VehicleVerdict

2005 Hyundai Santa Fe airbags problems

The 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe has 76 airbags complaints filed with NHTSA — 25% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

76

Airbags complaints

25%

Share of year

8

Crash-involved

2

Related recalls

Airbags complaints by year

Santa Fe airbags complaints by model year105 complaints2001: 3 complaints2002: 5 complaints2003: 42 complaints2004: 43 complaints2005: 76 complaints2006: 28 complaints2007: 105 complaints2008: 70 complaints2009: 29 complaints2010: 10 complaints2011: 7 complaints2012: 6 complaints2013: 5 complaints2014: 12 complaints2015: 9 complaints2016: 9 complaints2017: 19 complaints2018: 6 complaints2019: 7 complaints2020: 6 complaints2021: 2 complaints2022: 3 complaints2023: 2 complaints2024: 1 complaints2025: 2 complaints
Santa Fe airbags complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

Related recalls

05V527000AirbagsNovember 17, 2005 · 134 units

Defect

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT OF THE VEHICLE MAY MISCLASSIFY CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN SEATED ON THE FRONT EDGE OF THE SEAT AS AN ADULT.

Consequence

THE POSSIBILITY OF MISCLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN AS AN ADULT MAY ALLOW THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL COLLISION CRASH OR THE SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A SIDE COLLISION CRASH; SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH COULD OCCUR.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL ENSURE THAT THE VEHICLE'S OCS WILL PROPERLY CLASSIFY CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN WHEN SEATED ON THE FRONT EDGE OF THE SEAT AND WILL DISABLE THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAGS. DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE'S OCS ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT TO PROVIDE AN INCREASED MARGIN FOR RECOGNITION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 6, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI OF PUERTO RICO AT 1-800-981-0188.

05V450000AirbagsOctober 4, 2005 · 12,000 units

Defect

ON CERTAIN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT OF THE VEHICLE MAY MISCLASSIFY CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN SEATED ON THE FRONT EDGE OF THE SEAT AS AN ADULT.

Consequence

THE POSSIBILITY OF MISCLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN AS AN ADULT MAY ALLOW THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL COLLISION CRASH OR THE SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A SIDE COLLISION CRASH; SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH COULD OCCUR.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL ENSURE THAT THE VEHICLE'S OCS WILL PROPERLY CLASSIFY CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN WHEN SEATED ON THE FRONT EDGE OF THE SEAT AND WILL DISABLE THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAGS. DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE'S OCS ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT TO PROVIDE AN INCREASED MARGIN FOR RECOGNITION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 21, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.

What owners report

“2005 HYUNDAI SANTE FE INVOLVED IN A SEVERE ROLLOVER AND ALL AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. THE VEHICLE FLIPPED OVER 6X WITH 3 PASSENGERS IN IT. ONE WAS EJECTED FROM THE BACK AND THE FRONT TWO SUSTAINED INJURIES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF THE AIR BAGS HAD DEPLOYED. *NM”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Airbags · March 16, 2006 · crash

Common questions

How many airbags complaints does the 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe have?

NHTSA has 76 complaints about the 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe airbags — 25% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Are there recalls for the 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe airbags?

Yes — 2 NHTSA recall campaigns for this model year are tied to the airbags: 05V450000, 05V527000.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.