CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012 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 to owners in 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.

4.7

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
22,639 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.

2012 Hyundai Santa Fe fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2012 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments

problem #4

Jul 112014

Santa Fe

  • 22,650 miles

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

Highway driving at 55mph, complete and total loss of drive train and engine power, check engine light illuminates. No throttle capability. Engine reduces to idling speed, but transmission stays engaged. Vehicle slows down and driver pulls off road. All electronics appear to work. Gas pedal has no interaction with engine throttle. Required tow off highway to Hyundai dealer. Hyundai dealer repaired problem with computer revision update. Tsb unknown.

- Commack, NY, USA

problem #3

Apr 242014

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 26,400 miles
Engine light comes on. Has happened three consecutive days. Within initial 10-minutes of driving, car bucked/surged and engine light appears. Car would not accelerate in one instance. Pressing gas pedal had no effect. Could only coast to dealership maintaining whatever speed I had by having the car in drive and idling. Very unsafe to be unable to accelerate. Hyundai dealer 'fixed' problem by doing a software update. In no case would it seem plausible that the software is coded to disable the acceleration. The software update did not make the issue go away. Following day, the car bucked/surged again and the light came on. Car now left at dealership again for the third time.

- River Edge, NJ, USA

problem #2

Jul 072013

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 13,400 miles
1) historical details / event: When I bought the car (August, 2012) I noticed the occasional sticking of the throttle and when pressing the break the car would seem to want to accelerate - this would happen once every three months: The dealer said they couldn't find anything. 2) recent event: On 07/07 while driving at 45mph the car immediately started slowing down to less then 10mph and the check-engine-light came on. After pulling over and sitting for a while the car would go up to 30mph - 40mph: Over that and it would occur again. Per the dealer - drove it to them. On the way - this slow down occurred multiple times between 30-40mph, once while slowing / breaking - the car immediately accelerated (RPM over 2500) and I almost had a major accident. Dealer diagnosed it as a known issue related to tsb: 13 fl 002 (throttle body bore carbon fouling / P2106/P2110 limphome mode / P0638 throttle actuator control range and that the break issue was due to excessive break booster air causing the throttle assembly to lock open. Dealer claimed issue was known but not seen often and never repeated. Had car all day to fix (finished: 07/08). Asked dealer about other tsbs in the database and was told none of them applied or were applicable. 3) recent event: On 07/08 after leaving the dealer, got 9 miles of driving when it occurred again after making a 25mph right turn and accelerating to 40mph [almost was read-ended by a truck]. dealer now closed for the evening. Will be contacting dealer first thing on 07/09 and demanding fix and/or replacement - as this is now multiple times with the dealer denying the severity of this.

- Skokie, IL, USA

problem #1

May 222013

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 28,105 miles
Just bought this car two months ago. At random, and when making a left onto a busy street, accelerating from a stop light, there is a hesitation and a very quick shut down when accelerating. It re-engages just in time to prevent a potential crash. I talked to the Hyundai mechanic about this. They test drove it, but since the problem is random, it would make sense that they weren't able to detect it during the test drive. The problem isn't major for now but all it takes is one event to make it so. I was relieved to see other complaints of the same problem on this website.

- Sahuarita, AZ, USA

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