Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints

8,019 consumer complaints on file.

#11638264January 24, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the contact stated that after depressing the brake pedal the cruise control briefly failed to disengage. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The Electronic Power Control (EPC) and power train warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the stop lamp switch. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V113000 (Exterior Lighting); the VIN was included, but the vehicle had already been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 195,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638217January 24, 2025
STEERING
car will drift under acceleration to the left really hard then go straight when let off the accelerator scary feeling and all suspension parts look ok no one can figure it out and is scary
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638130January 23, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
The back passenger door will not open from outside or inside (driver side) which is safety issue that needs to be recalled immediately.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637595January 22, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I bought this vehicle brand new in 2021. It failed its first safety inspection in 2022. I was asked ..did you know your horn is not working? Took it to the dealer and was told this has been a common issue, the relays are freezing and popping in the cold. Have lots in stock because of this issue. The service dept has stated on each replacement parts are in stock because this happens all the time. It has now become an annual replacement for me. I just had my third set of horns in 3 years installed on 1/21/25. So for one this is a vehicle safety requirement to pass inspections in NYS. Two: I dont know my horn isnt working until I go to use it because I need to in a dangerous situation and its dead. There is no fix other than replacing the horns which is a huge inconvenience since closest dealer is 30+ miles away and can be weeks before they can get it in. There also has been no recall on this. My repair invoices are available in required.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637269January 21, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Windows issues multiple times. The first time the driver side front window would occasionally go up then automatically down when I tried to raise the window. Likewise when I tried to open the window it would go up and down. Dealer couldn’t identify a problem since it was occasionally an issue. Then when it finally no longer worked at all it was repaired. Now the driver side window has malfunctioned for the second time with no warning stuck in the closed position. I also had the driver side rear window malfunction. The window just dropped down into the door without warning and without trying to operate it at all. The dealer fixed the first two instances but not the third. I’m guessing it may have been covered under the 10 yr warranty in the past. My fault I guess I should have brought my car to the dealer in 2020 when it happened. (COVID and other reasons)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637444January 21, 2025
AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES
On January 16,2025 I was driving my Hyundai Santa Fe on the freeway with my three children when the automatic brake system suddenly failed, causing me to lose control of the vehicle. As a result, we spun off the road, and the vehicle flipped four times, causing us multiple injuries. Additionally, due to a known recall involving the failure of the airbag deployment system, the airbags did not deploy during the crash. These combined defects caused me and my children to suffer significant injuries, including broken cervical spine. Broken thoracic spine and Broken Sternum. My daughter has a fractured spine and sternum. And both my sons have serious bruising and head trauma. Both the automatic brake system and the airbag system on this vehicle are part of existing recalls issued by Hyundai Motors. These failures directly contributed to the severity of our accident and the injuries we sustained
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
4
Deaths:
0
#11637221January 21, 2025
ENGINE
2017 Santa Fe with 85k miles suddenly has engine failure. Come to find out this is a common problem in these vehicles specifically. Was stranded on the side of the freeway for over four hours. Told me there was practically nothing they could do for it. Never had an issue before and got regular oil changes before the 3k mile mark. Told me the engine threw a rod. Never had a problem like this with any other car, even ones much older (over 7 years over).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637536January 21, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Took vehicle to the dealership on Jan 3, 2025 for the 15k mile oil change. They informed me they completed the multi-point inspection, with no issues discovered. Jan 10, 2025 I attempted to us the horn and discovered it didn't work, so I immediately went back to the dealership and scheduled a service, to troubleshoot the horn. Jan 20, 2025 dealership discovered both horns were defective and replaced both. Very strange for both horns to die so early. 🤔
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637066January 20, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Horn has stopped working 3 times in 2 1/2 years. Replaced twice under warranty. Now out of warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11636536January 17, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
In January, 2024, my vehicle (2023 Hyundai Santa Fe) started shuddering when brakes were applied at high speed, on quick or hard stops, in stop and go traffic, and especially going downhill. I had only been driving the vehicle for about 5 months. I took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, who explained that my front rotors had burn spots. He recommended that I have them resurfaced. I did not want to pay for the problem to be fixed when I believed it was a factory defect and should be covered by warranty. I asked the Mission Hills Hyundai dealership Service Department to investigate and correct the problem, because I felt that my family's safety was jeopardized by faulty brakes. They showed me the burn spots on the front rotors and recommended resurfacing. They said I could wait for the pads to wear down and do the resurfacing at the same time as the pad replacement. Their estimate for resurfacing was higher than the one from my mechanic. I found a Hyundai Technical Service Bulletin, Number 23-BR-004H, which described the exact defects of my vehicle. I returned to the dealership with the TSB in February, 2024. They replaced the two defective front rotors and front disc pads at no charge. The shuddering was no longer evident, and I thought the problem was resolved. However, 10 months later in December, 2024, I once again experienced the shuddering while braking on the freeway while going downhill and when slowing for stops from high speed. Since I had been told that the new rotors and pads were covered by warranty for 5 years or 60,000 miles, I returned to the dealership on 1/16/25 and asked them to evaluate the brakes again. They said that the front rotors again had burn spots. They once again recommended resurfacing at a cost of $249. I reminded them that there was a warranty on the new parts, they claimed that the only warranty was for the original parts that had been replaced. They agreed to resurface no charge. Please investigate and respond to my complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11636486January 17, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
The sunroof glass violently shattered/exploded while driving the vehicle. The manufacturer claims the window meets current standards and is not defective. The curtain or fabric cover was extended covering the glass panel otherwise the driver would have been covered with broken glass.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11636018January 15, 2025
POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When pressing the accelerator from a full stop, the car would either not move at all, idle/roll forward, or unsteadily jerk forward. In addition, the car would brake while driving despite not applying any pressure to the brake pedal. This issue persisted regardless of "drive mode" and no cruise control was in use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11636032January 15, 2025
SEAT BELTS
Front passenger seat belt will no longer click and lock into place. When held in place by hand, the warning lamp turns off and the audible warning alert turns off. It has not yet been checked by any service department.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11636163January 15, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
While driving, the vehicle lost its brakes and rolled to a stop on [XXX] at that point the vehicle compartment began to fill up with black smoke and soot and flames started to come out of vents. My daughter immediately grabbed her dog and exited from the vehicle to a safe spot away from the car. Within 10 seconds the vehicle exploded and erupted into a 20 ft fireball. If my daughter would have hesitated she could have been killed. Hyundai inspected the vehicle and found nothing conclusive except that this problem has been documented in other Incidents. The vehicle was declared to be totaled. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635823January 14, 2025
ENGINE
My engine failed on 11/21/24. I brought it to dealership to confirm the failure on 11/22/2024. I was driving on the highway when the car started to violently shake and then shut off. The dealership sent pictures of the engine and other components to Hyundai to confirm the engine failure. No lights came on prior to the failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635579January 13, 2025
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while her son was driving 60 MPH in the far-left lane with the contact seated in the front passenger's seat, the contact and the driver noticed a burning odor. The driver was able to pull into the median. The driver and the contact exited the vehicle. The Fire Department was contacted and arrived on the scene and confirmed that there was no fire. Additionally, the contact stated that there was no smoke. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being towed to the residence, she noticed that there was oil leaking onto the flatbed of the tow truck, and there were metal shavings in the oil. The contact stated that after the vehicle was towed to the residence, a mobile mechanic inspected underneath the vehicle and noticed that there was a hole in the engine. The contact took photos of the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 142,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635605January 13, 2025
ENGINE
SUV driving great for 2 years with routine maintenance- engine light pops up, doesn’t go away, and i take it to a local shop. SUV has low oil pressure of 5 and needs replaced. No sounds or driving issues prior.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635622January 13, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The backup camera will sometimes have black lines and flash off/on while in reverse. Other times, it will display a solid blue screen and the camera doesn't show an image at all. I took it to the dealer and since they weren't able to replicate the problem, they didn't look at it. I showed them a video I recorded, but that wasn't good enough. It's happening more often and seems to mostly occur after the vehicle has been parked outside.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635737January 13, 2025
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle lost automotive power. No warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had seized. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 131,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635757January 13, 2025
ENGINE
While driving down the highway at 65mph my 2016 Santafe Sport experienced engine failure. We sat on the side of the highway, next to an on ramp with high traffic beside a cement wall. When the tow truck arrived the driver was nearly ran over! There was no way to get the car to a safer location. After being towed to the dealership they said the engine failure would be submitted under warranty due to an issue with the connection rod bearing damage causing the engine to fail. It was denied because I was not the initial owner. A week later I received information about a class action suit against Hyundai for this very problem. As part of the suit they had extended the warranty. The dealership resubmitted my information and it was turned down again, this time for high mileage. Several months later the dealership wanted my car removed from their property, I asked them to submit it again. This time turned down because the KSDS was not updated prior to the engine failure. I now have a like new vehicle that I owe $9,000 on with a known defect that was never corrected because the required KSDS update was listed as a service campaign rather than a recall and so went unnoticed by the dealership I bought it from, or the NY inspection centers during my annual inspection and unknown to myself because when I checked for recalls there were none. Recently I found a Hyundai best practice document that states the KSDS update is no longer a prerequisite. I had my car towed once again to the dealership, where it was again denied for not having the update done prior to engine failure. Hyundai customer service says they can’t help change the denial even though the company is at fault for producing a bad product.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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