10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
10 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,758 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 #14

Jun 052012

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 106,851 miles
I was going to park in my parking spot and the car just accelerated and jumped a granite curb and struck a 4 in pole in the ground. The car kept hitting the pole almost driving up it. The car wouldn't stop even after I pressed on the brake, finally I couldn't stop it until I placed both feet on the brake pedal and pressed as hard as I could. It was frightening, when I called the garage they wanted me to drive it up to the shop, I couldn't I was afraid it would accelerate. I explained what happened to the dealership collision guy and he said he had never hear of such a thing. I told him I had looked on the website and found quite a few reports. They said they would look at the vehicle. Right.

- Jay, ME, USA

problem #13

Mar 212012

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 17,500 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the electronic stability control warning lamp illuminated as the vehicle stalled. The contact mentioned that he was able to restart the vehicle but the failure recurred within driving a very short distance. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance and advised that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 09V122000 (service brakes, hydraulic:switches:brake light). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 17,500. Updated 04/27/12 the consumer stated the vehicle lost power and the ESC light illuminated. The dealer replaced the throttle position sensor and updated the ECM

- Cullman, AL, USA

problem #12

Feb 072012

Santa Fe

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact was driving 50 mph when the accelerator pedal failed to release after being depressed. As a result, the contact was involved in a crash. The contact was injured and a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The contact believed that the all-weather floor mats (weather tech all weather floor mats, part number: W56) were the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 60,000.

- Madison, WY, USA

problem #11

Dec 262011

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 40,090 miles
At approximately 5:45 last night, while changing lanes and accelerating from 35 to 40 mph, my Santa Fe suddenly floored its own accelerator pedal and would not release. Tried to 'fight it' with the brake pedal but nothing would release the accelerator, including pumping it slightly. The way we got the car to stop was by putting on the parking brake, pushing the brake pedal to the floor and trying to downshift the car in drive (because it would not let us put the car into neutral). When it got slow enough (15 mph or so), we cut the engine and the car screeched to a halt, burning rubber smelling surrounding us. Only then could we put the car into 'park'. once we restarted the car it did not do the acceleration again. Our dealer is pretending this is not an issue, though a very quick google search shows that this very much is a known issue that they are ignoring. It is my belief that they are waiting for deaths to happen before acting on this issue and fixing it. This is a major safety issue that needs addressing immediately.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

problem #10

Jul 082011

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 83,000 miles
Throttle position sensor failed, resulting in no response when accelerator was depressed. Car would only idle.

- Worthington, OH, USA

problem #9

Mar 072011

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck as the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed. The contact pumped on the accelerator pedal until it released and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was previously taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing but the dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 45,000. Updated 03/23/11 the consumer stated the dealer replaced the throttle body on 03/16/11. Updated 03/24/11

- Perth Amboy, NJ, USA

problem #8

Feb 272011

Santa Fe

  • 75,000 miles
Sudden unintended acceleration 2007 Santa Fe Hyundai - 2nd time around..this time on a private road car engine revved up, all brake systems failed, could not shift into neutral - mechanism would not move, had to hold on the stirring wheel and ride it out.; saw main thoroughfare coming up swerved into gas station; saw wall had thought to swerve into street; would have toppled vehicle saw small park went across thoroughfare unto park area; understood car was airborne and when it hit the ground went on two wheels on the right hand side and then came down unto the 4; stirred strait into clearing between trees; sampling and dirt stopped vehicle. 1 passenger contests he has slight fracture on skull; the near fatality might have been to a plausible number of children, parents, adults, cars and tractor trailers on main road. This could have been. The after result is the nervousness that rides in one's soul when on the road. Had over 20 witnesses to this event. This is an ongoing epidemic, my case has been ignored and other cases have been ignored isn't it time that this is reviewed before real fatalities become actualization. Thank you.

- Tobyhanna, PA, USA

problem #7

Dec 262010

Santa Fe

  • 23,800 miles
We were traveling North on route 27 near oxford, Ohio in our 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. While passing a slow moving truck, I realized that the car was accelerating on its own and we went from 40 mph to over 90 mph in seconds. (the car's high speed was recorded by our garmin gps). I pressed hard on the brakes and felt the brakes being applied, but the engine was still racing at full throttle. I pressed very hard on the brakes again, but the car only slowed down a little. I pushed the cruise control on and then off hoping the car would stop accelerating. That did not help. I put the transmission in shift mode and tried to downshift so that I could slow down the car, but that only made the engine race even faster. I finally put the car in neutral, turned the ignition key off and applied the brakes to slow the car. We pulled over onto the grass on the side of the road. This all happened in a matter of seconds. We waited on the side of the road for a few minutes and then started the car again and it seemed fine. The engine was idling at a normal rate and there were no engine warning lights. We continued our trip cautiously, maintaining a distance from the cars ahead and most of the time kept a hand on the shift, so that the car could quickly be put in neutral again. I took the car to the Hyundai dealer on Monday. They ran various tests but reported that they could not find anything wrong. I told the service manager that it was unacceptable. We were sure there was a serious defect with the car. He then contacted Hyundai corporate headquarters and they proposed keeping the car for several days so that they could road test the car with diagnostic tools attached. We were concerned allowing them to drive the car and decided to sell it back to the dealer. The dealer could then run whatever tests they needed to try and figure out the problem.

- Pleasantville , NY, USA

problem #6

Jul 192010

Santa Fe

  • 61,900 miles
Accelerating vehicle to merge onto a major highway, car rapidly accelerated and would not slow down or stop despite attempts to brake or slow down. Attempted to tap brake and push off button of cruise control (although this had not been turned on) car required putting into neutral, pulling to side of road and turning engine off. This acceleration issue also happened June, 2009. Company made decision there is nothing wrong with the car at that time. Car will be evaluated on Monday, despite my request to have it seen immediately.

- Wall, NJ, USA

problem #5

Mar 172009

Santa Fe

  • 23,900 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving AT45 mph and attempting to accelerate, the instrument panel failed and the vehicle would independently decelerate. The contact moved from the roadway and shut off the vehicle. When restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The dealer advised that the internal throttle was defective and was replaced at the contacts expense. The failure recurred. The manufacturer stated they had not received any complaints similar to his and would not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 23,900 and the current mileage was 35,900.

- Germantown, MD, USA

problem #4

May 162010

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 52,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while in the reverse position, the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warrant. The vehicle crashed rear end into a loading dock and sustained substantial rear body damage. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted. The failure and current mileages were 52,000. Updated 07/19/10 the consumer stated the brakes failed. Updated 07/21/10

- Camden, NJ, USA

problem #3

May 022010

Santa Fe

  • 5,000 miles
Vehicle hesitates when you step on the gas.

- St Louis, MO, USA

problem #2

May 012009

Santa Fe

  • 29,147 miles
Driving on the garden state pkwy in NJ, the car accelerated to 80mph and would not slow down or stop. Despite both feet on brake, the car would not slow down. The incident lasted for 5-10 minutes and disengaged by itself. Serviced for above by dealer on 5/2/09-remained until 5/6/10 and it was reported there was no mechanical issue-"it must have been the floor mat". customer service was involved, going up to regional rep, who reiterated there was nothing mechanically wrong with the car-it was driver error. They also suggested it may have been an accidental cruise control engagement by driver, but had no explanation for why it did not disengage when brake was applied. They maintained it was driver error, probably the floor mat. The incident seems similar to the recent Toyota problem.

- Wall, NJ, USA

problem #1

Dec 012009

Santa Fe

  • 16,000 miles
2007 Hyundai Santa Fe, we had a problem with the car accelerate when the brakes are applied. We took it to boucher for repair. They said nothing was wrong but they replaced the computer box. The car still has problems in cold weather. This also lead to brake pad failure.

- Mosinee, WI, USA