Total Complaints
44 filings
HYUNDAI EXCEL · model year
44 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1991HYUNDAIEXCEL carries 44 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 4 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1991 EXCEL is power train:automatic transmission with 8 filings, followed by visibility:windshield (3) and unknown or other (3). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 37 investigation files overlapping the 1991 EXCEL, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
44 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 8 |
| VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD | 3 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 |
| VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR | 2 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 2 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | 2 |
| POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION | 2 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 2 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:PADS | 1 |
| WHEELS:RIM | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH | 1 |
| EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT | 1 |
CAR BEGAN TO ONLY DO 20 MILES PER HOUR AFTER STOPPING AT TRAFFIC LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. DROVE FIN ON ROAD. THAN BEGAN TO DRIVE SLOWLY AFTER TWO WEEKS. HAD TRANSMISSION FLIUD CHANGE AND DROVE GREAT FOR A WEEK THEN FAILED. I AM VER UPSET BY THIS MOTOR COMPANY FOR HIDING THIS MAJOR DEFECT. MY CAR ONLY HAD 68,485 ORIGINAL MILES!*AK
Mileage: 68,485
TRANSFER SHAFT BEARING BROKE, KNOCKING A HOLE IN THE TRANSMISSION CASE, CAUSING FLUIDS TO LEAK FROM TRANSMISSION, CAUSING COMPLETE LOCK UP AND DESTRUCTION OF TRANSMISSION AND CASE. MY CAR WAS ONLY 3 YEARS OLD AND HAD 50,000 MILES ON IT. *AK
Mileage: 5,000
CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION CASE CRACKED, DUE TO DRIVING OVER A DIP IN THE DRIVEWAY, (CONSUMER NO LONGER OWNS VEHICLE)*JB
NO SUMMARY.
TRANSMISSION DEFECTIVE. NLM
ENGINE DEFECTIVE. NLM
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE WINDOWS(PASSENGER AND DRIVER) IN THE REAR EXPLODED. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON 2 OTHER OCCASIONS. THE WINDOWS WERE REPLACED BY OWNER ALL TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT THE PROLBEM. *AK THE FIRST WINDOW EXPLODED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE TWO OTHER TIMES THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. *SLC
VEHICLE WAS MAKING NOISE, THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT HAS NEVER GONE OFF SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, AND THE CAR CUTS OFF. THE DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK
VEHICLE WAS MAKING NOISE, THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT HAS NEVER GONE OFF SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, AND THE CAR CUTS OFF. THE DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK
LOOSE MOLDING AROUND REAR WHEEL WELL BROKE OFF, CAUSING LOST OF CONTROL BY STRIKING THE CENTER WALL OF THE VEHICLE. (NEW JERSEY POLICE REPORT)
UPON DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOORBOARD/COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKING ABILITY, RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT. CONSUMER HAS NOTICED THE PROBLEM, THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED DUE TO A SLIPPED PIN. *AK
HATCH LIFT ASSIST BARS FAILED, CAUSING HATCH TO FALL ON PERSON'S HEAD.
DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY APPROXIMATELY 60MPH AND THE HOOD RELEASED. PULLED OVER TO CLOSE HOOD, AND THEN NOTICED THE U-SHAPED METAL CLIP DETACHED FROM THE HOOD. *AK
BOTH REAR WINDOWS SHATTERED.
TRANSMISSION FAILED.
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE IT JUST STOPPED IN TRAFFIC, WHEN IT STARTED AGAIN IT WOULD BEARLY GO. DEALER STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS GONE. THERE WAS NO PRIOR WARNING OF THIS. *AK
FOR SEVERAL MONTHS OWNER HAD INTERFERENCE IN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. HEAD LIGHTS DIMMED WHEN OTHER ELECTRIC ACCESSORIES WERE USED/ALTERNATOR CHARGED CORRECTLY AND BELTS TIGHTENED W/NO CHANGE IN CONDITION. TWO MECHANICS STATED EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT FINE.*
SHE REQUESTED THE PART FROM THE MANUFACTURER OVER A YEAR AGO AND SHE STILL HAS NOT RECEIVED THE PART REGARDING FUEL SYSTEM RECALL 93V192000. *AK
WHILE DOING HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP THE CAR, CUT OFF AND WOULD NOT GO.*AK WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE BEGAN TO LOOSE SPEED AND WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED, THE VEHICLE MADE A ROUGH SOUND AND CONTINUED TO DROP SPEED AND CUT OFF, VEHICLE WAS PUSHED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE TO CONSUMER'S RESIDENCE, DEALERSHIP ADVISED CONSUMER THAT TRANSMISSION NEEDE TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THERE WAS AN INTERNAL PART, BUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY CO REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE COVERED PART WITHOUT CONSUMER'S AUTHORIZATION TO BREAK DOWN THE TRANSMISSION FIRST AND TELL THEM EXACTLY WHAT WAS WRONG.*JB
THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE PARKED, FIRE UNDER THE DASH. FIRE DEPT. SAYS IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1991 HYUNDAI EXCEL; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.