IllustrationBROUGHT TO GET OIL CHANGED, MECHANIC SHOWED ME THE ENGINE CARRIER WAS ABOUT TO FAIL. IT IS ALMOST RUSTED THRU 2004 HA RECALL BUT NOT 2005 ALSO WHEN IN PARK CAR ROLLS
2005 Hyundai Sonata
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2005 Hyundai Sonata do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 161.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sonata years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
180–25K
2125–50K
2050–75K
2075–100K
34100–150K
15150K+
128 reports with mileage · 37 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 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Structure. Review the 30 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 26 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
26 crash reports2 fire reports19 injury reports
Power Train complaints
5 reportsTL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK WHEN CONTACT TRIED TO CHANGE LANES. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESTART AND THE VEHICLE WAS T…
Read full complaint
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO JERK WHEN CONTACT TRIED TO CHANGE LANES. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESTART AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THIS FAILURE RECURRED TEN TIMES OVER A PERIOD OF SEVEN MONTHS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.
PLACED IN REVERSE, THE CAR STOPPED MOVING, EVEN WHEN ACCELERATING HYUNDAI ALREADY HAD TO REPLACE A FAULTY TRANSMISSION AT 34,000 MILES. THEY ARE REFUSING TO REPLACE IT AGAIN. *TR
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON WHEN IT RAINS 2005 SONATA AND TRANSMISSION WON'T SHIFT TILL THE LIGHT GOES OUT. *TR
BOUGHT 2005 HYUANDI ON 12/8/04. EXPERIENCED VIBRATION ON 12/9/05 TOOK CAR BACK TO DEALERSHIP IN CLEVELAND TENNESSEE, THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG, BUT THEY THOUGHT THAT THE BOLTS THAT HOLD THE MOTOR IN CAR NEEDED TO BE TIGHTENED. TOOK CAR BACK 3 DAYS LATER FOR THE SAME PROBLEM VIBRATION, THEY SAID THAT THE BOLTS NEEDED TO BE TIG…
Read full complaint
BOUGHT 2005 HYUANDI ON 12/8/04. EXPERIENCED VIBRATION ON 12/9/05 TOOK CAR BACK TO DEALERSHIP IN CLEVELAND TENNESSEE, THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG, BUT THEY THOUGHT THAT THE BOLTS THAT HOLD THE MOTOR IN CAR NEEDED TO BE TIGHTENED. TOOK CAR BACK 3 DAYS LATER FOR THE SAME PROBLEM VIBRATION, THEY SAID THAT THE BOLTS NEEDED TO BE TIGHTENED AGAIN. TOOK THE CAR BACK ON THREE OTHER OCCASIONS AND THEY CONTINUED TO TIGHTEN THE BOLTS THAT HOLD THE ENGINE IN THE CAR. FINALLY A REPRESENTATIVE WAS CALLED IN TO LOOK AT THE CAR HE HAD ME TO DRIVE THE CAR AND TOLD ME THAT IT WAS NORMAL FOR THE CAR TO HAVE A VIBRATION WHEN SITTING STILL AND THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR. ALSO, HE SAID THAT THE BOLTS NEEDED TO BE TIGHTENED THAT HOLD THE ENGINE IN. *NM
Official recalls
109V280000 · 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.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.