Other steering problem on the 2013 Hyundai Elantra
7 crashes 2 fires 9 of the 193 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other steering problem gets reported
Owners of the 2013 Hyundai Elantra report other steering problem at a median of 35,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 9,000 miles and a quarter after 72,000 miles, from 125 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 200 miles at the tenth percentile to 101,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 100,400 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
50% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 miles | 9,000 miles | 35,387 miles | 72,000 miles | 100,600 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 7 a crash and 2 a fire are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 20 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2021, at a median of 400 miles, and latest on the 2009 at 77,500 miles.
By volume the 2013 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
August 25, 2012 - returning from work on route 28, a high speed expressway, truck in front of me slammed on brakes and decided to switch exit ramps. Slammed on my brakes and steered car to right to avoid hitting the truck. While doing so, all of a sudden the steering wheel pulled sharply to the right and I had to suddenly correct the steering path in order not to go off the road. September 5, 2012 - was notified my vehicle was ready to be picked up by jerry from hyundai customer service . I took possession of vehicle because I had no other choice. [xxx], assistant service manager,said hyundai technical support technicians were aware of an issue with steering columns in 2013 elantra but, no service bulletins had yet been issued. He also said he was informed that a recall may be issued. My car was the first that had presented with this problem. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
I was driving in very light snow in my 2013 hyundai elantra on highway 12 n44.44043 and w79.12958, close to beaverton, ontario going traveling north nearest exit concession 7 thorah around 8 pm on the 11th feb. 2013 and the car started to fishtail at a very low speed of about 40 kilometer per hour. I just parked my car on the shoulder and called caa, I was terrified to go any further. I only have 2472 kilometers on the speedometer! It doesn't seem like a very safe car. By the way, I also have snow tires on my car. *tr
I purchased the car in march, it was my first time buying a new car. Within the first couple of days after buying the car I noticed a few rattling and clanking noises. I believed this to be the cars moving parts, and didn't think much of it at the time, especially since I was used to driving used cars that sounded worse. After a few weeks, I noticed that the noises where noticeably louder, along with a loud knocking noise when I turned the steering wheel. The dealership that I purchased the car from (universal hyundai in orlando) was booked up so I made an appointment at orlando hyundai. Shortly after bringing my car in, and having the service department look at the car, I was told that the car was sold to me defective, that "the left and right inner tire rods and lock nuts were loose, threads were damaged, and the lock nuts were left loose from the factory". The service manager explained to me that this could have easily caused an accident, and that "one tire would've went one way and the other tire would've went the other way, causing your car to come to a sudden halt". This might have caused a serious accident, and knowing that…
Also reported on the 2013 Hyundai Elantra
Other brake problem
Other engine problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other wheel or tire problem
Other suspension problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 193 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other steering problem happen on the 2013 Hyundai Elantra?
Across 125 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 35,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 9,000 miles and a quarter after 72,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other steering problem on the 2013 Hyundai Elantra?
193 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.0 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed