The Hyundai Elantra consistently wins high marks for safety and generally sees few recalls. However, potential power loss while driving, a power brake assist recall, and faulty latches are among the car’s biggest problems.
Key Points
- A small number of 2017 Hyundai Elantras have been seen to stall and lose power when making turns or coasting.
- The 2017 Elantra’s most significant recall saw over 30,000 units recalled for power brake assist failure.
- White 2017 Elantras tend to chip and flake, due to Hyundai’s “self-healing” paint.
2017 Elantra Complaints Reveal Engine May Lose Power or Stall While Driving, Accompanied by Lurching or Jerking
This problem isn’t incredibly common in the 2017 Hyundai Elantra, but it’s pretty severe and happens just frequently enough to qualify as a pattern. Car Complaints lists six complaints on the matter, occurring at an average mileage of 49,550, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has 17 complaints listed under Vehicle Speed Control. So, this one goes to the top of our list.
In affected Elantras, the car will typically stall and lose power when stopped at red lights, coasting, coming to a stop, or even making turns at low speeds. In some units, this may be accompanied by lurching and jerking, or the car failing to accelerate when the gas pedal is pressed.
Given that the 2017 Elantra has already been on the road for around five years as of the time of this writing, we can count this issue as concerning, but unlikely to happen to you. Still, it’s something to be on the lookout for and to ask about if you’re buying used.
2017 Elantra Power Brake Assist Recall May Increase the Distance Required to Stop & Require More Force Applied to the Pedal
The 2017 Hyundai Elantra has had four recalls in total. Two of these recalls concerned the airbags failing to inflate properly, which sounds worrying, but both of these recalls combined affected fewer than 150 Hyundais in total. The most recent recall, for loss of electric power steering assist, affected just 99 Hyundais.
The most worrying issue is an early 2017 recall on 33,803 2017 Elantras for potential loss of power brake assist. So, this recall was a pretty big deal, especially since it affected around one out of every six 2017 Elantras sold.
Remember that recalls are always paid for by the automaker, and they’re valid for as long as you own the car, whether you’re the first, fifth, or 50th owner.
Faulty Locks and Latches May Cause Doors to Not Open from the Inside or Outside
The NHTSA has 23 complaints on the record for the 2017 Elantra under latches/locks/linkages, which would seem to make this a marginal issue, but that’s a relatively high number of latch issues for a five-year-old car. The 2017 Malibu, for instance, has only one such complaint, and the 2017 Civic has no complaints in this category at all.
The earliest complaint was in April of 2017, when a Victoria, Texas, driver saw their trunk suddenly popping open without explanation. The next complaint was in June 2019, with a Logan, Utah, driver reporting about the driver’s-side door, “We cannot open it from the outside.”
Additionally, “The rear passenger door does not open at all. It hasn’t opened in months.” Into 2020 and 2021, the reports get more frequent.
With regular wear and tear, you expect that your door locks and latches won’t stay in mint condition forever. Every old car has that one door that doesn’t open, the lock that doesn’t lock, and the window that won’t roll down. Still, it’s unusual for the issue to start popping up so early.
In short: If you’re buying a used 2017 Hyundai Elantra, make sure to check all the doors, locks, and windows before you hand any money over.
Flaking Paint Has Yet to Receive an Official Fix, so Repairs are at Owner’s Expense
Not the most alarming issue affecting the 2017 Elantra, but one of the more common concerns is that the lighter paint just flakes right off.
This is something that affects a lot of Hyundais from that model year, and the likely culprit is the “self-healing” paint that Hyundai was using. It actually works for minor scratches, maintaining a nice, smooth surface against all the nicks and dings our cars suffer in a day, but given a little age and sunlight, it has a tendency to bubble, crack, chip, and fall off of your car like dandruff.
While chipped paint is unlikely to cause an accident, if left unaddressed, bare metal is more likely to rust and corrode than painted metal. Unfortunately, the NHTSA’s recall process is primarily meant to address safety issues, which means that a new paint job is going to have to come out of the driver’s pocket.
2017 Hyundai Elantra is Still One of the Most Reliable Cars on the Road Despite a Few Flaws
The 2017 Elantra’s most severe problems are either infrequent or have already been addressed by a recall. Combine that with a five-star safety rating from the NHTSA, a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and an average annual maintenance cost of just $430 according to Repair Pal, and you’ve got one of the most dependable compact cars on the market today.
Photos: Hyundai
