9.4

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,257 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz engine problems

engine problem

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2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #28

Apr 132023

Santa Cruz

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving on interstate vehicle suddenly decelerated-?? pressing the gas pedal on rev-??d the rpm-??s up no acceleration-??had to pull over and park..engine light did come on this time ( second time this has happened although the first time power train reengaged after some seconds passed..I did report that incident as well) First time took to dealership was told nothing wrong cannot duplicate-?? this time wife was with and was able to record ok phone what was happening Had it towed to dealership

- Lillian, AL, USA

problem #27

Apr 102023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Loose the power of the vehicle. Can't shift the transmission manually.

- New Milford, CT, USA

problem #26

Apr 072023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
After taking my vehicle to get serviced for the 4th time, the vehicle is is not repaired. I still have the problem two hours later when driving the vehicle on April 7, 2023. My vehicle sometimes get stuck in high idle @1200 RPM when driving. The engine is at operating temperature when it get stuck. It doesn't go away unless I shut off the engine for a few seconds and then start the engine. It stays in high idle @1200 RPM whether it is in park, neutral, reverse, or drive. It stays @1200 RPM whether the A/C is on or off. The engine control module seem to make adjustments to keep the idle @1200 RPM. It is difficult to stop, additional wear on the brakes, and poor fuel economy. On the highway, when I take my foot off the accelerator pedal the engine feels like the pedal is slightly pressed. A stuck accelerator pedal doesn't make adjustments to maintain the 1200 RPM idle in park and drive or whether the A/C is on and off. It is a problem with the engine control module controlling the idle speed. My dealer already did a engine and transmission value reset which didn't fix the problem. Others have filed a complaint that the RPM gets stuck @5000. The rpm getting stuck doesn't trigger a check engine warning light on my vehicle either. One time while I was driving with the idle problem, the engine shut off while I was braking to a stop at the light. Are Hyundai vehicle parts really being tested to the point of failure or malfunction" How come Hyundai USA doesn't know the cause of the problem? Are we their test subject and crash dummies" The Hyundai dealer said they couldn't reproduce the problem, so when it was malfunctioning again I drove it back to the dealership without shutting off the engine for them to confirm the problem. I have a recent video of the malfunction, but only older photos of the engine or electrical malfunction to upload.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #25

Mar 262023

Santa Cruz

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Drove on highway, parked, went back to vehicle, saw leak.coolant low, radiator punctured from rock or something on road statedfrom dealer, not covered, but grill is made wide for objects to easily get in and could happen over and over

- Kearny, NJ, USA

problem #24

Feb 132023

Santa Cruz

  • 25,000 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle independently started to decelerate. The contact stated that unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to enter a parking lot before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a seized engine. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

- North Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #23

Nov 092022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
I was driving on the 394 in Minneapolis and my car had a massive loss of power, dropping my speed from 65 to 35 in seconds, as if i was braking (which I wasn't). The engine light began flashing and I was unable to accelerate beyond the speed it had reduced me to. I was able to limp off the freeway and into a parking lot where it kind of fixed itself after 10 minutes. I took it to a local dealership who said the engine had lost 2 cylinders suddenly. The cylinders were not replaced and no additional work was done to the engine (I don't know why). It has since continued to stutter at lower speeds and occasionally lags when accelerating. Hyundai refuses to do anything about it.

- Springfield, OR, USA

problem #22

Dec 212022

Santa Cruz

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmission problems, car went into limp mode.

- Milford , MA, USA

problem #21

Jan 062023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
On three separate occasions the engine developed a misfire after driving approximately 90 miles in inclement weather. During this time period the transmission began to make hard upshiftswhile accelerating and when down shifting the transmission felt as though it would lurch or surge between gear selection. Use of paddle shifter to manually select gears would result in limited acceleration after the transmission returned to the drive mode. The transmission would not downshift on its own after the paddle shifters were used unless the floor shift select was manually placed in neutral. Then normal operation would resume.The vehicle was returned to the dealership and had the transmission software update performed. This did not resolve issues. These incidents began in October of 2022 and the vehicle was was put in for service the second week of November. It remains in their possession as of 01/06/2023.

- Canyon Lake , TX, USA

problem #20

Oct 072022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Radiator spewing coolant. Had not hit anything only driving on back highway. Dealer stated not warranty customer damage. Happened at 13,000 miles and vehicle less than I year old.

- Jefferson, WI, USA

problem #19

Dec 022022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
While driving on a local highway, vehicle lost all power and stopped. It would not restart. Vehicle was towed to the dealer, and was they found found that the HIGH PRESSURE #4 FUEL INJECTOR IS STUCK OPEN, and REPLACED #4 CYLINDER FUEL INJECTOR AS REQUIRED. They also replaced the battery. Vehicle is 11 months old. If this had happened on the interstate, I would have been rear ended and possibly killed. No warning, just stopped. Vehicle had reported loss of power on a previous occasion, but nothing could be found.

- Inverness, FL, USA

problem #18

Nov 012022

Santa Cruz

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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

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