CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe apparently has a problem with the engine stalling while driving.

In a 2-page letter to Santa Fe owners from August 2014, Hyundai claims the engine stalling only occurs under a "specific set of operating conditions".

However a class action lawsuit filed around the same time details multiple claims from Sante Fe owners that claim the engine stalling happens at any time, under any conditions.

Although the model year range in the lawsuit is 2010-2012, the stalling complaint trend hasn't shown up in our data for the 2010 model year. Both the 2011 & 2012 Santa Fe model years DO show a significant defect trend of the engine stalling.

Currently we're not rating the 2010 Santa Fe as "bad" or "poor". Just be aware of this potentially serious problem.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,522 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.

2010 Hyundai Santa Fe engine problems

engine problem

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2010 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #11

Feb 082017

Santa Fe

  • 150 miles

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

Engine stalls while driving on freeway - the temperature outdoors has to be cool and damp. Safety risk for kids and myself to have engine stall. Lights go out and cruise if on kicks off. Engine will restart itself, but after it happens - engine light stays on unless I accelerate. The engine stalling has happened for the past 4 years, but no one can find the issue

- Richfield, WI, USA

problem #10

Nov 012016

Santa Fe

  • 99,000 miles
(1)on 11/01/2016 my wife heading to work experienced the engine shutting off while driving down hill luckily she was able to pullover to a safe spot to restart engine. (2) 0N 11/12/2016 we were headed to the store stopped at light the engine shut off again while in drive that was second incident that happened. 11/14/2016 the car was at future hyundia concord ca for inspection, according to dealer nothing wrong with car. Is there any history concerning engine shutoff ?

- Antioch, CA, USA

problem #9

Oct 072016

Santa Fe

  • 90,300 miles
Oil pump failure at 90,000 miles causing motor to be replaced. Hyundai dealership service manager told me there were no available motors to replace the one in my car.

- Midlothian, VA, USA

problem #8

May 092016

Santa Fe

  • 125,000 miles

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

The engine threw a rod and it is the same problem they have in their 2.4L engine that was recalled. 470,000 of them. Now they won't fix my engine.

- Deltona, FL, USA

problem #7

May 032016

Santa Fe

  • 78,000 miles
1. starter gear had to be replaced and the dealer ship and was told many of these cars are having the same issue. 2. when raining and driving down city streets, or highway my car will try to stall out and the check engine light comes on then it will lose steering, rpms will fluctuate. When checked it said it was the absolute pressure sensor.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #6

Sep 062014

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 64,653 miles
Vehicle stalled at low speed or turning on numerous occasions.stalls and then will start back up. Most recent incident, 12-13-2014, it stalled 3 times within 25 minutes when slowing to a stop. I've taken to Hyundai in the past, they could not identify and issue, charged me $50 to adjust break light switch, which they stated should fix it. I checked on-line & located the 3.5 sante fe low speed engine RPM logic revision service campaign which they will reprogram the vehicles ECM in certain vehicles with 3.5 engines. I tried to use the on-line VIN verification & guess what, it states mine was not one of the one with issues, it was made in Alabama, 2010 & 3.5, same stalling issues as everyone else. I want my vehicle covered by this service campaign.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #5

Jul 142014

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 48,945 miles

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

On Monday, July 14, 2014, my wife rode her Santa Fe on a straight road accelerating slightly uphill when the engine stalled. On thurs. Dec. 5, 2013, I had a similar experience, which I reported to you at the time. This is the second time this has happened with this car. Again nobody touched the ignition key which has nothing hanging on it except the alarm and door lock dongle. My wife also suddenly lost power steering and power brakes, and luckily there was no other traffic, which could have caused an accident. She was able to bring the car to a safe stop and then was able to restart the engine and continue her trip. The 2010 car had a full tank of gas and has about 50000 miles on the odometer. It's AWD and has a 6 cyl. Engine. Could this be related to the ignition switch problem that has plagued so many GM cars" needless to say we are worried driving the car because if this incident occurs at high speed, a serious accident could be the result. Do you know of any similar experience? what do you advise" [xxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Staten Island, NY, USA

problem #4

Jul 082014

Santa Fe

  • 52,000 miles
I have had the engine stallment issue with my 2010 Santa Fe limited since I bought this car new in 2010. My last 4 incidents have been reported to the dealer. They have not been able to duplicate the issue nor find any codes for it. They have performed the following fixes on my car in 4 separate attempts with no luck: - replace throttle body (2013) - replace main power cable - replace computer's main board - update software this is an extremely dangerous issue. Last time it happened I was driving my car on a downhill ramp to enter the freeway when the engine stalled. I can still hear the concrete truck's brake sound in my ears when it desperately managed to stop and avoid collision. I don't feel safe to drive this car anymore. I have also lost my confidence in the dealer's ability to permanently fix this issue.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #3

May 312013

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 39,600 miles
While driving in rain and high humidity, going South on route 95, A/C cooling stopped working and only warm air was blowing through the vents. Stopped working for over an hour, until I stopped for gas in ft. Piece. When I restarted, it began to work and worked for another 20 minutes before it stopped. I brought it to the dealer on June 3. dealer said he could not reproduce the problem and would do nothing. It happened again on June 13 while driving. I went back to the dealer and he again said he could not reproduce it and would do nothing. I reported it Hyundai would said it could not be reproduced and would do nothing. I found numerous instances, on the internet, of people reporting this problem, but was told unless I could reproduce on my vehicle, nothing would be done. I have to wait for it to happen again and hope the car dealer is open.

- Boynton Beach, FL, USA

problem #2

Jun 112014

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30,800 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while making a left turn, the vehicle stalled with no warning. The contact had to apply extreme force to turn the steering wheel and was able to merge to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The technician was not able to neither replicate nor diagnose the failure.the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,800. Updated 08/11/14 the consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 08/19/14

- Fond Du Lac, WI, USA

problem #1

Aug 152010

Santa Fe

  • 25,000 miles
From stop, making left turn, lost all power momentarily, RPM dropped to idle. Pressing accelerator did nothing, finally engine came back and accelerated wildly. Very dangerous.

- Lancaster, TX, USA

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