2006 Hyundai Tucson: problems, recalls and reliability
5 recalls and 135 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (22% of complaints); the 2007 and 2008 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Apr 2013
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 135 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the rear subframe had become inoperable and the contact noticed that the rear subframe was corroded. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.”Owner report · Structure · Oct 2024
“Rear cross member frame broke in 2 spots due to rust. I've searched this and found numerous vehicles with same problem contacted dealer and they said they can't do anything about it. What steps should I take. I called there corporate office left They don't don't return calls callsor or texts complaints.”Owner report · Suspension · Feb 2024
“Rear control arm mount broke away from subframe while on the highway going 65mph. Violent shaking and steering malfunction occurred immediately. Passed WV inspection just a few months ago.”Owner report · Steering · Aug 2022
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“The contact owned a 2006 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that after parking his vehicle in the driveway, he looked through the window of his residence and noticed that the vehicle had caught fire from underneath the hood. The contact related the fire to an electrical system failure. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. Police and fire department reports were filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 198,000.”Owner report · Firerelated · Aug 2022
“When it rains my steering wheel locks up when I drive thru a puddle I have brought my car to used car dealer where I bought it from and they say nothing is wrong but steering wheel locks when driving that to me is major problem they checked belt water is getting somewhere and causing a short hence power steering to lock it only happens when it rains”Owner report · Electrical System · Jun 2021
“Hyundai never notified us of the subframe rust recall. Our mechanic just pointed out that our's. He said the car is unsafe to drive. Getting it replaced at our expense. Brake lines have already failed and had to be replaced at our expense. Alternator and power steering pump, front suspension all at our expense. Hyundai unresponsive.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Feb 2021
“I just spent about $100. Fixing ball joint and control arm and was rotating wheels and looked under car and seen rear subframe all rusted out.the car has a great body and runs very good. I bought this car brand new and I drive my grandkids in this car and now looks un safe to drive.”Owner report · Suspension · Oct 2020
“The rear subframe crossmember and parking brake are completely corroded. This was noticed while changing the brakes on nov. 1st 2019”Owner report · Structure · Nov 2019
“We were driving the car when the rear end started swaying while making a left turn onto a busy main street. We had a mechanic shop look underneath and they found that the entire rear subframe had come apart due to corrosion.”Owner report · Structure · Jun 2019
“Rear subframe has collapsed and disconnected from the unibody suddenly due to excessive corrosion. Car is only 12 years old and only has 150,000 miles on it. Collapse is sudden and makes the car difficult to steer and can result in erratic movements in handling.”Owner report · Suspension · Jan 2019
When filing, owners marked a crash in 15 of these complaints and injuries in 17 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 5 campaigns
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, DURING STATIC AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT TESTING CONDUCTED BY NHTSA USING FIFTH PERCENTILE FEMALE DUMMIES INDICATED IF A SMALL STATURED ADULT DRIVER, NOT WEARING A SEAT BELT, IS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL OR NEAR FRONTAL CRASH, DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER AIR BAG MAY RESULT IN AN INSUFFICIENT MARGIN OF COMPLIANCE AS MEASURED BY THE TEST DUMMY USED IN THE NHTSA TEST.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVER AIR BAG MODULE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 29, 2007, AND WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH SIX MAILINGS. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, STATIC AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT TESTING CONDUCTED BY NHTSA USING FIFTH PERCENTILE FEMALE DUMMIES INDICATED THAT A SMALL STATURE ADULT DRIVER NOT WEARING A SEAT BELT AND INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL OR NEAR FRONTAL CRASH, THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE DRIVER AIR BAG MAY NOT OCCUR.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE DRIVER AIR BAG MODULE WITH ONE THAT IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AN INCREASED MARGIN OF COMPLIANCE FOR LOW RISK DEPLOYMENT FOR SMALL STATURE ADULTS WHO ARE NOT PROPERLY WEARING THE SEAT BELTS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2007, AND WILL BE PERFORMED IN TWO MAILINGS. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI DE PUERTO RICO AT 1-800-981-0188.
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.
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.
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. The safety recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 110.
HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 532,633 MY 2006-2007 ACCENT, ENTOURAGE, SONATA, MY 2007 AZERA, ELANTRA AND SANTA FE, MY 2005-2007 TUCSON AND MY 2007-2008 VERACRUZ VEHICLES. THE STOP LAMP SWITCH IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES MAY MALFUNCTION. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. A STOP LAMP SWITCH MALFUNCTION MAY ALSO AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE BRAKE-TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK FEATURE SO THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE SHIFTED 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.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 29, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE HYUNDAI CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.
How other years compare
Check your exact Tucson by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2006 Hyundai Tucson reliable?
NHTSA has 135 owner complaints and 5 recall campaigns on record for the 2006 Hyundai Tucson. The most complained-about area is air bags (22% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2006 Hyundai Tucson problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 65,364 miles or less.
Does the 2006 Hyundai Tucson have open recalls?
5 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.