2006 Hyundai Elantra

Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.

Fuel economy
24–26 mpgcombined; city 21–23, highway 29–31; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$12,490–$13,530U.S. average; Ohio $11,160–$12,090 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
NHTSA overall safety rating
Not ratedNHTSA has no overall rating for this year
Recall campaigns
1over its history; check a VIN for open ones
Owner complaints
155filed with NHTSA; not adjusted for sales

Problems owners report

Owners have filed 155 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Elantra. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.

Complaints by part of the car
PartComplaintsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air bags5617016
Exterior lighting38000
Service brakes23000
Electrical system16000
Vehicle speed control11504
Power train8001
Service brakes, hydraulic8402
Structure8101
Visibility7001
Seats5200
Engine and engine cooling4000
Steering3200
12 more parts
Engine2000
Fuel system, gasoline2000
Suspension2100
Unknown or other2000
Wheels2000
Electronic stability control (ESC)1000
Equipment1000
Fuel/propulsion system1000
Latches/locks/linkages1000
Seat belts1101
Service brakes, electric1000
Traction control system1000

Complaints by model year

Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.

  1. 2006155
  2. 2007267
  3. 2008315
  4. 2009286
  5. 2010455
  6. 2011462
  7. 2012675
  8. 20131,345
  9. 2014396
  10. 2015263
  11. 2016300
  12. 2017794
  13. 2018334
  14. 2019265
  15. 2020261
  16. 2021161
  17. 2022159
  18. 2023168
  19. 202461
  20. 202534
  21. 20263

Every Elantra year side by side

Recalls

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2006 Elantra over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.

Exterior lighting

NHTSA campaign 09V280000 · reported Jul 21, 2009 · 3,011 vehicles potentially affected

HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 3,011 MODEL YEAR 2005-2007 ELANTRA, TUCSON, SONATA, AZERA AND ACCENT VEHICLES. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO FAIL TO ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. A DEFECTIVE STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY ALSO AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE BRAKE-TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK FEATURE SO THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE SHIFT OUT OF THE "PARK" POSITION. IT MAY ALSO CAUSE THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) MALFUNCTION LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, AND IT MAY NOT DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED.

Risk: ANY OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS COULD LEAD TO A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI OF PUERTO RICO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-787-999-4310.

NHTSA's record and documents

Service bulletins and investigations

Carmakers sent NHTSA 38 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2006 Elantra, the latest on Oct 8, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.

The parts they mention most: power train (9), engine and engine cooling (7), equipment (7), equipment adaptive/mobility (5), electrical system (4).

NHTSA hasn't opened a defect investigation that covers this model year.

Maintenance

Oil

The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2006 Elantra.

Oil change near you: Jiffy Lube · Take 5

Used ones for sale

See used 2006 Hyundai Elantras for sale on: Autotrader · CarMax

These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.

Specs

EPA class: midsize cars. Each version EPA tested:

VersionEngineTransmissionFuelCity / hwy / comb
Elantra
Front-Wheel Drive		2.0 L, 4 cylManual 5-spdRegular Gasoline23 / 31 / 26
Elantra
Front-Wheel Drive		2.0 L, 4 cylAutomatic 4-spdRegular Gasoline21 / 29 / 24

Sources and dates

Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data