2005 Hyundai Tucson Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Tucson years
- About as many complaints as other years 11th of 22 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 8 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 185 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Hyundai Tucson. That ranks 11th out of 22 Tucson model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (31 complaints, 17%), typically at around 64,440 miles. Complaints mention 12 crashes, 3 fires, 18 injuries. There are 8 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
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- 185owner complaints
- 8safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 12complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2005 Hyundai Tucson problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 31 | 17% | 64,440 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 30 | 16% | 61,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 20 | 11% | 31,300 | — | — |
| Structure | 20 | 11% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 18 | 10% | 81,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 16 | 9% | 58,500 | — | — |
| Suspension | 15 | 8% | 128,518 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 14 | 8% | 47,945 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 13 | 7% | 61,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 12 | 6% | 7,018 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 11 | 6% | 132,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 10 | 5% | 73,000 | — | — |
| Visibility | 9 | 5% | 66,500 | — | — |
| Steering | 8 | 4% | 64,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 8 | 4% | 24,050 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 7 | 4% | 82,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 6 | 3% | 59,500 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 5 | 3% | 118,900 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control | 4 | 2% | 1,425 | — | — |
| Equipment | 3 | 2% | 29,500 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 3 | 2% | 49,250 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 3 | 2% | 206,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 1% | 165,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 1% | 53,401 | — | — |
| Seats | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2005 Hyundai Tucson recalls (8)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Exterior lighting
Problem: 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.
Risk: Any of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
Fix: 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.
Exterior lighting:brake lights:switch
Problem: Hyundai is recalling 532,633 my 2006-2007 accent, entourage, sonata, my 2007 azera, elantra and santa fe, my 2005-2007 tucson and my 2007-2008 veracruz vehicles. The stop lamp switch in the affected vehicles may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A stop lamp switch malfunction may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission shifter would not be able to be shifted 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.
Risk: Any of these malfunctions, alone or in combination, may lead to a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the stop lamp switch free of charge. The recall began on june 29, 2009. Owners may contact the hyundai customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: On certain vehicles, static air bag deployment testing conducted by nhtsa using fifth percentile female dummies indicated that a small stature adult driver not wearing a seat belt and involved in a frontal or near frontal crash, the deployment of the driver air bag may not occur.
Risk: This can cause increased risk of injury to the driver under certain crash conditions.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver air bag module with one that is designed to provide an increased margin of compliance for low risk deployment for small stature adults who are not properly wearing the seat belts. The recall began on september 6, 2007, and will be performed in two mailings. Owners may contact hyundai de puerto rico at 1-800-981-0188.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: On certain sport utility vehicles, during static air bag deployment testing conducted by nhtsa using fifth percentile female dummies indicated if a small statured adult driver, not wearing a seat belt, is involved in a frontal or near frontal crash, deployment of the driver air bag may result in an insufficient margin of compliance as measured by the test dummy used in the nhtsa test.
Risk: This can cause increased risk of injury to the driver under certain crash conditions.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver air bag module. The recall began on january 29, 2007, and will be conducted through six mailings. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Parking brake
Problem: On certain passenger vehicles, the parking lever ratchet pawl was not properly manufactured and may damage the teeth of the parking lever ratchet. Damaged parking brake lever ratchet teeth may prevent the parking brake from engaging or may allow the parking brake to release after it has been engaged.
Risk: The inability to engage or the inadvertent release of the parking brake lever, may allow your vehicle to roll while it is parked and may result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the parking brake lever assembly. The recall began on september 12, 2005. Owners may contact hyundai of puerto rico at 1-800-981-0188.
Parking brake
Problem: On certain sport utility vehicles, the parking brake lever ratchet pawl was not properly manufactured and my damage the teeth of the parking brake lever ratchet. Damaged parking brake lever ratchet teeth may prevent the parking brake from engaging or may allow the parking brake to release after it has been engaged.
Risk: The inability to engage, or the inadvertent release of, the parking brake lever may allow your vehicle to roll while it is parked and may result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the parking brake lever assembly. The recall began on july 29, 2005. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Electronic stability control:automatic (asc)
Problem: On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with electronic stability program (esp), the yaw rate sensor may become too sensitive and may recalibrate inaccurately. While driving the esp program may cause the engine to reduce power and may cause a brake at one of the wheels to be inappropriately.
Risk: Brake application caused by inadvertent esp activation may result in loss of control and a crash.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the esp hydraulic electronic control unit. The recall is expected to begin during may 2005. Owners may contact hyundai de puerto rico at 1-800-981-0188.
Electronic stability control:automatic (asc)
Problem: On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with electronic stability program (esp), the yaw rate sensor may become too sensitive and may recalibrate inaccurately. While driving the esp program may cause the engine to reduce power and may cause a brake at one of the wheels to be inappropriately.
Risk: Brake application caused by inadvertent esp activation may result in loss of control and a crash.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the esp hydraulic electronic control unit free of charge. The recall began on april 13, 2005. Owners may contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Stop lamp switch failure (PE09003) — opened Jan 14, 2009, closed Apr 24, 2009, led to recall 09V122000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Caught on fire. Started under passager floor board. Burnt completely up
I acquired my vehicle as a used car. Although, to my knowledge my vehicle air bags have not deployed, the air bag light is illuminated on my dash panel and this issue is preventing me from obtaining an updated vehicle registration in my state of residence (Delaware). Since the year make and model…
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the front passenger side air bag wiring harness; however, the part was discontinued. The…
This car accelerates while unattended. Most likely due to an ECM malfunction and unable to properly respond/send signals to the motor. On 4 occasions, the car has accelerated, even if in park. It will go 25mph on its own and to stop I had to put it in neutral. Iâve seen that my car isnât the…
ESP off ligh comes on and off have to turn suv off to ture light off Had report it to nhtsa twice but no one replied 2/28/22 # 05V119000 2/14/22 #11454471
Other Hyundai Tucson years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Tucson | 63 | 5 |
| 2025 Tucson | 289 | 6 |
| 2024 Tucson | 99 | 4 |
| 2023 Tucson | 135 | 2 |
| 2022 Tucson | 386 | 3 |
| 2021 Tucson | 80 | 1 |
| 2020 Tucson | 178 | 1 |
| 2019 Tucson | 384 | 1 |
| 2018 Tucson | 399 | 1 |
| 2017 Tucson | 1,092 | 3 |
| 2016 Tucson | 1,624 | 5 |
| 2015 Tucson | 229 | 1 |
| 2014 Tucson | 202 | 2 |
| 2013 Tucson | 266 | 3 |
| 2012 Tucson | 255 | 3 |
| 2011 Tucson | 124 | 5 |
| 2010 Tucson | 59 | 4 |
| 2009 Tucson | 18 | 1 |
| 2008 Tucson | 43 | 1 |
| 2007 Tucson | 65 | 5 |
| 2006 Tucson | 135 | 5 |
| 2005 | 185 | 8 |
See all Hyundai Tucson problems by year, every Hyundai model, or the Hyundai VIN decoder.
Similar Hyundai models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2005 Hyundai Tucson?
Owners most often report air bags, electrical system, engine and engine cooling problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 31 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2005 Hyundai Tucson?
Yes, 8 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2005 Hyundai Tucson a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Tucson model years, the 2005 has about as many complaints as a typical year. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.