Defect Alert – Is Your Hyundai Elantra Trunk Opening On Its Own?
The clouds have opened at 1 800 LEMON LAW headquarters providing one of those days where you are paranoid that your sunroof is open or your windows are down. But imagine parking your brand new car, and returning to find the trunk open and full of water. You know the trunk was not open previously. What happened? It’s a question that is baffling quite a few 2013 Hyundai Elantra drivers.
We are representing a number of distressed Hyundai Elantra drivers who are complaining of random trunk openings, in some cases leaving their belongings out in the open for people to take and/or causing water to fill up the trunk compartment leading to mold and mildew. The message boards are also lighting up with the Hyundai Elantra trunk opening issue. Unfortunately, in many circumstances, the service advisors do not know what is causing the trunk to open.
If you are experiencing your Hyundai Elantra trunk opening, make sure you get back to an authorized dealer as soon as possible to have the matter addressed. After each visit, you should be presented with a repair invoice that outlines the problem and what was done to address the problem. This issue is covered under the Hyundai manufacturers warranty.
Once you are back in three or more times for the Hyundai Elantra trunk opening issue, fill out our Get Rid of Your Lemon form or call us at 1 800 LEMON LAW (1 800 536 6652). We will review your situation and determine how we can help get your trunk problem closed once and for all.
Remember, we specialize in helping consumers all over the United States with their lemon law issues including in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
January 13th, 2014 at 4:44 pm
I had just recently purchased a 2013 Hyundai Elantra in November 2013. Since I have purchased the card I have noticed 4 times that my trunk has seems to have been open at random. Today (1/13/2014) it has happened twice on me. I contacted the Savage Hyundai in Shillington, PA where I purchased the car and spoke to their service department. Mike, the service tech that answered the phone said he has never heard about this issue but will take a look at it when I bring the car in for service. I told the tech that I started to search the internet for this issue and it didn’t take very long until I found a Hyundai forum with this exact same issue. One person suggested to get a protective silicon jacket to cover the fob. I have not tested this yet. Do you have any suggestions on how this issue can be addressed. It is not only a huge security issue but my car could get filled with rain and snow at random.
January 15th, 2014 at 5:27 pm
Went outside this morning to find two policemen standing behind my 2013 Elantra sedan. They advised me to not keep my trunk open while unattended. Fortunately it hadn’t rained or snowed , and the only thing in my trunk was a pair of workboots and an old jacket. I’m going to invest in a bungee cord for the time being. I’m curious to see how this plays out. Imagine that, a two week old car and already investing in duct tape to hold it together….
January 22nd, 2014 at 12:40 pm
@Michael: Visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/state-lemon-laws/ for information on your State’s Lemon Law.
February 11th, 2014 at 11:37 pm
We rented a 2014 Hyundai Sonata and left two sets of golf clubs overnight at the hotel parking lot. During the night the trunk opened mysteriously and our golf clubs were stolen. We are very upset, because we thought the trunk on a brand new car was secure.
February 14th, 2014 at 5:14 pm
I found a forum on this issue at the following location:
https://www.hyundai-forums.com/md-2011-2016-elantra-sedan-coupe/148754-2013-elantra-trunk-opens-randomly.html
I had spoke with the dealer that I purchased the car from and they said they never had this issue or any other complaints. I did take the advice on the forum and purchased two covers for the Keyless Remotes. I have had them on my keys for 3 weeks and have kept the keys in my pocket to try and force the problem to happen again. So far this appears to have fixed the problem.
I do believe that Hyundai should do something to fix this problem and I should hot have to purchase this after spending enough money buying a new car. However it seems to have fixed the problem.
May 4th, 2014 at 3:56 pm
I got a new car after being with no car for 4 years and got the elantra 2014 and I have the same problem first time was in a parking spot and I just got in the car and noticed it second and third time I was driving and it happened today I looked out the window to see it wide open and I was in the house what an be done is there a recall
May 25th, 2014 at 6:42 pm
Today 2 times yesterday once last week two times I love the car but the trunk need to be repaired what I intend to do is to use a bungee & a piece of twine to hold this down to when we can figure this out hopefully soon!
July 31st, 2014 at 3:53 pm
Ive had my 2014 Elantra since May and the trunk has opened on its own 9 times. I took it back Monday July 28 and they claim nothing is wrong and its MY FAULT. THE ONLY THING THEY SAY I CAN DO IS LEAVE MY CAR AND THEY WILL HANG THE KEYS UP AND IF IT DOESNT HAPPEN THEN ITS MY FAULT FOR KEEPING THE KEYS IN MY POCKET OR MY POCKETBOOK. HOWS THAT FOR AN ANSWER. WHAT NOW??
July 31st, 2014 at 8:57 pm
I purchased my Hyundai Elantra earlier this month and have already noted the spontaneous trunk opening issue to be a problem with my vehicle as well! It’s happened numerous times and just today I found the trunk open on two separate occasions which, needless to say, is a bit unnerving.
I guess I’ll be purchasing key fob covers, per the above recommendation and will have the car looked at by the dealer asap.
October 20th, 2014 at 11:14 pm
I don’t think it is the fob that is accidentally hit. I have to hold the button down for a couple of secs. to have the trunk open. I find my trunk open overnight with the keys on the counter. I have been in my car talking on the cell and the trunk pops open. So much for the fob.
November 11th, 2014 at 8:06 am
Man, I thought I was dreaming. I rented this car 3 times and each time the trunk just opened on its own during the night. It was doing it to me even during the day. No accident and it is a defect with this vehicle.
November 11th, 2014 at 8:18 am
I was in my hotel room far far away from the car and there was absolutely no way that the key fob could have been accidentally pressed and opened the trunk in the middle of the night. There is a very good possibility that the key fob for the trunk opening of this model shares a common frequency with other car door opening key fobs. Other car owners may have opened their doors and at the same time opened the trunk of this car. This happened to me in 3 different rented vehicles (same model) in Las Vegas (super hot weather), in San Diego when the temperature was cool in the middle of the night and in Vancouver, Canada. Hyundai should take note and listen to what customers are saying before getting their reputation ruined.
November 23rd, 2014 at 11:42 am
I unplugged the wire at the truck latch
you have to pop the cover off to get to it
you may want the dealer to do it
I look forward to a better fix or new remote?
I have to use the release inside but no more issues
December 10th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
PULL THE FUSE! It’s a lot less work 😉 Then you can rfest easy until you can take it to the dealer and say, “WTH, over?”
December 31st, 2014 at 9:03 am
I have a 2009 Elantra and its trunk has opened multiple times but each time I thought it was because I accidentally pressed the button. It happened again yesterday in Dallas where I have parked the car at my friend’s place when I am on the other side of the globe in India. I forgot to give him the key fob, so unless the remote works across continents, I am pretty much its a manufacturing defect that needs to be addressed by the dealer.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:08 pm
I purchased a 2013 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 T limited. There has been numerous times where my neighbors or coworkers would alert me that my trunk was wide open. Luckily none of these times has been while it was raining or snowing. At first, I thought I may have been accidentally depressing the button and proceeded to keep the key fob out of my pants pocket. Nonetheless, the issue kept happening. I did some research online and thought that maybe it was possibly due to a bad battery/ key fob. I went on to replace the batteries in both key fobs to only run into the same problem a few days later. I even alternated removing the battery from each of the key fobs for one week intervals and the problem still persisted. The dealership says that they have heard of the problem before, but currently there is no recalls or TSBs in regards to the issue. I’m therefore left using the manual trunk latch lock to prevent the trunk from opening and need to use the metal key to unlock the trunk. Very frustrating!
February 22nd, 2015 at 3:07 pm
I have a 2013 Elantra that I bought brand new. My trunk pops all the time even driving down the road. I have got the same run around from the dealership as most. I also have an issue with my interior lights. Some days I go out and I have no interior lighting. Some times as soon as I turn my car off none of the interior lights work. I really think its an elecrical of some sort with these cars. I also think Hyundai should do something about it. Very aggravating!!!
March 21st, 2015 at 5:43 am
At least I know I’m not imagining things. I bought a 2015 brand new Hyundai Elantra two months ago and these multiple posts says it all.
I’ve had multiple occurrences of the trunk opening for no reason at all. I haven’t had it to the dealership yet , but that will change. Very annoying at best. Fortunately, nothing stolen yet! To me it looks like Hyundai installed a cheap lock latch, but just my opinion.
March 28th, 2015 at 6:40 am
I purchased brand new 2014 Elantra GL in August 2014. Trunk popped open several times. I am unsure if they are ‘pocket pops’ or the mechanism. It did happen much less during the winter when there was often enough snow to hold down the trunk or that ‘freeze stick’ that maybe was enough to keep it closed. Now that spring has come, it has started happening again. Next step is to see if the dealer can reprogram the FOB to tie to the unlock button to make it a double button to open.
March 29th, 2015 at 9:37 am
This a follow up to my previous post of March 21st. I took my new 2015 Hyundai Elantra to the dealership and they said no complaints have ever been documented. So I took it upon myself to leave the key less remotes out of sight out of mind so to speak. Gave it a week,and kept a watchful eye. No more random trunk openings. I found out by researching that these remotes in particular are extremely sensitive to touch or movement. I’m going to try a rubber/ silicone external remote cover from www. fobkeyless .com and try that. If that doesn’t work I won’t use the remotes at all. It’s called the good old days. The key and trunk opening latch. Hope this helps.
April 3rd, 2015 at 12:26 pm
I have a 2013 Elantra and my trunk continually opens on its own all of the time. It seems like every other week someone is coming into my office to tell me that my trunk is open. I know this is going to happen sometime when I actually have something of importance in the trunk.
April 17th, 2015 at 12:25 am
I have a new 2015 Hyundai Elantra and I will just never use the keyless remote since I found my trunk open 2 times and I never left the house. I found also that I can be in the kitchen and press the keyless remote and it will open the trunk. I will just make another key and ditch the remotes.
April 28th, 2015 at 6:36 am
Same problem with my 2015 Elantra with keyless entry and start. Last time that the trunk popped up was while I was driving. Checked rear window and, lo and behold, there it was blocking the rear view completely. Little worrying for sure!
May 17th, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Bought a used 2011 Sonata. Love the car hate the trunk lid. I have not contacted the dealer yet but from the comments it sounds that I am SOL. I will place $75,000 worth of gold and silver in the trunk. It will be easily stolen and then I will sue the manufacturer for 10 times as much. If everyone places their extreme valuables in their trunk maybe we could have a class action law suit!
May 26th, 2015 at 10:45 pm
I have a 2014 Sonata and have the same problem with the trunk opening.
May 29th, 2015 at 4:55 am
I bought a 2013 Elantra a few weeks ago. I wish I had known about this trunk issue. I locked my trunk and car with the FOB and went into an event.
Three hours later, I came out and opened my trunk to retrieve something only to find my laptop and several gifts stolen. Not sure if it opened on its own or if the FOB opened it from my pocket inside the venue. This laptop was essential to my work. Not okay in any way and there’s literally nobody to hold accountable.
June 7th, 2015 at 7:11 pm
So we bought a 2015 Elantra a few months ago and I thought I had lost my mind when I came home one day and my husband told me I left his trunk open earlier. Luckily nothing was missing. We came home today to find that trunk open again and we are crossing our fingers that the necessary work item he thought was in there is at work and wasn’t stolen. He then tells me that he had found his trunk open at least 4-5 other times. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS that this has been an ongoing problem over the last few years and Hyundai hasn’t fixed this problem yet. What’s the point of a trunk if you can’t leave something in it without worrying that the trunk opens on its own revealing its contents to anybody that walks by?? Might as well leave it in the passenger compartment for all to see!!!!
Has anyone found something to properly fit the 2015 Elantra??
July 6th, 2015 at 3:23 pm
Regarding trunk opening accidentally, reading all the comments I think we should try the following:
1. Possibility #1: Key fob button pressed in our pockets.
Fix: Take to Hyundai dealer, they will re-flash the software to
change remote fob logic.
Or seperate the key fob from other keys in the pocket. or keep
in seperate pocket or purse.
2. Possibility #2: Shoes catching floor release handle.
Fix: Make sure your shoes / sandals or not touching floor handle
especailly when you are driving.
3. Possibility #3: Trunk got released, but not realised because the
pop up height is low.
Fix: Take to Hyundai dealer and get Torsion bars replaced for free.
or there are 2 adjustable rubber stoppers on trunk. Unscrew then couple of rounds. This should improve Pop up height.
Please try these fixes and see if the condition improves. Give feedback after trying.
July 14th, 2015 at 10:25 am
At least once a week I have woken up in the morning to discover my trunk is open. I’ve actually taped over the trunk-open button on my key fob, so it is impossible that it is being accidentally pressed while in my pocket.
I don’t drive frequently, and my keys stay hanging on a wall. I walk by my car several times a day, and somehow, after several days of inactivity, my trunk will have popped by itself.
I recently changed cities, and did not notice this happening in my old city (Toronto); however, it happens with great frequency now in Winnipeg. I have suspected someone in my area has a similarly coded key fob, or has a device that can mimic it. It is a higher-crime area, so I have suspected the latter.
So far, Hyundai’s reaction is to deny that a problem exists. That’s what they have done with every other issue with the car. Hyundai is the new GM.
August 20th, 2015 at 9:30 am
2013 Elantra trunk keeps popping, too.
August 26th, 2015 at 9:37 pm
I purchased a 2015 Hyundai Elantra/ 3 miles on it 5 months ago. I walk outside this morning, to get in my car, and the trunk randomly pops up! I think…okay I accidentally pressed the trunk button. I close the trunk, drive to work, and get out of the car…the trunk immediately pops open, so I’m like wtf?! I close it, turn to walk away, and I kid you not, 30 seconds later the trunk is open again! I close the trunk, lay the keys on top of the car so that I’m no longer touching the remote, stand beside the car 30 seconds later the trunk pops up!!! At this point I’m FURIOUS!!! I close the freakin’ trunk again while I’m still not touching the keys, and it opens AGAIN!!! I couldn’t believe it! Enraged, I close the trunk forcefully; this time it stays closed. I take the car to the dealership, and they tell me “we can’t do anything unless it pops open here, that way we can investigate.” Interestingly though, one of the service center guys says “yeah. I drove one of those cars to lunch one day, and I had that same experience” I couldn’t believe it!!!!! Hyundai must issue a recall and fix this crap! If my items are stolen from my brand new car with 2,000 miles on it, I SUING because they have a duty to correct this problem! I can’t stand guard at my car every night hoping the trunk doesn’t pop up!
September 10th, 2015 at 4:11 pm
Yes, I have problem with my 2008 Elantra. The trunks keep opening many times and I get tired of bringing it to the dealer to fix. I wonder if they really fixed it. (LRMON).
BAD News: I recently have the dealer replaced the passenger seat belt mechanism ($500.00). I ask the dealer is Hyundai should pay for it and they said NO. Has anyone replaced a seat belt mechanism on any cars model. I am beginning to think that I bought a LEMON.
Today-9/10/2015, the Tire place noticed that my front tires are not
the same, the inner sides are worm out that the outside. We thought it is an alignment issues and when I brought to the repair shop, they said the car needs Struts ($500.00).
Instead of spending the money we considering trading the car. Please share this to the potential buyer…HYUNDAI is not something I will recommend to anyone.
October 8th, 2015 at 11:04 am
I assumed, as many have, that the trunk lid accidental openings on my 2014 Elantra were caused by the remote switch which has a button that requires only a very light touch to make contact. So, I opened the remote (as you would to change the battery) and found three nubs, one for each activity of the remote (lock, unlock, open trunk). I then took a nail file and filed down (just a little) the nub under the “open trunk” button, Now, a slight increase in finger pressure is required to open the trunk, but it has not opened accidentally for six weeks.
October 29th, 2015 at 5:38 pm
I have a 2009 sonata and it’s been happening for years. I often don’t drive it for several days and have ended up with a dead battery a few times. This will be the last Hyundai I ever buy.
November 30th, 2015 at 5:40 pm
I bought a 2016 Hyundai Elantra in July of 2015 and i’ve been having the trunk opening on its own problem as well! It’s already happened 5 times and a couple of those times were in busy parking lots of a hospital and a shopping mall! Scares the hell out of me very time because i’m afraid that my stuff and my car could possibly be stolen! Hyundai really needs to address this problem! Pissed off in Texas!
December 5th, 2015 at 6:18 pm
I had the same thing happen 3 tomes but only at work and on days my keys were in my pockets. Since these were the only times assuming it is just the angle of me sitting. But good to know if I need to be concerned.
December 31st, 2015 at 2:51 am
I also have a 2016 Elantra and the trunk opens when I am in buildings, behind several walls, and my car is in the parking lot while I am in restaurants extremely far away from the car.
December 31st, 2015 at 5:13 pm
A simple solution I found to stop the trunk button from being depressed accidentally is to put your FOB key inside an empty mint candy tic tac box. Make sure the “loop” for the key chain side is near the white cap portion of the tic tac box. It will fit snugly over the small button hole that releases the hidden key. But once inside the tic tac box it is nearly impossible to accidentally trigger the trunk release when the key is in your pocket or purse. I have a 2016 Elantra and will have to open the car with the button on the door now. But it is worth it to make sure my trunk and personal belongings stay safe.
January 10th, 2016 at 7:49 pm
I have a Hyundai Elantra 2015, as of yesterday, my trunk has opened four times on it’s own. At first I thought we weren’t closing it hard enough. But now i know theres an issue. I will be calling the dealership tomorrow.
January 25th, 2016 at 9:13 am
I can’t believe I didn’t search this topic sooner. I bought my 2013 Elantra brand new, and within a few months the trunk began opening seemingly on its own. At first I figured I accidentally opened it since I carried my keys in my pocket, but the trunk continued opening randomly, often when I was at work but other times at home or when I was out somewhere.
Eventually I stopped leaving my keys in my pocket at work, and it hasn’t happened at work since, but I still occasionally find the trunk has opened unexpectedly at home. Regardless, I know that even with the keys in my pocket, I wasn’t depressing the trunk open button; even if I did by accident, it happened way too many times for it to be my fault every time. So I’m not sure why not carrying my keys seemed to help.
Recently I was driving in a parking lot and noticed another Elantra. What caught my eye? The car was parked and empty, and the trunk was open. I wanted to wait and talk to the owner when he/she returned to the car, but I didn’t have time. A few days later, I saw another Elantra in another parking lot with the trunk open. That prompted me to do this search.
Has Hyundai acknowledged this problem? Found a way to fix it? Obviously I haven’t been to my dealer about this.
January 26th, 2016 at 9:26 am
Mine has opened on it’s own twice in ten hours. Keys were on my dresser last night, but trunk open this morning Blowing snow all night too. Fun! My car is a 2013 Elantra, which I love. It’s not the key fob. I’m calling the dealership today, and will lock the trunk with my key in the meantime!
January 30th, 2016 at 12:46 pm
I purchased a 2016 Elantra and I am having the same trunk opening problems. The dealership says that they had not seen a problem with the 2016 models . But now I know better. Love the car but not the trunk that keeps opening. Lemon law time?
February 8th, 2016 at 3:49 pm
Having this problem….glad to know I’m not crazy!!!!!!!!! is there a recall for this?!??!! is anyone having any luck with the dealership?????
February 9th, 2016 at 1:11 pm
I purchased a 2016 Elantra Sport in September and every so often I go out to an open trunk. I reported this to the dealer and at my last oil change they said they checked it and couldn’t find a problem. After googling this problem and coming on to this site I am seeing that this has been a recurring problem for years! What can I do about this?
February 11th, 2016 at 6:45 pm
Our 2015 elantra is a year old with 9500 miles on it…..its,a running joke with my wife on whether or not the trunk will be open at alost anytime or place….btw we are way over 20 trunk opening at this point!!! Today was the kicker, proving it’s NOT OUR FOB!!!! We left the house, car parked in front (we don’t drive it much) checked the rear view mirror….trunk was closed….we were 17 miles away, all day at work…..guess what we returned home to….yup….popped trunk….we love the car but really, you’d think hyndai would own up to an obvious issue….C’mon man!!!
February 18th, 2016 at 2:49 am
Tonight my roommate came home to inform me that my trunk was open. In the rain. And that my trunk was drenched wet as was all of the stuff in the trunk. I had noticed that my trunk had been open a couple of other odd times since I purchased the car. Although I am an extremely meticulous person and just assumed my keys had scrunched up in my pocket somehow and released the trunk. Today was different. My keys were in the other room on the table. I disassembled the trunk and hung all of the fabric components to dry in the garage. I plugged in a heater and added some commercial desiccant. An hour later went to check on heater and trunk is open AGAIN. At this point i dry trunk (just metal now) AGAIN and weigh the lid down with a water bottle. ( after getting some 4k video showing me holding the key and the trunk randomly opening itself.) I am an engineer by trade and opened the key fob. I confirmed with my equipment that the button was working properly but to prevent possible future pocket openings or any doubt that this was an internal issue I physically de-soldered the actual button from the circuit board. After confirming a clean removal and that no solder had gone stray I re mounted the battery. Lo and behold the remote when powered on opens the trunk randomly EVEN WHEN THE BUTTON FOR THE TRUNK RELEASE physically no longer EXISTS. Which I have video of. Clearly this is a Hyundai manufacturing issue and not a user error. This is going to cost me close to 1000$ now in lost gear, not to mention I need to now have car towed to dealership, and possibly start a lemon law claim. Shameful that they don’t have a real fix for this issue yet.
2016 Hyundai Elantra SE
Purchased 8/1/2016
13.5k miles on it
Washed once a week
Oil Changed every 3k w/ mobil 1 synthetic & wix oil filter
Oil analysis done every 10k miles.
February 20th, 2016 at 9:32 pm
I have the same problem…I drive down the road and I hear a bang…look in my rear view mirror and see the trunk lid bouncing up ad down!!! I have a 2013 Elantra…truly hate this car! I bought it used six months ago…with 17,000 miles….thought it would be as good as the 2004 I traded in….should have kept the old one.
February 24th, 2016 at 9:46 pm
2015 Hyundai Elantra. Key falls off all the time. I can’t count how many times my trunk has opened. I literally hold my fob straight out in front of me and walk backwards to the store. I wish I were kidding. I’ve also set off the panic button which alerts hubby so many times that he’ll never take me seriously if I really need to use it. As for the falling off issue we’ve contemplated super gluing the POS. The trunk and panic baffles me. What sucks is if I don’t put my fob in my purse my fob will fall off. If I put the fob in my jacket I set off the panic button and trunk. It is really me and the fob doing it? I don’t know.
February 25th, 2016 at 9:43 am
I have a 2016 elantra and the trunk every so often opens on its own. I have never had this problem with any other fob cars. This morning i found it up and full of water.The dealer said he has never heard of this problem.
February 29th, 2016 at 5:43 pm
@PRad: Keep complaining to the dealer. If it is back to the shop repeatedly, you may have a claim under State or Federal laws. Visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html to find a lawyer in your state.
March 22nd, 2016 at 9:03 am
Had a problem with my trunk opening 3 times on a road trip. Went to Hyundai dealership and as I was scheduling service appointment, service tech stated trunk had to much play with lock and latch. Adjusted the latch and lock. For the last 8 weeks, have not had the trunk open once. Kudos to Enterprise AL Hyundai.
June 7th, 2016 at 4:20 pm
I have a 2016 Elantra that I bought in November 2015. At first thought it was me, somehow, pressing the trunk remote by accident. This has happened several times and again today, which lead me to his site. I am glad to know this is a real issue and not me wondering, what the heck??
July 6th, 2016 at 2:05 pm
Happens all the time with my 2012 Hyundai Elantra.
July 26th, 2016 at 1:28 pm
i havea 2009 sonta LE and mine just started doing it and the battery died the battery is 21/2 years old bet it seamed like it that it did it before the last battery was replaced i have a feeling it unlocked the trunk be fore the battttery dies my trunks doesnt open wide open i just see the light on the dash ,
im cleaning off the termails and seeing if that the problem and if not buy a new battery
i wil llet you know what happens
August 12th, 2016 at 8:52 pm
I have a 2015 chry.300 that the trunk opens anytime by it’s self I had it they did different things and still does gets all wet they don’t have anymore ideas what is the solution so I can tell them
September 4th, 2016 at 10:05 pm
well i walked out to find the trunk of my 2016 elantra wide open in a tropical storm with 3″ of rain in my trunk and numerous items destroyed—thank God that everything lost is replaceable….. this is the 4th time in 13 months this has happened—is my trunk defective or possessed???? what will the dealership say???? to be continued !!!
December 27th, 2016 at 12:53 pm
OK–this is a problem, and it’s not the key fob. Anyone actually have a fix, other than taking it to a dealer, which won’t acknowledge the problem? This is not a problem exclusive to Hyundai, either, based on personal experience and two minutes of Google research. I found lots of anecdotal examples and complaints on the Internet, but how do you actually fix the issue?
January 17th, 2017 at 10:12 am
My 2014 Sonata trunk lid opens randomly – can be when starting it, after it has been turned off or even driving. It is getting more frequent and the dealership has never heard of this problem and says nothing is wrong with it. Any suggestions?
February 3rd, 2017 at 7:11 pm
I have a 2014 Elantra I bought used from a dealership. Often times I think I’m going insane because more than several occasions I come back to my car and my trunk is wide open. I keep a decent amount of valuables in the trunk because I don’t want anything to be left in the cabin for anyone’s taking. I suppose it is possible for my remote to set it off, but after reading this post, I’m glad that I’m not alone. It hasn’t happened to me while driving though. That would be the ultimate testimony that there’s something wrong!
March 29th, 2017 at 10:20 am
Bought a 2017 Elantra in December. The beat goes on. Trunk has been open 4-5 times. I thought it was the key fob’s trunk release too close to the connection inside. I guess not. Now calling the dealership.
April 21st, 2017 at 12:43 pm
I had the same problem with 2013 Elantra. Trunk opened often while driving so it was not the from pushing the button on keyfob. Took car to dealer who claimed not to have seen or heard of this problem but while at dealer trunk popped open. Dealer spoke to manufacture who had them change computer program in car to not allow the trunk to open while car was locked. Seems to have helped. But keyfob is very sensitive. So while car unlocks easily by mistake with pocket action, at least trunk does not open now while driving.
August 25th, 2017 at 12:45 pm
I have found my 2015 Hyundai Elantra’s trunk open several times in the last few weeks. Infact, after I locked my car door I heard it pop open as I was walking down my driveway. My keys were not even in my hand!!! Got them out & tested the door & trunk buttons. The trunk actually popped opened when I simply waved the keys in my hand (I did not even touch any buttons). Took my car to the dealer…after 2 hours, they said that they can not fix it cause it didn’t happen while they were watching it. Really? It’s not like it was going to “pop open” on cue!!! I have a friend at work with a 2015 Elantra that is having the same problem…and her mother’s Hyundai Sonata trunk also opens by itself. (She said that there is a Recall for the Sonata for this problem). So why isn’t there a Recall for the Elantra’s trunk popping open issues? I’m sure the company is aware of this…very dissapointing!
October 3rd, 2017 at 2:18 pm
Our 2008 did the same thing until I asked my husband to please take the door opener out of his pants pocket at night. Problem solved. Ours would open from inside our house.
October 19th, 2017 at 4:02 pm
I’ve decided that I’m going to disconnect the solenoid on the trunk so that the switch doesn’t work pull the wire and see if that fixes the problem and just use the key the old-fashioned way.
August 3rd, 2018 at 3:26 pm
trunk 2017 elantraopened when shifted to reverse-dis connected back up camera
November 14th, 2018 at 8:18 am
Same issue. I quit counting how many times I’d have someone coming in from work tell me that my trunk was open again. Just the other day I was walking into the grocery store to see a car unattended with the trunk wide open then realized it too was an elantra. My father had this same model 2013 elantra and only after I purchased one myself did he ask me if I’d find my trunk open in the morning. Hyundai always says that they’ve never heard of this issue and tells me that its because of keeping the key fab in my pocket. I don’t. It hangs on a clip. Plus I’ve owned a few other cars in my lifetime and like the elantra, in order to pop the trunk, you have to hold the trunk button. Furthermore no other car I’ve owned had this issue. I’ve since just removed the fuse to the trunk which is the only fix without making my life a living hell trying to deal with Hyundai. I will NEVER buy another Hyundai. The trunk is only one of the few ridiculous issues I’ve had and I bought this car brand new. They need to be held accountable.
March 26th, 2019 at 1:17 pm
2016 elantraopen trunk issue. Haven’t even had it a year yet and it wont shut why hasn’t there been a recall to fix yet this isn’t safe at all.
June 7th, 2019 at 9:25 am
2018 Hyundai Elantra SEL
Trunk randomly opens while parked. Took it back once and they replaced the trunk latch. It has done it at least a dozen more times and now twice this week the headlights turned off while I was driving at night. I have them on auto 100% of the time. I took it to shop yesterday and had to leave it because they cannot duplicate the problems. They expect me to pay for rental car while they watch it!
July 8th, 2019 at 4:25 am
I’ve had the same problem for many years with my 2011 Elantra. I removed the fuse for the trunk opening solenoid about eight months ago, and have not had any problems since. It’s a bit of a hassle having to use the mechanical opener from inside the car, but well worth it! I think having the trunk open spontaneously while driving is definitely a safety issue, and affected cars should be recalled and a new electric opening system design installed. I’ve never heard of this problem with other makes of cars…
August 7th, 2019 at 5:28 pm
Just bought a 2015 Elantra limited with 94k miles on it. Twice (in the 3 weeks we’ve owned it) my neighbors have let me know that my trunk was open. My keys hang on a hook. I’m getting too close to the warranty expiration to let it slide without taking action. Has anyone gotten it fixed by a dealership?
August 17th, 2019 at 9:44 am
Problem with 2017 trunk opening, dealer says they can’t find anything wrong. Also if car is locked and “key fob” is in house, not near car, I can push button on trunk lid by the camera and the trunk opens, but not all the time. Of course it never does it when dealer tries it. What good does it do to lock car when someone can get in through trunk? Reading all the trouble people have had with this issue, would of thought Hyundai would have corrected this after so many years of complaints! And to hear service people really say they have never heard of this problem, REALLY!
August 18th, 2019 at 8:23 pm
@Scout: Please call us at 800 536 6652 or visit lemonlaw.com/rid.html
October 14th, 2019 at 7:39 am
Same problem on my 17 VE. Tried a fob cover, and it helped for a little while, now happening again. It’s an obvious poor design. So now what?
November 3rd, 2019 at 4:49 pm
I have had my 2013 Hyundai since December 2016. It has spun around on the highway. I had other recalls done. A wheel was stolen and could not find a rim. I had to have my wheel replaced and us my deductable. Recent;y a few different occasions I have cam to my car to find my trunk open. Two other times a neighbor has come to my door and asked me why my trunk open? I had not touched the key fob. I was in my bedroom and the keys on the table. I wish I had seen comments about this car before I bought it. Two days ago my dashboard light came on indicating a tire. I just found out I need a ball joint on my lower passenger.side. The company should buy our cars back. Better yet for these annoying problems I have experienced including a near-fatal incident, I should be paid double for the car problems.
November 9th, 2019 at 8:37 am
My 2015 Elantra has under 60,000 miles on it and has been experiencing trunk issues no keys inside or within range to set it off at night, luckily I park in my driveway and don’t keep much in truck, hasn’t had any negative repercussions yet but am worried if it ever will daily, would like to hear back on this fix if any
November 15th, 2019 at 12:51 pm
I have a 2014 Elantra with about 50,000 miles on it. Trunk has been opening by itself for years, a few dozen times since I bought the car new.
Tried the key fob cover solution, which did not work. Told two different dealers about it and of course they had never heard about this problem. Kept happening. Recently told the main dealer again (where I had bought the car and usually service it) and a new service manager got interested and they looked at the car again and said there’s a defect with the latch. They replaced the part and I hoped everything would be fine. Nope, it has opened by itself three times since it was supposedly fixed. Took pictures and am going to go back to the dealer to raise hell.
I’ve been driving for over 30 years and have owned, leased, and rented many dozens of cars over that time. The only one that’s ever done this has been this 2014 Elantra.
I told both dealers that I think it’s opening due to some kind of wireless signal interference. Someone else nearby has a car (another Hyundai presumably) and click to open their trunk and it opens mine as well. Their response is that can’t happen because each key fob uses a unique signal frequency. Well, then why is it happening? They said maybe I’m pressing the key in my pocket accidentally. Except that it happens while the key is very carefully sitting on a shelf with nothing touching it. Or when it’s too far for the signal to reach the car. And it was happening while I had a silicon cover on the fob for a long time which meant the fob key couldn’t accidentally be pressed anyway.
The car is otherwise fine, but this problem means I can never keep anything valuable in the trunk. I live in Southern California where rain is usually not a big issue, but it does sometimes rain and I don’t want the inside of the trunk to get wet because of this stupid defect. The whole thing is ridiculous.
November 18th, 2021 at 6:46 pm
I have had problems with my trunk opening since I bought my 2014 Elantra. I complained to the service department several times in the first year and they acted like they had never heard of this problem. I bought silicone covers for my key fobs which as reduced the frequency but it still happens. I keep the second set of keys next to my bed and make sure it beeps for being locked before I go to bed. It has still been open a couple times. Last night it was wide open and it rained all night. Thank God no one stole my tools, but they were all wet and it took half a dozen towels to suck up all the water. I have seen other Hyundai and Kia models with open trunks in parking lots and driveways on several occasions. This is a chronic problem and they should do something about it. I am no software wizard but they should be able to do something like pushing the button 3 times within 10 seconds or something to make random openings from happening.