The 1991 Hyundai Excel has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 257,001 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 44 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
THE VEHICLES FAILED THE LATERAL MOVING BARRIER IMPACT TEST REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS 301, "FUEL SYSTEM INTEGRITY." THE FUEL LEAKAGE FROM THE GAS TANK EXCEEDED THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE AMOUNT OF SPILLAGE.
IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, THE FUEL SPILLAGE CAN RESULTIN A FIRE IF EXPOSED TO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
HYUNDAI HAS DEVELOPED AN APPROPRIATE COUNTERMEASURE THAT WILL COMPLY WITH ALL REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS 301.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“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…”
“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…”
“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”
“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”
“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”
“Hatch lift assist bars failed, causing hatch to fall on person's head.”
“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…”
“The vehicle caught on fire while parked, fire under the dash. Fire dept. Says it was an electrical fire. Please describe. *ak”
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
There is no summary currently available
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1991 Hyundai Excel as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.