2005 Hyundai Tiburon

Typical pattern

8.6% of complaints about the 2005 Hyundai Tiburon came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2005 vehicle — around the middle of the 245 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.7 yr in service. The most-reported system is power train (18 complaints), typically at 2.8 yr or about 24,746 miles.

Complaints: 58
Median age at failure: 4.7 yr
Median mileage: 53,000 n=51
Crash / fire / tow: 25.9% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

05V187000 2005-04-28

Steering:linkages:tie rod assembly

CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH THREADED PORTIONS OF THE STEERING GEARBOX ASSEMBLY'S LEFT AND RIGHT INNER BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES THAT CONTAIN INTERNAL CRACKS IN THE MATERIAL STRUCTURE.

IF THE INNER BALL JOINT ASSEMBLY WAS TO BREAK AS A RESULT OF THE INTERNAL CRACK, THE TIE ROD END ASSEMBLY WOULD NOT LONGER BE ATTACHED TO THE STEERING GEAR BOX. THIS WOULD PREVENT STEERING CONTROL OF THAT FRONT WHEEL BY THE SEPARATED TIE ROD WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Power train 11,000 mi 1.3 yr in service crash / fire / tow

PURCHASED MY NEW VEHICLE IN JUN 2005. EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS <1000 MILES. CLUTCH SLIPPAGE AND TRANSMISSION NOT FULLY ENGAGING INTO GEARS 1-3. HAVE SUCCESSFULLY AVOIDED (3) COLLISIONS WITH VEHICLES, ALL TAKING PLACE IN A BUSY INTERSECTION, THE FOURTH TIME THOUGH HAD TO VEER INTO THE NEXT LANE AND SIDE SWIPED AN S10 BLAZER. *NM

Power train 9,500 mi 1.7 yr in service

AT APPROXIMATELY 9,500 MILES, MY 2005 HYUNDAI TIBURON BEGAN TO HAVE CLUTCH PROBLEMS. DEALERSHIP SAID IT WAS FROM ABUSE SINCE THE CAR WAS DRIVEN BY MY 18-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. THEY SAID IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, BUT THAT THE WOULD REPLACE THE CLUTCH UNDER WARRANTY THIS TIME ONLY. IF THERE WAS A NEXT TIME, IT WOULD COST ME $1,700. AFTER THE REPAIR I BEGAN DRIVING THE TIBURON AND AFTER APPROXIMATELY 3,000 MILES, THE CLUTCH IS SLIPPING AGAIN. I AM A 57-YEAR OLD FEMALE WHO DOES NOT ABUSE THIS CAR. *JB

Power train 34,800 mi 2.7 yr in service

I BOUGHT A 2005 HYUNDAI TIBURON GT MANUAL TRANSMISSION ON MAY 18, 2007. THE CLUTCH FAILED THE FIRST DAY I BOUGHT THE CAR. CAR LOT AGREED TO PUT NEW CLUTCH IN. THREE MONTHS LATER THE TRANSMISSION BEARINGS BROKE. I REPLACED FLYWHEEL AND HAD TRANSMISSION REBUILT. 2 MONTHS AFTER THAT THE BEARINGS BROKE AGAIN. I HAD HYUNDAI DO THE WORK ON THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT. I AM OUT OF POCKET $2,000, NOT TO MENTION THE UPSIDE DOWN AMOUNT I WAS WHEN I HAD TO GET OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THIS CAR, BECAUSE I CANNOT AFFORD TO PUT $2,000 IN THE CAR EVERY 3 MONTHS. *TR

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.

2005 Hyundai Tiburon

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Tiburon model years

How to read this