IllustrationALL BAGS IN THE CAR FAILED TO OPEN UPON IMPACT, DON'T BUY "HYUNDAI"S AND HYUNDAI SAID THAT SINCE 2002 THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. WITH ELANTRAS AND OTHER MODELS. BUT DID NOTHING TO FIX THEM. *TR
2006 Hyundai Elantra
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2006 Hyundai Elantra do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 182.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Elantra years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
250–25K
1925–50K
2650–75K
2475–100K
24100–150K
8150K+
126 reports with mileage · 29 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 56 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 38 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
28 crash reports0 fire reports20 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
56 reportsTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHEN A PASSENGER IS SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES. THE INDICATOR READS, "AIR BAG OFF". THE CONTACT REPORTED THE FAILURE TO THE DEALER TWICE. THE FIRST TIME, THE DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS REPAIRED. THE SECOND TIME, THE DEALER STATED THAT NOTHING COULD …
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHEN A PASSENGER IS SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES. THE INDICATOR READS, "AIR BAG OFF". THE CONTACT REPORTED THE FAILURE TO THE DEALER TWICE. THE FIRST TIME, THE DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS REPAIRED. THE SECOND TIME, THE DEALER STATED THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE TO RESOLVE THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 21,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000.
TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE DOOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THIS VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT AP10-15 MPH AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH. THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CRASH OCCURRED AS THE VEHICLE STARTED THROUGH THE…
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TL*- THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE 2005 HYUNDAI ELANTRA WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE DOOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THIS VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT AP10-15 MPH AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH. THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CRASH OCCURRED AS THE VEHICLE STARTED THROUGH THE INTERSECTION AFTER WAITING AT A RED LIGHT. THE CONTACT STATED THERE WAS ONLY ONE PASSENGER IN VEHICLE. THERE WAS NEVER ANY MAINTENANCE OR SERVICE PERFORMED ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAGS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WERE BOTH 49000. UPDATED 03/30/07. *JB
I FAILED TO TURN MY WHEEL SUFFICIENTLY AND HIT A PALM TREE AT FOUR MILES PER HOUR. NO AIR BAG DEPLOYED AND I HIT THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE SUFFERED $3400.00 OF DAMAGES FROM THIS FOUR MILE PER HOUR CRASH. I DO NOT FEEL THIS VEHICLE IS SAFE. *NM
2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA LIMITED VIN: [XXX]. ON OCT 13TH 2006 THIS VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT. THE SPEED AT IMPACT WAS ESTIMATED AT 60 MPH, AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE FRONT END OF VEHICLE WAS CRUSHED, AND VEHICLE HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO BE A TOTAL LOSS. *NM UPDATED 07/12/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT …
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2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA LIMITED VIN: [XXX]. ON OCT 13TH 2006 THIS VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT. THE SPEED AT IMPACT WAS ESTIMATED AT 60 MPH, AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE FRONT END OF VEHICLE WAS CRUSHED, AND VEHICLE HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO BE A TOTAL LOSS. *NM UPDATED 07/12/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I WAS INVOLVED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING MY 2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. MY VEHICLE SPEED WAS ABOUT 45-50 MPH AND UPON IMPACT WITH THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WHICH WAS STOPPED CAUSED MY BODY TO JOLT FORWARD AND STRIKE MY STEERING WHEEL. I WAS WEARING MY SEAT BELT WHICH DID NOT LOCK AND MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. LATER …
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I WAS INVOLVED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WHILE DRIVING MY 2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. MY VEHICLE SPEED WAS ABOUT 45-50 MPH AND UPON IMPACT WITH THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME WHICH WAS STOPPED CAUSED MY BODY TO JOLT FORWARD AND STRIKE MY STEERING WHEEL. I WAS WEARING MY SEAT BELT WHICH DID NOT LOCK AND MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. LATER ON IN THE AFTERNOON I HAD WENT TO THE ER FOR CHEST PAIN, NECK AND BACK PAIN AS WELL AS INJURING MY RIGHT HAND. *NM
Official recalls
109V280000 · Exterior Lighting
Jul 21, 2009
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: ANY OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS COULD LEAD TO A CRASH.
Remedy: 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.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.