Hyundai · Elantra · 2005
4
Recalls
137
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2005 Hyundai Elantra has 4 recalls and 137 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: air bags (58 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
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.
Remedy Status
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.
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.
Remedy Status
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.
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.
Remedy Status
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.
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.
Remedy Status
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.
UNKNOWN On January 24,2026, I was thankfully traveling only about twenty mph a block from my home and something happened in the front drivers side suspension that caused me to almost hit three parked cars. Once I got stopped, the car couldn’t get get pushed forward, won’t roll at all forward, like it’s in park, but in neutral we were able to push it backwards to the house. It seems that it could be what is described in recall 069. However when I put my vin in it said zero recalls. I see a letter to the original owner of this car, but I don’t see any info with the recall being repaired. The car hasn’t been worked on yet as we had a huge snowstorm the night the car broke and have since had sub zero temps and I’ve not found anyone to work on it in front of my home in this weather. How should I proceed? How can I get more info in regards to if this recall was remedied on this car?
I have a 2005 hyundai elantra that the front and rear subframe/ suspension crossmembers are completely rotted out. There is a safety recall that I found online for 2003 elantras for this same problem, but I can't seem to find anything for a 2005 model. They are the same body style and it's the same exact crossmember used on these years. Hyundai knew there was an issue and they never fixed it for the 2005 model year. The rear crossmember rotted right through on mine and the back tires almost fell off of the car. Luckily I was right down the road from my house when it happened. After I replaced the rear crossmember, I noticed that the front was just as bad and there's a Crack and as soon as I pushed on it with my fingers, they went right through the metal and now there's a baseball sized rust hole right by the lower control arms on both sides of the front suspension crossmember. The car has just over 100,000 miles and now it's not drivable. There are dozens of reports online with people reporting the same exact issue. Myself or another driver could have been killed if this happened on the highway. The body is in nice shape on the car, so it's not like the whole car is rusted out. I looked for a new crossmember on multiple elantras in the junkyard and they all have the same issue, the body's are in good shape but both crossmembers are completely rotted away. This was an issue that hyundai had a recall on and never fixed for this year. There are many of these models still on the road that are an accident waiting to happen as well. Apparently from what I've read, the crossmembers and control arms never had any drain holes in them and they would rot from the inside out. Here's a link to the same issue for the 2003 year. I'll upload pictures of the crossmember and the underside of the car showing that the car isn't all rusted out, it's just the crossmembers. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
As I was driving about 25-30 mph when the front drivers side lower control arm snapped, resulting in loss of control and steering, which could’ve caused a major accident if driven on a highway/interstate at a higher rate of speed. The damage revealed the control arm had rotted from the inside and had broken from the bushing connected to the frame, with no indication of rust in the outside, which has been something that has documented with other same generation Hyundais. I have not been able to bring it to a dealer or mechanic to have it checked
The air bag light came on and it is staying on
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed and released; however, the brake light remained illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V280000 (Exterior Lighting). Additionally, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff while making a turn. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V187000 (Steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.
THE CLIP END WILL NOT RELEASE FROM THE RECEIVER BY PRESSING THE RED RELEASE BUTTON,,,,,,SAFETY PROBLEM...WHEN ALONE IN CAR I CAN PUT BELT CLIP IN PASSENGER RECEIVER
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact was made aware of various recalls for similar vehicles. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in an air bag recall. The dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed there was no active recalls on the vehicle for the air bags. The contact scheduled a service appointment for the vehicle to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
Passenger airbag sensor registers when someone sits down, but randomly turns off and displays “Passenger Airbag Off” light for a couple minutes before turning off again. Vehicle was inspected by an authorized Hyundai service center and no codes were produced. No indicated problems prior to the first incident.
AT INSPECTION, MECHANIC NOTED SEVERE AND DANGEROUS RUST TO SUBFRAME AND SUBFLOOR IN MULTIPLE AREAS OF VEHICLE. REAR PORTION OF SUBFRAME WAS ALMOST COMPLETED RUSTED THROUGH. ADDITIONALLY NOTED ISSUES WITH RP BRAKE LIGHT, PLATE LIGHT AND FP TURN SIGNAL. ONGOING ISSUE WITH FUSSES AND BULBS CONTINUALLY BLOWING/GOING OUT.
WHILE SLOWING DOWN AFTER DRIVING ON HIGHWAY OR STOPPING AT AN TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE CAR STALLS AND LOSES POWER STEERING. NEEDS TO BE PUT IN NEUTRAL TO RESTART BUT IF STOPPING AT ANOTHER LIGHT, IT DIES AGAIN. *TR
SUB FRAME IS ROTTING BROUGHT CAR TO MECHANIC FOR SERVICE NOT RELATED AND HE NOTICED THIS PROBLEM HE SAID IT COULD BE DANGEROUS IF NOT ADDRESSED. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN USE, THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. BEAVERTON HYUNDAI (13255 SW FARMINGTON RD, BEAVERTON, OR 97005, (877) 812-0866) WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE CONTACT PURCHASED A SCANNER AND DIAGNOSED THAT THE AIR BAG OCS ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 166,000.
HAS AN ISSUE WITH THE LOW BEAM LIGHT TURNING ON ONLY HIGH BEAMS WORK. AROUND 7:00 PM DRIVING HOME LIGHTS JUST COMPLETELY SHUT OFF ON ME DOWN THE FREEWAY. CHANGED OUT THE BULBS AND AGAIN WENT OUT AFTER 2 WEEKS AROUND 6 TRAFFIC HOUR WITCH ALMOST CAUSED A COLLISION WHEN OTHER DRIVER MERGED INTO MY LANE DUE TO NO LIGHTS TO SHOW A VEHICLE WAS TO HIS RIGHT. I HAVE ALSO SEEN ITS A HUGE ISSUE WITH OTHER ELANTRA OWNERS THE SAME YEARS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS AN INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF WHICH THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED TO FUNCTION AS WELL AS THE SPEEDOMETER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER YET TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC INSPECTED AND DIAGNOSED THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AS WELL AS AN INTERNAL ELECTRONIC FAULT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,510.
MY AIR BAG LIGHT WILL NOT GO AWAY
TALKED TO DEALER (HYUNDAI LEE), AND WAS TOLD RECALL WAS CLOSED AND I WOULD HAVE TO PAID TO HAVE FIXED. I BROUGHT THIS CAR FROM DEALER.
JUST PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE USED AND THE AIR BAG DASHBOARD LIGHT WENT ON. THE DEALER CHARGED ME $140 TO DIAGNOSE INFORMING ME THAT THE SEAT SENSORS NEED REPLACEMENT ADDING THAT THE ENTIRE SEAT ASSEMBLY MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. I FEEL THIS IS A FAILURE OF HYUNDAI'S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLUS QUALITY CONTROL OF A MAJOR SAFETY SYSTEM DEVICE. ITS REPLACEMENT SHOULD BE FREE BASED ON THIS. AS A NOTE THE LIGHT COMES ON IMMEDIATELY AT START AND WHILE DRIVING, STAYS ON CONSTANTLY
I CALL A DEALER LAST YEAR (LEE HYUNDAI) FLORENCE, SC. AND WAS TOLD THAT IF I WANT TO HAVE IT FIXED THAT IT WOULD COST ME ABOUT 500 DOLLARS, I ALSO THOUGHT THAT I HAD MADE A REPORT WITH NHTSA BEFORE AND THEN WHEN IT CAME ON TV, IT WAS SAID THAT HYUNDAI WAS LIABLE FOR FIXING IT.
AIR BAG LIGHT HAS BEEN ON AND I NEED SAFETY IN THE CAR,WONDERING IF RECALL HAS BEEN REPORTED
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE PASSENGER SIDE SUBFRAME FRACTURED ALONG THE WHEEL WELL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS SEVERE RUST TO THE VEHICLE'S SUBFRAME. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE INSPECTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER AND LOCAL DEALER WERE NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 126,000.
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2005 Hyundai Elantra has 4 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 137 owner-reported complaints for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra are air bags (58 reports), vehicle speed control (9 reports), service brakes, hydraulic (7 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 4 recalls on record for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Look up recalls and complaints for any year, make, and model.
This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.