18 complaints reported

2021 Hyundai Elantra FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
18
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2025

The Forward collision warning light comes on randomly at times and disables the system. It’s done this on 3 occasions. No one has inspected the vehicle. I was told everything was normal. No injuries involved. The problem has occurred 3 times now with code c1620078. The history codes show this has happened to the previous owner as well. I bought it in 7/2025 and it happened driving it home from buying it, in 11/25, and 12/10/25

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2025
Sep 2025

Forward sensors in vehicle have been failing while driving rain or snow since 2021; would go way on its own. Most recent failure has occurred with no debris or obstruction to sensor on a clear and sunny day. The sensor failure has been stagnant and will not go away, increasing a safety concerns while driving.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jun 2025
Apr 2025

Front sensor problem. Sensor Check Forward Safety System. ABS, Auto Hold light came up out of no where. No damage to sensor.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Apr 2025
Nov 2024

Radar equipped to front of vehicle has malfunctioned, disabling all forward safety systems and adaptive cruise control. Without this equipment functioning, cruise control is completely disabled and the vehicle will not automatically brake or provide forward warnings. The vehicle component has not been inspected, but this is a recurring issue amongst other owners of this model. There is a warning lamp that turns out that states "Check Forward Safety System"

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jan 2024
Sep 2024

Several times, including yesterday, my forward collision avoidance engaged by braking suddenly and strongly and INAPPROPRIATELY, almost causing me to be rear-ended. I was nowhere near the car in front of me, and fortunately due to traffic was traveling below the speed limit. This seems to happen whenever there is an overpass above the road. I have reported this to Hyundai, and they don't seem very concerned. Very dangerous. I would think there could be a software or sensor update that can correct this situation.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2024
Aug 2024

Pop up display "Check Forward Safety System and Check Smart Cruise Control System" during driving on the free way with no reason. 3 month ago same thing happened. fixed that problem with re-calibration to the front sensor. But. same problem happen today. This problem is recalled in south korea on last year.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Aug 2024
Apr 2024

Forward collision sensor suddenly failed to function properly. This issue was NOT caused by any damage or a collision; it happened while driving on the highway. Hyundai does not fix this under any warranty, even though the issue was not caused by damage. It appears to be a bad quality/faulty sensor.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2024
Apr 2024

Over the past 4 months, this car's safety sensors have randomly activated on 4 different occasions. The car will suddenly brake when this occurs, which puts me and the other drivers around me at risk of crashing. Each time, I've taken it to a Hyundai dealership for repairs. They always claim they can't recreate the issue and don't fix anything. I've provided the dealer with pictures and videos of the warning lights on my dashboard. It doesn't seem to help them diagnose the problem.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Feb 2024
Dec 2023

vehicle only has 14k miles and is showing an error message for "check forward safety system" and "check smart cruise control system" after some research found this is a very common issue with multiple Elantra's where the front radar goes bad causing safety systems such as automatic braking/acceleration, and cruise control to not work. this is a big safety issue that has been reported by many drivers. the error happened going a steady 40mph with no other cars around on an open road. nothing was hit the radar just suddenly failed

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Dec 2023
Dec 2023

While my son was driving on the highway, the smart cruise control suddenly stopped working with "Check forward safety system" and "Check smart cruise control system".

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Nov 2023
Aug 2023

Forward Collision warning system continues to engage dangerously and inappropriately, almost causing me to be hit from behind, as I always leave plenty of room in front. This is very scary and very dangerous. Software updates have not remedied the situation. Hyundai motors seems completely uninterested.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2023
Aug 2023 Crash

My father was involved in a car crash, front end into a wall. Apparently, the front end collison warning did not sound and the auto braking system never engaged. Prior to the accident, the front end collsion warning would come on intermittently, but the dealer checked it out and stated it was working normally (San Bruno Hyundai). AFter the collision repair, the warning light comes on and the car has been at Bakersfield Hyundai now for over a week, but they can't find anything wrong with the warning system, but the system does not function (no warning of collision and auto braking does not engage). Our accident total was $10,000, lucky, no one was seriously injured.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Apr 2023
Jun 2023

Just quit working after being adjusted still not fixed though has been to Hyundai. Say parts are back ordered for months

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Mar 2023
May 2023

I was traveling in the rain and a CHECK FORWARD SAFETY SYSTEM warning appeared on my dashboard. There was nothing in front of me to set that off. I notified the dealership and they said it was an alignment code and must have gotten hit.( Which I doubt) so wasn't covered under warranty.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2023
Apr 2023

Check Forward Safety System Message. Smart cruise disabled

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Mar 2023
Apr 2023

I was driving using cruise control when suddenly I got the error message “Check Forward Safety System” and my cruise control no longer functions. Turned car off and back on and message is still there. As the emergency braking system stopped working, this is a safety issue. Have not taken it to dealer yet. The car has other software/electrical issues related to the reverse camera and Apple CarPlay. There seems to be several software issues with this car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Apr 2023
Oct 2022

A warning light frequently activate to demonstrate malfunction of the driver forward collision avoidance safety features. This was presented to the dealer for warranty repair. The same defect persists despite their intervention.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Oct 2022
Sep 2022

While driving down the highway, a warning light stating the Forward Collision Warning system became inoperable, as well as the Adaptive Cruise Control System. Vehicle has no collisions, yet the dealer can't get the system to calibrate again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI ELANTRA, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2022

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2021 Hyundai Elantra has 18 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.