Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints
8,019 consumer complaints on file.
- #11646517March 5, 2025ENGINE
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while at a red light, the vehicle stalled. The failure had occurred on several occasions. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11646243March 4, 2025ENGINE
While driving we notice an engine knock, particular when the car reached 2000 RPM or more. the car suddenly lost power and would not exceed 40 mph. We took the vehicle to a mechanic and were informed that it needed the engine replaced.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11646266March 4, 2025ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the horn had become inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was a common failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645983March 3, 2025ENGINE
I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the vehicle we purchased in October 2022. Initially, the vehicle performed adequately with only the usual repairs. However, in August 2024, we began to hear a rattling noise coming from the engine. Regrettably, the situation has since worsened significantly. At any given moment, the vehicle can stop working entirely while driving, posing a severe safety risk. We have found ourselves having to pull over to the side of the road and attempt to restart it. To avoid being stranded, especially during the winter months, we limited our driving to within a five-mile radius of our home. By January 2025, the engine had completely failed, rendering the vehicle immobile. Upon contacting the Hyundai dealership, we were informed that there are no recalls associated with our vehicle's VIN number. It was at this point that we discovered our vehicle had already undergone an engine replacement before our purchase, a fact that was never disclosed to us. Additionally, we learned about a class action lawsuit against Hyundai for issues with smaller engines. Our vehicle, which is equipped with a V6 engine, is experiencing the exact same problems as those smaller engines. We are now left with an unusable vehicle that we still need and pay for every month. I am bringing this matter to your attention in the hope of receiving guidance or assistance. Thank you for your time and understanding.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11646101March 3, 2025SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while the vehicle was either stationary, parked, or being driven, the seat belt buckle failed to operate as designed. The seat belt warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that during the colder months, the seat belt buckle was more difficult to latch securely. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645783March 2, 2025SUSPENSION
Rear subframe is rotted out prematurely, other vins had this issue recalled but my vin was not included in the recall even though I have all the same issues as the vehicles that were recalled
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645831March 2, 2025UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The horn on this. vehicle has been replaced 4 times in 2.5 years. It has failed and on three occasions I nearly hit a pedestrian and other vehicles. I asked my service representative, John King, of Lia Hyundai in Albany NY if there is a recall on this issue. He said no. I researched this problem and found that this is a widespread problem with Hyundai. I feel strongly that eventually someone will be seriously injured or worse in Hyundai does not recognize this problem.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645773March 1, 2025ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, STEERING
My steering would work while I was driving with my kids in the car, my breaks were barely working, the hood started smoking and something under the hood in the engine caught on fire, there was a horrible smell when I was breaking and the breaks would jolt. The engine and cooling was not turning off even with my key taken out, the fan engine was running nonstop no matter what, smoking etc
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645700March 1, 2025POWER TRAIN
Upon starting the vehicle and placing in drive, it drove like it was stuck in a low gear. A few seconds later the vehicle stopped moving while in drive and would not respond to drive or reverse despite turning off the ignition and restarting. I was stranded in an intersection and the car would not move. It had to be towed to the dealer.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645223February 27, 2025STRUCTURE:BODY
White body paint chipping.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645240February 27, 2025FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
This is a concern about the Driver Assistance Warning Consider Taking a Break 5 bell warning system. While we understand and appreciate the many safety features on new cars, we feel this feature is a safety distraction and hazard. We have turned this feature off in the Driver Assistance Warning section and we have turned off the bell. Despite this, this warning with its 5 loud distinct bells sounds very frequently and often automatically disengages our cruise control while we are driving on the highway. In a recent vacation road trip of over 3,000 miles, the enjoyment of our trip and our new car was greatly compromised. During that time we tried to discern what actions we were doing to cause it to go off. It would go off when looking at the gauges so we would try to look quick and then eyes back on the road. We tried driving without sunglasses (which is a hazard itself), making sure our hands were at the 11 and 2 position, looking straight ahead. Nothing seemed to make a difference, it would go off randomly and often. Careful and safe driving requires a driver to scan the rear view and side mirrors, the gauges, be aware of other drivers proximity to your vehicle and avoid staring only straight ahead. I am aware that there may be consideration of a mandate for all cars with this feature in the future, however, as of the time of purchase of this vehicle, this law did not exist and as such, we should have the right to choose to use this feature or not. We have contacted Hyundai Corporate and visited 3 dealers, none of whom would or could help except to tell us many others have voiced the same complaint. In our opinion this system as it currently operates is more of a hazard than a safety feature. We are seeking a software update or whatever means necessary to turn this feature off completely even when using cruise control.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645352February 27, 2025ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the same diagnostic information was provided. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,322. The VIN was not available.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11644956February 26, 2025ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12V battery discharges and SUV has to be junp started. Hyundai removed the battery reset button that existed until 2023 model year. Manufacturer should do recall to change the 12V battery charging characteristics for 2024/2025 model years.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11645106February 26, 2025FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
The Hyundai Bluelink system in my car, which interfaces with interfaces with almost all other computer-controlled systems on the car and through which software updates can be received and installed fails to work on an intermittent basis and the onboard system gives no warning when the Bluelink system has an outage or other malfunction. Large numbers of Hyundai vehicles suffered Bluelink outages beginning in early February 2025 so that system such as Collision-avoidance, emergency braking functions, and "SOS" crash notifications and owner assistance required functions cannot be relied upon. Some owners were notified by an email that their vehicles "may" have a problem and/or "might" need to have a Technical Service Bullitin done by a dealership. No distribution by model, year, or VIN and no mention of the problem as an "outstanding recall or campaign" on the MyHyundai website so that owners might be able to find out about this problem. I have tried to get answers on what the problem was, asked why the first repair campaign done on my car failed to work, why the system suddenly conncected on its own (no notice, no owner intervention to connect), and why did the system then fail again less than 40 days later. Hyundai corporate (case number [XXX]) and Hyundai Bluelink (case number [XXX]) have make promises, broken promises and fail to even provide answers and spend most of their time blaming each other. 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
- #11644603February 24, 2025FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The accelerator stuck and the vehicle crashed. The vehicle is totaled. It happened [XXX]. No one has yet inspected the vehicle. I notified Hyundai about 5 days ago. The phone number of the towing company is 516 433 1011. The following link is a YouTube video of the accident: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 2
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11643886February 20, 2025UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The contact owned a 2020 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that after the vehicle was unoccupied and parked in the residential carport, she was in bed for the night and four bystanders stopped outside the contact's residence. One bystander knocked on the contact's door, the second bystander ran to the back of the house to search for a rear entrance to enter the home and the third bystander grabbed the water hose and attempted to extinguish the fire but was unsuccessful. The contact mentioned the parts of the vehicle exploded. The fourth bystander called 911 and the contact evacuated from the home. The contact did not sustain injuries. The contact mentioned the bystanders did not sustain injuries either. No medical attention was sought. No police report was filed. The fire departments arrived on the scene, and the firefighters extinguished the fire. The fire consumed the vehicle in the carport and the fire spread to the house causing damage. Fire department reports were filed but no report number was available. The vehicle currently remained on the scene. The insurance company deemed the vehicle and her home totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and an inspector from Progressive Insurance in addition to an inspector from American Modern Home Insurance out to the contact's residence after careful review they could not discover a product defect responsible for the vehicle incident. The failure mileage was 61,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11643753February 19, 2025POWER TRAIN, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Two issues with powertrain/transmission: 1- The powertrain/transmission fails intermittently- vehicle RPM goes sky high but vehicle receives no power, seems to fail/lose power. Has happened in very dangerous road conditions where unexpectedly was struggling to get the motor to engage/get power to the vehicle. Check engine and check hybrid system lights accompanies the problem. 2- The car should be driveable in electric only mode without use of gasoline. The powertrain/transmission seems to struggle to shift between electric and gas motors. HYUNDAI cannot seem to correctly diagnose or fix the issue. Does not seem they have proper diagnostic process included on the car- despite finding error messages stored in computer, they initially said they could not recreate the problem and therefore could not fix. 3 different trips to Hyundai dealership repair center, in total they have had my car for 10 weeks. They have replaced the transaxle and sent the car home, but that did not cure the issue. They now have my car again. It just does not seem they know how to identify or fix the issue. From online forums, I have learned MANY owners are experiencing the same problem and the same challenge to diagnose.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11643612February 19, 2025ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12v connector for phone charger melted my phone cord. Reported to Centennial Hyundai Las Vegas and High Desert Hyundai Kingman Az. Both service departments said my vehicle cannot detect the problem because I purchased a substandard plug-in. I have worked as an operator of high voltage electrical systems. I understand in some circumstances that a system cannot detect a fault, however the company is still responsible for the fire it caused. This is unsafe and can cause serious consequences. It must be corrected.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11643381February 18, 2025FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Our car had 2149 miles on it. Engine started to stalled on [XXX] on [XXX] from OKC to Tulsa. We made it to Tulsa. The car was towed to Tulsa Hyundai dealership on 12/25/2024. After diagnostic on 12/26/24, we were told the car had bad gas. The dealership performed the necessary work including replacing 4 fuel injectors in order to fix the problem. It cost $3991.52 and it took a week. We were told since this was not a manufacturer problem that we are responsible for the repair. We paid for the repair. We always get our gas from Costco. So we filed a report with Costco stating that we got bad gas from them. Costco turned it into their adjuster at Gallagher Bassett. He investigated and told us that his findings indicated that Costco did not have bad gas in the month of December according to their quality reports. No other cars filed complaints regarding gas issue. Our claim was denied. The question remained where the bad gas came from. Was it truly a bad gas problem or did the car have fuel injector issues and that bad gas was a cover up. We bought a new car, we purchase gas from a reputable company and we ended up with this problem that we were responsible for through no fault of our own. We are filing a report to see whether there are other cars of this model that had similar issues. 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
- #11643116February 17, 2025STEERING
This model of Santa Fe has a defective steering column. The car rattles at the base of the steering column at the base of the steering wheel in the floor by your feet. When you go over 70 it rattles.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0