Owners have filed 560 complaints on the Hyundai Tiburon, covering 1997–2008. The system named most often is Power Train (208 reports). Worst years by volume: 2003, 2006, 2004; cleanest: 2002, 2008, 1998. 77 reports describe a crash, 9 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Hyundai Tiburon
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 560 Tiburon complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 208 Read
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
This report is being filed by an accident reconstructionist at the request of the vehicle's insurance carrier. Vehicle was proceeding in the left lane of a 4-lane (2 lanes in each direction, divided by a double-yellow center-line) state highway when operator's airbag deployed for no apparent reason, causing loss of…
After stopping behind a line of stopped cars, I slowly removed my foot from brake pedal (have automatic transmission) and looked into my review mirror as car in front of me began moving. Suddenly I heard my engine race and immediately slammed into vehicle in front of me before I could react. My car looks like I hit…
Air Bags 101 Read
Dt: the contact stated while driving at approxiatmately 40 mph another vehicle pulled out in front of her this resulted in a frontal impact crash. The vehicle was totaled. The driver's side air bag did not deploy. Injuries where sustained. Seat belts where in use. Contact was unaware of a recall on the airbags for…
The contact owns a 2008 hyundai tiburon. While driving approximately 10 mph, the contact crashed into the passenger side of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel and no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The police was…
My 2008 hyundai tiburon has been involved in 3 accidents (none my fault). The impact was of enough significance that the air bags should have deployed. The first collision involved a deer that was being chased by another vehicle, and it hit my car so hard, the deer exploded and the air bags did not deploy. I was told…
Electrical System 35 Read
Consumer stated that while driving at 45 mph an accident occurred while trying to avoid a collision with a stalled vehicle in the highway. While avoiding the stalled vehicle consumer rolled into a ditch and rolled over several times. Consumer's seatbelt came undone, and the air bag did not deploy. After the accident…
Consumer states his daughter had an head on impact with another auto and her air bags did not deploy. Driver was traveling approx 35 mph. Driver was injuried, she hurt her head and neck. Nlm
Consumer complained about electrical problems which included the power windows, and the driver seat belt buckle wiring. Consumer received a recall notice on this matter, however, dealer refused to accommodate the consumer. *ak the air bad failed during a crash and the sun roof malfunctioned
Seat Belts 30 Read
Started noticing the issue in mid may 2016. I don't usually move my seat from the original position of comfort but driver seat has shifted inadvertently sliding forward or back without warning while driving (15 - 50mph). Along with the seat belt on occasion unbuckled while moving sometimes in conjunction with seat…
Consumer complained about a seat belt problem. The seat belts did not lock
The contact stated the airbag light illuminated constantly. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer who determined there was a short in the seat belt assembly. There was a NHTSA recall# 03V290000 pertaining to the seat belt buckle assembly. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN
Service Brakes 23 Read
The 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. The…
While applying the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to stop. This caused the consumer to collide into the vehicle in front of him. The driver had taken the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and the mechanic could not duplicate the problem. *ak the incident occurred twice in 12 hours. *sc
While driving in a parking lot brakes failed, causing the vehicle to hit a light pole
Engine And Engine Cooling 22 Read
The vehicle caught on fire under the hood
The consumer rear ended another motorist. 2000 hyundai tiburon *bf since the accidents, the consumer stated at times the vehicle would not start or at times while driving, the vehicle would stall. Each time the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, they would replace different things, such as the fuel pump, o2…
The contact owns a 2007 hyundai tiburon. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer because he felt that there was an issue with the RPM's. After leaving the vehicle at the dealer for two days, he was informed that the RPM's had been replaced and that there was an issue with the clutch in the vehicle. The dealer…
Fuel System 20 Read
Fire started in engine compartment. Front of vehicle was destroyed. Fire department said cause was a fuel leak. Car had reg. Maintance and no accidents
The contact owns a 2004 hyundai tiburon. The contact stated that when the fuel tank reached half full, the fuel gauge would display an inaccurate reading of empty. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. Five months later, the contact noticed fuel leaking from the vehicle. The dealer was notified and advised…
Car was picked up by mcdevits towing and taken to arrow hyundai. Dealer repaired fuel regulator and claims this was the source of the problem. Dt
Exterior Lighting 19 Read
I drove the vehicle to a football game, upon returning to the vehicle after the game the low beams were not coming on. I drove home with my high beams on. The next day I took the vehicle to my mechanic. He immediately removed my bcm (body control module). He showed me the unit and it had melted approximately 1/8 of…
Moisture is condensing on the inside of vehicle headlamp and tail lamp housings. This occurred within a day of taking delivery of the (brand new) vehicle. Contacted local hyundai service department and they are aware of this. They have noted this same problem on other like model/year vehicles. Hyundai district service…
Brake light switch malfunction causes brake lights to not illuminate when brake pedal is depressed. *tr
Tiburon years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 23 | 7 | |
| 2002 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic,air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 4 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 208 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.7 |
| Worst single series | 25 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 2.7 hides a worst series at 25. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Tiburon?
By complaint volume, 2003, 2006, 2004 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Tiburon years are the cleanest?
2002, 2008, 1998 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Hyundai Tiburon have?
560 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2008. Of those, 77 describe a crash and 9 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.