Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints (2023)

205 consumer complaints on file.

#11713548January 27, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while there was snow on the roof of the vehicle, the windshield wipers failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer because there was space between the hood and the windshield where the snow was collected, causing the windshield wipers to fail to operate as intended. The dealer tightened the wiper blades; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 35,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11713260January 25, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, WHEELS
Horn stopped working at 47,474 miles Check Tire Pressure System light is on, poor sensor at 45,650
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11711408January 16, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My panoramic sunroof spontaneously blew while driving on freeway
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709529January 7, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Horn completely out, yes available. I was unable to warn another driver from entering my lane several times. Warn a pedestrian from stepping out into traffic. Confirmed by the dealer. The horn was Inspected replaced at my own cost on March 2025 by December 2025 the part is no longer operational. I asked the dealer to honor the warranty they declined saying the mileage was passed the warranty terms.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709104January 6, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel injectors are bad. The car misfires, I smell gas, runs rough. They fixed one the second week of December 2025. I had the same symptoms when my light came on again on December 23,2025, they said they couldn’t find anything and gave me the car back. On January 3, my engine light came on again, I had warnings sent to my email and phone app about potential engine failures they said today ( 1/6/26) that it was another fuel injector and was told they would not replace the rest until they went out. When I asked them how safe I would be on an upcoming trip, I was told to just check the car every day before I go!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708546January 3, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I stopped to fill the gas on my road trip and the gas panel would not open. As a single women driving alone this is not ideal. It took 45 min of continuous unlocking/locking with pushing to get it to pop open. There needs to be an alternative/emergency handle to pull so this does not happen again. I was standing in 32 degree weather the entire time! NOT SAFE
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707137December 26, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Both horns have failed for the second time since the vehicle was purchased new in November 2023 and is currently showing 25,000 miles. The first set was replaced under warranty at a Hyundai dealership approximately 1 year ago. Not having a functioning vehicle horn is a safety hazard that would fail annual vehicle safety inspection testing in my state.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11706758December 23, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My back up camera is not working properly. The picture at times is scrambled and starts floating around on the screen. This was not the first time this has happened. I reported it to the dealership service department when I first noticed, about a year ago or longer. They updated the software and told me that would correct the problem. Clearly it did not correct the problem, if it is continuing to have issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11705523December 17, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Both horns on my 2023 Hyundai Santa FE have failed 3 times. The first set was covered under warranty (3/24), the second set cost $499.64 (3/25). Now both horns are nonfunctional after just being replaced this Spring. After reviewing many complaints on the Hyundai community form, it is very obvious there is a major issue with their horns ( and not just the Santa Fe model). Twice this week I was in need of my horn to alert other drivers but instead had to make quick maneuvers to avoid an incident. My vehicle currently cannot pass a state inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11704405December 11, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The horn has broken 4 times. I was told that it is a design defect in the car and there is no permanent fix. Water gets in to the horn when it rains and because of the location of the horn it would have to be moved to fix it. Hyundai is aware of this safety issue and has not issued a recall because there is no permanent fix. They are supposed to be buying back my car but are dragging their feet. I'm sure this is an issue in more than just my car and it's very unsafe for the horn to just stop working.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11704184December 10, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The vehicle cannot pick up speed, and it is displaying the DTC- P1C2D03. This is similar to the issues that led to "Safety Recall 236 to repair a condition involving the 8-Speed Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) system" in earlier model years (till 2022) for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles. NHTSA should issue a recall for 2023 model years also as Hyundai has not addressed this issue to the fullest extent in 2023 model years.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11703865December 8, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
On a clear road a sencor comes on detect comes on says detection collision. The breaks come on when you are traveling on interstate or two lane roads. When you are traveling 75 mph and breaks come on all of a sudden on the highway. We are lucky we never got hit in the back of the car going that fast. We will stop 75 to 35 mph in 10 seconds.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700865November 21, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
At stop sign and car with auto start stop on and at the time of releasing the brake, car was not able to start engine. Car had to be shifted to parking position to start engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700281November 19, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Horn has failed 4 times
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700193November 18, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Horn has needed to be replaced twice. Stops working for no apparent reason.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11699416November 14, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Component/System: Automatic Emergency Braking / Forward Collision-Avoidance (AEB/FCA) system and/or Electronic Parking Brake (EPB). The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. What happened: While driving my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe (VIN: XXX) at highway speeds, the vehicle suddenly and aggressively applied the emergency braking system on two separate occasions within the same day (approximately 45–60 minutes apart). In both instances, the red emergency braking warning lights illuminated on the dashboard, and a warning sound activated. There were no vehicles, obstacles, or hazards in front of me either time. The braking was forceful and abrupt, causing rapid deceleration at highway speed. Both events occurred under normal, clear driving conditions. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) Safety risk: My safety and the safety of other drivers were put at significant risk. Sudden unintended braking at highway speeds can easily lead to a rear-end collision since the deceleration was not caused by driver input and gave no warning. Reproduction / dealer confirmation: The dealer has not been able to reproduce the issue, and no diagnostic trouble codes have been found so far. The vehicle is currently at the dealership for inspection. Inspection: The vehicle has been inspected by the Hyundai dealership, but the cause has not been identified. No manufacturer field engineer, police, or insurance inspection has taken place yet. Warning lamps / prior symptoms: During the failures, the red emergency braking indicator and audible warning activated immediately when the brakes engaged. There were no warning lights or symptoms prior to either event. Assessment: Cause UNKNOWN. The problem appears to be an intermittent malfunction of the Automatic Emergency Braking system, forward collision sensors, or related braking components. No diagnostic codes were stored. This is a serious safety issue that occurred twice within one hour and could easily result in a collision.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698506November 10, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunroof on my 2023 Santa Fe exploded.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11696871October 31, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
The vehicle front brake disks are not compatible for this vehicle. The action of braking causes heating of the disks. The disks warp due to the heat. The result is when braking at highway speeds, the entire front end vibrates excessively. This is unsafe in wet or snowy conditions as this greatly decreases the braking efficiency. The first time this was observed the vehicle had 22,000 miles and the dealership machined the rotors. The second time it happened at vehicle mileage of 32,000. Once again the rotors were 'machined' by the dealership. The action of braking at highway speeds and the resulting front end vibrations is a troublesome event. If this occurs a third time, I will try to find and install non-Hyundai disks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11696870October 31, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The vehicle's software was updated on Oct 21, 2025. The software has serious flaw. When driving on slight incline on the passing lane the vehicle will apply the brakes without warning. This has happened 3 times. At times, when vehicles were following me they also had to apply the brakes unexpectedly. Had they not applied their brakes, they would have rear ended me at highway speeds. I also recall that there were no vehicles either in front or to the right ahead of me when it occurred. Also there was a guardrail on the left side of the highway at the time. This did not occur with the previous installed software. Every time this happened, the vehicle was in cruise control and driver assist was ON to keep vehicle in the lane.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11696368October 29, 2025
ENGINE
Was driving at 10 MPH on highway car began to cut out run rough and produce an extremely pungent smell of gasoline.. then stalled.. vehicle serviced and low pressure fuel injector had a leak causing fuel to spill onto the vehicles starter causing it to fail as well.. both were replaced under warranty by dealer. Highly concerned about fuel leaking from injector system onto a hot engine and electrical components and the aerosolized fuel. Police advised not to start vehicle due to fuel leaking and smell.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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