10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,752 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #40

Dec 052024

Santa Fe

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while at a red light, the vehicle stalled. The failure had occurred on several occasions. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #39

Nov 012023

Santa Fe

  • 87,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the turbo was replaced. The contact stated that months later, the vehicle hesitated and jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where a part on the transmission was replaced; however, the failure returned, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and had the transmission replaced. The contact stated that months later, the vehicle began to sputter with an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light returned, and the vehicle was taken to the nearest dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #38

Oct 222023

Santa Fe

  • miles
This has been an ongoing issue since the date of purchase 10/23. I've been taking my vehicle for regular check ups and oil changes. My vehicle appears to be consuming oil. I have to put a quart in every week, but no one can find the issue. The dealership told me there is a recall on these particular vehicles engine.

- New Britain, CT, USA

problem #37

Jan 252025

Santa Fe

  • miles
We have had our vehicle for over 2 years with routine maintenance. On 1/25/26 We were driving home and oil light came on then check engine light. The oil pressure the issue.

- Jonesboro, AR, USA

problem #36

Dec 152024

Santa Fe

  • miles
2019 Santa Fe, this vehicle was serviced by Hyundai three times for a "Knock Sensor" notification. 12/3/2019: ECM manufacturers recall 14,242 miles 7/13/2021: Knock Sensor hardware notification - 38,615 miles 12/15/2024 repaired 1/7/2025: Knock Sensor hardware notification -?" 79,882 miles Panel indicating motor issues, vehicle becomes unable to accelerate above 60 mph. We have documented communications between dealers and Hyundia corporate with case#

- Walton, KY, USA

problem #35

Nov 132024

Santa Fe

  • miles
SUV driving great for 2 years with routine maintenance- engine light pops up, doesn-??t go away, and i take it to a local shop. SUV has low oil pressure of 5 and needs replaced. No sounds or driving issues prior.

- Sandy Lake, PA, USA

problem #34

Oct 142024

Santa Fe

  • miles
Crank shaft seal leak on a 44700 2019. However there is a recall on the crankshaft sensor. Therefore why woul this car need a seal with this yesr an less mileage. Someone needs to look into this. Because the dealer wants $2448 to fix this.

- North Miami, FL, USA

problem #33

Feb 192024

Santa Fe

  • miles
For the past month my car has been stalling in traffic. The car stalls and then turns back on a few seconds later. It also stalls when I am accelerating after stopping for a red light. This situation is very dangerous and it means that I cannot drive my car expecting to be safe at all. It seems like the motor and the transmission are involved which makes the stalling very dangerous as those are major systems.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #32

Feb 182024

Santa Fe

  • miles
My Santa Fe developed difficulty starting beginning the afternoon of February 18. While waiting in stop-and-go traffic to park for a sporting event, the ISG (idle stop-and-go) activated at least 40 times. After at least the 40th time, the Santa Fe did not turn back on. After about 10 minutes, I was able to start it. This happened while I was stuck in very heavy traffic exiting the freeway. After that, it would always take multiple attempts to start the car even though the battery had more than enough power to turn over the starter. After a couple of days of dealing with this, I took the Santa Fe to my local Hyundai dealer. After diagnostics, they were able to reproduce the problem and they determined that the starter had developed an intermittent short which was likely caused by the multiple ISG activations on Sunday, 2/18/2024. While they verbally agreed with me that repeated activation of the ISG was the likely cause of the starter short, they wouldn't put that in the written service statement. At the time of this problem, my Santa Fe was 1,887 miles past the 5-year 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. I had purchased the Santa Fe a few months ago as certified pre-owned with about 58,500 miles on it so, even though being the 2nd owner, I retained the remainder of the bumper-to-bumper warranty as well as the 10 year 100,000 engine/drivetrain/transmission warranty. Oddly enough the starter, which is attached to the engine is categorized as part of the car's electrical system instead of as part of the engine so the starter replacement wasn't covered. I appealed to the dealer for a discount of some kind. They declined. They claimed to have called Hyundai USA which also supposedly said no to covering the cost of the new starter. A quick Google search for this problem revealed other owners of Santa Fes with the ISG have had the same exact issue.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #31

Dec 112023

Santa Fe

  • miles
There is a system in the car that starts and stops engine, supposedly only at lights to save on fuel. Mine has stopped in the middle of a highway on my way up to Tahoe. Luckily I had just left light and only driven enough to reach the speed of about 10 miles per hour so the cars behind me were able to stop and not hit me. I had to completely turn the car off, put in park and restart car to get it to operate. It has stalled out like a stick shift would if not handled properly, but it is an automatic transmission, on numerous times. Sometimes this will cause the vehicle to completely shut down and sometime it will sputter for a few minutes and then slowly pick speed up and stop. The IGS button to turn this feature on and off when you get into the vehicle will sometimes stay off (not supposed to) and sometimes turn back off as it is supposed to each time the vehicle is turned on or off. It doesn't register as a recall, but I have done my research and saw that at one point you guys had done an investigation into this exact problem with my car. It doesn't show up on diagnostic and it doesnt do this every time I drive. So I have no way to show mechanics the isues. But this puts my life and anyone in my cars lives at risk. Not to mention any cars behind me if this happens on the highway again. I dont know what to do :( Can you please help me?

- Citrus Heights, Ca, CA, USA

problem #30

Dec 172023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Oil Pan leaks after an oil change. Oil pan has a hairline crack just below the drain plug after normal tightening of the plug. Excessive oil was found on my driveway. No obvious engine damage, considering the vehicle was only moved from one spot to the other. The dealer stated the oil pan isn't covered under warranty. I simple internet search revealed there was a high number of complaints. It was a "Do It Yourself repair." The cost to fix was to replace the oil pain, new tools and 5 quarts of oil.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #29

Jul 072022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Engine Failure. Engine stalls during deceleration. If it doesn-??t stall while braking, it immediately stalls around 5 mph when I come to a stop sign or red light. Vehicle start/stop button will not work to start the vehicle back up. It is to sit for 10-20 minutes and then it will start. If I don-??t let it sit, it gives me a message on the dash that the vehicle is already on/running even though it is not. I have done regular maintenance and have had it serviced 4 times for the same issues. It has 126,000 on it. The dealership said it was the oxygen sensors and spark plugs. We had those fixed and the problem continued. The dealership is now wanting me to pay $11,000 for a used motor to be installed. Check engine light keeps repeating oxygen sensor malfunction. This has been happening since July of 2022.

- Hartselle, AL, USA

problem #28

May 092023

Santa Fe

  • miles
While driving, the engine stalled out/cut off while the car remained on. I had to push the brakes completely to re-engage the start button. The engine turned off and the check engine light came on, but turned back off once the engine restarted. The car never turned off when the start button was pressed, just the engine.

- Grovetown, GA, USA

problem #27

Feb 252023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Caught on fire while driving

- Norcross, GA, USA

problem #26

Jan 252023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Car just stopped working one day. First oil on spark plugs got them changed then the coil packs now oil is on the air filter. Car drivers really hard and doesn't shift properly. Took dealership and they aren't really helping or even trying to diagnose my car.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #25

Oct 252021

Santa Fe

  • miles
I purchased a pre-owned certified 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe from a Hyundai dealership on 10/13/2020 and the vehicle had 21,770 miles. Then on 10/25/2021 (vehicle mileage was 31,950), I was driving my vehicle on the onramp to i-10 West lanes at Gessner Road. As I was accelerating at 40 mph to enter the freeway, my car engine seized and immediately I lost the ability to accelerate since the engine died. I immediately pulled over and had my car towed to the local Hyundai Dealership, HUB Hyundai Mitsubishi West. The Hyundai Dealership Service Manager, Daniel Castillo (832-739-6353), inspected my vehicle and after an inspection of the engine/underside of the vehicle, Hyundai found no damage or impact on the vehicle or the underside of the vehicle besides a missing drain plug. Their analysis concluded that the full result of the mechanical issue with the engine was a result of the missing drain plug which caused the oil to leak from the engine. Hyundai denied the warranty on the engine citing due to the drain plug issue is a direct result of a third party, Brake Check, that recently changed the oil (See attachment). The Brake Check Store #545 (11564 Westheimer Road, Houston TX 77077) had conducted recent oil changes performed on the vehicle on 12/8/2020 when the vehicle had 24,300 miles and on 5/5/2021 when the vehicle had 27,681 miles. I filed a claim (#3419328-1) with Brake Check for the damages however after 5 months of correspondences I was denied since I could not prove they did anything and the drain plug was missing. I also tried to file a claim with my personal auto insurance carrier, Progressive, however I was denied since the claim did not involve an accident. There was no warning lights that ever appeared on my dash prior to the incident. However, when I did go home that evening, I noticed a fresh large oil stain on my driveway were my car had previously be parked. The oil stain just occurred that day (See attached photo)

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #24

Sep 082022

Santa Fe

  • miles
2019 Hyundai Santa fe first owner after each use of the Auto Stop/ Start feature is guaranteed that in 24-48 hrs the car will stall at stop lights and take anywhere from 15-20 min to restart. The power to the electronics continues but the engine can't restart from the stop. It appears as of the feature takes the power from the alternator, starter and battery and drains it until the car can be restarted. Once it starts it drives well until the system is engaged again. I have chosen to not use the system and the car has not stall however once the use of the Auto/ Start Stop system is engaged for a day or two it will stall the vehicle from a stop mostly at stop lights after so much time on standby mode while using the Auto Start / Stop system. Dealer can not recreate the issue.

- Fort Polk , LA, USA

problem #23

Jun 012022

Santa Fe

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while at a complete stop with the auto engine Start/Stop feature activated, the vehicle would intermittently shut off upon depression of the accelerator pedal with several warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact would be forced to turn off the vehicle and open the driver-??s side door to reset the vehicle; after multiple attempts, the engine would restart and resume normal operation. The contact had taken the vehicle to two separate dealers, Freehold Hyundai (4065 US-9, Freehold, NJ 07728) and Greg May Hyundai (1501 TX-340 Loop, Waco, TX 76712)] on multiple occasions but neither dealer was able to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and provided a case number. The contact was referred back to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Manalapan Township, NJ, USA

problem #22

Aug 192022

Santa Fe

  • miles
On 3 different occasions my vehicle has not restarted at a stop light after the idle stop and go feature turned the car off. I can-??t to a complete stop, the car went into idle mode, then wouldn-??t restart when I hit the accelerator again. I put on my hazard lights so cars could go around me and all the lights on my dash were flashing, brakes would not engage and it took several attempts to restart the car. The car has also not turned on 4 times when I first get in and go to start it. All the dash lights go on then as well and takes several attempts to start the car. I took it to the dealer and they could not find any issues. It is scary to drive as I fear it not starting after coming to a stop and being stuck on a main road.

- Sidney , ME, USA

problem #21

Aug 142022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Was driving and the car started stuttering. When I came to a stop the car would not move, a message flashed across the dash saying something about the auto stop feature was active and I had to put the car in park or neutral in order to drive again. Has happened numerous times almost daily. In order to stop this from happening you have to remember to turn the auto stop feature off.

- Detroit, MI, USA

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