2005 Hyundai Tucson Problems, Recalls & Reliability
273 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2005 Hyundai Tucson, alongside 8 recall campaigns and 1 defect investigation. It scores 16/100 on the trouble index — one of this model's quieter years. Electrical leads the reports, typically around 66,000 miles.
One of the quieter years. Relative to its siblings, the 2005 Hyundai Tucson has drawn well-below-average complaint volume with at least four years on the road.
Better year
Where 2005 sits among all Tucson years
What owners report
“3 outside and 3 inside door handles have broken off. Motor for electronic windows [driver, front passenger and rear passenger] all quit working within a week of each other. And no, it wasn't fuses. Headlight housing, passenger side is breaking inside the housing.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Tucson
“The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving 65 MPH and attempting to accelerate, the RPM failed to raise, and the vehicle failed to respond. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Tucson
“I've had the air bag light come on 3 times in the past 5 yrs, same sensor has failed all 3 times most recent just occurred oct 14 th 2015”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Tucson
“My esc light keeps coming on. I see there was a recall on it. Can you tell me if and when that recall was performed on my car?”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Tucson
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 190 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 65,500 miles. Half of those reports fall between 33,148 and 115,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (8)
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…
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.
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…
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.
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…
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…
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,…
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.
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…
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.
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…
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.
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…
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.
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…
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.
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 09V122000.
Technical service bulletins
67 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on transmission & drivetrain and electrical — are on file for the 2005 Hyundai Tucson. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2005 Tucson TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2005 Hyundai Tucson reliable?
The 2005 Hyundai Tucson drew 273 complaints in federal safety records — one of this model's quieter years. Its trouble index is 16/100, scored against the model's worst year (2016).
What are the most common 2005 Hyundai Tucson problems?
The top reported problems for the 2005 Hyundai Tucson are electrical (45 complaints), engine (39), and airbags (31).
At what mileage do 2005 Hyundai Tucson problems show up?
Owners most often report 2005 Hyundai Tucson problems around 65,500 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 33,148 and 115,000 miles.
Does the 2005 Hyundai Tucson have recalls?
8 recall campaigns apply to the 2005 Hyundai Tucson. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.