9.6

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
926 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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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #18

Nov 012022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
When accelerating from a complete stop the transmission skips within the first few RPMs. This also happens when coming to a complete stop. It feels like a stall or a stutter. Also does it when put into reverse.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #17

Nov 172022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
1st incident occurred October 19 2022.while driving 45 mph all of sudden vehicle lost engine power, can not accelerate. vehicle would not restart. towed vehicle to hyundai dealership service center.vehicle was repaired on November 2 2022. 2nd incident occurred on November 17 2022. while driving on highway speed limit vehicle engine lost power. vehicle would not restart. towed vehicle back to same dealership service center.

- Scottsdale , AZ, USA

problem #16

Oct 122022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
While driving, warnings were issued to check each of the driver assistance items and lights lit up on dashboard. Pulled over and turned off vehicle. Would not restart. Towed to nearest dealer. Sat for 2 weeks until they could look at it. Told to rent a car in meantime. Diagnosed as faulty TCU. Replaced TCU. Went to pick back up and would not start. Clicking noise heard from engine compartment. Left vehicle and was provided loaner card. Cannot identify cause. Vehicle sits.

- Pottsville, PA, USA

problem #15

Oct 192022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
lost of power while driving at 45 mph. no engine warning.

- Scottsdale , AZ, USA

problem #14

Sep 242022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
I was driving on the highway (55mph) with my two children in the backseat. My vehicle started slowing down quickly even with my foot on the gas. There was no warning, no lights on the dash lit up warning me there was anything wrong with the car. The rpm-??s we-??re going up but it was like there was no power to the car. I got off the highway onto a side road as fast as I could do I wouldn-??t get hit. Then I pulled off to the side of the road. I put it in park and turned it off. I tried to turn it back on and it would start. After a second attempt it turned on but was really rough and felt like it would stall. I used blue link to call for a tow truck. Then I called the dealership to tell them since I-??ve only had the car for 9 months. I tried to turn the car back on and the dash said battery discharging due to electrical and it turned off before I could read the last word. Tonight checking my email blue link sent an email stating a possible condition with the engine control system. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where I bought the car.

- New Windsor, NY, USA

problem #13

Sep 162022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Hyundia Santa Cruz was purchased Aug of 2021 and it has 5,655 miles on it. After making a stop, sometimes the Santa Cruz does not want to accelerate when pressing down on the accelerator pedal. While pushing more on the accelerator pedal to make the vehicle move, after a second or three elapses while still pressing on the accelerator will cause the vehicle to suddenly lurch forward at a rate of speed too fast and I have to immediately slam on the brakes to regain control of the forward motion of the vehicle to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. I took the vehicle to a dealership today (9/16/22). No codes or errors were found by computer check or by a technician driving the vehicle. Dealer comment on the paperwork "Unable to verify concern at this time". Next comment on paperwork, "There is a software update that will remedy this concern". I refused the software update, as I have read numerous comments from online forums of customers having issues after dealership upgraded software. If they are unable to verify the concern, how does the dealership know the software update will remedy the issue that they cannot verify the vehicle has. Dealership paperwork also states, "Shifting issue will continue if software is not updated". It is NOT a shifting issue; it is an uncontrollable/unreliable acceleration issue. This vehicle will be put in storage on 10/18/22 and not taken out of storage until mid-May of 2023. In May of 2023 I will investigate the software update in hopes that Hyundia will have a more stable software update.

- Janesville, WI, USA

problem #12

Jun 212022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
On June 21, 2022 around 10:55AM, while driving in the center lane on I-75, close to Ocala, Florida, warning sounds and a message on the panel indicated, "Warning, stop the vehicle intermediately". Doing 70MPH on heavy traffic with a huge truck to my right and cars doing over 70MPH on the left lane, the engine stopped responding with no acceleration to safely reach the emergency lane. The following seconds were simply very scary when all of a sudden my car was loosing speed quickly exposing me to be hit by cars that I'm sure were not ready for my deceleration. I was simply lucky to quickly coast to the edge of the road. Called Hyundai road assistance and after 5 hours on this black car, under sun and over 94?F a tow truck arrived. After 10 weeks, the car is still waiting for a new transmission at Jenkins Hyundai of Ocala, Florida.

- Dallas, GA, USA

problem #11

Aug 262022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Problem 1 - The vehicle has stalled twice at low speed (less than 5 mph). Both times I had just pulled away from a parking space, coasting (or slowing) before a STOP sign and the vehicle dies. It beeps loudly, says shift to Neutral and restart. It did restart both times. This happened both times while being in SMART mode. I drove it about a month in NORMAL mode between stalls and the issue did not happen. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not. I have had the Santa Cruz less than 2 months. Problem 2 - While accelerating away from a stop, it seems the vehicle revs and does not accelerate, almost like it is not in gear.

- League City, TX, USA

problem #10

Jun 302022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
I have had this vehicle for less than 2 months, and the engine started knocking after about 800 miles. This seems to occur after putting about 100+ miles on the car throughout the day, letting it rest for a few hours between the long driving sessions. The knock occurs on first start up the next day. This is my second Santa Cruz that I have had in 3 months, as the first one did the same thing and they stated the engine has failed. Multiple calls to corporate and dealership visits and the issue is still occurring.

- Bristol, PA, USA

problem #9

Aug 132022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
On 08/13/2022, I was driving from Miami, FL, already 2 hours on the road and like 9:45 PM I was driving with my wife on the Interstate I-95 in the City of Melbourne, state of Florida, and stop at the I-95 North Bound Rest Area to use the rest rooms and change driver seat with her. Then 10 minutes later we resume our travel and after entering the I-95 again, the vehicle suddenly went into some type of limp mode and lose power while merging in the I-95 and I had to do an emergency maneuver to the right shoulder to avoid being hitted by another vehicles. After stoping, I turned off the ignition and back on again, since I was on a place not too safe I continued the driving back home. No Check Engine Light was on whatsoever. The vehicle was driven normal for the next 20-30 minutes, then while driving State Road 192 and while driving 65-70 MPH, the engine stalled again. I had to stop in the middle of the darak and empty road on the right sholuder with my Emergency Lights on. I tried restarting the engine and the limp mode still and I got the Check Engine Light on and steady. I called pushing the button for the Hyundai BlueLink inside the car and nobody answer the emergency number. I verified the BlueLink application on my phone and then noticed a code for the malfuntion. DTC: P030100, DTC System: Powertrain, DTC Sub System: EMS After 2-3 minutes I was able to continue driving home, when I pushed the pedal I felt the condition like loosing cylinder power this time and I pushed hard, the vehicle then suddenly was able to accelerate as normal and I was able to get home. After that I was able to drive the vehicle but I am not sure it is safe or not. I contacted the dealer Holler Hyunday at Winter Park Florida, and they gave me an appointment for 08/23/2022. I need my transportation issue resolved before that date since is my only vehicle needed to work and make wages. As a note this happened driving in Smart Mode. I will contact Hyundai to escalate this case.

- Saint Cloud, FL, USA

problem #8

Jul 302022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
While driving between 30 to 40 MPH the vehicle jerks. It feels like the transmission is not getting in gear and it slows down. Then the engine and transmission kind of engage and it goes back to normal. I have tried to figure out as to when specifically it does it but it does it at different time and situations. I have not driven it again in the highway since when it slows down vehicles behind me have to slow down also. I have had some instances where the vehicle is to closed to me or not paying attention and when it happens I hear those drivers blowing their horns as if I was slowing down on purpose which I wasn't. My opinion is this is a safety issue since the vehicle could be hit from behind, have an accident, injuries or even death. I keep reading the issues with this problem and the complaints keep coming. Thank you

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #7

Jul 222022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
During the 6 months since I've purchased this vehicle, the power has intermittently, stalled upon pulling off from a traffic light, or excellerating onto the freeway, or while turning and pulling up onto a supermarket's parking lot. It revs up loudly, but without any power nor excelleration, without any warning. I'm always afraid that someone will run into my rear end because drivers behind me have no way of knowing that my car has suddenly stopped being able to excellerate. It keeps making the loud noise as if it's no longer in Drive, or the right gear as I'm pressing down on the excellerator peddle. It does this for approximately 10 seconds each time that it has happened. Had car in for service, first maintenance appointment, and for them to find out what's causing the transmission to keep failing, and to correct it, last Thursday, on 7/21/22. I was told that everything checked out okay, and that they drove the car, and couldn't reproduce the transmission problem that I've been having. Well, everything is clearly not okay, whether it's intermittent or not. This is very dangerous, but unfortunately, I can't will this to happen at any specific time, that I'm able to get a service appointment, in order for it be reproduced by the technician. I left the dealership with no resolution to my most important reason for scheduling the service appointment. I left with an oil change, tire rotation, a fluid level top off, but was notified that now, I had a screw in one of my tires. Then, the very next day, I experienced it happen again. I'm very concerned, each time I drive my new car, about the potential for this sudden loss of power. This is extremely unsafe, scary, and anxiety producing. I should be enjoying my new car. I've searched Santa Cruz owners forums and other sites, to see if other owners are experiencing the same, or similar problems with their vehicle. Some say they've reported the concerns to dealership and to the manufacturer, with no response. Please help!

- Winchester, CA, USA

problem #6

Jul 122022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Left my neighborhood and as I pulled away from the stop sign the 1-2 shift felt abrupt, which has never happened before. No other issues were noticed until I got about a mile from home and my Santa Cruz wouldn't accelerate past 25-30 mph. The transmission wouldn't shift and the engine wouldn't rev past 3000 rpm. I pulled over at the closest spot I could find and restarted my vehicle and made it to work with no other issues. No warnings were present on my dash, and the problem seemed to remedy itself. I will keep an eye on it and also cross my fingers that this isn't the beginning of a DCT issue at 4300 miles.

- St Robert, MO, USA

problem #5

Jun 202022

Santa Cruz

  • 10,200 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to shift into gear. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle. The -??Stop Vehicle Immediately-?? message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,200.

- Southgate, KY, USA

problem #4

Jun 262022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Engine stuttering at random like it is going to die out. And a major safety issue four times, so far, with less than 1800 miles on the vehicle, the engine has died mid drive and flashes error on dash that engine is off and to put in neutral and restart. The last 2 dates being 6/12 & 6/26/2022. The first engine shutdown started with less than 500 miles on the vehicle. Very unsafe on the road.

- Baytown , TX, USA

problem #3

May 292022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Getting an error multiple times under 500 miles. It has been coming and going since 200 miles. Transmission system error! Check transmission oil immediately. This is going on with multiple Santa cruzs

- Elgin, TX, USA

problem #2

Nov 012021

Santa Cruz

  • miles
The main concern is loss of power. Have non-turbo version and have no idea what is a cause of the problem. Probably is computer. Had this issue once or twice. Switched to Normal mode from Smart.

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

problem #1

Apr 042022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
E.ngine took longer than normal to start. After starting, I drove 1/4 mile and engine had no power at all. RPM would rev but no power. Pulled over and stopped. Restarted vehicle and everything returned to normal.

- Lemoore, CA, USA