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2005 Hyundai Elantra

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 182.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

107 reports with mileage · 30 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 71 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

30 crash reports3 fire reports19 injury reports

Fuel System, Gasoline complaints

3 reports
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45,621 miles · Dec 15, 2009
Engine And Engine CoolingFuel System, Gasoline

ON 12/10/2009 I HAD TAKEN MY AUTO IN FOR SERVICE AT THE LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER. I TOLD THEM WE WERE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH A FUNNY SMELL COMING OUT OF THE DASH WHEN THE CAR IS STARTED AND IT CONTINUES (THE ODOR) WHILE THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING. THE ODOR IS NOT THERE WHILE VEHICLE IS NOT STARTED OR RUNNING? THEY PERFORMED THE NEW YORK …

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ON 12/10/2009 I HAD TAKEN MY AUTO IN FOR SERVICE AT THE LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER. I TOLD THEM WE WERE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH A FUNNY SMELL COMING OUT OF THE DASH WHEN THE CAR IS STARTED AND IT CONTINUES (THE ODOR) WHILE THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING. THE ODOR IS NOT THERE WHILE VEHICLE IS NOT STARTED OR RUNNING? THEY PERFORMED THE NEW YORK STATE SAFETY AND EMISSIONS INSPECTION AND THE VEHICLE PASSED.THEY THEN WENT ON TO EXPLAIN THAT THE ODOR THAT IS COMING OUT OF THE VENT IS A NORMAL CONDITION FROM CONVERTER AND FUEL WINTER BLEND ? I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE SINCE DAY ONE AND HAVE NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE? THIS IS MY FIFTH WINTER. I ALSO HAVE 2 OTHER VEHICLES AND WE BUY OUR GAS AT THE SAME STATION AND I AM NOT HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH EITHER ONE. I WAS TOLD THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS ISSUE? BUT WHEN I ASKED FOR A COPY I WAS TOLD HE COULDN'T FIND IT ,AND WHEN I WENT ONLINE I COULDN'T EITHER. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP WITH THIS ISSUE OR NOT BUT IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU CAN DO OR POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION I WOULD APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE AS FAR AS THE DEALER IS CONCERNED THIS IS NORMAL AND I DON'T SEE WHAT'S NORMAL ABOUT IT .THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10295776

Mileage unknown · Aug 22, 2006
Fuel System, GasolineVehicle Speed Control

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THE CONTACT WAS UNSURE HOW FAST THE VEHICLE WAS GOING OR IF THE PEDAL STUCK TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS NO CRASH, SHE WAS BALE TO STOP THE VEHICLE IN TIME. …

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DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THE CONTACT WAS UNSURE HOW FAST THE VEHICLE WAS GOING OR IF THE PEDAL STUCK TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS NO CRASH, SHE WAS BALE TO STOP THE VEHICLE IN TIME. THE VEHICLE ALSO RECEIVED POOR GAS MILEAGE. UPDATED 09/25/06. *JB UPDATED 9/27/2006 - *NM

NHTSA ODI #10166240

417 miles · Apr 1, 2006
Engine And Engine CoolingFuel System, Gasoline

I HAVE A 5-SPEED GT HATCHBACK THAT STALLED WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN IN JULY OF 2005. THE CAR WOULD RUN ERRATICALLY AND TRY TO STALL WHILE MOVING. IT SEEMED TO DO IT WHEN THE COOLING FAN CAME ON. TOOK TO DEALER 8/1/05. THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THEY DID REPLACE THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR. I HAD 417 MILES ON IT …

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I HAVE A 5-SPEED GT HATCHBACK THAT STALLED WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN IN JULY OF 2005. THE CAR WOULD RUN ERRATICALLY AND TRY TO STALL WHILE MOVING. IT SEEMED TO DO IT WHEN THE COOLING FAN CAME ON. TOOK TO DEALER 8/1/05. THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THEY DID REPLACE THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR. I HAD 417 MILES ON IT AT THAT TIME. I HAD NO PROBLEMS UNTIL 3/30/06. THE FIRST WARM DAY IN PA AND THE CAR STARTED STALLING AGAIN, AND LEAKING FUEL IN THE LEFT REAR WHEEL WELL. WITH ONLY 6900 MILES. I HAVE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT 4/3/06. LET'S HOPE I CAN GET THIS FIXED THIS TIME BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS. IT SEEMS TO ONLY STALL WHEN WARMED UP AND THE OUTSIDE TEMP IS ABOVE 65 DEGREES. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10154350

Official recalls

4

09V280000 · Exterior Lighting

Jul 21, 2009

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

05V479000 · Air Bags

Oct 17, 2005

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

05V395000 · Air Bags

Sep 12, 2005

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

05V187000 · Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly

Apr 28, 2005

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

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