Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints

864 consumer complaints on file.

#11755136August 5, 2026
ENGINE
I was driving, and the SUV all of a sudden lost power. I was trying to press harder on the gas pedal to keep up with the traffic, but the SUV was stalling. The SUV would not move, and as I kept trying to press on the gas pedal, a roaring noise like something was trying to turn but the engine kept trying to move the car. It felt like something in the car was trying to move but something kept slipping. I had to turn the car off in the middle of the street and restart it before it would move. Cars were blowing their horns. This is a safety issue and a dangerous Problem. The SUV just did the same thing a few days ago. I am calling the dealer to see what is wrong. I brought this car new 2023. It is under 12,000 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755009August 5, 2026
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle suffers from an intermittent, total engine stalling and propulsion failure. Without warning, the engine completely shuts down while driving and automatically drops the vehicle into "Accessory (ACC) Mode". The vehicle is fully intact, operational when it restarts, and is available for immediate inspection upon request How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? This issue has occurred five total times in live traffic, severely risking the safety of the vehicle's occupants and surrounding drivers. The most recent and dangerous incident occurred on the freeway in heavy, stop-and-go traffic. A sudden, complete loss of power on a high-speed freeway leaves the vehicle entirely vulnerable to rear-end collisions, as it leaves no room or momentum to safely coast to the shoulder. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No. The vehicle has been brought to an authorized Hyundai dealership five separate times specifically to diagnose this exact stalling issue. Because the failure is intermittent, dealership service technicians have been unable to replicate the problem during their test drives or resolve the root cause. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle has been inspected five separate times by authorized Hyundai dealership technicians during the service appointments mentioned above. No police, insurance, or independent manufacturer representatives have inspected the vehicle yet, as the stalling has not yet resulted in a physical crash. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?There are absolutely no dashboard warning lights, check engine indicators, error messages, or mechanical symptoms prior to the failures. The engine shuts down instant
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754698August 4, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The horn stopped working.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754586August 3, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Over the past month, on two occasions my vehicle has emitted gasoline fumes filling my garage, and today my interior cabin smelled like gasoline. Additionally, after warming up, my vehicle experiences acceleration drop/stuttering when accelerating after idling. This happens every day. I took the car to two dealerships (San Tan Hyundai and Chapman Hyundai Scottsdale) and they weren’t able to diagnose the issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754399August 3, 2026
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, SEATS
The 2024 Caligraphy trim line, has a unique illumination for all dash controls that control; AC, seat heat, seat AC, fan AC, steering wheel heat, ect. Each of these controls are illuminated with a dull Amber color that is impossible to see in bright sunshine, and difficult in all daylight situations. This force the driver to take their eyes off the road to insure proper calibration of each. I confirmed with the sales manager of my serivice dealer Hyundai Nashua ….he drives the same model there is no illumination adjustment that will make the controls visible in sun. Other trim lines have different illumination of the same controls. It would seem this is an easy swap and fix
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754262August 2, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield breaks with no reason. I have had 2 windshields crack with no sign of any damage. First windshield is within 3,000 miles of owning the car. Replaced one has already cracked and has less than 500 miles. This issue is affecting multiple Sante fe drivers
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754125August 1, 2026
SEAT BELTS
After waiting a month (called in june car went in 7/28/26)for an appointment with my dealer for 2 recalls and a broken rear seatbelt the dealership has deemed my vehicle unsafe to drive and has impounded my vehicle for almost a week. They have to replace not only 1 rear seatbelts but ALL rear seatbelts. The original recall is for the front seatbelt.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11753774July 30, 2026
TIRES
235/60R18 103H While driving the 1year old car, the tire pressure reading in the vehicle began to go down, upon exiting the vehicle it was determined that two holes blew through in the side wall of the tire. Thankfully, this was not as dangerous of a situation as it could’ve been as the car had just come off the highway and was traveling at a lower speed a residential neighborhood. The tire is not available, it was disposed at the place it was replaced at. There were no major tire stores open as it was a Sunday so it replacement tire had to be purchased from a local tire vendor.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752511July 23, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
sunroof shattered completely without any force of impact. The glass appears to have imploded.
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
#11752272July 22, 2026
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
With my 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL, at Cold start the coolant gage on the digital cluster always shows 2-3 bars on the gauge and once the vehicle is put into drive (at least 30-45 seconds start up), the coolant gauze immediately increases in temperature reading without full drive (15 feet after gear placed in Drive). This may be improperly reading the coolant temperature and the OEM thermostat may be defective from manufacturer build. This can cause improper cooling and increase engine failure due to overheating.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752271July 22, 2026
POWER TRAIN
I purchased a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL with 16,087 miles that has a the 8-speed Wet Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) stutters to catch gear properly while accelerating from low speeds and back to high, example driving onto a highway ramp and matching speeds with ongoing traffic). Unfortunately, there have been multiple fears and risk of safety where accidents almost occured due to the transmission not catching the engines rotational speed to exact, causing slow to no acceleration. This is very dangerous and unsafe to not be considered under investigation. This unresolved issue will deteriorate the clutch and transmission itself over time. HELP!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11751769July 21, 2026
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
When i select (R) reverse my camera does not come on. It started as just a flashing screen, but does not come on. It has come on momentarily while I am (D)driving. it has flashed a green screen before.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11751090July 17, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
I am submitting a second and more urgent safety complaint regarding the Driver Monitoring and Driver Assistance systems in my vehicle. I previously reported this same core defect: the system falsely fails to recognize my face, sounds repeated warnings, and disables driving assistance while the vehicle is moving. Despite that prior complaint, the defect remains, and the seriousness of the danger has clearly not been recognized or addressed. This defect has now placed my life in immediate danger. While I was driving, the system falsely determined that it could not properly see my face. It sounded repeated warnings and then abruptly disabled driving assistance. That sudden withdrawal of assistance created a near-crash situation. I was attentive and was not experiencing a medical emergency. The danger was created by the system’s false detection and defective response. A safety system should reduce danger. This system detected a supposed problem and made the situation more dangerous by removing the assistance that was helping keep the vehicle under control. Had this occurred beside a concrete barrier, near stopped traffic, in a construction zone, on a curve, or next to a large truck, the result could have been a fatal collision. I could have been killed because of this system defect. When a driver cannot be verified, the vehicle should maintain lane control, reduce speed, activate hazard warnings, and perform a controlled safe stop. It should never abruptly withdraw assistance and create a more dangerous condition. I request that NHTSA investigate why a previously reported life-threatening defect remains unresolved and require Hyundai to correct this system logic before someone is seriously injured or killed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750737July 16, 2026
TIRES
First tire blowout- 6/3/26- on Ohio turnpike tire just blew. No nails / no pothole/ no reason back passengers side Second tire blowout - 7/4/26 on laurel street Pittston ( paved road, hit small bump in road. Nothing unusual) tire just blew out. Front drivers side). No nails no reason) Third tire issue -7 /16/26 large bubble noticed on back drivers side . Going to try to drive it to get ANOTHER new tire. After investing this on the internet, this is a know problem with the pitelli scorpion tire on the calligraphy model. We were never notified . Recommendation in line is to Replace all 4 tires! We just patio 1300.00 for the other 2 new ones which are apparently not safe. We no have to get a tire We were lucky that the 2 blowouts did not cause us to get in an accident or cause injury to someone. It’s only a matter of time and hundai will have a major suit in their hands I am going to file a complaint with Hyundai and the attorney general and anyone else I can think of. People need to be warned and they need to pay for new tires tie me plus the ones I already replaced Ethan now need to get rid of. If you Google you will see this had been a known problem previously reported to Hyundai
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
#11750041July 13, 2026
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I was merging onto the highway and the acceleration stopped working and the vehicle would not go more than 25 mph. Had to restart car in shoulder, isue seemed to self correct but then it happened 10 minutes later stranding me in between the highway and exit ramp. This was a huge safety issue and myself and others lives were at risk. I am bringing the vehicle in for inspection but this seems to be a recurring hyundai issue. There were no warnings that came on. The auto mode on the dash went from green to an amber color. When i restarted the vehicle nothing changed. After the second time it occurred a check engine light came on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749868July 12, 2026
POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
COMPONENT/SYSTEM: The powertrain launch control system — the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) and 8-speed wet dual-clutch transmission paired with the 2.5T engine — fails to deliver engine power in response to full accelerator input from a stop. The engine does not rev and the vehicle does not move for approximately 1–2 seconds despite the accelerator pedal being fully depressed, then power engages abruptly and violently. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. SAFETY RISK: The failure occurs when launching from a stop into intersections and cross-traffic. In the most recent incident, I was turning left across the roadway from a stop with an oncoming vehicle approaching. I applied full accelerator and the vehicle did not respond at all for approximately 2 seconds — no engine response, no movement — leaving me stationary in the oncoming vehicle’s path. Power then engaged violently and without warning, causing the vehicle to lurch across the road. I was nearly struck. Similar events have occurred multiple times throughout my ownership; this was the closest to a collision. DEALER CONFIRMATION: Not yet inspected by a dealer. A dealer service appointment is being scheduled. OTHER INSPECTIONS: The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. WARNING LAMPS/PRIOR SYMPTOMS: No warning lamps or messages have appeared before, during, or after any of the events. The failure is intermittent and occurs without warning. The condition has been present since I purchased the vehicle in October 2022 and has occurred regularly throughout ownership — numerous occurrences over more than three years. No warning lamps have ever accompanied it. ADDITIONAL: Condition persists with Idle Stop & Go disabled, ruling out engine-restart delay. Same 8-speed wet DCT was subject to Recall 236 (NHTSA 22V-746) on 2021–2022 models for similar throttle non-response; 2023 excluded despite identical hardware.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749658July 10, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, SUSPENSION, SERVICE BRAKES
I left work and my car pulled back I looked at my dash I just saw all the lights on indicators telling me I may stop or not I was so scared I live 45 mins from my job and this isn’t the first incident after the second day I bought this brand new car my low oil light came on and the dip stick was dry on a brand new car the following day and from that point on my car is like a magnet and pulls to the right lane to another car this is causing me PTSD I BEGGED my husband to drive me to work in my 48 years I’ve never been afraid of a car when I let the dealership know they don’t care it’s a stupid woman well I’ve owned 2 brand new Palisades and they were amazing vehicles this one is just not working right
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749471July 10, 2026
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving on the on ramp to [XXX] the car completely stopped and all systems shut off. There were two dash lights that flashed quickly with one being the check engine light but I did not see the other long enough to identify it. The dealership could not reproduce the issue but has the car now and is doing a more thorough evaluation. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine stopped. Yes it is available How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Extremely dangerous as it came to a stop in the middle of the road. It was late at night so at that moment no one was behind me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no, the warning lights flashed on as the car died but disappeared once off. 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

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