2004 Hyundai Tiburon

Typical pattern

3.7% of complaints about the 2004 Hyundai Tiburon came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2004 vehicle — around the middle of the 236 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 3.3 yr in service. The most-reported system is power train (41 complaints), typically at 2.8 yr or about 32,000 miles.

Complaints: 108
Median age at failure: 3.3 yr
Median mileage: 43,125 n=84
Crash / fire / tow: 12% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Power train 300 mi 6 mo in service

WHEN SHIFTING, THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND TO THE GEARS AND THE RPM'S REVVED HIGH. ALSO A BURNING SMELL ENTERED THE PASSENGER CABIN AND THE DRIVER SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM HAD NOT BEEN DETERMINED. *JB THE CLUTCH POPPED AND WAS HARD TO DEPRESS. THE RPM'S WENT OVER 6K AND SMOKE HAD COME FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE. *SC *JB

Power train 19,561 mi 2.4 yr in service

MY TRANSMISSION GOT STUCK INTO SECOND GEAR TOWED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION UNDER WARRANTY BUT TOLD ME I HAD TO REPLACE MY CLUTCH IT WAS TO WORN. THE CAR ONLY HAS 19000 MILES ON IT. *JB

Power train 16,800 mi 2.3 yr in service

2004 HYUNDAI TIBURON GT V6 16K WITH A BLOWN CLUTCH AND WARPED FLYWHEEL! HYUNDAI WON'T COVER THEIR MISTAKE! PLUS THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME $71.50 JUST TO LOOK AT MY CAR EVEN THOUGH IT HAS 16K MILES AND THE WARRANTY IS UNTIL 60K MILES. *JB

Air bags 9,800 mi 1.2 yr in service crash / fire / tow

MY 2004 HUNDAI TIBURON WAS HIT HEAD ON BY ANOTHER VEHICLE ON 11/16/04. BOTH VEHICLES WERE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 25MPH. MY PASSENGER AIR BAG DEPLOYED EVEN THOUGH NO ONE WAS IN THE SEAT. DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY ALTHOUGH THE IMPACT WAS MOSTLY ON THE DRIVER FRONT. I SUSTAINED NECK AND BACK INJURIES IN THE COLLISION. THE CAR IS AT THE DEALER FOR REPAIRS BUT I AM NOT SURE I WILL EVER HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE.*AK

Other Tiburon model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2004 Hyundai Tiburon

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Tiburon model years

How to read this