Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints
8,019 consumer complaints on file.
- #11453047February 19, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Car went into limp mode. Would not go over 60mph, accelerates slowly, and rpm is low. Does not shift properly and is throwing code P1326.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452825February 18, 2022ENGINE
Driving vehicle on freeway, loud knocking noise started under hood. Warning lights started to flash and engine died and I guided car to shoulder.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452404February 17, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My paint is peeling off in sheets.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452495February 17, 2022ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, an abnormal knocking noise had emitted from the engine. As the contact began to pull over, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to pull over and upon inspection of the vehicle saw that large pieces of the engine had scattered over the highway. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed; it was later determined that the engine rod had punctured the engine block causing the engine failure. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The contact was given an estimate for the repair. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452512February 17, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle caught fire while driving on highway. The vehicle started to decelerate & would not go over 70 MPH. Driver pulled off at the next exit and turned the car off. She waited about 5 minutes and turned the vehicle back on, Vehicle was now normal, but still would not go over 70 MPH. There were no warning light or anything. Operating the vehicle 70 MPH for about 20 mins and then heard a clicking & banging. Vehicle started to losing speed. Driver turned on the flashers and the vehicle went to just under 45 MPH. Driver decided to merge to the upcoming rest stop. Vehicle then stopped just before the exit and driver got out of the vehicle she felt the hood. The hood was not hot, but saw smoke. Driver then grabbed the latch to open the hood & flames burst out from side to side. Driver put the hood down ran to removed her belongings out. A passerby called the police and vehicle was engulfed with flames.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452202February 16, 2022ENGINE
Driving Hyundai Santa Fe 3.3 Limited with two toddlers down in moderate/heavy traffic with speeds 35-50 MPH when started to hear ticking/knocking noise coming from engine. Noise continued to increase with corresponding decrease in drivability (decreased acceleration & vibrations from engine). Had vehicle towed to Hyundai Dealer for inspection. Dealer has advised that engine has premature engine wear as a result of rod knock and damaged rings causing engine failure. Dealership stated a new engine will cost $12k because we are the second owner. Vehicle had no check engine light, no oil pressure or low oil warning lights and had no OBDII error codes. No prior indication of imminent engine failure. Engine was not listed in current recalls. Approximate failure mileage at 93k.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452252February 16, 2022VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while her vehicle was parked in her driveway, the rear windshield shattered without incident. The contact also mentioned that repairmen who happened to be on her property at the time of the failure had witnessed the failure occur without incident. The dealer was notified of the failure and the windshield glass was repaired under car's manufacture warranty. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11452164February 15, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I pulled in my garage and my husband walked in front of my vehicle and said that he could smell something burning but there was no oil leaking and we didn't know where the burning smell was coming from except for it was under the front of my car under the hood somewhere. That was very scary after I heard about this recall for the Hyundai's catching on fire but no mention of my 2013 vehicle
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451890February 14, 2022ENGINE
On Saturday January 29, 2022 while getting off the 91 freeway in Corona, CA ; we heard a knocking noise coming from the engine; the oil light flashed once and went away. we arrived at our destination which was about 3-5 minutes from exit. We noticed the knocking got louder as we pressed the gas. We checked everything , we decided to check the Oil compartment due to the one flash we saw getting off the freeway, noticed the car had no oil. The vehicle NEVER notified us before this day on oil issues. According to our last oil change in September 10, 2021 we still had about 200 miles left for our next oil change. We took the vehicle to a Hyundai dealership, the car has been there since January 31, 2022. They said we need a new engine and they would file a claim with Hyundai, I've submitted my oil changes from Jiffy Lube; I have not received any information since. This is definitely a safety issue to myself, my daughters, other drivers if the engine had exploded /caught on fire due to the malfunctioning of the vehicle. I've always heard if a car ever needs oil, or it has an issue, it'll notify you. This car did not notify me, 0 messages, nothing lit up other than that flash on that day January 29, 2022, but it was obviously way too late. I had 0 oil. and now my engine is messed up. My car only has 78,620 miles on it.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451751February 13, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
THE DRIVERS DOOR IS NOT PROPERLY ALIGNED. WHEN YOU DRIVE IT ON THE ROAD YOU CAN HEAR A HISSING SOUND OF THE AIR PENETRATING IN THE CABIN. THE DOOR APPEARS NOT TO BE CLOSED PROPERLY, THERE IS A GAP. IF YOU LOOK AT THE ALGINMENT OF THE PASSANGERS DOOR, THE DOOR IS PROPERLY ALIGNED WITH THE REST OF THE BODY OF THE SANTA FE, BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE DRIVERS DOOR. I AM PLANNING CONTACTING HYUNDAI DIRECTLY, BECAUSE IF THEY MAINTAIN QUALITY CONTROLS, THIS CAR DID NOT PASSED THAT TEST. DURING 2021I DID NOT DRIVE THE CAR ON THE ROAD, BUT LATELY I TOOK 4 TRIPS TO SC, AND ON THE ROAD THE HIZZING SOUND IS NOTICIBLE.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451645February 12, 2022ENGINE
Unknown
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451662February 12, 2022ENGINE
I was driving on I-64 (eastbound), east of Richmond, VA heading home to Virginia Beach, VA. I noticed a knocking sound, intermittent at first, but becoming more prevalent and much louder. By the time I got home, the engine knocking was horrible. I looked under the car, and saw some oil around the oil pan, but there was still sufficient oil in the engine (halfway between the MIN/MAX marks on the dipstick. At no time, before during, or since was there any warning lamps lit on the dash, nor were there any codes that could be pulled indicating an issue. We had the car towed to Hall Hyundai in Chesapeake, VA (that's where we bought it), and they said the engine was full of metal and needed to be replaced. They did not say exactly what failed in the engine, but my suspicion is one of the pistons had a catastrophic failure. That was on 11 DEC. The engine has since been replaced with a remanufactured engine, but we still do not have our car back. After the initial repair, we noticed a puddle of oil on our garage floor. The car is back at the dealership and they've found 3 separate leaks so far. In reading of similar engine failures with our year range of Hyundai Santa Fe, we were fortunate. Our failure could have led to an immediate engine failure, engine fire, or worse that could have caused a serious accident since I was travelling on the highway. My concern is that Hyundai to date has dismissed this as nothing more than a fluke, and since we're beyond the terms of the warranty, not their problem. That couldn't be further from the truth. This is a BIG problem since the component that failed in our 3.3L V6 is the same component that forced a recall of their 2.4L 4-cyclinder that is common in their Santa Fe Sport model. I guarantee you that they use the same process, materials, etc. in the pistons for both, and this warrants a recall for our model/engine type just like the 2.4L recall.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451667February 12, 2022AIR BAGS
There is a defective passenger presence detecting bladder on front passenger seat. My safety and the safety of my family are put at risk because if this sensor is not working, the car won't be able to detect if has someone on the passenger seat or not, causing a malfunction on the air bag system and the airbag won't be triggered in case of an accident. The problem was confirmed by Hyundai dealership by performed diagnostics according to the Hyundai service procedure. The airbag light show up on the dashboard at first blinking sometimes and finally stays on all the time. This happened in July/2021 and since then I've been trying a solution from Hyundai but the dealership and the manufacturer simply doesn't care about saying that they can do anything about since the car was not long cover by warranty and charging me in U$2.000 to fix it. Which I didn't agree and didn't pay. This causing me a lot stress because my car was rejected by state inspection and until today (Feb/2022) I have a useless car that I can't drive because I don't have the sticker from the state inspection. Besides that I can't feel safe driving and let my wife driving this car with this problem. In fact I heard from a mechanic from another Hyundai dealership that this is a common issue on this Hyundai model.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451685February 12, 2022ENGINE
We were traveling 75mph on I-94 when the car completely stopped- the electrical was still on, but the engine seized. This was on Dec 30,2021. We had it towed to our mechanic- it was found that “the engine seized due to receiving no oil”. The dipstick was the first thing my husband checked on the side of the road. There was oil and there was never any leakage on the garage floor for 3 almost 2.5 years. No service or warning lights ever appeared at any time. We had to spend almost $7K to replace the engine. We’ve had it back 2 weeks and just left it again, dead at the mechanics. Electrical is good, battery is great (had it checked). I now see that we also need to park it outside so that our garage and house don’t catch on fire. I also read this “engine seizing” because of no oil has been reported by others. We’ve never received any recall notices from Hyundai.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451712February 12, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When the cruise control shuts down, the tachometer cuts out and the vehicle seems to go into limp mode. Brightening or dimming the headlights causes an intermittent bright flash to the interior lights. This could be potentially dangerous seeing as you have no acceleration, which could cause very extensive damage to person and property. The intermittent bright flash could be a result of an unregulated power surge, which could cause damage to person and property.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451475February 11, 2022WHEELS
The tires has a big noise like, it sounds like bum bum bum bum bum, and I bought this car brand new, I went To the dealer and they said there is not warranty for tires, that’s not good, because the noise still there.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451299February 10, 2022EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The forward facing lights on my 2014 Santa Fe are so dim, I have to drive with the bright lights on just to be able to see at night. I’ve replaced the bulbs twice and they are still dim. Fog lights work, brights works, it’s just the regular night vision lights. I have resort to go slower than normal speed when driving at night because I can’t see. Thank God for street lights and road lamps. Hyundai try and resolve this issue. Thanks
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451357February 10, 2022ENGINE
The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.*TP
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451436February 10, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
12/26/2021 Driving on I40 E between Santa Rosa and Tucumcari using adaptive cruise control (SCC) at approx 68 m.p.h the brakes were harshly applied which resulted in the vehicle rapidly de-accelerating from approximately 68 m.p.h to approximately 5 m.p.h. (There was a warning displayed on the odometer panel). no vehicle or other obstacle within eyesight to the front, side of rear of our vehicle. Vehicle resumed driving on cruise. No warning prior to the event. Vehicle was taken to the local Hyundai dealership on 12/30/2021 for diagnosis, the mileage was 21066. The technician reported no DTC's found and suggested it might have been caused by the windshield mounted "dash cam", the "dashcam" was not in a position where it could possibly interfere with the vehicle camera, (it has been in the same position since vehicle purchase and remains in the same position today), possibly some critter that ran out in front of us and we did not notice it or maybe a big bug flew into the vehicle. also there was no obstruction to the forward vehicle radar. The vehicle was not road tested. This fault since the first instance has not happened again. this fault has been noted by other owners on various Hyundai owners blogs. This vehicle has FCA + Pedestrian, SCC, LKA.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11451452February 10, 2022VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
When I engaged the Cruise Control it caused the vehicle RPM's to quickly jump from about 3 up to over 5 RPM's and the gear would slip not accelerating but slowed down in traffic.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0