2003 Hyundai Elantra
small car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 2001-03 models
Tested vehicle: 2001 Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-door
The Hyundai Elantra was redesigned for the 2001 model year. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the crashworthiness of the Elantra in three 40 mph moderate overlap frontal crash tests into deformable barriers.
After the first test, Hyundai indicated the dummy's lower leg injury measures were different from those recorded in tests the company had conducted and requested a retest. Results of the second test were somewhat improved for lower leg injuries, but a high right foot acceleration occurred. More significantly, the airbag deployed late, contributing to poor head injury measures.
A third test was conducted after Hyundai could find no evidence of a problem in the airbag deployment sensing system and suggested the late deployment might have been anomalous. However, the airbag also deployed late in the third test. Due to the similarity of results, the evaluation of the Hyundai Elantra is based on all three tests.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics In the first test, dummy movement was reasonably well controlled, although the dummy's head did hit the steering wheel through the frontal airbag. During rebound, the deployed side airbag kept the dummy's head away from the B-pillar. In the second test, the frontal airbag deployed late (76 milliseconds, compared with a typical 30 milliseconds), and the dummy's head hit the steering wheel. Also, the driver seat came loose on one of its tracks and moved forward 3 inches on the right side, where the safety belt is anchored. Both of the dummy's legs jammed against the instrument panel. The left shin contacted an exposed metal edge, and the right knee hit just below the ignition switch, producing gashes in the "vinyl" skin at the dummy's left shin and right knee. During rebound, the deployed side airbag kept the dummy's head away from the B-pillar. In the third test, the frontal airbag also deployed late (64 milliseconds), and the dummy's head hit the steering wheel through the airbag. The side airbag did not deploy in this test, and during rebound the dummy's head hit the B-pillar. |
Action shot taken during the second of three frontal offset crash tests.
The driver's survival space was maintained well, as indicated by the dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the third crash test.
The seat latch failed to hold on the inboard (right) side, and the right side of the seat moved forward during the second crash test. The extent of seat movement is indicated by separation of the yellow paint marks (inset).
Smeared red greasepaint shows where the dummy's left shin hit and broke the plastic knee bolster, exposing a sharp edge of the underlying metal plate that gashed the vinyl "skin" just below the knee.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CEF0103 | CEF0112 | CF00034 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Footwell intrusion | |||
| Footrest (cm) | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| Left (cm) | 19 | 19 | 23 |
| Center (cm) | 16 | 16 | 17 |
| Right (cm) | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |||
| Left (cm) | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Right (cm) | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Steering column movement | |||
| Upward (cm) | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Rearward (cm) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CEF0103 | CEF0112 | CF00034 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | |||
| HIC-15 | 921 | 702 | 547 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 100 | 174 | 122 |
| Neck | |||
| Tension (kN) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 1.4 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 20 | 53 | 14 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.53 | 0.82 | 0.27 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 33 | 35 | 29 |
| Legs | |||
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.7 | 3.4 | 2.8 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.83 | 0.89 | 1.45 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.77 | 0.82 | 1.09 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 7.0 | 5.2 | 6.3 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |||
| Left | 62 | 56 | 62 |
| Right | 676 | 89 | 109 |
Side: original test
Rating applies to 2001-06 models
Tested vehicle: 2005 Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-door with standard front seat-mounted combination head and torso airbags
The Hyundai Elantra was redesigned for the 2001 model year.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Torso | |
| Pelvis/leg | |
| Driver head protection | |
| Rear passenger injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Torso | |
| Pelvis/leg | |
| Rear passenger head protection The dummy's head was hit by the window frame, glass, and sill of the rear passenger door, producing moderately high head injury measures. |
|
View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.
View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbag and damage to the occupant compartment.
Action shot taken during the side impact crash test showing the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbag.
Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy's head was hit by the window frame, glass, and sill of the rear passenger door.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CES0503 |
|---|---|
| B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) | -2.0 |
| Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline. | |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CES0503 |
|---|---|
| Head HIC-15 | 301 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.0 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.2 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 44 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.5 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 55 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 44 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 7.22 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 1.70 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 2.7 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 2.4 |
| Combined force (kN) | 5.0 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 0.4 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 255 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 38 |
Passenger injury measures
| Test ID | CES0503 |
|---|---|
| Head HIC-15 | 662 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 2.1 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.6 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 43 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.9 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 45 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 42 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 4.02 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.91 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 1.1 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 2.9 |
| Combined force (kN) | 3.6 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 1.2 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 169 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | -57 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: All seats
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
| Seat type | All seats |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 82 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | 62 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Fail |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 14.3 |
| Head contact time (ms) | 110 |
| Force rating | 3 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | 427 |
| Max neck tension (N) | 1,490 |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.