HYUNDAI ELANTRA · model year

2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA

180 NHTSA complaints, 43 crash reports, and 4 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2005HYUNDAIELANTRA carries 180 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 43 crashes, 5 fires, 41 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2005 ELANTRA is air bags with 50 filings, followed by vehicle speed control (12) and air bags:frontal (11). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 4 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle, the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 5 investigation files overlapping the 2005 ELANTRA. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page, a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

180
Complaints
43
Crashes
5
Fires
41
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

180 filings

Crashes Reported

43 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
AIR BAGS50
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL12
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL11
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM9
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC6
STEERING6
EXTERIOR LIGHTING5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER5
STRUCTURE:BODY5
SEAT BELTS4
POWER TRAIN4
ENGINE4
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING3

Recalls (4)

05V18700028/04/2005

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.

09V28000021/07/2009

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 RELEAS

05V47900017/10/2005

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

05V39500012/09/2005

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

Recent Complaints

20260211STEERING

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?

20260211SUSPENSION

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?

20260211UNKNOWN OR OTHER

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?

20250926SUSPENSION

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 peopl

20250224UNKNOWN OR OTHER

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

20250224STEERING

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

20250224SUSPENSION

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

20241103AIR BAGS

The air bag light came on and it is staying on

20241103POWER TRAIN

The air bag light came on and it is staying on

20230428STEERING

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.

Mileage: 185,000

20230428EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

Mileage: 185,000

20221007AIR BAGS

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.

Mileage: 200,000

20220417AIR BAGS

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.

20220417ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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.

20220417SEATS

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.

20220318SEAT BELTS

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

20200630STRUCTURE:BODY

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.

Mileage: 139,000

20200630EXTERIOR LIGHTING

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.

Mileage: 139,000

20200602ENGINE

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

Mileage: 136,000

20200602FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

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

Mileage: 136,000

Compare 2005HYUNDAIELANTRA to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA have?
The 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA has 180 NHTSA complaints, 43 crashes, 5 fires, 41 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA?
Yes, the 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA has 4 recall(s). The most common affected component is STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA?
The most-complained component for the 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA is AIR BAGS with 50 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL and AIR BAGS:FRONTAL.
Is the 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.