Your vehicle report
2005 Hyundai Elantra
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 137
- Received Feb 2005 to Feb 2026
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Airbag warning light stays on28 complaints · 20% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Airbags fail to deploy in crashes18 complaints · 13% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Unintended acceleration despite braking15 complaints · 11% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #09V280000Hyundai is recalling 3,011 model year 2005-2007 elantra, tucson, sonata, azera and accent vehicles. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to fail to illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A defective stop lamp switch may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission would not be able to be shift out of the "park" position. It may also cause the electronic stability control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate, and it may not deactivate the cruise control when the brake pedal is depressed.
- Recall #05V479000Certain vehicles equipped with an advanced air bag system. The occupant classification system (ocs) installed in the right front seat of the vehicle may misclassify a child restraint seat (crs) as an adult. This may occur if the crs is installed after an adult has been seated in the right front seat. If there has not been a 'key on' ' key off' cycle with the right front passenger seat empty prior to installation of the crs.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 30 crashes, 3 fires, 26 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 9 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 15 |
| 2006 | 18 |
| 2007 | 12 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 10 |
| 2010 | 8 |
| 2011 | 8 |
| 2012 | 14 |
| 2013 | 6 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 1 |
| Total | 137 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbag warning light stays on | 28 | 20% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 18 | 13% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 15 | 11% | – | |
| Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off | 11 | 8.0% | – | NHTSA recall #05V395000, #05V479000 |
| Frame rusts and corrodes through | 6 | 4.4% | – | |
| Front brake rotors warp and wear early | 5 | 3.6% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 4 | 2.9% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 3 | 2.2% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 3 | 2.2% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #09V280000July 21, 20093,011 vehicles affected
exterior lighting
Hyundai is recalling 3,011 model year 2005-2007 Elantra, tucson, sonata, azera and accent vehicles. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to fail to illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A defective stop lamp switch may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission would not be able to be shift out of the "park" position. It may also cause the electronic stability control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate, and it may not deactivate the cruise control when the brake pedal is depressed.
Any of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the stop lamp switch free of charge. The recall began on september 2, 2009. Owners may contact Hyundai of puerto rico customer service at 1-787-999-4310.
NHTSA recall #05V479000October 17, 20052,105 vehicles affected
air bags
Certain vehicles equipped with an advanced air bag system. The occupant classification system (ocs) installed in the right front seat of the vehicle may misclassify a child restraint seat (crs) as an adult. This may occur if the crs is installed after an adult has been seated in the right front seat. If there has not been a 'key on' ' key off' cycle with the right front passenger seat empty prior to installation of the crs.
The possibility of misclassification of a crs as an adult may allow the right front airbag or side impact airbag to deploy in a crash and could result in injury to the right front occupant.
Remedy
Dealers will reprogram the vehicle's ocs electronic control unit (ecu) to remove the feature that may cause the crs to be recognized as an adult. The recall began on november 15, 2005. Owners may contact Hyundai of puerto rico at 1-800-981-0188.
NHTSA recall #05V395000September 12, 2005231,160 vehicles affected
air bags
Certain vehicles equipped with an advanced air bag system. The occupant classification system (ocs) installed in the right front seat of the vehicle may misclassify a child restraint seat (crs) as an adult. This may occur if the crs is installed after an adult has been seated in the right front seat. If there has not been a 'key on' ' key off' cycle with the right front passenger seat empty prior to installation of the crs.
The possibility of misclassification of a crs as an adult may allow the right front airbag or side impact airbag to deploy in a crash and could result in injury to the right front occupant.
Remedy
Dealers will reprogram the vehicle's ocs electronic control unit (ecu) to remove the feature that may cause the crs to be recognized as an adult. The recall began on october 31, 2005. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
NHTSA recall #05V187000April 28, 2005277 vehicles affected
steering: linkages: tie rod assembly
Certain passenger vehicles may have been built with threaded portions of the steering gearbox assembly's left and right inner ball joint assemblies that contain internal cracks in the material structure.
If the inner ball joint assembly was to break as a result of the internal crack, the tie rod end assembly would not longer be attached to the steering gear box. This would prevent steering control of that front wheel by the separated tie rod which could result in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the steering gearbox assemblies on these vehicles free of charge. Owners were contacted by telephone beginning on april 8, 2005, and instructed not to drive their vehicles. Hyundai will arrange to pick up and return their vehicles after repair. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN