2005 Hyundai Elantra Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 71 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2005 Hyundai Elantra, 52% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 35,500 miles. The words owners use most often: “air bag” (56% of reports).
- 71air bags complaints
- 35,500median miles at failure
- 23mention a crash
- 15mention an injury
- 2related recalls
- 38%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Air bag: mentioned in 40 of 71 complaints (56%)
- Passenger seat: mentioned in 16 of 71 complaints (23%)
- Airbag sensor: mentioned in 6 of 71 complaints (8%)
- Bags deploy: mentioned in 5 of 71 complaints (7%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 54 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 71 complaints, 23 mention a crash, 15 an injury.
Hyundai Elantra air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Elantra | 1 | 50% | — |
| 2025 Elantra | 3 | 14% | 3,300 |
| 2024 Elantra | 1 | 2% | 5,308 |
| 2023 Elantra | 6 | 6% | 44,000 |
| 2022 Elantra | 4 | 4% | 60,000 |
| 2021 Elantra | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2020 Elantra | 5 | 2% | 7,000 |
| 2019 Elantra | 2 | 1% | — |
| 2018 Elantra | 12 | 4% | 46,000 |
| 2017 Elantra | 32 | 4% | 26,500 |
| 2016 Elantra | 26 | 9% | 32,000 |
| 2015 Elantra | 23 | 9% | 25,673 |
| 2014 Elantra | 32 | 8% | 41,673 |
| 2013 Elantra | 168 | 13% | 71,088 |
| 2012 Elantra | 124 | 19% | 89,000 |
| 2011 Elantra | 77 | 18% | 99,000 |
| 2010 Elantra | 46 | 12% | 63,830 |
| 2009 Elantra | 42 | 17% | 82,500 |
| 2008 Elantra | 38 | 12% | 55,819 |
| 2007 Elantra | 46 | 17% | 66,055 |
| 2006 Elantra | 56 | 36% | 68,000 |
| 2005 Elantra | 71 | 52% | 35,500 |
| 2004 Elantra | 114 | 63% | 17,102 |
| 2003 Elantra | 48 | 21% | 46,000 |
| 2002 Elantra | 70 | 20% | 71,000 |
| 2001 Elantra | 118 | 37% | 62,000 |
| 2000 Elantra | 39 | 20% | 50,513 |
| 1999 Elantra | 20 | 16% | 80,500 |
| 1998 Elantra | 7 | 13% | — |
| 1997 Elantra | 21 | 18% | 141,000 |
| 1996 Elantra | 14 | 14% | — |
| 1995 Elantra | 35 | 31% | — |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (2)
Air bags
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air bags
Problem: 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.
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The air bag light came on and it is staying on
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. The contact was made aware of various recalls for similar vehicles. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the contact was informed that the VIN…
Passenger airbag sensor registers when someone sits down, but randomly turns off and displays âPassenger Airbag Offâ light for a couple minutes before turning off again. Vehicle was inspected by an authorized Hyundai service center and no codes were produced. No indicated problems prior to the…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2005 Hyundai Elantras have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 71 owner complaints about air bags for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra (52% of the 137 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2005 Hyundai Elantra air bags?
Yes: 2 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 35,500 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2005 Hyundai Elantra?
The most frequent phrase is “air bag”, in 40 of 71 complaints, followed by “passenger seat” (16).
See all 2005 Hyundai Elantra problems or air bags problems across all Elantra years.