10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,241 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.

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problem #14

Jan 042021

Santa Fe

  • 61,000 miles
The motor stated to act up. It was driving regular then all at once the motor started to make a grining noise then the car slowed down to 20 mpa. I got scared then came home it was smoking too. I put my foot to the floor and nothing happened still going 20 mpa

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #13

Jun 052019

Santa Fe

  • 69,000 miles
Right sector was on recall but not the left. My left has since broken and ABS light is on plus 2 other lights. Car dealership wants $500 plus to fix it. Iff it rains or bad weather I willlnt have ABS.

- Clearwater, FL, USA

problem #12

Nov 092018

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 72,000 miles
I OWN A 2013 SANTA FE AND I HAVE HAD SEVERAL ISSUES WITH IT, THE ENGINE BEING REPLACED DUE TO FAILING WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, IT WAS SERVICED WITH A FEW OTHER ITEMS DEALER FOUND TO BE NEEDED FOR SOME RECALLS. BUT NONE I CAN RECALL FOR SURE WAS REGARDING THE ENGINE ITSELF, WILL NEED TO CHECK SERVICE RECORDS. THEN LATER IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP(INJECTOR) NEED TO VERIFY SPECIFICS, BUT GAS FUMES AND SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE AND THIS WAS REPLACED, THEN LATER AGAIN HAD TO TAKE IN AGAIN FOR REPAIR DUE TO SERVICE ERROR OF TUBING BEING BENT ECT WHEN INSTALLED, NOTICED THE HIGH AMOUNT OF GAS FUMES AND SMOKE FROM THE ENGINE AND INTO THE CABIN. THIS WAS A FEW MONTHS AGO, THEN NOV 9 2018 MY CAR CAUGHT FIRE AND WAS DESTROYED BY FLAMES. I HAD JUST SECONDS TO PULL THE CAR OVER AND PUT IN PARK, GRAB MY 6 YEAR OLD SON AND GET OUT BEFORE FLAMES COVERED THE ENTIRE ENGINE THEN THE ENTIRE CAR. I WAS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND PULLED OVER ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET. I WOULD LIKE TO START AN INVESTIGATION REGARDING THIS MATTER, I FEAR I AND MY SON COULD HAVE DIED DUE TO THIS KNOWN AND NEGLECTED ISSUE THESE SANTA FE'S HAVE BEEN HAVING. I HAVE HAD THE CAR SERVICED AT THE DEALERSHIP SO I WILL BE ABLE TO SUPPLY THE SERVICE REPORTS AND THE CASE NUMBER FOR THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORT OF THE FIRE AND OTHER DOCUMENTS NEEDED. MY CELL [XXX] PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE IF I MISS YOUR CALL AND EMAIL INSTRUCTIONS AND OR INFORMATION NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Georgetown, TX, USA

problem #11

Apr 192018

Santa Fe

  • miles
Tires wore premature and it was determined to be the front left hub bearing at 41696 miles.we had been hearing a thumping noise and it slowly worsened over time. Took it back for another noise in the rear end. Hyundai determined it to be the coupler and axles that had failed. Service person said it could have locked up and caused further damage. Also the upper and lower ac lines went bad and needed to be replaced. Service person said we have been getting three to five a week.

- Tinley Park, IL, USA

problem #10

Dec 012016

Santa Fe

  • 70,000 miles
Continental crosstrack LX sport 235-55-19 tire had a loud bumping noise coming from the right front tire. Also had noise sounding like wheel bearing noise at all speeds up to 70 mph.replaced tire with another brand.all noise went away after replacing tire. Close inspection of tire inside and outside revieled no defects other than a raised area where belt comes together. These tires need futher investigation by experts to determine safety aspects of these tires.vehicle was in motion on all types of roads up to 70 mph. Even at 20 mph the tire was making a bump, bump noise. Tire was not out of balance. Recommend all these tires be recalled due to safety concerns.

- Sumter, SC, USA

problem #9

Oct 232015

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 24,000 miles
Going on side street at 25mph when car suddenly lost control then hit a car tire on the right of the vehicle but then rolled over on its head. Side air bags deployed but not driver air bag. This car has to be unstable to hit another car on the side (see pics) and overturn. Besides, there are already recalls on some Santa Fe sport for cracked axles and bad tires......updated 12/03/15

- Taylorsville, UT, USA

problem #8

Oct 232015

Santa Fe

  • 11,045 miles
I was driving West on U.S. hwy 80 at about 30 mph, after pulling out of a parking lot about 1 block before I lost control of my 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, at an intersection. It made a sharp right turn without my help at all. After hitting another vehicle and then jumping a large curb, I came to stop about 18" from a small tree. I was completely traumatized. The right front wheel had a blow out from the outside side wall of the tire. The mechanic said it looked slashed. The big question is, did the blow out occur at the time my vehicle made the sharp right turn at the intersection, or did it occur when it hit the curb? I don't know, but I feel something happened to cause that sharp right turn in the first place. I had the mechanic check out the right front wheel area (axle, etc). They said they couldn't find anything wrong with the vehicles parts, that wasn't caused by the accident. This makes me more convinced it has to be the tire. This is the second tire that has blown out on the outside wall of the tire since I purchased this vehicle in 2013. The other blow out was from a nail going through the outside wall. I only have 11,045 miles on this vehicle. Tires are a kumho, crugen, P235/55R19, 101H sl BSW oe (information copied from a discount tire receipt when the first blow out was replaced 5-22-15). I am afraid to get back in this vehicle because I don't know what caused complete loss of control. I will trade it in on a different vehicle. I'm afraid of Hyundai's and kumho tires!

- Longview, TX, USA

problem #7

Feb 022015

Santa Fe

  • 35,236 miles
While driving my AWD santa-fe through snow. Snow begins to build up on tires and rims as due all vehicles. While having parked my santa-fe for 30-45 minutes or continually driving through snow and returning to drive said santa-fe you start to feel vibrations and then vehicle starts violently shuttering the faster U go. The snow throws off the wheel balance and makes car shutter violently. The only fix from dealer is park car in warm garage while parking or scrap inner wheels before driving. You would think any cuv/SUV with AWD should not have this problem, really any vehicle should not have this problem. I guess I bought the AWD to stay on clean dry roads. Defeats the purpose of an AWD. Guess it will take someone crashing before looked into. My fix, buy can of never wet and spray rims and tires so no snow or ice sticks to wheels or rims or change rims more money$ but both work. Simple, complain and solution resolved

- Ravenna , OH, USA

problem #6

Sep 102013

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • miles
We received a recall letter for the Santa Fe sports NHTSA campaign number 13V-355. We called our service office (universal Hyundai orlando). They were not very helpful. 1) the part is on back order and they have no idea when it will be available 2) when the part comes in it will take at least 4 hours to replace and we will have to leave the car with hem. 3) we live about 15 miles from the nearest Hyundai office. 4) they refused to offer a loanee car. They said we could rent a car from enterprise. If a car is recalled we would expect the part to be available and also we would not expect to be out of pocket because of the recall.

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #5

Oct 072013

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 18,981 miles
I scheduled an appointment with fitzgerald lakeforest Hyundai in gaithersburg, md on 10/7/2013 for the campaign 112 recall, along with an oil change and tire rotation. When I picked the car up, I was informed that the part for the recall had to be special ordered and they would call when the part came in. A couple of weeks later, I received a call from [xxx] in the service department that the parts were in for the recall and for some switches they replaced in my console under a warranty repair. I took the car in again on 10/17/2013. The dealer talked me into a loaner car (as I was already late for work again for the second time in 2 weeks due to these appointments). They said the loaner car would be faster. The guy inside said I wouldn't have to put gas in the car, but the guy outside that went over the car said that I was responsible for filling the car back up. I ended up spending $8 in gas for the loaner. I received a call around noon on the 17th that my car was ready. I returned the loaner and picked up my car. I went outside and read my paperwork and realized they still did not do the safety recall. No one ever told me that the work wasn't done. I went back inside and all they could say is "sorry." The part is on a "nationwide back order" and they will call me when it comes in. I explained that I would have never brought it back in if they didn't have the part. I was advised for the second time that they did have the part. I still have not heard from the dealer. Hyundai and lakeforest fitzgerald Hyundai better hope that I am not involved in an accident due to this negligence. I've never had such a problem trying to get recall work performed. I've now missed hours from work and had extra fuel expenses for something completely out of my control. I still have not been contacted. I really don't trust lakeforest fitzgerald Hyundai anymore. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

problem #4

Aug 072013

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • miles
I bought 2013 Santa Fe sport 2.0T in September 2012 and after driving about 5K miles noticed that I constantly have to tilt steering wheel right to keep vehicle driving straight. I reported that to dealership, but they could not discover the root cause. They performed wheels alignment, but procedure did not help to fix this issue. If I do not correct steering wheel angle constantly, vehicle drifts left creating very unsafe condition. Driver's attention shall constantly be on correcting steering wheel angle.

- Livonia, MI, USA

problem #3

Oct 032013

Santa Fe

  • 2,100 miles
My wife purchases a new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe 2T in June. She doesn't T drive much on the highway. I just came home from being away for a while. Drove the car on the highway. I thought something was wrong with it. So, I came to this website. Found out this is a problem. Control is horrible. Car drifts from side to side. You have to constantly move steering wheel to keep the car going straight. It's like in the old days when there is play in the steering wheel. Not safe. Car should not drift either way. Sometimes you over compensate to bring the car straight. I have never experienced this with any car in the last 20 yrs I have had.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #2

Jan 022013

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 1,018 miles
Below is the report sent to Hyundai on July 15, 2013 re: Hyundai Santa Fe SUV being probed for sudden power loss -- reported by associated press July 10, 2013. We purchased a Santa Fe sport at the end of November 2012. On January 2, 2013 with only 1018 miles on vehicle, our Santa Fe experienced essentially the same problem as described in the referenced article. A loud noise occurred (as if running over an obstacle), the engine lost all power and died. Upon restart, the vehicle would not move either forward or backward in reverse. After setting awhile, we were able to very slowly drive the car about 500 to 1000 feet to the dealership. Ruddell dealership was unable to repeat the experience. I now do not trust the vehicle and want it thoroughly inspected to determine if it too has a cracked axle as noted in the newspaper article. We have a road trip planned in early August and do not want to drive this car until it is thoroughly inspected. I took the car to ruddell auto on July 10 and showed them the associated press article but they did not offer to do anything about it. Ruddell said they would have to wait until Hyundai issued a campaign or recall but that is not satisfactory or acceptable. The car now has about 7400 miles on it. The dealership from which we bought the car is ruddell auto in port angeles, Washington 98362, usa. Please contact me and inform me what Hyundai intends to do regarding this serious issue. If I do not receive an acceptable reply from Hyundai, then I, too, will report it to NHTSA.

- Port Angeles, WA, USA

problem #1

Feb 282013

Santa Fe

  • 3,000 miles
I was making a right turn on red and my speed was approximately 5 miles an hour. There was a front curb, then a ramp for wheel chair access, and then a second curb which was further out. My right front wheel cleared the first curb, but caught the second curb. My car fell on its left side and slide a few yards. I was not injured, but the car was totaled.

- Conroe, TX, USA