Two problems related to front suspension wheel bearing have been reported for the 2002 Hyundai Elantra. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Hyundai Elantra based on all problems reported for the 2002 Elantra.
When braking consumer would hear a knocking noise coming from the rear end. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. The dealer replaced many component attempting to alleviate the noise. The last repairs included the dealer replacing the right rear wheel bearing at 13250 miles.
A couple months after I bought the car I began to hear a very annoying "howl" coming from the front left corner of the car. Soon after the car would vibrate after accelerating to a certain point. I finally couldn't stand driving the car because of the noise so I had it towed back to the dealer. They checked and said that something was wrong with the bearings in the front left tire. For a while, it was fine but now it's starting to do the same thing again a year later in the same location it seems like. I only have 38,000 miles on this car. I don't think it should have recurring problems like this. Also, recently I've noticed that it is jumping into gears rather than making a smooth transition like it used to.