2012 Hyundai Elantra: sudden loss of power

Filed Feb 27, 2026 · Engine · OH

To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this complaint regarding a 2012 Hyundai Elantra equipped with the 1.8L Nu engine, which is experiencing premature internal engine damage that presents a potential safety risk. Vehicle details: Year/Make/Model: 2012 Hyundai Elantra Mileage: Approximately 134,500 miles Issue description: The engine produces a persistent ticking/knocking noise, most pronounced at cold start but now continuing even after the engine has warmed. A Hyundai dealership diagnosed the vehicle with piston slap and confirmed significant scarring on the cylinder walls, stating that the only repair is full engine replacement. Despite the presence of internal engine damage, no warning lights are illuminated. I am concerned this condition could lead to sudden engine seizure or loss of power while driving, creating a safety hazard. Additional observations include: Excessive crankcase blow-by observed when removing the oil fill cap while the engine is running Strong exhaust fumes at cold start Noise most noticeable at idle and low RPM Regular oil changes using manufacturer-recommended oil viscosity The dealership advised the condition was not repairable short of engine replacement and did not submit the concern for Hyundai corporate technical review (Techline), despite the known history of engine defects in Hyundai Nu engines. I am filing this complaint to document a pattern of premature internal engine wear that may not be adequately addressed through recalls or warranty programs, and which could result in sudden engine failure. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Filed Mar 31, 2021 · Acceleration · 116,000 miles · CA

Loss of power while vehicle was in motion on highway at about 80mph. Vehicle failed to respond to input on gas pedal, and engine produced minimal power. No loss of electronics or steering. From a stop, vehicle produced limited power and speed reached maximum speed of 15-20mph. After 30min, vehicle responded normally. No warning lights appeared during or after incident. Reason for failure unknown at this time.

Filed Dec 12, 2019 · Engine · 90,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 hyundai elantra. While driving various speeds, the vehicle lost power and would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to thornton road hyundai (669 thornton rd, lithia springs, ga) where it was diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: 1420002. No further assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 90,000.

Filed Apr 7, 2017 · Engine · 46,000 miles · CA

Engine failure. Driving on freeway.lost power. Engine light came on. Noise from engine. Pulled over to gas station. Oil was low. Towed to dealer. They said the car had severe oil sludge throughout engine. My car was made at the same alabama manufacturing plant as the recalled hyundai sonatas that were recalled for engine failure. My car is still under the 5 year warranty. Hyundai of america will not repair or replace my engine because I don't have all my oil and maintenance receipts. I have another 2006 saturn that I maintained the same way and it is driving perfectly. Please consider a recall for engine failure for elandras built in alabama in 2012. I have seen online other owners with the same make, model and year have similar complaints.

Filed Mar 21, 2017 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 24,000 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 hyundai elantra. When the contact started the vehicle, the ESC indicator illuminated. While driving and accelerating, the vehicle pulled to the left and right and seemed to lose power. The vehicle was taken to dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,000.

Filed Nov 14, 2016 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 30,000 miles · MN · crash · 1 injury

On november 8th, 2016, saint paul, mn, my car would not start up. No warning signals came on and just made a "clicking" noise". I called hyundai's roadside assistance when they arrived he told me to try to start it up. The car then came on which was approx. A 45 minute wait. In october 2015- eagan, mn, I was driving on the highway, I felt dizzy, nauseous and had a panic attack. I tried pulling over to the side of the road, the car would not stop despite stepping on breaks, the car kept pulling toward the side of the grass that was surrounded with gravel. I ended up hitting and stopping at a guardrail. The driver side wheel was blown and along the drivers and passenger door was scratched, there was also some front end damage which got repaired. In approx. March 2015- west saint paul, I just got off the highway when my car lost power. I started it up, pressed on the gas and ended up rear ended the driver in front of me. In 2014, maplewood, mn,I was at a restaurant's drive-thru and my car lost all power and steering for about 5-10 minutes. I called hyundai's roadside's assistance to report the incident. In 2014, eden prairie, mn, I was driving on the highway and my car completely lost power and the steering wheel locked up. I called hyundai's roadside assistance to report the incidence. About 15 minutes later, the car started up and no longer needed roadside assistance's towing service.

Filed Jul 10, 2016 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 52,380 miles · AZ

Problem : ESC light flashes while driving, some time makes rumbling noise , power loss, feel like car in neutral, steering felt lock, sudden break and creates unsafe condition. Not all symptoms come up same time but one of them while light flashing. Details : 1. First time happened in june/july 2015 contacted dealer. Since dealer cannot replicate they did test drive and felt everything normal. I drove 1 year scarred but issue didn't occurred 2. Few weeks ago this problem resurfaced dealer repeated same story but wanted to drive with me which is pending. While normal driving it happened and this time it was recorded on my cellphone to show as proof because in test drive it may or may not happen. I feel company and dealer not working closely and someone can cause serious issue of safety. I request to look into this reaching out to company and address this issue. I cannot upload video let me know if you need. Just loading a picture.

Filed Jan 5, 2015 · Electrical · 63,000 miles · PA

The car wouldn't crank or start when I got to the gas station. After multiple tries with putting the car shifter in park to neutral and switching the gears it finally started. I called the dealership and took it down to get looked at. As I was driving it down to the dealership as I was approaching the traffic light I realized the car wasn't running anymore and by this point I had limited brake assistance and also lost all power steering and had to use the e-brake to help with stopping the vehicle to prevent the accident that was about to happen. This was a great thing that I was driving and not my wife as she would've froze and might not have been able to think how to get the car to stop in which this could have been a accident with bodily injury or even possible death of the person driving the car or the innocent person that was collected up in the accident but no one would know as it didn't happen, thank god for this. I had the car towed the rest of the way to the dealership and they looked at it and the car started for them and they tested the battery, alternator, and starter and all tested good so they gave the car back to me stating it was the AC invert-or that was plugged in to the cigarette lighter. I told them that I plugged the invert-or in after the car died to charge my phone but they still insisted that I was lying I guess. I drove the car off the lot and a few days later the same thing happened again but I was going 35 MPH and was able to stop the car with no incident as I was afraid to drive the car normal speed and knew it would happen again as the dealer ship had not found anything faulty. Now it sits in the driveway and is completely dead and will not start. The dealership major hyundai of stroudsburg, pa 18360 will not allow me to bring my car back to them and hyundai will only tow it to the closest dealership which happens to be them.

Filed Nov 8, 2014 · Electrical · 65,000 miles · CT

A few days before this incident, a warning indicator light appeared on my instrument panel. I made an appointment for that weekend to have it checked at a local dealership. As I was driving home from work, the first unusual thing that happened was the hyundai logo appeared on the nav screen while the car was in motion.typically the hyundai logo only appears when the car is first started-never while vehicle is in motion. About 10 miles later, all of the power to the vehicle disappeared as I was driving about 65 MPH in heavy traffic. When this happened, it felt as if I had been rear-ended in an accident. After determining that was not the case, I looked at the instrument panel to see all the warning lights illuminated. Now I'm trying to move to the side of the highway when the power was magically restored and the warning indicator light that had appeared a few days prior was now gone. I did not have an opportunity to pull to the side of the road, put the transmission in park and attempt to restart the vehicle. No, it restarted all by itself! I took it to two different dealerships who both assured me the car was fine and that what I described was impossible to occur. Trust me when I tell you that unless you've experienced losing all power to a vehicle while driving at 65 MPH, yet here is not another feeling like it. I no longer felt safe in my own vehicle and made arrangements for it to be replaced. I would have felt much more comfortable had the dealership(s) found something that could have been repaired. Given that they could find nothing wrong left me very leery of the vehicle's electrical system. Also, the mpg gauge would reset itself; at idle, it frequently almost stalled; at night, the headlights would flicker at idle; the compass readout on the rear view mirror would also flicker at idle when the vehicle almost stalled---very bizarre behavior from a vehicle.

Filed Nov 5, 2014 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · NJ

Car would not start when key turned. Dash lights came on, but engine would not turn over or even crank. The only sound was a slight click in the engine when the key was turned. Jump start would not help. Remedied by turning the key until I could shift out of park to another gear, then returned to park. Did this multiple times and finally the car started normally. Concerned about losing power when driving and having an accident, or getting stranded somewhere. Called dealer and was told that they could check for battery issues (which it is not), but to call them if it happened again (hopefully, not while driving).

Filed Apr 23, 2014 · Engine · 49,000 miles · PA

I accelerated out of a parking lot and then lost power because the car went out of time and started misfiring. Then white smoke started coming out of my tailpipe. The car behind me almost hit me. This is the second time my car has misfired. The check engine light came on. The reason I know it misfired is because I have a code reader and it said cylinder 1 & 2 misfire. I pulled over and turned off the car, waited about 5 minutes, restarted it and the car runs fine. The dealer cannot do anything about it because they cannot recreate the problem and by the time I get the car to them the engine light goes off. Strange behavior with this car.