2003 Hyundai Tiburon problems
The 2003 Hyundai Tiburon has 429 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (32%) concerns drivetrain & axles. After that come air bags (17%) and electrical system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 429 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 44 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 33 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 47,000 miles 347 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 79 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 71 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 52 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 58 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 46 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 18 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 347 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 47,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 30,000 miles (115 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 44 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 33 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Hyundai Tiburon with enough data (288 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 9 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
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 something under the hood started smoking, and within ten minutes the entire car was consumed by the fire.
Tl*the contact owned a 2003 hyundai tiburon. While driving 45 MPH and making a right turn, he could feel a hard vibration and he could feel one of the rear wheels folding under the vehicle. The vehicle sprung front end forward into a ditch. The contact was transported by an ambulance to the nearest hospital. A police report was filed. The front control arm snapped and caused the wheel separation, which was discovered after the crash. The vehicle was destroyed. The current and failure mileages were under 45,000.
Clutch and flywheel in my 03 tiburon, v6 burned out after less than 30,000 miles and they won't cover it under warranty. Checked around and it's a manufacturing defect.