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2021 Hyundai Nexo

Hydrogen fuel cell Compact SUV

20262025202420232022202120202019
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
C
Safety Signal
70 / 100
CSafety Signal · 70 / 100
2Recalls · 2 critical
5Complaints · owner reports
—Crash rating · NHTSA overall
61 mpgFuel economy · best combined
⚠️
Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2021 Hyundai Nexo is sold in the U.S. as a hydrogen fuel cell compact SUV with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Nexo Blue, is EPA-rated at 61 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, 2 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 5 complaints, most often about fuel/propulsion system.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Nexo BlueHydrogen fuel cellFWD120 kW IPMSM655861—
NexoHydrogen fuel cellFWD120 kW IPMSM595457—

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (2)

Fuel System, Other

critical
Park outside1,545 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2024 Nexo vehicles. The thermally activated pressure relief device (TPRD) may break and cause a hydrogen gas leak, which can result in a fire while parked.

Risk: A vehicle fire increases the risk of injury.

Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall remedy is completed. Dealers will replace the TPRD, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 8, 2024. Final owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, beginning January 6, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai Customer Service at 800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 269.

NHTSA campaign 24V761000 · reported Oct 11, 2024 · Hyundai Motor America

Fuel System, Other

critical
Park outside922 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Nexo vehicles. The hydrogen gas detection sensors may fail to detect leaks in the hydrogen gas delivery system.

Risk: A hydrogen gas leak can increase the risk of a fire while parked or driving.

Fix: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the recall remedy is completed. Dealers will replace the hydrogen gas detection sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 12, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 225.

NHTSA campaign 22V258000 · reported Apr 14, 2022 · Hyundai Motor America

Owner complaints

5 complaints filed

0 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 0 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2022: 3 · 2024: 2

Most-cited components

  • Fuel/Propulsion System — 3
  • Electrical System — 2
  • Engine — 2
  • Forward Collision Avoidance — 1
  • Fuel System, Other — 1
“Hydrogen fuel cell system is unstable/unreliable. Vehicle fueling infrastructure is completely unreliable and cannot be depended on for safe, ongoing operation of vehicle.”Jun 21, 2024 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“It has become more frequent for there to be a delay in acceleration of about 3 to 4 seconds when traveling uphill. My car lost acceleration while going uphill. As I was gradually accelerating from a red traffic light to climb a hill, my car became stuck at a certain speed, around 50 mph on April 3rd. Even when pressing…”Apr 20, 2024 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“Catastrophic issue awaiting to happen. I am fearful the car can blow up. Hydrogen gas leak has been detected since March 2022. After and during the pumping, often there would be a loud hissing sound coming from the vehicle no from the pump itself. After fueling with hydrogen gas, it takes a minute for the car to read a…”Nov 20, 2022 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other Nexo model years

A

2026 Nexo

0 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2025 Nexo

0 recalls · 0 complaints

B

2024 Nexo

1 recalls · 0 complaints

B

2023 Nexo

1 recalls · 6 complaints

B

2022 Nexo

1 recalls · 1 complaints

D

2020 Nexo

4 recalls · 7 complaints

F

2019 Nexo

4 recalls · 3 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 47541, 47540). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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