Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints

8,019 consumer complaints on file.

#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
#11709080January 6, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Sitting at stoplight and attempted to go. Car wouldn’t go above 10mph even with pedal all the way down. Drove for a bit trying to figure out what was wrong. Then flashing red lights and beeping telling me to pull over safely. Pulled over and turned the car off. Restarted and car said charge battery. Apparently this is called “limp mode” and happens when there is something seriously wrong with the car in order to prevent further damage. Very dangerous to not be able to go about 10mph on the highway. Took to dealership. Vehicle isn’t throwing any codes and blue link shows nothing of the incident. Dealership supposedly checked battery and connections. Nothing done
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709203January 6, 2026
ENGINE
Driving on interstate when the car all of a sudden started shaking and the check engine light came on. Had it towed to repair place who said they could not touch it and had to go to Hyundai. Towed it there. Just advised today of the issue and that Hyundai wouldn't cover it. Car has just over 100k miles on it. The engine should not fail this soon. Cylinder 2 no compression was the reported issue. Without a car for several weeks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709148January 6, 2026
ENGINE
Car misfiring symptoms like rough or shaky idle, hesitation and loss of power during acceleration, stumbling, unusual popping/backfiring noises, poor fuel economy, and a lit Check Engine Light. Felt vibrations / heard sputtering sounds, as if the engine skipped a beat, often becoming more noticeable under load or when accelerating. Sometimes, the issue goes away after restarting the engine.
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
#11708797January 5, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Supplemental Update – Ongoing Safety Concerns and Extended Loss of Use Since submitting my initial complaint, my leased Hyundai vehicle (VIN [XXX] ) has now been presented for service for the third time for the same unresolved safety-related issues. The vehicle has been held by the dealership for eight (8) consecutive days during this service visit with no resolution and no clear timeline for return. Safety concerns remain unresolved, including: Persistent toxic/chemical odor inside the cabin Random rear hatch opening while vehicle is parked and locked Repeated false “windows open” alerts Electrical/body control system irregularities To date, I have not been provided with documentation confirming that cabin air quality testing, exhaust intrusion testing, or comprehensive electrical diagnostics have been performed. These unresolved conditions present ongoing safety risks and loss of use. 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
#11708867January 5, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While accelerating at a light, the accelerator became unresponsive, only propelling the vehicle a couple miles per hour. I was not able to pull over, as I was in the left lane of a very busy road. After about 15 seconds of lack of acceleration, the accelerator responded enough for me to pull over. I’m glad this incident did not occur on a highway, during a turn, or other hazardous situations. Dash displayed, “Check hybrid system. Pull over safely”. There was no indication or issue with the vehicle prior to this. I haven’t had any issues since I bought it several months ago. I’ve read reports of this same issue happening with this same model. I have a scheduled date for inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708889January 5, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My car was locked and battery had died. I was able to get in car with key from fob. I had to put car charger on battery in order to start car. This car is a year old with 18,531 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708614January 4, 2026
ENGINE
After several oil changes and going from ever 5000 miles to every 3000 miles for oil changes to the need to add additional oil before hitting 3000 for being low on oil. Was told this vehicle just burned oil often and nothing really i was able to do. Check engine light turned on. Car stalled, shook and even turned off after being idle too long. Diagnostic found a leak in a cylinder and no combustion in engine. Out of warranty coverage. No warning lamps came on prior. Was on the freeway when light came on luckily was able to pull over safely. Seen many other cars with similar year, make model and engine had similar issues with oil consumption leading to the need of a full engine replacement. Further reading into issue showed several class actions and recalls to similar situation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708508January 3, 2026
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Excessive oil leaks. When I fix an oil leak another pop up. Im fixing my 4th oil leak. You can smell the oil burning. Engine is making knocking sounds. Hood latch is not working. You have to hold the hood or it will come down.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708520January 3, 2026
ENGINE
Oil drain plug seal leaking, can’t tighten the bolt with the required torque setting to keep it from leaking.
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
#11708307January 2, 2026
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
I have a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe with ~88,000 miles. I noticed on 12/18/2025 that the oil lamp light came on briefly then turned off. So, I decided to take my car in to get serviced on 12/19/2025. I was told that there is an oil consumption issue with the engine and that Hyundai would need to do a combustion cleaning, and worst case scenario a full engine replacement. Hyundai refuses to cover us under warranty because we transferred the car from my Mother-in-Law's name to my wife's name. I want to file this as a complaint to the NHTSA because a car that isn't even 10-years old AND has less than 90,000 miles should not be needing an engine replacement. Hyundai appears to be aware of the issue as my service advisor at the dealership has mentioned that several of their cars with this engine have the exact same issue. To me, this sounds like a defect and should have a recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708328January 2, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
On 1/1/26 while traveling on the highway with no traffic in front of or right of my vehicle the ADAS emergency brakes applied themselves and slowed the vehicle nearly causing my vehicle to be rear ended. Vehicle is available for inspection. Faulty assistance nearly caused a rear end collision along the highway. Not aware of ADAS being tested inspected although multi-point inspection was done 10/2025. No warnings prior to incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708184January 1, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hyundai - DAW - Driver Attention Warning / Forward Attention Warning System This issue warrants immediate consideration for a recall. Despite wearing glasses, sunglasses, or no glasses, the problem persists. I occasionally remove my glasses while driving, and the warning continues to sound. This occurs regardless of the time of day, weather conditions, or whether I am sitting upright or reclining. The warning randomly activates and deactivates, sometimes without any intervention. Occasionally, I simply allow the warning to sound without taking any action, and it remains active for a few seconds or until it triggers a warning that the system will be turned off, at which point it deactivates. I have attempted various troubleshooting methods, such as keeping my eyes open, adjusting my seating position, wearing and removing my glasses, and tilting them to minimize glare. None of these methods have proven effective in preventing the warning from activating or in making it deactivate. This is a persistent problem. Hyundai dealerships initially informed me that the warning might be an annoyance and their response was to simply refrain from using it. However, if a basic feature like cruise control in a 2024 & 2025 model is rendered unusable due to a design flaw (which this certainly is), it constitutes a clear violation of safety standards and should be addressed through a recall. The incessant alerts are highly disruptive and can be quite frustrating. For instance, driving with an arm in the 12 o’clock position triggers a warning, while wearing polarized sunglasses also results in an alert. The presence of a setting to disable the warning is a welcome feature, but the system’s persistent alerts can be overwhelming. The alerts continue even after taking a break. It is distracting and a safety hazard. Drivers should be able to adjust the sensitivity of the feature to turn off this feature. Currently, there is no way to disable or temporarily disable this feature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708117December 31, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I engaged the adaptive cruise control at 50 MPH. This enabled the driver attention system which I had turned off at the start of my drive. The driver attention system is unable to see my eyes through my prescription corrective lenses. This caused the Hyundai to throw multiple 'failure to control vehicle/failure to watch road' warnings over the course of a few seconds; culminating with the system trying to stop the car in heavy traffic.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707899December 30, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am submitting this complaint to formally report ongoing and unresolved vehicle safety defects involving a leased 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe. These defects include persistent toxic or chemical odors inside the passenger cabin, electrical and body control system malfunctions, and unintended vehicle operations that present serious risks to occupant health, vehicle security, and public safety. Despite multiple service visits and repeated requests, Hyundai dealerships have refused or failed to conduct comprehensive diagnostic testing, leaving the vehicle in an unsafe and unreliable condition.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707497December 29, 2025
ENGINE
After 110,000, the engine started using oil and it began to knock. According to the history of these engines, it will lead to engine failure. They have a record of being a lemon engine and there is not a engine of this type that this does not happen. The engine needs to recalled and replaced, They are the Theda II GDI series of 2.0L and 2.4L four-cylinder engines from Hyundai/Kia.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707395December 28, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
THE CARS HORN HAS BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES IN THE LAST 3 YEARS AND IT STOPPED WORKING AGAIN.THE HORN LAST ABOUT 1 YEAR, THIS IS 2022 SANTA FE,
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707370December 28, 2025
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I am reporting a safety hazard with the Driver Monitoring/Driver Assistance system in my 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL (VIN: [XXX] ). The system frequently misinterprets my normal driving behavior as inattentiveness and triggers constant, loud beeping while I am driving. In many cases, it also disables assistance functions mid‑drive, which is dangerous and unexpected. The false alerts appear to be caused by the system misreading my eyes due to their natural shape and size. This issue does not occur with my wife, who has larger eyes, which indicates the system is biased toward certain physiologies and does not reliably detect all drivers. I have tested this repeatedly: if I strain my eyes unnaturally wide, the alerts stop, but this is extremely uncomfortable and only sustainable for a few seconds. The system is effectively pressuring the driver to adopt unsafe, unnatural behavior to avoid constant alarms. Environmental conditions such as sun glare, rain, and darkness make the false alerts even more frequent. The sudden loud beeping is startling and forces me to divert attention from the road. The unexpected loss of assistance features during driving further increases the risk of an accident. This system is not functioning as an assistive feature. Instead, it creates distraction, encourages unsafe compensatory behavior, and fails to accommodate normal variations in driver physiology. I request that NHTSA investigate whether Hyundai’s driver monitoring system meets safety and reliability standards and require corrective action if necessary. 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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