Hyundai Accent 2000–2005 problems by year and mileage
2nd generation (LC)
NHTSA data through 24 September 2026457 complaints, 240 with mileageMethod
Which year is yours? Tap it to see what breaks on it.
The 2000 Hyundai Accent
Close- Median failure report
- 61,000 mi
- Complaints filed
- 92
- Recalls naming this year
- 4
Most reported on the 2000
- Transmission and driveline28 reports
- Airbag system11 reports
- Engine and its cooling system11 reports
4 recall campaigns name the 2000: Structure — frame and members; Vehicle speed control; Visibility — windshield wiper/washer. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
The 2001 Hyundai Accent
Close- Median failure report
- 52,000 mi
- Complaints filed
- 112
- Recalls naming this year
- 2
Most reported on the 2001
- Airbag system21 reports
- Transmission and driveline21 reports
- Suspension16 reports
2 recall campaigns name the 2001: Structure — frame and members; Vehicle speed control. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
The 2002 Hyundai Accent
Close- Median failure report
- 43,000 mi
- Complaints filed
- 134
- Recalls naming this year
- 1
Most reported on the 2002
- Transmission and driveline24 reports
- Fuel system17 reports
- Airbag system15 reports
1 recall campaign names the 2002: Structure — frame and members. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
The 2003 Hyundai Accent
Close- Median failure report
- too few reports to time
- Complaints filed
- 37
- Recalls naming this year
- 0
Most reported on the 2003
- Airbag system15 reports
- Transmission and driveline7 reports
- Electrical system3 reports
The 2004 Hyundai Accent
Close- Median failure report
- too few reports to time
- Complaints filed
- 33
- Recalls naming this year
- 0
Most reported on the 2004
- Airbag system10 reports
- Transmission and driveline5 reports
- Steering4 reports
The 2005 Hyundai Accent
Close- Median failure report
- 60,000 mi
- Complaints filed
- 49
- Recalls naming this year
- 1
Most reported on the 2005
- Exterior lighting15 reports
- Transmission and driveline13 reports
- Airbag system8 reports
1 recall campaign names the 2005: Exterior lighting. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
Each tile shows the median mileage at which that model year’s failures were reported. The 2000 reports latest and the 2002 earliest, but part of that gap is age: the 2000 has had 2 more years on the road to accumulate mileage. 2 of these years carry fewer than 30 reports with an odometer reading and show no median at all, rather than one computed from a handful.
The short answer
“Is the 2000–2005 Hyundai Accent reliable?”
- Median of reported failures
- 49,000 mi
- 90% of reports came by
- 105,000 mi
- Reports with mileage
- 240
- Recalls
- 5
Most reported
- Transmission and driveline21.4% of complaints · median 52,000 mi
- Airbag system17.5% of complaints · median 36,000 mi
- Engine and its cooling system9.0% of complaints · median 39,000 mi
Owners filed 457 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000–2005 Hyundai Accent; the transmission and driveline leads with 21.4% of them, and half of the 240 that record an odometer reading came by 49,000 miles. A count like this can’t rate reliability on its own: NHTSA records what owners chose to report, not how many of each car were sold.
Failures are spread across the mileage range, with the middle half between 25,000 and 77,000 miles.
Before-you-buy checklist ↓At your mileage ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
How many miles does a 2000–2005 Hyundai Accent last?
Complaint records can’t measure how long a car lasts; they show when reported failures happened. On the 2000–2005 Hyundai Accent, half of the 240 complaints that record an odometer reading were filed by 49,000 miles and 90% by 105,000 miles.
8 reports came in past 150,000 miles — each one proof that an Accent reached that mileage, not that it failed there.
Figure 1 · Hyundai Accent 2000–2005 · 240 reports with mileage
Mileage at failure
Complaints per 20,000-mile bin, 0 to 200,000 miles, equal bins on a linear scale. Tallest bar = 53 complaints.
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 10%
- 10,020
- 25%
- 25,000
- Median
- 49,400
- 75%
- 77,474
- 90%
- 105,114
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–20,000 | 50 | 20.8% |
| 20,000–40,000 | 53 | 22.1% |
| 40,000–60,000 | 38 | 15.8% |
| 60,000–80,000 | 45 | 18.8% |
| 80,000–100,000 | 26 | 10.8% |
| 100,000–120,000 | 14 | 5.8% |
| 120,000–140,000 | 4 | 1.7% |
| 140,000–160,000 | 5 | 2.1% |
| 160,000–180,000 | 4 | 1.7% |
| 180,000–200,000 | 1 | 0.4% |
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain. Complaint counts reflect what owners reported and are not a measure of failure rate per vehicle sold.
What this can and cannot tell you: these are complaints owners chose to file, not a failure rate. Popular models accumulate more of them simply by being common. How this is built.
Common Accent problems, and when they happen
Figure 2 · Hyundai Accent 2000–2005
When each system fails
Bar spans the middle half of reports; the notch inside each bar is the median. Miles at failure on a proportional scale — equal distances are equal ratios, not equal miles.
- Hydraulic brake circuit36 reports25,00012,000–40,000Hydraulic brake circuit: 36 reports, median 25,000 miles, middle half 12,000 to 40,000 miles.
- Throttle and speed control36 reports35,00018,000–55,000Throttle and speed control: 36 reports, median 35,000 miles, middle half 18,000 to 55,000 miles.
- Airbag system80 reports36,00020,000–66,000Airbag system: 80 reports, median 36,000 miles, middle half 20,000 to 66,000 miles.
- Engine and its cooling system41 reports39,00027,000–71,000Engine and its cooling system: 41 reports, median 39,000 miles, middle half 27,000 to 71,000 miles.
- Transmission and driveline98 reports52,00027,000–72,000Transmission and driveline: 98 reports, median 52,000 miles, middle half 27,000 to 72,000 miles.
- Electrical system30 reports61,00018,000–96,000Electrical system: 30 reports, median 61,000 miles, middle half 18,000 to 96,000 miles.
- Suspension30 reports88,00077,000–114,000Suspension: 30 reports, median 88,000 miles, middle half 77,000 to 114,000 miles.
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it in “Where your car sits”
Ordered by median mileage, earliest first. The first 12,000 miles are shaded: that is the boundary this site uses between a manufacturing defect and ordinary wear, not a property of the world.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
All systems in a table
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission and driveline | 98 | 21.4% | 52,000 | 27,000–72,000 |
| Airbag system | 80 | 17.5% | 36,000 | 20,000–66,000 |
| Engine and its cooling system | 41 | 9.0% | 39,000 | 27,000–71,000 |
| Hydraulic brake circuit | 36 | 7.9% | 25,000 | 12,000–40,000 |
| Throttle and speed control | 36 | 7.9% | 35,000 | 18,000–55,000 |
| Electrical system | 30 | 6.6% | 61,000 | 18,000–96,000 |
| Suspension | 30 | 6.6% | 88,000 | 77,000–114,000 |
| Visibility equipment | 29 | 6.3% | 49,000 | 10,000–101,000 |
| Fuel system | 28 | 6.1% | 55,000 | 46,000–70,000 |
| Body structure | 24 | 5.3% | 86,000 | 64,000–114,000 |
System by system, in words
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 49,000 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
The transmission and driveline accounts for 21.4% of complaints (98 reports, 50 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 52,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 27,000 and 72,000 miles.
The airbag system accounts for 17.5% of complaints (80 reports, 43 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 36,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 20,000 and 66,000 miles.
The engine and its cooling system accounts for 9.0% of complaints (41 reports, 22 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 39,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 27,000 and 71,000 miles.
The hydraulic brake circuit accounts for 7.9% of complaints (36 reports, 13 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails early — a median of 25,000 miles, well before the vehicle's overall median. Failures clustered this far below the rest of the car usually point to a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear, because wear does not selectively target one system on low-mileage examples. The middle half of these reports falls between 12,000 and 40,000 miles.
Throttle and speed control accounts for 7.9% of complaints (36 reports, 15 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 35,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 18,000 and 55,000 miles.
The electrical system accounts for 6.6% of complaints (30 reports, 17 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 61,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 18,000 and 96,000 miles.
Known problems with the 2000–2005 Accent
Engine 2000–2005
Alpha II timing belt service interval; crank position sensor and ignition coil failures causing stalling are the most commonly reported items.
Before you buy a 2000–2005 Accent: the 3-minute check
Generated from 240 mileage-tagged complaints, 5 recall campaigns, 1 documented problem area. Print this page — the checklist survives print.
- Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. 5 campaigns cover this generation; an open recall is a free repair you can make the seller's problem.
- Check engine on 2000–2005 cars. Alpha II timing belt service interval; crank position sensor and ignition coil failures causing stalling are the most commonly reported items.
- Complaint reports are not spread evenly across model years here — see the by-model-year table below before you settle on a year.
- End with a pre-purchase inspection of this car. Aggregate data describes the population; the example in front of you has its own history.
For a buyer, failures on this generation are spread rather than concentrated: the middle half falls between 25,000 and 77,000 miles, with a median of 49,000. There is no single mileage threshold to watch, which means condition and maintenance records are more informative than the odometer.
On inspection, the transmission and driveline and the airbag system are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. The airbag system in particular shows a median failure mileage of 36,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
Accent problems by mileage: where your car sits
Type your odometer reading, or read the common mileages in the table. Your marker lands on the timing chart above and on the curve below.
| System | Middle half of reports, mi | At 60k mi59% below | At 90k mi84% below | At 120k mi94% below | At 150k mi97% below | At 200k mi100% below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission and driveline | 27,000–72,000 | in window | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Airbag system | 20,000–66,000 | in window | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Engine and its cooling system | 27,000–71,000 | in window | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Hydraulic brake circuit | 12,000–40,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Throttle and speed control | 18,000–55,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Electrical system | 18,000–96,000 | in window | in window | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Suspension | 77,000–114,000 | later | in window | earlier | earlier | earlier |
Figure 3 · Hyundai Accent 2000–2005 · 240 reports with mileage
Share of reports below each mileage
Share of mileage-tagged reports filed at or below each odometer reading. Steps rise only at bin edges, by exact counted shares.
- 60,000 mi — 59% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 94% of reports below
- 200,000 mi — 100% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it above
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
2000–2005 Hyundai Accent recalls (5)
NHTSA records 5 recall campaigns covering vehicles in this generation. A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator concluded there was a safety defect or a standard was not met, and that a free remedy is owed to owners — including second and later owners.
The campaigns cluster around visibility equipment (2), the exterior lighting (1), body structure (1). Several campaigns against one area can mean a remedy that did not hold, or separate defects in parts filed under the same heading; the summaries below name each defect.
Recall status is specific to the individual vehicle, not the model. Checking a VIN against NHTSA's lookup is free and takes under a minute, and it is the only way to know whether a particular car has had the work done.
Jul 2009 · 2005 · Exterior LightingAny of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
The defect. 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…
What can happen. Any of these malfunctions could lead to a crash.
The free fix. 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.
Jun 2002 · 2000–2002 · StructureAn occupant's head that contacts the a-pillar during a crash could experience an increased risk of a head…
The defect. Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 201, "Occupant protection in interior impact." During testing, the 3-door hatchback exceeded the performance criterion in the standard midway along…
What can happen. An occupant's head that contacts the a-pillar during a crash could experience an increased risk of a head injury as a result of this condition.
The free fix. Dealers will install new energy management brackets to support the a-pillar covers and increase the energy absorbing performance of the a-pillar in the relevant area. Owner notification began october…
Nov 2001 · 2000–2001 · Vehicle Speed ControlMoisture in the combustion chamber blowby gases may freeze inside the throttle body bore and throttle body…
The defect. Vehicle description: passenger vehicles equipped with 1.5 Liter or 1.6 Liter engines that were originally sold in or currently registered in the states of alaska, colorado, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, maine, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota…
What can happen. Moisture in the combustion chamber blowby gases may freeze inside the throttle body bore and throttle body idle speed control circuit resulting in the throttle valve not closing fully and a higher…
The free fix. Dealers will install a new, relocated pcv hose and will additionally install a heated throttle body on the 2000-2001 accents equipped with 1.5 Liter engines that were produced through january 31…
Jul 2000 · 2000 · VisibilityIf the connection disengages, the windshield wipers are inoperative.
The defect. Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The protective rubber boot which covers the ball joint connection between the windshield wiper motor drive arm and the windshield wiper drag link can stick to the surface of the drive arm. If the rubber boot sticks and…
What can happen. If the connection disengages, the windshield wipers are inoperative. Inoperative windshield wipers can contribute to reduced visibility during inclement weather.
The free fix. Dealers will replace the protective rubber boot and will lubricate the new protective rubber boot where it contacts the drive arm.
Mar 2000 · 2000 · VisibilityIf the connection disengages, the windshield wipers are inoperative.
The defect. Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The protective rubber boot which covers the ball joint connection between the windshield wiper motor drive arm and the windshield wiper drag link can stick to the surface of the drive arm. If the rubber boot sticks and…
What can happen. If the connection disengages, the windshield wipers are inoperative. Inoperative windshield wipers can contribute to reduced visibility during inclement weather.
The free fix. Dealers will replace the protective rubber boot and will lubricate the new protective rubber boot where it contacts the drive arm.
Crashes, fires and injuries owners reported
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 457 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 99 (21.7%)
- Fires
- 14
- Injury reports
- 63
- Fatality reports
- 3
These flags are self-reported by complainants and unverified by NHTSA; one report can carry several flags, so the counts overlap and do not sum to a total. They are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. No chart is drawn here on purpose: overlapping counts spanning very different magnitudes cannot be honestly encoded as lengths.
Accent problems by model year
The 2002 drew the most complaints of this generation, 134, most of them about the transmission and driveline, and the 2004 the fewest, 33. A typical year drew about 70.
| Year | Complaints | With mileage | Median miles | Most reported | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 92 | 39 | 61,000 | Transmission and driveline (28) | 4 |
| 2001 | 112 | 39 | 52,000 | Airbag system (21) | 2 |
| 2002 | 134 | 75 | 43,000 | Transmission and driveline (24) | 1 |
| 2003 | 37 | 21 | under 30 reports | Airbag system (15) | 0 |
| 2004 | 33 | 23 | under 30 reports | Airbag system (10) | 0 |
| 2005 | 49 | 43 | 60,000 | Exterior lighting (15) | 1 |
What Accent owners reported
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated that the doors could no longer be opened from inside the vehicle. The contact had to roll down the windows in order to let herself out of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or…
2005 · 14,000 miles · Latches and locks
The contact owns a 2005 Hyundai Accent. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a vehicle nearby informed the contact that the rear driver’s and passenger’s side brake lights were inoperable. The contact continued driving to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who…
2005 · 147,000 miles · Exterior lighting
Takata recall.. For some reason my brake lights turn on without me pressing the brakes everytime that happens my steering wheel locks on me ive had to change my disk and caliber on my car in only a week 3 times because for some reason its been scratching my brakes and rotors and it messed up a brand new rotors and…
2005 · 150 miles · Exterior lighting
For some reason my brake lights turn on without me pressing the brakes it does it then it stops and acts normal then it does it again meanwhile im also having problems with the sterring wheel i had it checked a couple times and everything seems fine it has fluids but it gets stuck while im driving and not able to move…
2005 · 150 miles · Exterior lighting
Built from 240 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-09-26 · open data · how it is built
Other Accent generations
- Accent 2006–2011 373 reports with mileage, most about the airbag system
- Accent 2012–2017 311 reports with mileage, most about the engine