2005 Hyundai Elantra: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra. The newest campaign is 09V280000. NHTSA received the report on 21 Jul 2009. The NHTSA record gives the component Exterior Lighting. NHTSA has 137 complaints on file for this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 09V280000, in the NHTSA record

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.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

4 campaigns, newest first. 236,553 units in total.

09V28000021 Jul 2009Exterior Lighting
05V47900017 Oct 2005Air Bags
05V39500012 Sep 2005Air Bags
05V18700028 Apr 2005Steering / Linkages / Tie Rod Assembly

09V280000Received 21 Jul 2009. 3,011 units.
Exterior Lighting
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
Any of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by HYUNDAI CARIBBEAN-PUERTO RICO. Manufacturer campaign number 91B026. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 2 Sep 2009.
05V479000Received 17 Oct 2005. 2,105 units.
Air Bags
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by HYUNDAI CARIBBEAN-PUERTO RICO. Manufacturer campaign number 073. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 15 Nov 2005.
05V395000Received 12 Sep 2005. 231,160 units.
Air Bags
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 073. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 31 Oct 2005.
05V187000Received 28 Apr 2005. 277 units.
Steering / Linkages / Tie Rod Assembly
Defect, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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, in the NHTSA record
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.
Report filed by HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY. Manufacturer campaign number 069.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

137 complaints, 180 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2005 Hyundai Elantra
All 2005 vehicles

2005 Hyundai Elantra: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2005 Elantra	All 2005 vehicles	Elantra, all years	Mentions
Air Bags	411.1	86.7	112.5	74
Vehicle Speed Control	77.8	51.7	33.1	14
Electrical System	55.6	121.9	90.1	10
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	50	31.3	38.7	9
Power Train	38.9	115.1	56.1	7
Structure	38.9	66.2	41.6	7
Seat Belts	33.3	11	19	6
Engine and Engine Cooling	33.3	54.9	27.1	6
Exterior Lighting	33.3	39.8	36.1	6
Steering	33.3	75.3	94.8	6

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 23.

Complaints that report a crash: 30
Complaints that report a fire: 3
Injuries in the complaints: 26
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 11 Feb 2026

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2005 Hyundai Elantra, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2006, with 18 complaints.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2005 Hyundai ElantraThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2005 Hyundai Elantra: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/hyundai/elantra/2005/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: HYUNDAI CARIBBEAN-PUERTO RICO

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra?: 236,553 units in 4 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Hyundai Elantra have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 56 recall campaigns for the Hyundai Elantra, model years 1992 to 2026. 4 of them name the 2005 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2005 Hyundai Elantra name most often?: Air Bags: 74 of 180 component mentions, or 411.1 per 1,000. For all 2005 vehicles the figure is 86.7 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2005 Hyundai Elantra open?: The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.