2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,286 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #7

Nov 122022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Paint is peeling/delaminating off the car in chunks - from the roof and the hood. Paint peeled off of the hood in a large chunk while I was driving, and got stuck on the windshield & caught up on the wipers while in use. This damaged the wipers and created a dangerous situation, as it blocked my vision while driving. The paint peels off and flies off the car in chunks and can land on another car windshield as well and block their view. I brought the car to the dealer years ago when the paint first starting peeling, and was told it was just past the warranty and there was nothing they could do. I read online that there was a class action suit on this exact issue and it has been a problem for many, many years and Hyundai continues to manufacture this paint despite being aware of the problem. I contacted Hyundai corporate to report this issue, and they said there is nothing they can do. So I have decided to report the issue to warn other drivers, as the last chunk that peeled off became a safety hazard. Note: Car was only used occasionally, has very low mileage, and is garaged for a portion of the year. The paint should not be in this condition - it is defective. I paid extra for this particular pearl white paint when I purchased the car new - it was an upgrade, presented as self-healing paint.

- Boynton Beach, FL, USA

problem #6

Dec 052017

Santa Fe

  • 105,000 miles
Sun roof exploded. No apparent reason. Stationary parked.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #5

Sep 102018

Santa Fe

  • miles
While driving on the highway the driver side visor fell out of the ceiling as if the wires were cut in half in the hole that held the visor in place. I did not have an accident due to the sudden event but I have barely been able to see while driving early in the mornings or late in the evenings when the sun is low in the sky and shining directly through the window.

- Montgomery, AL, USA

problem #4

Feb 032012

Santa Fe

  • 45,000 miles
Our sunroof burst while driving on a clear, sunny day. Our speed was about 40mph, the shade on the inside of the vehicle was closed as was the sunroof. We heard a loud "pop" and when we slid the interior shade open a shower of glass fell into the passenger compartment.

- Eastchester, NY, USA

problem #3

Mar 282017

Santa Fe

  • 96,000 miles
Paint comes off the car in large pieces that, if raining, will stick to windshield of the car and the car behind you, while driving. This blocks the visibility out of the front of the windshield and causes wiper problems as the large pieces get stuck to them. Again this will happen while driving in the rain. The large piece of paint will still come off during normal driving, but the safety concern is while driving in the rain. Pieces as large as 1 inch by 1 inch are not uncommon, with the largest piece currently missing is about 8 inches by 8 inches. Problem started happening over 2 years ago. When the pieces get stuck to the windshield, you have to pull over to remove them from both the windshield and wiper blades. This is also dangerous as we have had to pull over on a major freeway before to remove them from parts of the vehicle, namely the windshield and wipers. This problem again causes problems with visibility out of the front of the windshield of the car and possibly the car(s) behind you while driving in the rain. I don't believe that large pieces (sheets) of paint should be coming off of a car and sticking to a windshield of the affected car and cars around it, while driving in the rain. Truly this is a safety issue.

- Ashland, OR, USA

problem #2

Mar 152017

Santa Fe

  • 115,000 miles
I was driving my car, between 20-25 mph, less than half a mile from my destination and I heard this very loud bang. It scared me, I thought it was a gun shot. I pulled over and something told me to slide my sunroof cover back, that's when I saw that my sunroof had shattered. There was nothing around to hit it, no cars, overpasses rocks, nothing. I got out and looked at the top and all of the glass was bowed upwards. It came from the inside, it exploded. I'd never heard of such. It was about 47 degrees when this happend. Now I'm soon to be out over 600 dollars in repairs for something at no fault of my own.

- Ackerman, MS, USA

problem #1

Jan 132014

Santa Fe

  • 82,000 miles
The windshield wipers failed to work on very cold winter days (all day, multiple days).

- Rochester, NY, USA