AI Damage2005 Hyundai Tiburon: common problems
Owners of the 2005 Hyundai Tiburon filed 43 complaints with NHTSA, most often about powertrain and air bags. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 43
- involving a crash
- 8
What fails most often
- 1 Powertrain 42% of all complaints
- 2 Air bags 16% of all complaints
- 3 Suspension 12% of all complaints
- 4 Steering 9% of all complaints
- 5 Equipment 7% of all complaints
- 6 Tires 7% of all complaints
- 7 Engine 5% of all complaints
- 8 Seat belts 5% of all complaints
- Powertrain: 18 complaints (42% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 7 complaints (16% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Suspension: 5 complaints (12% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Steering: 4 complaints (9% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Equipment: 3 complaints (7% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 2 L · petrol · 4 cyl
- 2.7 L · petrol · 6 cylnamed in 1 complaints
- automatic, 4-speed
- manual, 5-speednamed in 6 complaints
- manual, 6-speednamed in 6 complaints
Drive: FWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 43 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| Air bags | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Suspension | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Equipment | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Tires | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
I constantly shake from neck up on left side. I wish I would if died in the accident. That's how much it has affected me. I stay in the house by myself all day, every day. Its so embarrassing for me. Severe depression and anxiety have started also. Thank you hyundai for ruining my life at 43 years old.
Steering had a twitch which mad it a challenge to steer, as a result which led to a crash the passenger front tie rod assembly cracked while driving at 35 mph, and disengaged from the vehicle and the vehicle then dipped to the ground suddenly and bounced causing the vehicle to literally go airborn for a brief moment…
Tl contact owns a 2005 hyundai tiburon. While driving in reverse with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle would not stop. The contact crashed into a wall. He took the vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure or repair the vehicle. The contact filed a complaint with the manufacturer.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 45 mph a vehicle pulled out of a side street hitting the passenger side causing it to spin and the side curtain airbags did not deploy. The passenger side window shattered and the side mirror detached. The driver was wearing a seat belt and a police report was filed at the scene.
My client, lorie kindrat, was involved in an automobile accident on october 6, 2005. She was driving a 2005 hyundai tiburon equiped with driver front and side air bags. She was struck on the driver's side by a vehicle going approximately 30 mph. The side air bags failed to deploy.
The vehicle was taken to shaker's family hyundai [phone], located at 674 straits turnpike, watertown, [ZIP]) where a smoke test was performed. The dealer diagnosed that there was a fuel leak. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The vehicle was not repaired.
Front right control arm rusted until it failed while driving. Very dangerous! 2003 hyundai tuburons have a recall for this but 2005 does not. It should because hyundai obviously did not fix that underlying issue.
The car seemed to be running fine for three days and then all of a sudden my clutch pedal had no resistance against it while I was driving through an intersection and would only shift if I "hard shifted" the clutch or if I pressed down on the clutch pedal as hard as I could.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 5,758 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 16% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Tiburon has 59 complaints (13 years in the data). This year has 43, below average.
What to check before buying
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Suspension. Wheel alignment, control arms, subframe, even tire wear.
- Steering. Steering play, power assist, rack and tie rods after a wheel impact.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2005 Hyundai Tiburon?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: powertrain, air bags, suspension. Total complaints: 43. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: airbags did not deploy (7%), seat belts (7%), transmission slipping (7%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2005 Hyundai Tiburon?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2005 Hyundai Tiburon from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2005 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.