10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,010 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 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe:

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

problem #18

Jun 012022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The engine is continually knocking. It has caused the powertrain system to start to fail. The interior portion of the car with electrical is malfunctioning and causing the car to lag. Many attempts have been taken to get the vehicle fixed to no avail. $1,000 just to take out the engine to diagnose the problem.

- Gastonia, NC, USA

problem #17

Oct 012023

Santa Fe

  • miles
The blue link on all older models is not being supported which cause the screen to become stuck on loading screen. This is a visibility and safety issue because it cause blue link to reload and bright lights to flash as you are driving at night every time it reloads. It is a distraction from the road if you shut it off completely you have no access to radio or sound. The issue it cannot be fixed unless you pay for manual update but you have to it working to actually get the update to run. There are many forums discussing the issue

- Shenandoah , IA, USA

problem #16

Sep 142023

Santa Fe

  • 219,541 miles
I have a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe sport and been having electrical issues at the fuse box

- Florence , SC, USA

problem #15

Aug 282023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Vehicle has been consuming oil between oil changes. Recently the ABS, Down hill assist, and traction control lights came on. We took it to the dealer and were advised it was a wheel speed sensor in the passenger rear, but they wanted over $600 so we did not repair. Two days later all the lights went off and we had no issues. A month later I drove to Florida, checked and filled the oil with a little over one quart. On my way back the RPM shot up to close to 6K, the engine light started flashing, oil and battery light came on, and the car lost all power qnd started shuttering. There was a strong burning smell when we pulled over, that may it hard to breathe. As of writing this we were told it sounds like the engine has seized, but they are 5 months out on looking into it.

- Fultondale, AL, USA

problem #14

Aug 022023

Santa Fe

  • 211,457 miles
On August 2, 2023 I was driving my truck and it completely shut off on me on the highway. I push the start button to turn the engine and it just keep turning like it wanted to start, but it didn't. Called the tow truck to take it to the shop, to then get a call after two days saying that they couldn't find out what was going on, because when they ran the test it didn't come back with any code. The clerk informed me that when he started my truck that next day, it cranked as if nothing was wrong. He drove it around about 15-20 minutes, and it didn't do anything like what it had done the previous day before. I am very concerned because this could have been a bad outcome because I was in the highway on Wednesday. I need someone to further look into this matter.

- Florence, SC, USA

problem #13

Jun 282023

Santa Fe

  • miles
During normal driving operations the car lost all power as our daughter and her 2 children were driving down the street. She called us and notified us that the car would barely run and that she had her hazard lights on and had no safe place to pull over. When she arrived back home from a few miles away the motor was making a very loud knocking and tapping noise. I immediately checked the oil in the car which we have changed on a regular basis and very recently and to our disbelief there wasn't a drop of oil on the dipstick. No indicators or warning lights had come on to tell us the oil was low. We immediately called a local Hyundai dealership, and they explained that thousands of people have experienced consumption of oil with no obvious leaks causing catastrophic engine failure in Hyundais. Upon inspection from the dealership, it was determined that the motor had spun rod bearings due to excessive oil consumption. However, we have since discovered that the 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe is pending a class action lawsuit in California and no recall is current for this year and model. This could have caused serious and devastating fatalities to not only our family but others as well. Hyundai has not yet been willing to work with us for a car we purchased a little over a year ago and are still financing. The warranty did not transfer to a 2nd owner and we were not informed of this. Now the car sits at a dealership and I continue to make payments on a useless vehicle. The manufacturer of Hyundai's engine is the same for many models. However, not all models and years have had recalls yet. This puts thousands of people, like us, at risk for serious injuries, fatalities, and devastating financial loss. The public relies on their vehicles for their family's transportation and their jobs. I did my research and searched for this year, make, and model and found nothing that deterred me from finding this vehicle unsafe or unreliable. Hyundai is not in good faith protecting customers.

- Weatherford, TX, USA

problem #12

Jun 272023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Engine suddenly went into limp mode and jerked steering while on the highway (engine light happened AFTER). We started about 60mph, then vehicle slowed to about 30mph in a few seconds. Almost crashed into a semi-truck trying to get my car under control, then almost caused a pileup collision behind a slow-moving traffic control vehicle. Limped into town. Engine was rattling. Found the engine to be very hot under the hood. Found oil dripping underneath (research says certain Hyundai Santa Fe were recalled for this issue). Oil was low, even though I had it topped off less than a week before. It seems this may be related to large oil use resulting in engine overheat. Mechanic later disclosed to me there was oil buildup underneath and in the engine. Towed into another city to get available mechanic. Found error code P1326. Mechanic took a couple days to determine it was NOT caused by faulty sensor. (attached invoice) Towed to another city where I could have it taken into the lot (there is a long backload of cases at Hyundai). I saw about a dozen of the exact same model as my car in the service lot waiting repair (and many similar models). Told by dealership it would take 2 months to repair and there would be a diagnosis fee. This shouldn't have happened to my car. It was relatively new and low miles for an engine failure. The result was an expensive series of expenses and extremely dangerous series of near-collisions. It has been difficult to contact and navigate Hyundai corporate for help with this. They seem to have a lot of backlogs of these problems related to my model. I get put on hold for long periods. I was assigned case number and case manager who hasn't contacted me yet. I am still without a car as of today.

- Mukilteo, WA, USA

problem #11

Apr 062022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The car was parked for about 4 hours and suddenly catches fire and reports says it was ABS anti brake system and i got my car burnt. Is there any help Hyundai can assist me.

- Massachusetts , MA, USA

problem #10

Aug 272021

Santa Fe

  • miles
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2015 was making sounds when vehicle was off. The ABS warning lights were lit on the dashboard (3 warnings in total) once car was turned on. Drove home hoping the sound would go away but it did not. Once home the sound continued without the vehicle being on. Opened the hood and listened for the location of the sound. It was the ABS module on the left. This part then caught on fire while parked and off (keys were out).

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #9

Jan 012021

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle stalled and the two catalytic converters became inoperable. Additionally, the blue link screen failed to load and link the features. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed two catalytic converters that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 115,000.

- Waleska, GA, USA

problem #8

Nov 042020

Santa Fe

  • miles
The sunroof screen will not close therefor is no protection if the sunroof were to shatter. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer. It is not covered by the warranty. There were no warnings prior to the incident. I have tried to close it regularly and it still won-??t close.

- Rockwall, TX, USA

problem #7

Feb 172021

Santa Fe

  • 73,000 miles
The blind spot detector starting randomly going off very sporadically since we had the car. Then one day it started going off almost every minute for about 7-8 minutes then an error message appeared and it stopped working all together. The car was in motion on the freeway.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #6

Jan 122021

Santa Fe

  • 73,000 miles
My 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe has been recalled due to the anti-lock system (ABS) modules that could leak brake fluid internally and cause an electrica short over time. The piston seals in the ABS modules's hydraulic valve could leak brake fluid into the electronic control unit (euc). An electrical short in the ABS module could increase the risk of an engine compartment fire. The safety recall letter I received 12-24-20 stated to call the nearest Hyundai dealer as soon as possible to schedule an appointment to have this repaired. I called on Jan 12, 2021 to my dealership and was told the parts to fix the recall were not in yet and they could not tell me when they would be available. I find this to be very concerning that I may have a car that anytime could catch on fire and Hyundai cannot fix it.

- Quinton, VA, USA

problem #5

Jul 182020

Santa Fe

  • 66,181 miles
Car was both to dealership on 3/7/2020 -3/12/2020 the headlight went out they replaced the BCM returned to dealership on 3/19/2020 headlight not turning on heated seat went out and rear windshieldwiper not working got babk 3/20/20 bought back aging on 4/22/202 and returned to me on 5/07/2020 for same thing it is back again at dealership for the same thing. I went to start the car up to go to work and the lights did not come on it was raining that day and turned on the rear wiper on that did not turn on then I tried the heated seat turned it on and it went out.

- Chatham, NJ, USA

problem #4

Sep 062019

Santa Fe

  • 79,500 miles
In January my alternator failed. I took the car to a dealership and they replaced the bad part. Two days later that part failed and took it back to the dealership and they swapped the part again free of charge. On Friday Sept 6th my alternator failed again and destroyed the in-line fuse and killed the battery. Once its fixed it will be my 4th alternator in less than 80K miles. All of the times that this part failed it was while on the highway.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #3

Sep 122015

Santa Fe

  • 5,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the liftgate failed and attempted to close on its own intermittently. The contact stated that the failure occurred when the smart liftgate feature was activated and deactivated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,000.

- Madison, AK, USA

problem #2

Nov 242016

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 21,500 miles
Similar to incident 10885095; blind spot detection system failed while driving on an interstate at 70 mph. Upon inspection by dealer, it was found the system needed to be "re-calibrated", but no bsd sensor issues were found.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #1

Jul 132016

Santa Fe

  • miles
Blind spot detector turns off while driving. This has happened 4 times, we purchased this vehicle new 10 months ago.

- Satsuma, AL, USA