THE PULSE GENERATOR HAS FAILED 4 TIMES NOW AND THE DEALER CANNOT SEEM TO FIX. THE CAR AT TIMES WILL NOT ACCELERATE PAST 20 MPH AND AT OTHER TIMES WILL ACCELERATE TO HIGHER SPEEDS WITHOUT SHIFTING. WHEN THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE PAST 20 MPH IT BECOMES DANGEROUS ON A HIGHWAY OR IF PULLING INTO TRAFFIC. MR
1999 Hyundai Tiburon
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1999 Hyundai Tiburon do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 39.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Tiburon 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
Limited mileage data: 9 of 26 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
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.
- Electrical System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Seat Belts. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
26 reportsCONSUMER STATES THAT THE PULSE GENERATOR FAILS, CAUSING TRANSMISSION TO DOWNSHIFT SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING, THIS CAN CAUSE LOSS OF CONTROL, ALSO A HAZARD ON THE HIGHWAY AS THE CAR SLOWS QUICKLY WITH NO WARNING TO ANY DRIVER THAT MAY BE FOLLOWING BEHIND. *TT
WHEN FEEDING SHOULDER BELT BACK INTO THE RETRACTOR ON DRIVER'S RESTRAINT BELT, RESTRAINT BELT WILL TWIST AND CAUSE RETRACTOR TO JAM. DEALERSHIP HAS PERFORMED SERVICE FOR RECALL CAMPAIGN 01V345000 ON JANUARY 14, 2002. THIS SERVICE HAS FAILED TO EFFECTIVELY REMEDY PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / DOCUMEN…
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WHEN FEEDING SHOULDER BELT BACK INTO THE RETRACTOR ON DRIVER'S RESTRAINT BELT, RESTRAINT BELT WILL TWIST AND CAUSE RETRACTOR TO JAM. DEALERSHIP HAS PERFORMED SERVICE FOR RECALL CAMPAIGN 01V345000 ON JANUARY 14, 2002. THIS SERVICE HAS FAILED TO EFFECTIVELY REMEDY PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / DOCUMENTATION.*AK
TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO ACCIDENT CAR WAS AT THE DEALER TO "FIX" THE REASON WHY HIS AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ON. THE DEALER "FIXED" THE LIGHT. TWO WEEKS LATER DRIVER WAS EXITING HIGHWAY GETTING ONTO THE ON RAMP TO ANOTHER HIGHWAY AND FOR NO REASON HIS AIRBAG EXPLODED. THE GROUND WAS DRY AND THERE WERE NO OBSTACLES IN THE ROAD. AT ONCE HI…
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TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO ACCIDENT CAR WAS AT THE DEALER TO "FIX" THE REASON WHY HIS AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ON. THE DEALER "FIXED" THE LIGHT. TWO WEEKS LATER DRIVER WAS EXITING HIGHWAY GETTING ONTO THE ON RAMP TO ANOTHER HIGHWAY AND FOR NO REASON HIS AIRBAG EXPLODED. THE GROUND WAS DRY AND THERE WERE NO OBSTACLES IN THE ROAD. AT ONCE HIS HANDS WERE FORCED FROM THE STEERING WHEEL AND HIS VIEW WAS OBSTRUCTED RESULTING IN HIM PLOWING INTO THE FREEWAY BARRIER. UPON THIS IMPACT HIS PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED. ANY HELP OR ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE WOULD BE APPRECIATED. *AK
HAD CD PLAYER REPLACED, COMPUTER FAILURE AFTER THAT WHERE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, THEY REPLACED IT - THE THE BATTERY DIED FOR NO REASON, THEY REPLACED THAT, NOW MY CAR IS SHIFTING OUT OF CONTROL AND SURGES WHEN AT STOP LIGHT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, WHILE DRIVING 60M MPH THE CAR SHIFTS INTO THE SAME GEAR CONTINU…
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HAD CD PLAYER REPLACED, COMPUTER FAILURE AFTER THAT WHERE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, THEY REPLACED IT - THE THE BATTERY DIED FOR NO REASON, THEY REPLACED THAT, NOW MY CAR IS SHIFTING OUT OF CONTROL AND SURGES WHEN AT STOP LIGHT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, WHILE DRIVING 60M MPH THE CAR SHIFTS INTO THE SAME GEAR CONTINUOUSLY AND JOLTS THEN SLOWS - THEY CANT SEE A PROBLEM AND SAY THEY CANT HELP ME, WHEN THEY TEST DRIVE IT IT'S FINE - THE SECOND I TAKE IT HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP IT STARTS UP - IT IS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE BUT SINCE THEY CANT FIND THE PROBLEM FROM A TEST DRIVE AND COMPUTER TEST THEY DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO EXCEPT SEND ME HOME WITH A DANGEROUS CAR. *AK
MY SON WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY ENTERING A FREEWAY ON AN ON RAMP WHEN HIS AIRBAG "EXPLODED" FOR NO REASON. THERE WAS NOTHING ON THE ROAD HE WAS SIMPLY DRIVING ALONG ON THE HIGHWAY. THE AIR BAG EXPLODED WHICH RESULTED IN MY SON HITTING A WALL BARRIER ON THE FREEWAY. AT THE POINT OF IMPACT HIS PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED. …
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MY SON WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY ENTERING A FREEWAY ON AN ON RAMP WHEN HIS AIRBAG "EXPLODED" FOR NO REASON. THERE WAS NOTHING ON THE ROAD HE WAS SIMPLY DRIVING ALONG ON THE HIGHWAY. THE AIR BAG EXPLODED WHICH RESULTED IN MY SON HITTING A WALL BARRIER ON THE FREEWAY. AT THE POINT OF IMPACT HIS PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED. SINCE IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT WE TOWED THE CAR TO A DEALER WHERE IT CURRENTLY IS. MY SON HAS COMPLAINED ABOUT PAIN IN HIS CHEST AND IS SHOOK UP EMOTIONALLY BUT THANK GOD THAT IT DIDN'T RESULT IN MUCH WORSE.*AK
I WAS DRIVING IN A PARKING LOT THAT I DRIVE IN DAILY. I WAS MAKING A ROUTINE TURN, AND WHEN I BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN FROM 30MPH I GOT TO ABOUT 20MPH AND THEN THE BRAKES LOCKED UP AS WELL AS THE STEERING WHEEL. I DID NOT SLAM ON THE BRAKES SO THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE LOCKED. AFTER THE CAR WENT UP ON A CURB, SEVERAL SECONDS LATER THE A…
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I WAS DRIVING IN A PARKING LOT THAT I DRIVE IN DAILY. I WAS MAKING A ROUTINE TURN, AND WHEN I BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN FROM 30MPH I GOT TO ABOUT 20MPH AND THEN THE BRAKES LOCKED UP AS WELL AS THE STEERING WHEEL. I DID NOT SLAM ON THE BRAKES SO THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE LOCKED. AFTER THE CAR WENT UP ON A CURB, SEVERAL SECONDS LATER THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. THEY DID NOT DEPOLY ON IMPACT.. WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR I WAS TOLD I HAD ANTI LOCK BRAKES AND NOW I AM TOLD I DON'T HAVE THEM AND THAT IN ITSELF IS A PROBLEM WITH THE DEALERSHIP. THE BREAKS LOCKED UP ONCE BEFORE AND I BROUGHT IT TO HYUNDAI, I DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT JUST A SCARE, AND THEY BASICALLY TOLD ME IT WAS IN MY HEAD. THE CAR IS UNSAFE AND I AM SCARED OF THE BREAKS GETTING ME INTO A MORE SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE 4,376 WAS ALL FROM THE ONE ACCIDENT WITH THE BRAKES AND THE AIRBAGS. *AK
UNKNOWN FAILURE, POSSIBLY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WHICH HAS CAUSED THE HEATER, AIR CONDITIONER, WINDSHIELD WIPERS, CRUISE CONTROL, INTERIOR LIGHTS(AIRBAG,RPM GAUGE, GAS GAUGE, SPEEDOMETER AND RADIO) TO FAIL. CONSUMER HAS PROVIDED LIMITED INFORMATION. *MJS
THE BATTERY FAILED MANY TIMES. NLM
BELT FOLDS IN ANCHOR, CAUSES FAILURE TO RETRACT/RESTRICT AND CANNOT ALWAYS TELL UNTIL YOU TEST THE BELT AND THERE IS NO TENSION; OCCURS DAILY. *AK
Official recalls
301V345000 · Seat Belts:front:webbing
Nov 6, 2001
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELTS MAY NOT EXTEND AND RETRACT SMOOTHLY THROUGH THE D-RING GUIDES MOUNTED ON THE BODY PILLARS AFT OF THE DOORS. IF THE SEAT BELTS DO NOT EXTEND AND RETRACT SMOOTHLY, THEY MAY TWIST IN THE D-RING GUIDES AND MAKE IT INCONVENIENT TO EXTEND AND RETRACT THE SEAT BELTS.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THE SEAT BELTS ARE INCONVENIENT TO USE, THE SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE INCLINED TO WEAR THE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A STOPPER OVER EACH FRONT SEAT BELT D-RING GUIDE TO ASSIST THE SEAT BELT TO SMOOTHLY EXTEND AND RETRACT. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN DECEMBER 10, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
99V198000 · Equipment:other:labels
Jul 26, 1999
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE TIRE PRESSURE PLACARD REQUIRED BY FMVSS NO. 110, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS," WAS MISPRINTED. IT INCORRECTLY CONTAINS THE TIRE SIZES, SEATING CAPACITY, AND LUGGAGE CAPACITY.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: EXCESSIVE LOADING CAN CAUSE TIRE AND VEHICLE DAMAGE THAT COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
Remedy: OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A CORRECT TIRE PRESSURE PLACARD AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS.
99V178000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission
Jul 7, 1999
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE SEALS DO NOT REMAIN SUFFICIENTLY ELASTIC, RESULTING IN TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKAGE. THIS LEAKAGE CAN RESULT IN REDUCED PRESSURE APPLICATION TO THE CLUTCHES, BRAKE, AND KICKDOWN SERVO, ALLOWING THEM TO SLIP.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: SUCH SLIPPAGE CAN CAUSE PREMATURE DETERIORATION OF THE FRICTION ELEMENT SURFACES AND COULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE NOT TO ACCELERATE, OR NOT ACCELERATE AS EXPECTED, WHEN THE DRIVER PRESSES THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE.
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.
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