Hyundai Santa Fe Complaints
8,019 consumer complaints on file.
- #11562587December 29, 2023ENGINE
Engine failed at 62k miles without any warnings lights or indication of an problem. The engine knocked and seized, creating incredibly unsafe driving conditions with ZERO indications from the car other than hearing the engine noise. The Hyundai dealer confirmed I need a new engine due to the knock, and it is not covered by any warranty as I am not the original owner and the warranty expired last year and at 60k miles.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11562514December 29, 2023POWER TRAIN
The contact owned a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated received notification of Hyundai Recall Campaign Number: 236, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the 8-speed dual clutch transmissions (DCT) TCU software update was performed. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle shut off temporarily and almost came to a complete stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was stated that he continued driving the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and scheduled an appointment for a diagnostic test; however, the contact decided to trade the vehicle due to safety concerns. The vehicle was traded for another vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,600.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11562226December 28, 2023ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I am not sure what is wrong with my Hyundai Santa Fe 2016 because it is at the dealer at this moment waiting for a diagnostic test. I started the vehicle and heard a revving-up noise. I went to the doctor and on my way back to the house I accelerated and heard a rattling sound and the oil light, the check engine light, and the battery light all came on. The car slowed down and when I tried to accelerate again there was no acceleration power. I drove the car as far as I could go, then it stopped in the middle of a road. Thank God I was in my subdivision. I had to ask a UPS truck driver to push it to the curb. It was towed to the dealer 12/26/2023. That was the earliest appointment because it was the Christmas Holiday weekend. this is my only form of transportation. I am so glad I was not on a main street. UNKNOWN because I am waiting for the diagnostic test results. I am requesting a manufacturer's warranty because I am under 100,000 miles. I did file a claim with my insurance but haven't heard from them as yet.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11562279December 28, 2023ENGINE
Auto was being driven and upon getting to destination knocking/tapping sounds where heard coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights notification or issues prior.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11562389December 28, 2023STRUCTURE:BODY
The paint is peeling off, started a couple of years ago, but its getting worse and worse. I jsut read about this recall that was issued. Needed to know what can be done. The front is peeled, so i added a hood front end bra, and have peeling spots all around. I try to wash only with soft water so it will not peel as much. I added a picture of the front with the bra, but if needed i will send one without. This picture was sent to my insurance. "Hyundai Paint Peeling Recall Explained The Hyundai Paint Peeling Recall was issued in 2016 due to a defect in the exterior paint finish of certain Hyundai models. This defect caused the paint to peel or bubble on the affected vehicles, leaving them with an unsightly appearance. Affected models and years include the Santa Fe Sport (2013-2016), Sonata (2015-2016), Tucson (2011-2016), Elantra GT (2013-2016), and Azera (2012-2016)."
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11562369December 28, 2023UNKNOWN OR OTHER, VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
Sunroof exploded while traveling at highway speeds causing glass to fall into the cabin. No impact from rocks, just exploded out of nowhere. Massive loud explosions sound
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561876December 26, 2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This vehicle has to replace car horn 3 time unsafe to drive this vehicle have opened repair . Unable to get load . have to Walt for service day .this vehicle have only 14000 mile I am disable person.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561775December 25, 2023ENGINE
2017 Santa Fe with 115k miles had its last oil change in June. It still has another 4k before it is due again. The motor started making strange noises. I checked the oil and had to add 4 quarts! Engine started knocking bad. Left me and my family stranded 2 hours from home. I had oil issues previously before my warranty went out. Hyundai is refusing to address the oil consumption issue and replace my motor. Please help! This isn’t right.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561644December 23, 2023VISIBILITY/WIPER
The panoramic sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving under normal conditions. It sounded like a loud gunshot and then shards of the glass fell into the car - luckily the liner caught the majority of the shattered glass. The vehicle is currently at a dealership to fix the damage. I am fortunate that no other cars were around me when the spontaneous shattering happened. The loud noise caused me to slow down considerably, and some glass shards fell backward. If the glass shards had fallen into the vehicle it could have cut me. The dealership has no idea why my sunroof spontaneously combusted, but after doing some research, I saw that Hyundai has had this happen to many other of their vehicles with panoramic sunroofs, and they have gone through a handful of class action lawsuits over the damage. As it is the holidays, I have yet to hear back from my insurance company, but I have started the process of filing a claim online - however, the online form said I would need to call since the damage is on the sunroof which fell under a specialty circumstance. There were no warnings, messages, or other symptoms before the failure. The shattered glass came out of nowhere and without warning.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561432December 22, 2023ENGINE
Oil Pan leaks after an oil change. Oil pan has a hairline crack just below the drain plug after normal tightening of the plug. Excessive oil was found on my driveway. No obvious engine damage, considering the vehicle was only moved from one spot to the other. The dealer stated the oil pan isn't covered under warranty. I simple internet search revealed there was a high number of complaints. It was a "Do It Yourself repair." The cost to fix was to replace the oil pain, new tools and 5 quarts of oil.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561524December 22, 2023ENGINE
On Monday, October 23rd at 5:30 pm my 2014 Santa Fe engine stalled without any warning. I was driving home during rush hour traffic when it slowed down and seized in the middle of five lanes. As cars flew beside me, I quickly realized that there was no where for me to safely get out of my vehicle. Where I was located on the freeway is one of the busiest and most dangerous areas to drive. Unfortunately, I was located on a slight bend of the freeway where oncoming traffic could not see me until the very last minute. This barely left enough time for them to safely move over. Many cars had to quickly swerve to either lane beside me to avoid crashing in to me. This was happening at very rapid speeds. While drivers were swerving to not hit me at the very last minute, there was barely enough time to for them to check for other cars in those lanes. This resulted in many nearly missed hits for other drivers on the road. I was sure a car was going to crash into me, so I dialed 911 to help me. Shortly after a sheriff showed up and pushed my car with his squad car to a crash site off of the freeway. There I sat for a few hours waiting for a tow truck in my car which was not the safest area for a woman to be waiting in her car in the dark all alone. The whole experience was terrifying and should not have happened. My Santa Fe has now been sitting at my local repair shop dead. They said the engine is shot and that I need to replace the engine which will cost $10k+. I purchased the car for $15k three years ago with nothing wrong with it, at least so I thought. After doing some research, it turns out Hyundai engines have had MANY issues and failures. It seems they've had many complaints about this issue. There are recalls and even lawsuits on them, but unfortunately they exclude my car even thought I had the exact same issue as others that were remedied. These cars should all be recalled and taken off of the road immediately. They pose a huge danger to anyone on the road.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561262December 21, 2023ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
My engine failed with regular oil changes at less than 120k miles with NO warning. It was 9 at night and it completely shut down on the highway. The hazards, brake lights, etc were not operable! I was almost hit by traffic three times due to not being able to turn on hazards and brake lights not working. I could not even place the car in neutral. Thankfully, the local police department was finally able to assist me but it was a frightening experience and Hyundai is doing absolutely nothing about it.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561311December 21, 2023AIR BAGS
air bag warning light repeatedly goes on and off. code B1764, B1490, sometime both.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11561036December 20, 2023STRUCTURE:BODY
2019 Hyundai the white paint is peeling. It was not caused by road damage. I asked the dealership and was told I was past the warranty due to my mileage.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11560816December 19, 2023ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
I had lightly let off my gas pedal since I was driving down a slight decline/hill. Upon reaching the bottom of the decline, I pressed the gas pedal to maintain my speed, when I heard a loud noise from my engine; all the lights on the dash lit up; and my car lost all power. These items happened simultaneously and it was very sudden and unexpected as there were no prior warnings, indications, noises, or lights. The steering wheel locked up and I was unable to control the direction of my car. The brakes locked up and were unresponsive despite depressing them with both feet. I had no control of my car and I was completely at the mercy of my car and the road. The electrical system also failed. When my vehicle came to rest, nothing in the car worked. If a child, another vehicle, or animal was stopped in front of me or had pulled out in front of me, my car would have ran right into them. If I was on the hill and this happened, my car could have verved into the ditch and I could have been ejected. My car was towed to a local auto repair shop. The repair shop owner told me that Hyundai/Kai had issued a recall and he felt my engine failed for the same reason. I had my car towed to my Hyundai dealership where it sat for 4 months before they were able to assess it. I bought this car brand new in 2013 and maintained it for 9 years without a prior incident, problem or concern. It was a great vehicle that I was planning on giving to my daughter. My neighbor bought a Santa Fe because I raved about mine all the time. The vehicle is available for inspection, along with the auto shop repair owner.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11560893December 19, 2023ENGINE
Excessive oil consumption, loud knocking.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11560989December 19, 2023POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
This same scenario has happened 3 times since I purchased this vehicle - first event at mileage of 6273, 2nd event @ 7586 miles, and 3rd event @ 12,506 miles. All events were the same - while driving, dash board light start to flash and the vehicle looses all ability to accelerate. For each event, we have been able to coast out of traffic, turn the car off & restart. Once the car is restarted the acceleration works again, but the check engine light remains on along with an error code of P065312 Possible Power Train Issue. We have been very fortunate each time that we were on a road where we were able to coast out of traffic, but if this happened on a busy Interstate or Hwy traveling at high speeds we could have been rear-ended. The vehicle has been to the dealership twice for service and no problems have been found. The vehicle will be returned to the dealership tomorrow for 3rd service attempt.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11560545December 17, 2023SERVICE BRAKES
This hard brake peddle pressure issue started out immediately on an occasional basis but now occurs almost every morning on first start of the day. Press on the brake pedal - it's very hard to deflect - and if you don't overpower it to deflect the pedal enough to activate the brake lights, it won't start. Once you get it started the first time, brake operation will be normal for the rest of the day. A specialty maintenance blog has covered this issue comprehensively. The Hyundai Maintenance website is apparently aware of this potential problem. According to [XXX] , it is likely caused by a malfunctioning brake booster or vacuum leak and recommends taking the vehicle to your dealer for diagnosis and repairs. This is apparently a common problem across multiple Hyundai models since there are several threads on this subject on [XXX] : [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] I took my vehicle to the dealer where I purchased it and left it with them for a couple of days, Said they had thoroughly tested the vacuum line and found no leaks or problems and that the vehicle was performing as designed. Don't know how serious this is, but I have concerns. 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
- #11560485December 16, 2023SERVICE BRAKES
While parking, the brakes failed. Although the brake pedal was correctly and completely depressed the car failed to stop until it hit the building causing damage to structure and injuries occurred to passengers. The brake pedal pulsated but the car did not stop. Prior to this, the brakes would sporadically pulsate while braking. There were vehicle health issues that were reported.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 4
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11560430December 16, 2023VISIBILITY/WIPER, VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
Windshield started to crack after 150 miles on the car from driver side spreading across whole line of sight. No visible or audible rock hit the windshield
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0