"How reliable is the 2005 Hyundai Elantra?"

"Based on 180 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Hyundai Elantra has a median complaint mileage of 51500 miles. The most common issue is Air Bags."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Hyundai Elantra?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Hyundai Elantra is Air Bags, accounting for a significant portion of the 180 total complaints filed."

2005 Hyundai Elantra: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 180 complaints

180

Total Complaints

51,500mi

Median Mileage

Air Bags

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

11,000 25th Percentile

51,500 Median Mileage

88,150 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Air Bags

Vehicle Speed Control

Frontal

Sensor/Control Module

Electrical System

Steering

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

Exterior Lighting

Unknown Or Other

Body

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE PASSENGER'S AIR BAG SENSOR WILL NOT ENGAGE IF THE WEIGHT CAPACITY IS NOT MET, WHICH MEANS THAT THE AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. CONTACTED THE DEALER,, AND WAS TOLD TO BUY ANOTHER VEHICLE OR SIT THE PASSENGER IN THE BACK SEAT. *AK"

"OWNER OF A 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA REPORTING VEHICLE SUDDEN ACCELERATION. *BF THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCED SUDDEN ACCELERATION ON TWO OCCASIONS. THE FIRST COLLISION ENDED WITHOUT VISIBLE DAMAGE. THE SECOND TIME THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED SUDDENLY IT COLLIDED INTO A FIRE TRUCK DAMAGING THE FRONT END OF THE..."

"PASSENGER'S AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON INTERMITTENTLY STAYED ON. PASSENGER'S WEIGHT REQUIREMENT FOR THE SEAT WAS SPECIFIED IN THE MANUAL, HOWEVER, THE LIGHT WOULD NOT GO OFF. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER FOUND A RECALL ON THE AIR BAG SOFTWARE. PER THE RECALL THE TECHNICIAN REP..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Air Bags 50 complaints

25th: 21,162 mi Median: 51,000 mi 75th: 84,250 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 12 complaints

25th: 18,300 mi Median: 42,000 mi 75th: 56,000 mi

Frontal 11 complaints

25th: 2,500 mi Median: 6,000 mi 75th: 7,550 mi

Sensor/Control Module 9 complaints

25th: 1,500 mi Median: 11,000 mi 75th: 35,429 mi

Electrical System 9 complaints

25th: 42,000 mi Median: 74,510 mi 75th: 85,300 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 18 PA: 18 CA: 17 MD: 16 FL: 13 VA: 9 IL: 9 OH: 7 NM: 7 TX: 6

Who Files Complaints?

31.1%

Original Owners

68.9%

Second+ Owners

Hyundai Elantra — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1992	46	-	Automatic Transmission	1
1993	39	-	Engine	2
1994	110	-	Frontal	26
1995	179	-	Frontal	32
1996	138	92,000	Gasoline	11
1997	196	89,000	Automatic Transmission	26
1998	75	72,000	Gasoline	10
1999	183	92,750	Automatic Transmission	24
2000	259	48,000	Frontal	43
2001	445	69,000	Air Bags	100
2002	431	72,000	Air Bags	80
2003	310	65,500	Suspension	59
2004	209	31,000	Air Bags	32
2006	209	68,250	Air Bags	37
2007	364	70,530	Visibility/Wiper	26
2008	423	55,409	Steering	57
2009	315	78,000	Steering	39
2010	494	62,000	Steering	67
2011	588	70,000	Engine	29
2012	911	60,000	Engine	72
2013	1839	43,000	Steering	157
2014	540	54,000	Engine	58
2015	344	50,550	Engine	45
2016	378	54,128	Engine	30
2017	1054	41,000	Engine	57
2018	385	23,892	Engine	14
2019	309	43,500	Engine	19
2020	294	6,200	Engine	28
2021	205	15,500	Warnings	11
2022	127	23,500	Seat Belts	5
2023	131	7,000	Unknown Or Other	11
2024	86	7,654	Unknown Or Other	11
2025	23	-	Unknown Or Other	4

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28