Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Honda Civic drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 167 per 100,000 against 242 for the Hyundai Elantra, or 31% fewer. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Hyundai Elantra has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2020 and 2021 for the Civic and 2015 and 2021 for the Elantra.
Honda Civic
Hyundai Elantra
By age group
| Model years | Civic | Elantra | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 114 | 292 | Civic |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 214 | 236 | About even |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 186 | 161 | Elantra |
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.
Year by year
| Year | Civic | Elantra |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 149 | 335 |
| 2013 | 98 | 539 |
| 2014 | 91 | 178 |
| 2015 | 117 | 109 |
| 2016 | 295 | 144 |
| 2017 | 162 | 402 |
| 2018 | 185 | 167 |
| 2019 | 142 | 146 |
| 2020 | 92 | 249 |
| 2021 | 62 | 130 |
| 2022 | 718 | 136 |
| 2023 | Too new | Too new |
| 2024 | Too new | Too new |
Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.
Most reported problems
Questions
Is the Civic or Elantra more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Honda Civic drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 167 per 100,000 against 242 for the Hyundai Elantra, or 31% fewer. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Hyundai Elantra has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2020 and 2021 for the Civic and 2015 and 2021 for the Elantra.
Which Civic and Elantra years should I avoid?
For the Civic: 2016, 2022. For the Elantra: 2013, 2017.