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2005 Hyundai Accent Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Serious

76 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.97 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious09V280000

Exterior Lighting

ANY OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS COULD LEAD TO A CRASH.

Remedy & full details

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 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 ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. A DEFECTIVE STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY ALSO AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE BRAKE-TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK FEATURE SO THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE SHIFT OUT OF THE "PARK" POSITION. IT MAY ALSO CAUSE THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) MALFUNCTION LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, AND IT MAY NOT DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED.

Complaint volume

76 this model-year 6 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

15Crashes
4Fires
8Injuries
0Deaths

Across 76 complaints. Severity Index 0.97.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Exterior Lighting13 · 17%Power Train12 · 16%Service Brakes7 · 9%Electrical System5 · 7%Air Bags4 · 5%Air Bags · Frontal3 · 4%Service Brakes, Hydraulic3 · 4%Wheels3 · 4%
  1. Exterior Lighting — 13 reports
  2. Power Train — 12 reports
  3. Service Brakes — 7 reports
  4. Electrical System — 5 reports
  5. Air Bags — 4 reports
  6. Air Bags:Frontal — 3 reports
  7. Service Brakes, Hydraulic — 3 reports
  8. Wheels — 3 reports
  9. Latches/Locks/Linkages — 2 reports
  10. Vehicle Speed Control — 2 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (5) · 1996 (4) · 1997 (2) · 1998 (1) · 1999 (1) · 2000 (4) · 2001 (2) · 2002 (1) · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 (3) · 2007 (3) · 2008 (1) · 2009 (2) · 2010 (1) · 2011 (1) · 2012 (2) · 2013 (1) · 2014 (1) · 2015 (2) · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 (1) · 2019 (1) · 2020 (4) · 2021 (4) · 2022 (2)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.