Audited US model-year file

2012 HYUNDAI Elantra

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

4 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2012 HYUNDAI Elantra. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2015-12-23

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

Campaign 15V871000
Summary

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Elantra vehicles manufactured October 29, 2010, to October 25, 2011. Due to an electronic stability control (ESC) sensor malfunction, the brakes for one or more wheels may be applied unexpectedly and the engine power may be reduced. These symptoms will be accompanied by illumination of the ESC indicator lamp in the instrument cluster.

Consequence

If the one or more of the brakes are inappropriately applied, control of the vehicle may be lost, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will verify the proper operation of the ESC sensors, and update the ESC system's calibration, free of charge. The recall began June 6, 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 137.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2013-04-01

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

Campaign 13V115000
Summary

Hyundai Motor Company is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Elantra vehicles manufactured from November 12, 2010, through March 5, 2013. A support bracket attached to the headliner may become displaced during a side curtain airbag deployment.

Consequence

If the headliner support bracket makes contact with an occupant during a crash, it may cause a laceration injury.

Remedy

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will apply adhesive strips to the headliner, free of charge. The safety recall began during April 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 109.

03
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2020-07-02

EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL

Campaign 20V393000
Summary

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2012 Hyundai Elantra and Sonata Hybrid, 2012 Accent and Veloster vehicles. The 12V accessory socket outlet may have been over-tightened during installation, possibly disabling the thermal fuse and allowing the outlet to overheat with prolonged use, such as by using the Tire Mobility Kit air compressor to inflate a tire.

Consequence

An overheated accessory outlet increases the risk of fire.

Remedy

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the Tire Mobility Kit accessory outlet plug with a direct-to-battery connection wire harness kit, free of charge. The recall began September 28, 2020. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 193.

04
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2023-09-22

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE

Campaign 23V651000

Urgent NHTSA flag: park outside. Confirm current instructions using the official campaign and VIN lookup.

Summary

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2015 Elantra, Genesis Coupe, Sonata Hybrid, 2012-2015 Accent, Azera, Veloster, 2013-2015 Elantra Coupe, Santa Fe, 2014-2015 Equus, 2010-2012 Veracruz, 2010-2013 Tucson, 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell, and 2013 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module may leak brake fluid internally and cause an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.

Consequence

An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS fuse, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 10, 2024 through October 11, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 251.

02 · Owner allegations

674 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
49
Fire mentions
12
Injuries reported
47
Most-reported component labels
ENGINE140
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM129
AIR BAGS128
SERVICE BRAKES99
STEERING90
UNKNOWN OR OTHER68
Complaints across nearby Hyundai Elantra model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 3792010
  2. 4322011
  3. 6742012
  4. 1,3102013
  5. 3812014
  6. 2612015

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all Elantra years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

4 NHTSA ODI investigations

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

AQ23002
Open in imported snapshot · opened 2023-11-17

Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires

NHTSA source ↗

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

DP21003
Closed 2023-06-20 · opened 2021-11-12

Throttle control system vulnerabilities

NHTSA source ↗

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:THROTTLE · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

EA12008
Closed 2013-12-09 · opened 2012-09-13

Headliner Bracket Detachment

NHTSA source ↗

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW · Associated recall campaign 13V115000.

PE12012
Closed 2012-09-17 · opened 2012-05-10

Side Curtain Air Bag Improper Deployment

NHTSA source ↗

AIR BAGS · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
4
Combined economy
26–32 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
23–28 / 30–38 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
1.8–2 L
Cylinders
4
Fuel type
Regular
Drive
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Midsize Cars · Small Station Wagons
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$2050–2500

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

4 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

674 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

4 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/2012/hyundai/elantra
NHTSA make ID
498
NHTSA model ID
2735
Match key
2012 · HYUNDAI · Elantra · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.