2006 Hyundai Tiburon
The Verdict
The 2006 Hyundai Tiburon has 64 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are transmission (42 complaints) and body (11 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 83/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Hyundai Tiburon, consider the 2002 model year which has 87% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2002 has 87% fewer complaints
View the 2002 Hyundai Tiburon dashboard →
Klunk Score: Smooth Ride
This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Complaints
My clutch is slipping already. Ive owned the car for six months and the previous owner repaced the cluch, and he o ly owned the car for 10 months. My previous standard transmission car went through 1 clutvh in the 15 years i owned it. Something must be defective. I do not know what the situation will be when it goes out all the way , i just really hope it does not hurt anyone. Becaus e of circumstancesthe damage to me and my life is quite great. And god please dont let it physically hurt me on top of the fact i vary well may go to prison for something i absolutlly did not do.i worked out of state and without my car i will not make it to court. Since i lost my job because of this incident i did not do, i cannot fix the car before it goes all the way out. Once again please god let no one get huet by my car, please please please
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI TIBURON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55-65 MPH, THE FOG LIGHTS WERE ACTIVATED AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY SHUT-OFF. ADDITIONALLY, THE SPEEDOMETER SUDDENLY CHANGED BY INCREASING AND DECREASING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ONCE THE FOG LIGHTS WERE TURNED-OFF, THE ISSUE WENT AWAY. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHENEVER THE HI-BEAM HEADLAMPS WERE ACTIVATED, THERE WAS STATIC IN THE RADIO. THE CONTACT HAD NOT TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. NEITHER THE MANUFACTURER NOR A DEALER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 86,000.
CLUTCH FAILS TO DISENGAGE. THIS IS MOST DANGEROUS WHEN VEHICLE IS PARKED IN GEAR(AS WHEN PARKED ON A HILL WITH THE REAR OF THE FRONT WHEELS TURNED TO CURB, AND AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO START VEHICLE BY PUSHING CLUTCH PEDAL DOWN AND ACTIVATING IGNITION, THE VEHICLE MAY START WITH CLUTCH ENGAGED, AND PROPEL THE VEHICLE INTO STREET AND INTO TH E LANE WHERE TRAFFIC IS APPROACHING FROM BEHIND, AND THEREFORE OUT OF SIGHT. OTHER DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ARE ATTEMPTS ARE MADE TO START VEHICLE ARE MADE IN CROWDED PARKING LOTS WHERE PEDESTRIANS MIGHT BE WALKING BEHIND CAR, AND VEHICLE IS PROPELLED REARWARD. ADDITIONALLY, IF ATTEMPTS ARE MADE TO STOP QUICKLY AS WHEN A CAR PU;LLS OUT IN FRONT OF YOU AS IN AN INTERSECTION, THE CLUTCH MIGHT NOT DISENGAGE, AND THE INERTIAL POWER OF THE ENGINE MIGHT OVERPOWER THE BRAKES, AND VEHICLE WILL CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL ENGINE POWER IS OVERCOME BY BRAKE POWER INCIDENT EACH OF THESE SITUATIONS HAS HAPPENED TO ME, BUT I HAVE MANAGED, SO FAR, TO AVOID THE SUGGESTED RESULTS.
MY TIBURON WAS FINE A FEW DAYS AGO BUT RECENTLY STARTED GIVING ME PROBLEMS WHEN SHIFTING GEARS WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION OR SHIFTING INTO REVERSE WHILE THE CAR IS STOPPED. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THESE CARS AND THAT IT SEEMS TO BE A FAULTY MODEL OF CLUTCH. ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND HAS NOT YET BEEN BROUGHT UP BY HYUNDAI FOR A FACTORY RECALL
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI TIBURON. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, ANOTHER VEHICLE MERGED INTO THE CONTACT'S LANE AND CAME TO A STOP. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT REAR ENDED THE VEHICLE. THE AIR BAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED NECK AND BACK INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 126,000.
GEARS BECAME HARD TO SHIFT THEN IMPOSSIBLE TO SHIFT REPLACED WIT NEW CLUTCH AND HAD TO REPLACE AGAIN AT 97000. *TR
I BOUGHT THE CAR AND LOOKED AT THE VEHICLE REPAIR RECORDS AND THE CLUTCH HAD BEEN REPLACED ABOUT 12000 MILES AGO AND I CAN PUSH THE CLUTCH IN AND IT IS SLIPPING HORRIBLE, I CAN PUSH THE CLUTCH ALL THE WAY DOWN AND IT WILL SLIP AND GRIND EVERY GEAR AS IF I'M TRYING TO SHIFT WITHOUT THE CLUTCH. I EVEN STOPPED DOWNSHIFTING BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T GO INTO GEAR WITHOUT HORRIBLY GRINDING! I GET SO WORRIED ABOUT IT SOMETIMES, THAT I ALMOST WRECK TRYING TO KEEP MY CAR IN GEAR WITHOUT BREAKING THE TRANS, IT IS LIKE LEARNING HOW TO DRIVE A MANUAL CAR AGAIN AND I HAVE DRIVEN ONE FOR A LONG TIME NOW. *TR
I'M FROM ARKANSAS CITY KANSAS. I WAS DRIVING IN WICHITA KS ON MY WAY BACK HOME. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 55MPH. WHEN I ENGAGED MY CLUTCHED TO GO INTO THE NEXT GEAR NOTHING HAPPENED. THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO GO INTO GEAR BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T MOVE. I SLOWED DOWN AND STOPPED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I PUT IT INTO FIRST GEAR AND TRIED TO DRIVE. THE CAR MOVED NOWHERE. I WASN'T SURE WHAT HAPPENED SO I TOWED IT BACK HOME. I LOOKED ONLINE EVERYWHERE TO FIND NOTHING THAT RELATED TO MY PROBLEM. MY CAR STILL WONT MOVE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI TIBURON. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BEING DEPRESSED. THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. WHILE AT A STOP, THE VEHICLE PERFORMED AS IF IT WOULD ACCELERATE. THE ACCELERATION RETURNED TO NORMAL WITHIN FIVE MINUTES AFTER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON SEVEN DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,000.
I WAS STOPPED THIS PASS WEEKEND AND TOLD MY BRAKE LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING, WAS TOLD BY THE STATE TROOPER THAT THERE WAS A RECALL ON TIBURON MODELS BETWEEN THE YRS OF 2006-2008 ON STOP LAMPS DURING BRAKE DON'T ILLUMINATE AND TO GET THEM CHECKED OUT...SURE ENOUGH I FOUND THE RECALL ONLINE, I CALLED HYUNDAI AND THEY EXPLAIN THAT MY CAR ISN'T ON THE LIST FOR RECALLS...BUT I SEE THE RECALL NOTICES ALL OVER THE INTERNET...PLEASE EXPLAIN ??? THANKS *TR
BRAND NEW CAR AND ENGINE WENT OUT. DEALER SAID I DIDN'T HAVE THE OIL CHANGED WHICH CAUSED CRITICAL FAILURE WITH ENGINE. AFTER ALMOST 2 YEARS FIGHTING WITH DEALER I GAVE UP. I SAVED 5K TO HAVE A NEW ENGINE INSTALLED WITH AN OUTSIDE DEALER WITH THE SAME YEAR MAKE AND MILEAGE. TODAY CAR IS OVERHEATING AND ACTING LIKE THE ORIGINAL ENGINE I HAD. GUESS WHAT ..THIS ENGINE JUST TURNED 34000K ...YOU CAN TELL I DON'T DRIVE MUCH WHICH IS EVEN MORE REASON WHY I THINK THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR MODEL 4CYL ENGINE.100K MILE WARRANTY MY [XXX]. I AM FED UP WITH THIS CAR. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
2006 TIBURON 3 CLUTCHES IN 3 MONTHS TIME DUE TO SLIPPING OF CLUTCH . *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HYUNDAI TIBURON. THE CONTACT STATED THE TIRES WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED EVERY 15,000 MILES OR THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE AN ALIGNMENT PERFORMED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT THEY WERE ALWAYS UNABLE TO FIND A FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND ASKED FOR ARBITRATION BUT OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 86,000.
APPROXIMATELY ONE MONTH AFTER PURCHASING THIS CAR NEW (AND LESS THAN 1000 MILES ON ODOMETER), I STARTED EXPERIENCING SLIPPING IN THE CLUTCH WITH SEVERE LACK OF ACCELERATION. THE DEALER REPLACED THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL UNDER WARRANTY, AND STATE AT THAT TIME THAT THE HAD ALREADY PERFORMED SIMILAR REPAIRS ON THAT MAKE/MODEL. NOW IN AUGUST, 2012, (65,000 MILES) THE CAR HAS HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM REQUIRING REPLACEMENT OF THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL. EXTREME LACK OF ACCELERATION HAD MADE THE CAR UNSAFE ON A CITY STREET, LET ALONE ON A FREEWAY. THE MECHANIC HAS STATED THAT HE HAS NEVER SEEN A FLYWHEEL SCORCHED THIS BADLY. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING STANDARD TRANSMISSION CARS FOR 30 YEARS, AND HAVE NEVER HAD A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. *TR
I HAVE A 2006 HYUNDAI, TIBURON GT WITH THE 2.7 LITRE V-6 AND 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. AFTER SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, THE CAR JERKS (LIKE WHEN YOU 1ST LEARN TO DRIVE A MANUAL) ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I HAVE CAME VERY CLOSE TO BEING REAR ENDED WHEN THIS HAPPENS!!! AND SOMETIMES IT WONT COME OUT OF 1ST GEAR WHEN CAR IS STOPPED/PARKED, YOU HAVE TO SHUT THE CAR OFF PUT IT IN NEUTRAL THEN IT WILL GO INTO WHATEVER GEAR YOU WANT. *TR
BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH MALFUNCTION CAUSES BRAKE LIGHTS TO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED. *TR *JS
AFTER A COUPLE MONTHS OF OWNING MY VEHICLE, MY CLUTCH WENT OUT. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE WAY I WAS DRIVING AND THAT THE CLUTCH WOULD NOT BE COVERED IN THE WARRANTY BECAUSE IT WAS A WEAR AND TEAR ISSUE AND NOT A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. SO I HAD TO PAY TO GET A NEW CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL INSTALLED. NOW AFTER ABOUT 5 YEARS, MY CLUTCH WENT OUT AGAIN. AFTER THIS TIME HOWEVER, I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND WAS APPALLED AT HOW THIS PROBLEM HAS AFFECTED SO MANY PEOPLE. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS. *TR
AFTER I SHIFTED FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR, I TRIED TO ACCELERATE BUT THE CLUTCH SLIPPED. WHEN I COMPLETELY TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR I FELT AND HEARD A MILD CLUNK AS IT WAS FINALLY ENGAGED. THE RPMS WERE AT ABOUT 2000 AND I WAS ONLY TRAVELING 5 MPH WHEN THIS FIRST OCCURRED. I CONTINUED TO SHIFT THROUGH THE GEARS WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS. ONCE ENGAGED AFTER A WHILE, IN EACH GEAR, I PRESSED DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL APPROXIMATELY HALFWAY TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD DO. THE RPMS SHOT UP AND NO POWER GOT TO THE WHEELS. THE CLUTCH SLIPPED IMMEDIATELY. I COULD NOT MAINTAIN SPEED GOING UP SOME HILLS WITHOUT THE CLUTCH SLIPPING. I AM LOOKING IN MY REAR VIEW MIRROR TO MAKE SURE I DON'T GET HIT FROM BEHIND. THIS HAPPENS EVERY DAY BUT NOT CONSISTENTLY. I HAVE TO SHIFT AT A MAXIMUM 2,500 RPM FOR IT TO NOT SLIP. I DON'T BELIEVE THE VEHICLE COULD MAINTAIN ANY SPEED ABOVE 50 MPH WITHOUT THE CLUTCH SLIPPING. THERE IS A PROGRESSIVE GROANING SINCE THIS FIRST STARTED. I CAN FEEL IT IN THE PEDALS AND STEERING WHEEL AS WELL. NOTHING IS DRAGGING AND THE FLUID LEVEL IS AT MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDATIONS. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS FOR OVER 26 YEARS, IMPORTS AND DOMESTIC. I NEVER HAD A CLUTCH FAIL BEFORE 150,000 MILES. THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT; HIT THE BRAKES TO AVOID, STEER TO AVOID, AND ACCELERATE TO AVOID. I HAVE LOST 33% OF MY CAPABILITY TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT DUE TO PRE-MATURE FAILURE OF THE CLUTCH. THE OWNER'S MANUAL STATES "IDEALLY, CORNERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE TAKEN WITH GENTLE ACCELERATION." THIS IS CURRENTLY IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE THE CLUTCH SLIPS WHEN I TRY TO DRIVE THAT WAY, ON BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT HAND TURNS. *TR
I HAVE A 2006 HYUNDAI, TIBURON GT WITH THE 2.7 LITRE V-6 AND 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. I HAVE HAD A RECENT PROBLEM WITH THE CLUTCH SLIPPING. I HAVE LOOKED ON LINE AND READ ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS ISSUE. BEFORE I BOUGHT THE CAR (NEW IN 2006) I READ ABOUT THE CLUTCH ISSUES ON LINE AND THOUGHT THAT WITH THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT SETTLED, THAT THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED FROM THE EARLIER MODEL YEARS. WHEN YOU GET SOME RPMS ON THE VEHICLE (ABOUT 4000), AND JUST BEFORE YOU UP-SHIFT THE CLUTCH STARTS SLIPPING. THE CAR HAS ALSO STARTED GRABBING AND SLIPPING FROM A STANDSTILL. I GUESS I HAVE BEEN LUCKY, I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MINE SINCE MAY OF 2006 WITH VERY LITTLE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT. *TR
VEHICLE HAD PREMATURE CLUTCH FAILURE. REPAIR COST 2700. THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ON IDENTICAL FAILURES. HYUNDAI REFUSES TO ADMIT THERE IS A PROBLEM, DESPITE 2006 LAWSUIT IN CALIFORNIA CONCERNING THE 2003 MODELS. UPDATED 05/12/11 *BF
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