California Officer Targets Stock Hyundai Elantra N for Loud Exhaust

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]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by   subscribing to our newsletter.