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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.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

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

Tires complaints

1 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jun 13, 2015
TiresWheels

8 JUNE 2015- NEW TIRES AND BRAKES INSTALLED ON CAR. 11 JUNE 2015- UPON ARRIVAL AT HOME, HEARD LEAKING SOUND FROM LEFT FRONT TIRE. SAW VALVE STEM LEAKING DUE TO WHEEL COVER PRESSING AGAINST STEM. CHECKED RIGHT FRONT TIRE, IT ALSO HAD THE COVER PRESSING AGAINST THE VALVE STEM. ALTHOUGH IT WAS NOT LEAKING. TWO REAR TIRES WERE OKAY…

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8 JUNE 2015- NEW TIRES AND BRAKES INSTALLED ON CAR. 11 JUNE 2015- UPON ARRIVAL AT HOME, HEARD LEAKING SOUND FROM LEFT FRONT TIRE. SAW VALVE STEM LEAKING DUE TO WHEEL COVER PRESSING AGAINST STEM. CHECKED RIGHT FRONT TIRE, IT ALSO HAD THE COVER PRESSING AGAINST THE VALVE STEM. ALTHOUGH IT WAS NOT LEAKING. TWO REAR TIRES WERE OKAY. I ASSUMED THE MECHANIC HAD INSTALLED THE FRONT COVERS IMPROPERLY. 12 JUNE 2015- PUT SPARE ON LEFT FRONT AND DROVE TO THE GARAGE, HAD THE MECHANIC WHO INSTALLED THE TIRES CHECK OUT WHAT HAPPENED. HE WAS NOT SURE WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM. HE REPLACED ALL THE VALVE STEMS AND CORRECTLY REINSTALLED THE WHEEL COVERS.ALL SEEMED WELL. 13 JUNE 2015- WIFE AND DAUGHTER DEPARTED ON TRIP TO MAINE VIA INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS. ON NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERSTATE THEY HAD THE LEFT FRONT TIRE GO FLAT AND THE RIGHT FRONT BEGAN LEAKING AT 65MPH. UNABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER, THEY CONTINUED ON TO A SAFE AREA, LEFT FRONT TIRE AND RIM DESTROYED. THEY CALLED AAA AND WERE TOWED 91 MILES TO THEIR DESTINATION. THE AAA MECHANIC IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS THE WHEEL COVER SHIFTING, ON BOTH FRONT WHEELS, PRESSING THE VALVE STEMS OVER AND CUTTING INTO THEM. THEY ARE NOW HOPING TO FIND A PLACE WHICH CAN REPLACE THE TIRE AND RIM ON A WEEKEND. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO RETURN MONDAY WHICH NOW LOOKS DOUBTFUL. CHECKING ON LINE, I FOUND THIS HAS BEEN A REPORTED PROBLEM BEFORE. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, THEY ARE LUCKY THEY DID NOT CRASH. I DO NOT SEE WHERE HYUNDAI HAS EVER ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. BESIDE THE MONETARY BURDEN THIS HAS CAUSED US, WE ARE THANKFUL THAT THIS DID NOT TURN INTO A TRAGEDY. I SINCERELY HOPE THAT YOU CAN HAVE THIS SITUATION RESOLVED WITH HYUNDAI BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED OR KILLED. FOR NOW THE WHEEL COVERS WILL REMAIN OFF. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10725125

Official recalls

1

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.

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.