Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints (2024)

192 consumer complaints on file.

#11720134February 24, 2026
SEAT BELTS
Both driver and front passenger seat belts are nearly impossible to snap it and it is just as hard to get them to release. Sometimes you think it is snapped together and it comes out going down the road. I have taken it to the dealer and they said the parts are on back order and have been for a long time. This is a serious safety issue. It looks to me like they would be on top of something like this. If there is an accident I don't trust the seat belts to protect me and my family. It has not been listed as a recall yet so I do not understand why they would be on back order for so long.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11719267February 19, 2026
POWER TRAIN
On November 18, 2025, at 24,370 miles, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic powertrain failure, triggering a dashboard warning: "Transmission system error! Check transmission oil immediately." The vehicle suffered a loss of reliable motive power. This sudden failure is a severe safety hazard that presents a high risk of stalling or stranding in active traffic, which is especially dangerous as this vehicle is used for a 40-mile round-trip school commute four days a week on local highways. The dealership replaced the transmission, keeping the vehicle out of service for 27 days. However, the exact same critical failure occurred a second time on December 24, 2025, at 24,878 miles. The vehicle was once again completely incapacitated and required a second transmission replacement as well as a new TCU, resulting in an additional 50 days out of service. Two catastrophic transmission failures within a 500-mile span on a brand new vehicle demonstrate a highly dangerous defect that puts the driver, passengers, and other motorists at unreasonable risk of a crash due to sudden loss of power.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11719072February 19, 2026
WHEELS
One of the original OEM tires (Pirelli Scorpion MS KS NCS XL - 245/45R21) had the acoustic dampening foam on the inside of the tire fall apart. Dealership indicated that there was 'no impact damage or modifications found with the tire during inspection; meaning this was likely a manufacturing defect due to adhesion issue. Despite the problem and the fact that this tire has less than 12K miles on it at the time of the incident, the local Hyundai dealership, Hyundai corporate and Pirelli all refused to cover the cost to replace the tire. Hyundai dealer said to file a complaint with Hyundai corporate, Hyundai Corporate said that this was a Pirelli tire warranty issue (no paperwork provided about Pirelli tire warranty at time of purchase) and Pirelli indicated that only the local dealer or an authorized dealer of their tires can submit warranty claims, and that it is contingent upon a Pirelli inspection and prorated based on the remaining tread of the tire. This leaves the consumer in a difficult position having to bear the burden of the tire replacement cost upfront, and little chances of recourse as these 3 parties skirt responsibility of the OEM tire. When the acoustic foam fails, the car shakes violently at high speeds, for us this stats at ~50mph. There is no warning light that appears for this, dealer originally thought this was related to ice build up which did not rectify the problem causing us to have to go to the dealer twice for diagnostics. Online forums seem to point that this acoustic foam adhesion issue is especially common in colder climates. Symptoms of problem first appeared in early January, with full diagnosis confirmed early Feb.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11718119February 15, 2026
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Incident Description: I am reporting a recurring and dangerous safety defect involving the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) on my 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. On multiple occasions, the vehicle has exhibited uncommanded steering input. Even when the Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) system is manually disabled by the driver, the vehicle software overrides this command and re-activates the system without driver input, causing unpredictable steering behavior. System Failures & Error Codes: The vehicle intermittently displays a "Check Forward Attention Warning System" failure. Dealership diagnostics have confirmed the following historical fault codes related to module communication: •C164286, C168886, C16B902, C28B981 Related Safety Recalls: This vehicle is currently subject to Recall 265 (NHTSA 24V561000) for main floor wiring harness chafing and Recall 288 (NHTSA 25V808000) for rearview camera wiring tension. I believe the uncommanded steering and camera failures are direct results of the electrical interference or harness damage described in these active safety recalls. Safety Risk: The uncommanded steering override creates an immediate risk of a crash, especially in high-speed highway conditions where the vehicle may unexpectedly pull against the driver's intent.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716466February 7, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
-I had just exited from the highway and was driving into my town. While doing so, I had both hands on the steering wheel and suddenly the car started beeping and flashing warnings/ alerts indicating that my hands were not on the steering wheel, which they were. Within seconds the car began to deaccelerate and pull me off the road to my right hand side. I initially had no control over the vehicle. Then again- without explanation it began to register hands on the steering wheel and I was able to resume control of the vehicle. I believe the lane assist feature was on at the time. It all happened very quickly. Had I still been on the highway as I was moments before, there was enough traffic that I would have been pulled into another vehicle or caused an accident if people saw me suddenly rapidly deaccelerating/braking in front of them because they would have no warning and a very tiny amount of time to react. Then, in an other instance that followed shortly thereafter, my boyfriend was driving with one of the lane assist on. While driving, the weather changed and it began snowing and freezing rain that was freezing when it hit the windshield. The lane assist began to have trouble seeing the lines on the road since the snow and ice were obscuring them somewhat. It began to beep and gently correct the car- which was not appropriate in this case (we understand that the road conditions were beyond its abilities to safely discern things accurately). My boyfriend who had two hands on the wheel trying to carefully navigate this sudden burst of weather so at not to slide. He tried turning it off, but it wasn't turning off, and couldn't troubleshoot it without taking his hands off the wheel. He instructed me to turn it off through the settings menu in the infotainment system, which seemed to disable it. Prior to these dangerous problems, I had experienced some seemingly sensor- related malfunctions with the tire pressure monitoring system. I'm out of room to write more.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11716017February 5, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
when using lane following the system repeatedly warns you to pay attention, usually when in heavy traffic and after repeated warning shuts of the cruise and lane following system. when using the cruise control system the system will suggest you take a break. both problems appear to be associated with an in cabin camera. i have driven my vehicle almost 25,000 miles and taken two cross country trips. the warning system has almost never warned me of a real problem. 99 percent of the time it is a false reading by the camera and occurs under challenging driving conditions when the last thing you need it to be told to pay attention when you truly are. during this winter i have driven more at night and the vehicle is basically un drivable because of false notifications. this has repeatedly happened in the 14 months i have owned the vehicle - the date below is just for when it happened today. i am more than willing to share details and would welcome a call
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11714843February 1, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I have had the driver’s side wiper blade stop working properly twice since purchase. The first instance involved ice within the vicinity of the wiper arm mount on the driver’s side. There was compacted snow and ice next to the arm motor mount location. When the wiper was activated, the wiper could not extend fully vertical due to the snow and ice in the corner and this caused the wiper arm to become loose. The driver’s wiper arm then failed to properly operate and frequently overlapped the passenger wiper arm/blade which still functioned. The arm was replaced under warranty at a dealership. The second time this happened, I was driving during a snowstorm and the wiper was turned on with minimal snow and ice accumulation from roughly one hour of driving and occasional wiper use. The snow buildup between the driver’s wiper blade and the A pillar prevented the blade from completing a full sweep of the windshield and the driver’s side wiper came loose and failed to function properly. It frequently became entangled with the passenger wiper blade, causing visibility issues while driving. I have an appointment for this. The wiper arm itself has splines that match up with the wiper motors located between the hood and windshield. If an obstruction of snow or ice either holds the wiper blade down or prevents a full range of motion, the wiper motor easily strips these splines from the wiper arm, resulting in wiper arm failure, damage/bending of the arm(s) and cosmetic damage to the plastic A pillar trim (from wiper over extending past A pillar. The design of the vehicle wiper recess location prevents lifting the wiper arms if there is any snow or ice accumulation on the vehicle and the wipers are in the normal down position. Combine this with the lack of any melting capability from the windshield defroster or a dedicated wiper defroster, there is no way to ensure the wipers will function properly when needed during a snow or rain storm and freezing conditions.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712089January 20, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have had my car for less than a year. I do drive it a lot. I have about 23,000 miles on it. I have three rock chip repairs that have already been done. In addition, I have tiny dots all over my windshield where rocks have just imprinted on it. That is very abnormal.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11711853January 19, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The vehicle has gone into limp mode multiple times with no check engine indication displayed, causing significant safety issues in that the sudden loss of power occurred while traveling on the interstate highway. Each time, by loosing power and trying to get to the side of the road to safety was terrifying and very unsafe to us and the cars/trucks around us. The issue began on 11/5/24 and continues up through 11/12/26. Videos of vehicle performance are available upon request since they are unable to be uploaded via this form. The vehicle has been towed to three different Hyundai service departments. No diagnostic codes show up, nor have they been able to duplicate the issue. We have provided videos of the display screen and the performance of the vehicle while in limp mode. We have been told by Hyundai Service that unless a code shows up in the diagnostics, there is nothing they can do for us. At this point, since most of our driving is on the interstate, we are afraid to drive the vehicle for fear of a serious accident occurring when it loses power.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11710932January 14, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
While driving my 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, the vehicle experienced a complete dashboard and system blackout, as if the vehicle shut off and rebooted. This has occurred on two separate occasions. On one occasion, while stopped at a traffic light, the dashboard went completely black and restarted. After the system rebooted, the vehicle would not accelerate or move when the accelerator was pressed. I had to turn the vehicle off, restart it, and wait before it would drive again. The suspected malfunction involves the vehicle’s electrical/infotainment and related vehicle control systems. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. My safety and the safety of others were put at risk because the vehicle lost critical dashboard information and temporarily lost the ability to accelerate while in traffic, creating the risk of being struck by other vehicles. The vehicle was inspected by an authorized Hyundai dealership (World Hyundai of Matteson). On December 23, 2025, I was informed by the dealer that a system/infotainment “glitch” had been identified and that a replacement part would be ordered. However, the part was never replaced. The dealer later stated that because the issue could not be duplicated during test drives (approximately 85 miles driven), the repair was not authorized. The dealer acknowledged the issue could not be reproduced on demand. The manufacturer (Hyundai) has not yet physically inspected the vehicle beyond dealership involvement. No police or insurance inspections occurred, as there was no crash. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure. The failure occurred suddenly with a complete dashboard blackout and system restart. The first occurrence happened prior to December 23, 2025; the second occurred afterward. The issue is intermittent and unresolved. I am concerned that the defect must reoccur while driving in order to be repaired, posing an ongoing safety risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11710787January 13, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The In-Cabin Camera system is having non stop issues. I have had this car since 2024 and have never experienced issues with this system like I have for the past month or so. I don't know if this is because of the latest update that was done on 11-26-25 or not.The system constantly goes off telling me to keep my eyes on the road when I am staring at the car in front of my while I am driving. It dings and displays the message on the dash which is a major distraction while driving. On the 8th of January I decided to count how many times it goes off. On all these drives I was only driving for 20-25 minutes at a time. On the 8th the system went off 26 times, on the 9th it went off 18 times and on the 12th it went off 27 times. That is excessive and very dangerous as if I turn the system off in the car it will disable the safety features on the car because it can’t detect my eyes at that time even though I am staring at the car in front of me. It does it in any type of weather, any time of day, and if I’m wearing my prescription glasses, sunglasses or anything. I took it to the dealer and they couldn’t duplicate the issue so they weren’t able to fix it as per Hyundai they have to duplicate the issue for them to fix it.
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
#11703900December 9, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
Bought in Sept 2026 with 30,000 miles. Would not stop when breaking at low speed but would jerk and accelerate, causing me to drive through red lights and stop signs. How to swerve to avoid collisionHappened about 6 times. Returned to dealer. States could not duplicate. Traded car in
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11701830November 27, 2025
SEAT BELTS
In TWO separate occasions, the middle row seatbelts have unbuckled on THEIR OWN. We have also had issues with the buckles NOT buckling OR unbuckling when prompted. (Like it’s stuck in the buckle to unbuckle or won’t click in) Other issue is the car will randomly tell me my child is unbuckled but they are NOT. Today, the sensor went on and off multiple times telling me buckled, unbuckled, over and over meanwhile my child was buckled. Why is it telling me she’s not buckled if she is….??? And why has the belts unbuckled on their own? (The first time it was my toddler in his car seat who CANNOT reach the buckle)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11701026November 22, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Something is wrong with the front windshield. Since I bought this SUV the last year, I've noticed that the wipers are very noisy and the windshield gets dirty very frequently. The last week, the windshield cracked for no apparent reason. I called the dealer and their response was that it's not covered by the warranty and I have to claim it from my car insurance. They also have no explanation for the wiper problem and the stains that appear on the windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700417November 19, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the Auto START/STOP feature was activated, and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that the failure occurred while parking the vehicle in the driveway. The Auto START/STOP feature was activated before the vehicle crashed into the garage door. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice. The contact stated that the second failure occurred while driving approximately 35 MPH, and the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard and the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700081November 18, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The turn signal is hidden by steering wheel. I always keep lights on auto.when using to turn left My fingers turns the switch from auto lights to off position and always think it's on auto. Two times while driving at night use left turn signal and turns my lights off. Very scary because immediately tried to find side of road Rarely drive at night now
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698881November 12, 2025
TIRES
I bought the car back on September 2, 2024, and on October 3, 2024, we brought to shop but of a bubble we saw. 005PR-41205-00 Scorpion MA KS NCS EL 245/45R2. In April tire blew and end up on a spare tire. While using spare tire for around two weeks waiting on tire to get approved another tire blew which left me strained, so left car in Springfield MA. Next day towed the car to the dealership and after getting approved from the extended warranty company all 4 tires were replaced. After this a complaint under lemon law to buy this car back do to 5 tires were replace having the car 6 months. While in the shop it was indicated Front Driver side and Rear Driver Side has Side Bubble. Right passage front tire is believed to have caused a accident on 09/16/25 to having car deemed totaled. 4 tirers - 005PR-41205-00 Scorpion MA KS NCS EL 245/45R2.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698691November 11, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
the Driver Attention Warning and Forward Attention Warning features are triggered way too often and even when I have my eyes on the road ahead of me. even if I try to disable it. It's very annoying!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698379November 8, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE:BODY
I was riding on a suburban street and ran over a branch I did not see due to rain and darkness. I went back and looked at the incident and the branch did not seem like it was that big but I quickly lost power and my car stalled and I could not get it restarted. I later found out that that branch took out my hybrid battery connection under the car which rendered the car useless. It is a 5000 fix. I don't know why such an important part is exposed under the undercarriage of an AWD SUV. I was traveling at 27 MPH. If I had been on a highway it would have been very dangerous to have stalled out so fast. Once it was stalled the battery drained very fast from me running my hazards so that the tow truck driver had to jump it to get it to go from neutral to park and my parking brake is electric so I couldn't activate the parking brake either. I would also like to say that the headlights on this car are severely underpowered.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Hyundai Santa Fe