CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe has a problem with the engine stalling while driving. Both our data & the NHTSA's complaint data show a significant defect trend at low mileage.

In a 2-page letter sent August 2014 to Santa Fe owners, 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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,035 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.

2011 Hyundai Santa Fe lights problems

lights problem

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2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments

problem #10

Apr 122023

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

About this date had accidentair bags failed to go off for any off

- Kellogg, MN, USA

problem #9

Jan 092021

Santa Fe

  • 132,200 miles
Normal driving turn signal lever started ticking began smoking from the base continues to tick intermittently and smokes in motion while driving on highway

- Denison, TX, USA

problem #8

Jan 012015

Santa Fe

  • 80,000 miles
Water in side front head light and inside rear tail light.. clear coat coming off

- Ringwood, NJ, USA

problem #7

Aug 312017

Santa Fe

  • 110,000 miles

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

While driving, I signaled a turn and smoke came from behind my steering wheel.my blinker worked but was making a fast clicking sound as if the blinker was going out.the noise will not stop and the smoke is intermittent.contacted Hyundai because it is a known problem per the internet but they acted like they had never heard of it.

- Lago Vista, TX, USA

problem #6

Oct 082015

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that after depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle experienced a period of unintended acceleration. As a result, the contact crashed into a brick wall. Prior to the failure, the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 13V113000 (exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. The contact sustained burns from the air bag and a neck injury which required medical attention. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000. The VIN was not available. Updated 01/12/16 updated 4/18/18

- Chicago, IL, USA

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problem #5

May 272011

Santa Fe

  • 150 miles
The low beam head lights have a very short range. There is a definite horizontal cut off just a few feet off the ground. Any thing above the cut-off line is not illuminated at all, night visibility is far too short just a few feet before the car. Difficult to see people crossing the road at night or any objects, creating a very unsafe situation. Exam of the head lamp assembly reveals a definite cut-off of the upper part of the reflector cone, reducing the available light. The high beam cone is round, having no such cut-off. Dealer could not correct because it is a design flaw.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #4

Feb 262013

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 35,000 miles

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

This is not about an incident. The car has very week head lights, I use my high beam at all time. Never got any signal from on coming car that my high beam are on, and it's been going on for over 2 years. I changes the bulbs and no change. I went to 2 dealerships, one in de and one in md, and the answer I got was that all Hyundai has problem with weak lights. I contacted Hyundai and got a stupid answer "the dealer knows everything, we don't have any information to give you" (my case # was 7661319). I can't see when I drive, the headlights are 55W and the dealer told me that if I'll use stronger watt it may melt the wires and will cost me a of money to fix. I wonder if I am the only driver who has this problem and if there anything I can do to fix it. Thanks for your time.

- Glen Burnie, MD, USA

problem #3

Aug 262012

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 31,000 miles
First of all I know our 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe is not made in usa, it is a Korean 2.4 L, 7 seater bought in panama. I wrote to the Hyundai complaint website and they very politely answered that the car was a non-us model and they sent me a link to a website where I could file the complaint. I did it but I have not received an answer, yet. My first problem after the crash was the unavailability of parts for repairing the car. I filed a complaint with our local consumer authority here in panama. Our car was in the shop for more than 9 months, its running now but still some parts missing. The issue is that after getting the car back from the shop I received a call from our local Hyundai dealer (petroautos) telling me about the campaign of the faulty brake switch (just as in the us models) and that I had to take the car to the dealer. So I looked up in internet and I find several recalls related to the brakes. I took the car to the dealer and they changed the switch. So im wondering if this was related to the crash because I always had my doubts of what happened when I braked that day. Finally there was a crash and although I know this may only be for your information or files, and that you can't help me; please take this into account for your evaluations. Thanks.

- Panama, AA, USA

problem #2

Apr 152013

Santa Fe

  • 32,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that on seven occasions, the gear shifter would not move out of drive into reverse or neutral until after several attempts. There was a recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 13V113000 (exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was included in the recall however, the failure the contact experienced was not mentioned in the recall. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Waxhaw, NC, USA

problem #1

Apr 242013

Santa Fe

  • miles
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received recall NHTSA campaign number: 13V113000 (exterior lighting, service brakes, hydraulic). The contact notified the manufacturer about the parts not being available and they stated that they did not know when the parts would be available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Pearl River, NY, USA

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