases. Reduced power and/or hesitation and vibration. Illumination of the “check engine” light in the instrument cluster. Illumination of the “engine oil pressure” warning lamp.) When this occured i had taken it to Auto Zone and had the computer scanned for error codes. (See attached report). Based on the report a tune up was done, ignition coil replaced and sensor replaced. Car would still not start. When my mechanic furthe diagnosed it (he could not find the issue until he used his scope camera)he found the issue was that there is damage to the "trigger wheel" inside the crank shaft. He also said this almost never happens in a car and does not know what could have made this happen. Please investigate this issue further, this is a dangerous situation of engine seizing and should be investigated immediately and thoroughly.

Filed Oct 27, 2021 · Engine · AR

brakes locked up and engine was knocking and car stopped running , it won’t turn over anymore and when it does it just shuts off .

Filed Sep 24, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 113,000 miles · FL · fire

The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving when a person waved the driver down that there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was driven some more until the contact noticed that there was heat come up the leg on the driver's side. The contact stated that once exit from the vehicle, noticed that there were flames coming from the hood. The fire department extinguished the fired and informed that it was due to electrical. A police report was filed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to a junkyard. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.

Filed May 17, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · CA

When I am driving the vehicle all of a sudden it will jump back really fast And the check engine will go on and If I continue to drive the vehicle it seems like I'm putting pressure on the gas for it to go But then once I turn off the vehicle the check engine light will all of a sudden be gone. If I drive the vehicle again the problem won't happen right away it will be some time before it happens again all of a sudden.

Filed Nov 24, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 57,000 miles · CA

My car wouldn't start and hissed when it did king hyundai said "hissing was the condensation because it hadn't been driven for so long" (3 years - just went out and started it once in a while). Kh told me after extensive checking & videoing the underside of car (they sent me video) that it was the battery. It died on the way home ! And then: - kh misdiagnosed my car three times ! - head gasket now - kh told me they took "several test drives" yet the mileage in & the millage out on their invoice was exactly the same ! - took over a month to give me estimate - will not return my calls (30+ calls) to the service manager - dealer manager failed to return my calls also - even though hyundai customer care dept themselves suggested the dealer honor the 100,000/10 year warranty - kh refused ! - kh had put an erroneous lien on the car the day of purchase and it took me over a month to have removed - please note: my mother bought the car new from this same dealer - I was with mom and she wrote them a check for the full purchase price. Kh convinced mom to allow them to put lien on the car which kh told us would be immediately removed so they could get the financing bonus or whatever they call it. So when I went to sell the car earlier this year (mom passed away as well as my sister in boca raton and I'm trying to orchestrate this from california where I live ) and I had to get a duplicate title the lien was right there !!! Long story short it took me over a month to have erroneous lien removed so I could even get the title ! The kh denied putting the lien on (remember I was there) and when I called the lien holder - they also denied ever putting it on - blah blah blah. It took me dozens of phone calls to get to the bottom of this - please help me! And this is the short version !

Filed Sep 29, 2020 · Brakes, Engine · 175,000 miles · OR · fire

The car went up in flames while parked in our driveway. It had not been driven for at least 4 hours. It could have caught our house on fire if not for the quick response by the fire department.

Filed Apr 10, 2020 · Brakes, Engine · 150,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2008 hyundai sonata. The contact stated the vehicle was parked in the driveway at her home and caught on fire independently. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated she recently received the federal safety agency campaign number: 20v061000 (service brakes, hydraulic) and believes this was the cause of the vehicle fire. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. *bf