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2018 Hyundai Elantra: excessive oil consumption

16 of the 284 complaints about the 2018 Hyundai Elantra describe excessive oil consumption.

owner complaints
16
of this car's complaints
6%
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 16 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Excessive oil consumption by model year

What owners say

Filed Jun 23, 2026 · Engine · WI

The engine in my 2018 Hyundai Elantra suffered a sudden internal failure at 118,444 miles. The vehicle began knocking, losing power, and running roughly. A dealership inspection confirmed heavy scoring on cylinders 1, 3, and 4, oil intrusion into the cylinders, and piston top slapping. The engine is not repairable and requires full replacement. This failure matches the known defect pattern of Hyundai’s Nu 2.0L MPI engine, which has widespread issues with piston ring wear, oil consumption, cylinder scoring, and internal mechanical failure. The failure occurred without warning/messages and created a safety hazard due to loss of power while driving. My VIN is not included in any recall, but the defect is identical to other Hyundai engine failures that have resulted in recalls and investigations. I am reporting this because the engine failure appears to be part of a larger safety‑related defect affecting this engine family.

Filed Jun 9, 2026 · Electrical · PA

Alarming rate of oil consumption causes sudden loss of power / acceleration which definitely increases probably of causing an accident. Local repair shop confirmed extremely low oil level with no evidence of where oil went shortly after oil change and annual safety inspection. All the dashboard warning lights came on when it happened but low oil warning light came on prior to event. No warning whatsoever, just sudden loss of power and completely lit up dashboard.

Filed May 22, 2026 · Engine · AZ

Engine has consumed an alarming rate of oil for years. I brought to a mechanic and they performed a $2,600 repair on engine. It ran fine for while and got much worse with oil consumption to the point that I needing to add oil monthly. It has been difficult to keep up on keeping enough oil in car and engine has now sustained damaged. There is no ticking or noise, but there is a loss of power and sometimes, the engine runs rough. I continue to drive it and add oil. But I have researched this is an apparent problem with the elantra.

Filed May 6, 2026 · Engine · OH

unknown Car is knocking and consuming oil quickly. Oil changes done as appropriate. Timing belt/chain changed almost 2 years ago. Garage now says we have an oil consumption issue and need a new engine! We are out of warranty and power train.

Filed Dec 27, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · IL

I have a 2018 Hyundai Elantra with about 155k miles. It has been consuming oil excessively and has developed serious drivability issues. If I try to accelerate even slightly harder than normal—especially above 2,000 RPM—it makes a metallic, chain-type rattling noise, loses power, and produces heavy smoke from the exhaust. The smoke sometimes continues even after shutting the engine off and restarting. Because of this, I’ve been avoiding rapid acceleration and slowly working up to highway speeds. The car also periodically shakes at idle, idles higher than normal at times, and the RPMs will occasionally rise on their own. In the past it has stalled randomly, and sometimes it feels like the transmission is “stuck” and won’t shift properly. Despite all this, there are currently no check-engine codes. This is terrible and clearly there’s been lawsuits and other recalls regarding the same issue and same engine but nothing for mine? I am out of warranty and had no clue the amount of issues the car was going to have until last year and I’m screwed now, insurance doesn’t cover issues with the engine or transmission. Neither will Hyundai?! Last year Hyundai performed a CVVT repair that cost about $6,000, which temporarily improved things, but the symptoms returned shortly afterward. When I brought it back, they said they couldn’t recreate the issue. The car is now out of warranty. Separately, the car was stolen two months ago due to the immobilization fault and TIk TOKs videos and the police said it has been hundreds of these Elantras stolen and destroyd and the ignition and wiper control switch/harness were damaged, which still hasn’t been repaired.

Filed Nov 21, 2025 · Engine · OH

It is showing signs of excessive oil consumption. 200 miles before my next scheduled oil change there was no oil in the car, causing overheating issues. It uses the same engine as other recalled years for the same issue. However they never issued a recall for the 2018. The only update I've ever received was a surprise notice from Valvoline, mid oil change, that if I didn't use the more expensive oil change option, which I couldn't afford in the moment, that I would void any warranty from Hyundai. There was no prior notice or contact from Hyundai informing me of this "New" (the valvoline tech's words not mine) policy. So not only is my car experiencing an issue known to affect this engine, they get to absolve themselves from responsibility by surprising someone with a greater expense than they are expecting, by not giving notice to their customers? This doesn't seem fair and needs to be addressed. Since that first visit I have followed their recommended oil change specs and still have excessive consumption. The date I'm giving is the approximate date of that first visit to valvoline when my car had no oil and I was told mid change about the new policy.

Filed Nov 6, 2025 · Engine · TX

Excessive oil consumption. Engine completely dry after 3500 miles in between oil change with no check oil warning light

Filed Oct 14, 2025 · Engine · MN

Oil consumption will cut off while driving

Filed Aug 3, 2025 · Engine · NC

Burning oil. Multiple misfires. Replacing spark plugs more often than should have to. Engine knocking.

Filed Jun 26, 2025 · Engine · NC

Burning oil internally. Adding 1 quart about every 1000 miles.

Filed Oct 6, 2024 · Engine · WA

Driving on the freeway around 55 MPH the engine would stall. Scared the heck out of me this started around 130000 miles on the car. Fixed a sensor still didn’t fixed the issue did an oil change that seemed to fixed the stalling. Low oil light never came on. So for years after that when the car stalled I did and oil. change. Finally at 183000 the engine gave out. Did my research found out Hyundai knew there was a problem with the engines. On 2019 and 2020 Elantra engines have been recall. 2018 not enough complaints on th engine. There was a knock sensor recall on the car. I never got a recall notice. Sent an email to Hyundai saw that the email was received but no one has responded this was a month ago. Taking my Hyundai to the dealership to see if they’ll do anything for me. My miles are all highway miles. Engine should have lasted longer. Very disappointed that Hyundai has known that the 2.0 liter engines since 2015 has had issue over 500000 cars are effected with this issue but Hyundai doesn’t want to fix the issue. It’ll all about the money for the company producing defected cars even Kia have the same issue.

Filed Jul 26, 2024 · Engine · AL

Hyundai engine from 2017 and up are not good engines my experience on my 2018 Hyundai engine is the same as what I see 90 percent of Hyundai owners are having regardless of the year there all the same engines it’s burning oil it’s making ticking noise with regular maintenance no neglecting y’all have to understand there are so many ways and possibilities of engine premature failure then it is Maintaining the engine during buliding these engines you have metal particles over tighten the heads the blocks not seating the piston rings properly dirt that can clog up the oil galleys to luberciate the moving parts poor design there’s so many ways to say it’s not a manufacturer defect and they tell us change the oil ok how come I’m having more issues and hearing issues from a engine then the transmission you do more maintenance on a engine then a transmission these transmission are not the problem you are hearing engine problems even when people do maintenance so sounds to me the manufacturer should recall 2018 models as well it’s beyond me for you to skip a year and say that model isn’t having issues it’s definitely happening in 2018 models as well the transmission is fine I never heard or experience and transmission failure in these cars when there are a lot of people complaining about a similar issue in the same model car at that point it has to be a issue manufacturer aspect we’re told as consumers and vehicle owners change your oil that’s it there’s no way I should be dealing with major issues on a simple solution you don’t hear Toyotas breaking down Hondas breaking down with regular maintenance oil changes you hear Hyundais engine all across the board and it is a safety issue going on with these cars not just 2017 2018 engine it’s ticking because lack of lubercation the manufacturer could have left metal particles in the engine could have warped heads over tighten bolts dirt that was already in those engines a bunch of causes poor design I really hope they replace it

Questions about the 2018 Hyundai Elantra oil consumption

Is excessive oil consumption a common problem on the 2018 Hyundai Elantra?

16 of 284 owner complaints about the 2018 Hyundai Elantra (6%) mention excessive oil consumption. The model year with the most reports is 2017.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Hyundai Elantra?

There are 0 recalls and 16 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2018 Hyundai Elantra

Check engine light 48Stalling 47Engine failure 39Knocking 26Misfire 15Loss of power 14Headlights 11Fire or smoke 7Hesitation 6Overheating 6Warning lights 6Airbag light 5Won't start 5

All model years of the Hyundai Elantra

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