California Officer Targets Stock Hyundai Elantra N for Loud Exhaust

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Slap a loud exhaust and bootleg mods on your car, and your chances of having a lousy day increase exponentially. You’re far more likely to experience a breakdown, and that’s before the attention you’ll get from law enforcement. One owner of a Hyundai Elantra N in California recently had a terrible day, but not for the reasons you might think. 


The owner, Reddit user OkCandidate103, got way more than a ticket when he was pulled over for a loud exhaust in his Elantra N. Despite the car being stock, it still exceeded the legal exhaust sound level of 95 decibels, as the valves in the exhaust open in different drive modes. The officer was not particularly interested in the driver’s arguments, telling him that he’d need to have the dealership remove Sport mode from the car and noting that he’d likely owe upwards of $7,000 for the fix.


As for how to “fix” a stock vehicle, that’s anyone’s guess. What is clear is that the Hyundai owner has a major headache on their hands. A citation is an apparent outcome here, but the officer also suspended the car’s registration, rendering it undrivable. YouTuber Entense also pointed out that the officer wanted to suspend the driver’s license but stopped short after finding out it wasn’t possible.


Look, as an enthusiast, it’s easy to get riled up about over-enforcement here, but shouldn’t Hyundai have done a better job of making sure their car didn’t tiptoe so close to the law? As for the officer, it’s hard to believe a ticket and suspended registration is the right decision, especially when it’s fairly apparent that it’s impossible to “fix” an unbroken and unmodified car. 


[Image: Hyundai]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Roadscholar Roadscholar on Oct 04, 2022

    My 3k mile Veloster N has been at the dealer for 2 weeks for an engine misfire. At least I didn't get a ticket but I'd like to have my car back eventually.

  • Heron Heron on Oct 05, 2022

    Might want to buy a db meter and use it before your next purchase.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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