2003 Hyundai Accent problems
NHTSA has received 45 complaints about the 2003 Hyundai Accent, and 38% of them involve air bags. Next are drivetrain & axles (9%) and transmission (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 45 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 32,000 miles 22 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 22 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 32,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 16 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 98% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Hyundai Accent with enough data (32 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Was involved in a head-on collision in my 2003 hyundai accent. A truck pulled out into the interstate and my vehicle hit him at approximately 65 MPH the airbags did not deploy. *nlm
Dt*: the contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a collision with a large commercial truck. The vehicle was pushed into a guardrail, and the frontal air bags did not deploy. Both vehicle occupants sustained minor bruising injuries. The vehicle was taken to a volkwagen service dealer, where the dealer was not able to determine the cause of the problem. There was no police report filed.
In a frontal impact at approx. 35 MPH our air bags did not deploy in our 2003 hyundai accent 2dr hatchback. The car was totaled, my husband and I both went to the hospital afterwards with severe bruising and swelling. We still have back pains and stomach pains from the impact. The insurance co. Is still investigating the fault, but don't seem concerned about the air bag failure. I contacted hyundai USA and they've sent me a package so they can learn about and investigate the issue.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 hyundai accent. The contact stated that the transmission pulled and pushed while driving 40 MPH. The dealer repaired the vehicle. The current mileage is 84,000 and failure mileage was 62,000. Updated 03-04-08
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 hyundai accent. While driving 55 MPH, there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the lower control arm fractured due to excessive corrosion. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the driver's side rear lower control arm fractured also, due to excessive corrosion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure.