Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints (2022)

266 consumer complaints on file.

#11774301October 28, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am filing a formal safety complaint against Hyundai Motor America for non-compliance with federal safety recall regulations regarding Recall 244 (NHTSA Campaign 23V181/235) for my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe (VIN #[XXX]. I have been experiencing a severe parasitic battery drain that leaves the vehicle completely dead if parked for more than three days. This is a known, definitive symptom of moisture intrusion and short-circuiting within the tow hitch harness module covered under this active fire-hazard safety recall. The vehicle has died four times and required a full battery replacement. I have asked to have a re-check of the recall under Federal rule 49 USC 30120. I have filed a complaint with Hyundai and have a case #. They have now told me there's nothing they can do and I will have to pay to have it checked. The tow hitch is showing live voltage on a meter reader too. I've been advised to pull the fuses but there are none in the trailer hitch spots in the fuse box. The empty slots show an incomplete recall fix was performed or wired wrong causing an un-remedied parasitic power short active in this car. My car is a fire hazards! Hyundai won't help me. I have fully documented everything. I have been dealing with Hyundai for two month with no solution other than I have to pay them to re-check the recall and only at specific dealerships. What can I do? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11771430October 15, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Following a paid Bluelink subscription renewal on my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe, a server-side software malfunction has permanently locked out my factory Digital Key access. The vehicle's physical hardware has been reset, but Hyundai's backend servers refuse to clear the token, permanently disabling a primary vehicle access feature. Hyundai corporate support admits a database desynchronization but has left the ticket unresolved, stranding the owner without promised vehicle access utilities.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11768909October 5, 2026
STEERING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
My fiancée’s Hyundai Santa Fe has been taken in for service multiple times due to a serious and recurring safety issue. The vehicle suddenly begins malfunctioning while being driven: all of the lights on the dashboard start flashing, multiple warning lights come on, the vehicle shuts off, and both the steering and accelerator become disabled until the vehicle can be restarted. This has occurred twice while driving on the interstate at speeds of 70+ mph, creating an extremely dangerous situation. Unfortunately, the issue occurred again today and resulted in my fiancée driving into a ditch when the steering locked up while she was making a right turn. Thankfully, she was not injured and was able to restart the vehicle and safely get out of the ditch. The vehicle has been brought in for service multiple times by different hyundai dealerships in an attempt to identify and repair the issue. However, each time, the dealership has stated that they cannot replicate the problem and that they cannot find anything wrong with the vehicle. We have video evidence documenting the vehicle malfunctioning and have provided the vehicle for inspection after these incidents. The battery was also recently replaced as a possible solution to the problem, but the exact same issue occurred again today despite the replacement. At this point, we do not feel that this vehicle is safe to drive. The fact that the vehicle has repeatedly lost steering and acceleration while being driven at highway speeds, and has now caused my fiancée to leave the roadway, makes this an extremely serious safety concern. We are requesting that this issue be thoroughly investigated and resolved before the vehicle is considered safe to operate again.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11764268September 15, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
On May 31, 2025, I suffered a severe facial injury causing trigeminal neuralgia and concussion when the Smart Power Liftgate on my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT failed to stop or reverse upon encountering obstruction. While unloading the trunk, I went to close the liftgate, lost my balance falling forward prior to it beginning to close. It struck my face and upper body with full mechanical force, failing to trigger the automatic safety reverse/anti-pinch strip sensors. The component suffered a total safety failure, bypassing the safety mechanisms intended to prevent bodily entrapment and crushing injuries. I was forced to seek emergency medical treatment. Official Emergency Room medical records from May 2025 explicitly document the facial injuries sustained directly from this automotive component failure. The vehicle remains dangerous as the anti-pinch sensors failed to operate as legally and mechanically mandated. There have been multiple incidents where the liftgate has failed to stop with coming into contact with pressure of even my toddler briefly or our dogs, but I was not aware this vehicle was equipped with this safety feature to begin with.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11762513September 7, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
Vehicle on initial start up shows no issue. Driving for a short distance or stationary for a short time. Vehicle instrument panel will show a fault of Forward safety system. Errors on Lane keeping assist, High beam assist, and Driver attention warning. Smart camera module will be hot to the touch causing failure of Front view camera and Front Radar Module.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11761327September 1, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Occasionally the cruise control will go off. Sometimes it will reset itself & other times, the driver has to initiate. I reported to the Hyundai Manuf. last yr. & also had 2 separate dealers take a look & problem has not been resolved.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11760554August 29, 2026
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
On June 20 2026 at 2:07pm Central Time there was a check engine light displayed on the dash of my vehicle 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy, while it was parked in the garage of my home and was just powered up. I had then performed the vehicle diagnostics test (pictures attached) that showed that there was an issue with the 'Transmission Control System' with detail that a full system check is recommended and to schedule an appointment with a dealer. I had later proceeded to contact local dealer 'Huffines Hyundai McKinney' for service as I was due for an oil change anyway. As I was driving the vehicle from my home which was about 13 miles away from the dealership, I noticed that the vehicle had great trouble shifting from 1st gear to higher gears, that the speed would be 20mph or lower no matter how much the accelerator was pushed and I had to drive very carefully in traffic due to the low speeds. I was told at the dealership by 3pm that day that there were no active recalls on my vehicle, that the transmission related recall that was showing up on google search for that DCT code wasn't specific enough to my vehicle and to book an appointment for vehicle diagnostics and transmission repair/replacement at full cost to myself. The multi-point inspection report after oil change showed nothing about the check engine light issue or that the issue was even diagnosed by the dealership. From that day until today Aug 29 2026, I've noticed that the vehicle still has trouble shifting from the 1st gear, that the vehicle drives normally when increased time is allowed between power up and start of drive (~2min of engine running idle) and that the check engine light reappears after a trip of quick power up and drive. There was atleast one instance where I had to pullover onto the shoulder to avoid high speed traffic while driving in the right lane.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11760358August 28, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
At approximately 67,000 miles, the vehicle experienced a sudden vibration when accelerate and decelerate. Engine light was on and vehicle had a hard time to maintain speed above 40mph. Cars were honking behind us due to the lack of speed on road. It happen all of a sudden and cause me and my wife panic at first. The car was took to the closest dealer ([XXX] Hyundai [XXX]) and they found the problem was due to an internally leaking fuel injector, requiring a complete out-of-pocket replacement. This is a known, widespread manufacturing defect directly addressed by Hyundai Technical Service Bulletin TSB #25-FL-001H (which supersedes 23-FL-002H-1). The bulletin explicitly states that 2021–2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.5L GDI engines suffer from premature internal fuel injector failure caused by internal filter breakage, forcing owners to pay out of pocket for a design flaw acknowledged internally by the manufacturer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11759869August 26, 2026
SEAT BELTS
The driver-side seat belt buckle on my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe will not latch. This is a safety-critical failure under FMVSS 209/210. The vehicle has not been in a collision. The dealership and Hyundai Consumer Affairs bot stated that the seat belts are only covered under te 5 yr/60K warranty and refused to treat this as a safety defect. The buckle failure prevents proper restraint and poses a serious safety risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11758783August 22, 2026
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Symptoms are those described in Hyundai recall 236 (delayed shifting,hesitation, stalling). Vehicle has had multiple TSP services at Hyundai but symptoms persist intermittently. Software updates do not fix issue. Hyundai dealer has no other remedies.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11758435August 21, 2026
BACK OVER PREVENTION, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked or hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after two separate warranty repairs of the fuel injector, the failure persisted. In addition, the contact stated that the rear-view camera intermittently displayed a distorted or blank image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V879000 (Back Over Prevention); and was informed by the dealer that the vehicle was not covered under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was issued a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757403August 17, 2026
POWER TRAIN
While accelerating, the 8-speed transmission sporadically hangs in 1st gear and will not change to 2nd. The motor revs to about 4000 rpm and will only travel at about 15 mph. This causes a safety hazard when attempting to enter fast moving traffic. After several attempts, the Dealer has said that they cannot duplicate this issue in their shop and has not made necessary warranty repairs to fix this vehicle. Hyundai assigned a case manager who says that since the diagnostic did not pull any codes and they could not replicate the problem, they would not make any repairs. There is about 5000 miles left on the factory warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757272August 16, 2026
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
The car was shaking alot but the engine light was off. Started it the next dat and the check engine light came on. Went to auto zone to see what the codes were. The 1st and 3rd cylinder are misfiring. The car was just serviced for the 60,000 mile tune up in june 2026. This problem started August 14, 2026. The dealership is stating that the spark coils or cylinders are not under warranty even though it was just serviced
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11756159August 11, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The horn has now stopped working in my vehicle twice. It was replaced 01/27/2023, and is now non-functional again. I believe this to be a safety issue as I have no way to warn other drivers or pedestrians of my presence, if necessary. One example of this, was that a vehicle was proceeding into my lane on the interstate yesterday afternoon and I had to avoid them hitting my vehicle by driving onto the shoulder of the road, as I could not use my horn to let them know they were coming into my lane while I was on the side of them.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755321August 6, 2026
ENGINE
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid, confirming the exact symptom “the gasoline engine continues running after the vehicle is switched off.” the vehicle is on and your burn fuel and if the fuel tank is full then some major issue may occur.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11753084July 27, 2026
POWER TRAIN
The vehicle has suffered a catastrophic structural manufacturing defect involving a transmission case half seal failure. The transmission is actively seeping/leaking fluid directly from the factory-mated case assembly line seal. This presents a severe, progressive safety hazard. Transmission fluid leaking from the case half migrates along the underbody of the vehicle and directly coats hot exhaust and powertrain components during highway operation. This creates an immediate risk of under-hood smoke, thermal degradation, component stalling, or a potential vehicle fire at high speeds. Certified diagnostic inspection confirms this is a factory assembly defect (defective RTV sealant application or improper factory bolt torque) and not mechanical wear-and-tear or driver neglect. The vehicle currently has 88,000 miles, but the structural failure was first physically documented by a licensed facility at 59,870 miles. The manufacturer (Hyundai Motor America) has currently refused to honor the powertrain failure, forcing the vehicle to remain on the road with an active powertrain fluid leak risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752368July 23, 2026
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway and approaching a stop sign, the message "Check Transmission Oil Immediately" was momentarily displayed. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be diagnosed unless the message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving approximately 35 MPH the following day, and the engine power was reduced. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The driver contacted Bluelink and was advised to pull over safely. Bluelink and the dealer advised the driver to tow the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (POWER TRAIN); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered to cover half the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 74,900.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750523July 15, 2026
AIR BAGS
This email serves as a formal dispute of the warranty denial issued by [Lester Glenn Hyundai Toms River NJ] regarding the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) passenger airbag sensor in my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe.The dealership has refused coverage, attributing the failure to "water damage." I strongly dispute this finding and am formally requesting a Corporate Goodwill Repair Exception or a tier-two engineering review of my vehicle due to the safety-critical nature of this component.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749431July 9, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I did a navigation update as requested by the infotainment system on the Hyundai. After the update, the air conditioner would not turn on when the ac button was depressed . I took the vehicle to my local Hyundai dealer and they found the ac blower and ac button working intermittently. After further inspection, the mechanic found the multi fuses that sit on the PCB bloc had one burnt fuse that did not blow and was still hot and the PCB block had melted around where the fuse connected to it. ( Hyundai stated that they required the damaged PCB fuse, the PCB block and the harness). I'm concerned that the electrical short discovered by the Hyundai mechanic could have progress and burnt my car or my house since I keep my car in the garage. The Mechanic working for the Hyundai dealer found the burnt fuses and PCB block and kept them after replacing them with new parts. The ac was working fine until I did the navigation update and there were no warnings whatsoever.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749400July 9, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, AIR BAGS
The airbag sensor is on in the car. When I told the dealership they stated that the sensor is not covered under the warranty even though it was over by a fe hundred miles. None of the airbags will deploy if there is an accident. I don't see why a safety issue is not covered by the warranty. For the dealership to fix it, it is going to be over $800.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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