Drove the vehicle to an even with no issues. Parked in the event venue garage. Car ran perfectly up to this point. After the event as we where leaving the garage we heard knocking in the engine and had trouble accelerating. We thought we may have gotten a bad batch of gasoline as we filled the car up on our way to the event. We drove the vehicle home with very carefully and had the vehicle towed to the dealer the next Monday. We where told the engine needed to be replaced to he tune of $10,000. As stated before the car ran perfectly on our way to our event and the engine was knocking when we started it back up. The car has 104000 miles and has had very minor issues up to this point. The car is still at the dealer so I do not have any documentation as of yet.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Car engine completely died while on highway without any warnings I am chocked my car has been perfect until now my car barely passed 100,000 and both warranties expired also body pant is chipping off.

- Providence, RI, USA

NHTSA representative, I am writing to inform the NHTSA that other Hyundai's engines outside of Hyundai's 2012 and 2013 engine recall are experiencing the same engine failure due to rod knock, which poses a severe safety risk and that Hyundai is not helpful in any way when reporting this. Our vehicle which failed on us 40 in the smoky mountains is a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe VIN # #[xxx]. on April 10th at 6 pm while traveling on us 40 in the smoky mountains near chandler, North Carolina in our 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe towards our home in downers grove, il., we began to hear a knocking in the engine at any speed greater than 65 mph. Since we were traveling on the highway with no place to safely pull off so we slowed the vehicle to 60mph however the knocking sound became worst and then the car would not go above 55 mph without a terrible loud knocking. This was of course very scary and unsafe. With hazard lights on, we were able to exit us 40 in chandler nc only able to do <30 mph and the vehicle died in entrance of the sunoco gas station in chandler North Carolina. During this whole time no check engine or any emergency light warned us of the engine malfunctioning and the safety risk we had encountered with the engine dying. The Santa Fe was towed to the Hyundai dealership of asheville, nc and dropped off at 11pm where it was found to have bad rod knock and needing a new engine. Hyundai should be held responsible for their engines that put their customers at risk and 2012 Santa Fe engine should be on the current engine recall for engine failure due to rod knock. Several mechanics at various shops have stated this is happening regularly to Hyundai's engines. Please assist us in holding Hyundai responsible and modifying the engine recall to correctly encompass our model (2012 Santa Fe engines) before serious harm comes to someone. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Downers Grove, IL, USA

The vehicle was stationary in a private parking lot at a doctor's office. I tried many times to start the vehicle. The engine sounded like it would kick over but did not. I then heard a kind of whirring sound when attempting to start the engine and noticed smoke coming from under the hood. I exited the vehicle and opened the hood. A significant amount of smoke was coming from the lower part of the engine. The smell was kind of electrical in nature. I was concerned that the engine would catch fire so I went into the doctor's office, asked for a bottle of water, then doused the left side of the engine. I left my car in the parking lot and was picked up by my family. I am quite afraid to even attempt to start the car again. I will have to call a tow truck to take the car to a mechanic. There is no reason for the engine to have smoked like that.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

My vehicle suddenly shut off while turning down a city street at slow speed. No safety/warning lights came on. I cranked it back up and it ran fine for a few weeks. It seems to run fine on open highway but at a stop or slower speed it will cut off leaving me in danger of a collision at busy intersections. With no warning again it did the same thing at a red light. I cannot drive my vehicle now because of the safety hazard. I had my truck towed to a garage-then was advised that a Hyundai dealership would need to fix it so I had the expense of two towings. The Hyundai dealership has now informed me that the computer check shows a timing tooth may be off and that with the expense in will incur I am better letting them put an entire new motor in. I am so upset this is happening due it being my only means of transportation.

- New Albany, MS, USA

For the second time oil pressure switch has failed and needs to be replaced car only has 58456 miles on it another 420 bucks

- Lynn, MA, USA

I had just merged onto the interstate I-90 at rush hour, at about 55-60 mph when the steering froze and the car totally stopped. Fortunately I was able to get the car into the breakdown lane and get out of traffic. The car was towed to the dealer where I purchased it & maintained it regularly. Their mechanics checked it out. I was told the problem was the bearing material went first, causing a seized crankshaft. Need a new engine at 105,000 miles !!! dealer cost of new engine was stated at $8000. They also gave me the alternative of buying a used engine for $6000 but only with a 3 yr warranty. At my normal usage, assuming I continue to drive about 17,500 mi/year, it will cost me $8000 plus regular maintenance to get another 52,500 miles out of this car. This is a totally unacceptable issue that the manufacturer is not handling in a pro-active manner. At least Hyundai could extend the warranty for my car to allow this fix to be done at no cost to me. They obviously kept the scope of their recall too narrow because pages and pages of complaints exist on NHTSA website are describing the same problem that I had. This is a dangerous problem that needs to be addressed.

- Slingerlands, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle shut down without warning. The engine was restarted and the vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer in jackson, tn. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated there was no recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Jackson, TN, USA

2012 Hyundai Santa Fe purchased at 89,000 miles from the dealer with clean carfac. Maintained with oil changes regularly, every 2-3K miles. No issues. Went to start the car 90 days after purchasing it and the engine failed, rumbled loudly and shut off. Engine lights came on. Mechanic told me it was tension timing chain & replaced it for $2,000. 2 months later (now) the same thing is happening, only now it's a loud knocking noise and blue indigo smoke coming out of the exhaust. I have not even driven this car for 6 months and I do not drive very often (live and work in the city). This same engine is in the 2013-2014 which have officially been recalled, so we all need to place a lawsuit on Hyundai for the 2012 Santa Fe! my mechanic told me this engine is defective and the manufacturer did not seal the oil pan properly so the oil leaks out constantly while the car is idle. I was told it needs a new engine, and am currently fighting with Hyundai corporate to get them to replace it free of charge! can anyone help!

- Denver, CO, USA

While driving on a busy street, I slowly turned a corner and suddenly lost my power steering and brakes and the engine stalled out. I immediately turned off the engine, sat briefly blocking the heavy traffic, after being slightly shaken in the incident, started it up again and proceeded to park and get lunch. After lunch, the car started up ok, I got on the road and shortly after, I noticed the engine light come on so I immediately limped into a nearby car repair place. They determined that there was very heavy sludge clogging the oil filter, even though we had regular maintenance on the vehicle and never had any engine indicators ever come on before. They cleaned out the sludge in the engine and replaced the filter and pump. Now that I am reading about everyone's engine problems with oil not getting into the engine, and after hearing on tv about Hyundai refusing to recall my particular car, I am very afraid to continue driving it, since recently I have experienced twice a certain sluggishness/dragging with a slight knocking feeling in the steering wheel. I noticed this effect twice after having driven the car at speeds of 60-70 mph for a long period of time. Each instance, I slowed to the side of the road, checked to see if I could see anything obvious, which I didn't, started up again onto the highway. The weird dragging and shimmy continued, so I drove at or under 50 mph until it slowly dissipated and went back to what felt normal. I was very disappointed to find out that there is no recall on my Hyundai santafe 2012, we bought it second-hand from enterprise car sales. I rely heavily on this vehicle to drive 2 1/2 hours each way at highway speeds to care for my elderly mom's needs in baltimore. I don't want to die on the highway before my mom dies in the nursing home!

- Piney Point, MD, USA

While driving the engine would decelerator then cut out. I can be on the highway going speed limits of 70 or on a side street going 30 or under. It even happened when I pulled out of my drive way and drove down my street (4 houses down) and got to my cul-de-sac and all power shut down. Neighbor had to stop to avoid hitting me because I was rolling and could not stop. All power to steering wheel and brakes would be non operational. I have to manually pull the wheel to one side to avoid traffic, causing an accident, or from being hit by head on traffic. The first occurrence was in February of 2017 and the most recent was January 18th on my way home from work. It has happened to us over a dozen times and found blogs that state that Hyundai denies that this is happening.

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

My vehicle is a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe with 131,000 miles. I was driving on the highway traveling about 65 mph and lost power steering, power breaks, and speed control. My car began to slow and would not accelerate and was difficult to steer. Fortunately I had enough power/speed still to get over into the breakdown lane. I was able to use my directionals and hazard lights once on the side of the road. I shut off the car and attempted to start it again several times without success. The check engine light was on, as was the oil light and battery light. There was no discernible warning that would have indicated an impending engine failure. I had already driven 75 miles of my trip and it simply stopped running. In the middle of the highway! the cause of the problem is unknown to me and currently unknown to my mechanic. I had to have my car towed 50 miles to the mechanic. Getting it to a dealer would have been even father.

- Sonoma, CA, USA

Motor started knocking while driving, took to shop and was told motor is no good. Needs to be replaced. Cost 6100.00

- St Paul, MN, USA

On Monday, November 12, 2018 I was driving at 60 mph on interstate 64 in newport news, va. I started hearing a clanging noise from the front of the car. I thought a fender had come loose. The noise persisted and I realized it was coming from the engine compartment. My vehicle, with 140,527 miles also had a burning smell although there was no fire. I pulled over to the side of the road and was towed to williamsburg Hyundai dealership in williamsburg, va. They called me later that day and told me that "something had come loose in the engine and made a hole in the engine block". I was told I needed a replacement engine at a cost of $7,200 when the vehicle is only worth about that on the private market. The dealer did not inform me about the issues with the theta II engines in the 2011-2014 Hyundai sonatas which has the same engine and has been recalled. I called Hyundai customer care and opened a case with them on November 15, 2018. They advised me to have the dealer submit a claim request form concerning the incident and they would determine what to do. NHTSA needs to recall all 2012 Santa Fe's with the theta II engine now before someone is killed from a crash caused by an engine malfunction at high speed. My Hyundai case number is 12401191.

- Williamsburg, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle stalled and smoke came from the engine compartment. The contact also mentioned that the engine made an abnormal noise. The vehicle was taken to southtowne Hyundai (7665 us hwy 85, riverdale, ga 30274, (770) 471-1000) where the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,000. Consumer stated car is undrivable, engine failure or smoke coming out of the tail pipe. It should be recalled.

- East Point, GA, USA

While driving the 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe to Tennessee from atlanta, with my wife and daughter as passengers, I felt a heavy bump on the interstate, and wondered if a tire had gone flat. Shortly after this, I saw heavy smoke in my rearview mirror, letting me know that there was a problem with my car. A person driving in a lane to my left told me the car was on fire, so I pulled over immediately. I got my wife and daughter out of the car, and walked them to a safe distance about 150 feet from the car. I had the car towed to a repair shop. The mechanic told me that a piston (or pistons) had blown through the bottom of the engine, and I would need to replace the entire engine. It was towed back to my house, and will no longer start. This was the final Friday in April 2018. The vehicle was in motion, at a speed near 60 mph, on I-75 North from atlanta, driving straight ahead.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Driving on interstate highway the engine had a failure and a rod went through the engine block and the oil dump started a fire.

- Wichita, KS, USA

Was driving on the highway and heard a rattling/clunking, my RPM's shot up and I couldn't accelerate past 60. The check engine light came on and then shut off briefly. Then all of the lights on my dashboard came on and I pulled over but had no power steering. Once I pulled over the car began to smoke so I turned it off. I then heard a loud pop and saw a thick black smoke coming from the hood and within 30 seconds the front of my car was in flames. It is believed to be an issue with the engine and there is the start of a class action law suit on this engine.

- Fargo, ND, USA

It starting slowing down while driving and a really loud noise and then shut down.. had to have it towed to auto lenders that where I purchase the truck and they said the engine was done... second opinion and the mechanic indicated the same "needs a new engine"

- Mays Landing, NJ, USA

Catastrophic engine failure on the highway at 112K miles. Connecting rod through the block. This same engine has been recalled in sonatas and Kia sorentos of the same year, but for some reason not the Santa Fe. The sonata and sorentos were recalled due to manufacturing processes leaving metal debris in oil passages, which eventually blocks oil from reaching the rod bearings leading to the same failure our Santa Fe experienced. Hyundai needs to expand the recall to all effected models.

- Mooresville, IN, USA