10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,806 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.

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments (Page 1 of 8)

problem #143

Jun 112024

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

Engine has goes on out at 99000 miles has seized up.

- Oak Park, IL, USA

problem #142

Jun 012022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The engine is continually knocking. It has caused the powertrain system to start to fail. The interior portion of the car with electrical is malfunctioning and causing the car to lag. Many attempts have been taken to get the vehicle fixed to no avail. $1,000 just to take out the engine to diagnose the problem.

- Gastonia, NC, USA

problem #141

Jun 112024

Santa Fe

  • miles
We were on our way home from the children's hospital in Philadelphia for my daughter (4 hours away from home) and my 2015 Santa Fe with the 3.3L motor began to knock. My dad (who is very mechanically inclined) pulled over at a gas station and checked oil and other fluids. It was low, even though I just had oil changed 900 miles before and it was checked before our trip to the hospital. We bought oil and put it in. Knocking was still there but was not as loud. We got back on interstate. Few miles up the road it completely lost power, extreme knocking, no lights on in the dash or any gauges out of normal range. He checked oil and it was completely empty but there was no oil trail or anything. We coasted into a crossover and that's when he saw the connecting rod under the car.

- Jersey Shore, PA, USA

problem #140

May 312024

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

While I was driving on the highway in the left lane, smoke came from the engine, then it started coming from underneath the car. The car turned off. I was forced to stop on the left lane of the highway and exit the vehicle and walk as far away as possible. I called 911, then I noticed fire coming from the engine. This was unsafe for myself as well as other riders on the highway. Firefighters came and put out the fire. Once they left, I was left by myself waiting for the tow truck to arrive. No police officers helped to keep myself safe while waiting on the left shoulder once the highway re-opened. When asked if I needed a police report, the police officer said no because it wasn't a crash. The vehicle was inspected by my insurance company and it was deemed a total loss. There were no warning signs or messages or symptoms prior to the failure at all.

- S Floral Park, NY, USA

problem #139

May 252024

Santa Fe

  • miles
During routine vehicle operation when entering an interstate highway, , the vehicle developed a loud knocking sound from engine bay along with high RPM abnormal shifting. Vehicle was stopped as soon as possible in the safety lane when it stalled and shut off. No warning lights were present during the time of failure. Vehicle was towed to home of residence.

- Guyton, GA, USA

problem #138

Aug 102023

Santa Fe

  • miles
I own a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate and without any warnings or incidents experienced engine failure. The Hyundai dealer told me I need a new engine at the cost of $23,000. I know you have received complaints and are investigating these engines. I was driving the car at the time and lost power.

- Pencil Bluff, AR, USA

problem #137

Mar 252024

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

My wife was driving the vehicle on Monday afternoon and everything was fine and today she started the vehicle and the engine started to sound weirdly, she called me over the phone and she popped up the hood like I told her and she put her phone near the engine gave a little gas and I heard like there was no oil in it, she turned the vehicle off like I told her to do, waited like 5 minutes For the oil to settle and the oil level was half. I'm waiting for tomorrow Wednesday the 27th of March to call any Hyundai dealer near me to see what they say about this situation.

- Weehawken, NJ, USA

problem #136

Mar 262024

Santa Fe

  • miles
engine replacement can be avoided you should use fuel injector cleaner every 3000 miles, sediment clogs injectors, and pistons which fuel leaks into oil pan, causing oil/fuel mixture to burn, creating overheating, which leads to oil burning, and eventually engine seizing. If you use fuel injector cleaner every 3000 miles this will prevent needing to replace motor.

- Poulsbo, WA, USA

problem #135

Mar 242024

Santa Fe

  • miles
Engine with rod bearing failure occurred at 108k miles. No check engine light warning came on to notify with engine knock sound as the only indicator that there was a mechanical issue. Regular oil changes have been done on the vehicle however oil levels were low when checked on the day of engine failure (no low oil light came on). 3.3 L V6 engine is not covered under Hyundai-??s KSDS Software Update (Campaign 966) and extended warranty however issue is the same as other covered models and years.

- West Point, UT, USA

problem #134

Mar 122024

Santa Fe

  • miles
Out of the blue, the engine started knocking badly. Immediately pulled over and checked engine oil which was extremely low. (This was odd since I regularly check oil levels and keep up with oil changes.) I happened to be very close to an oil change shop, drove over and they did an oil change. They found silver and gold metal shavings in the old oil and topped off with new oil. The knocking was muted but came back by the time I got home. I have not driven the car since. Seems to have the same fate as many other Hyundai vehicles in the current recall, but this has the 3.3l engine. I've also found there is a petition to add the 3.3l engine to the recall.

- Roseville, CA, USA

problem #133

Mar 172024

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

While driving down the highway the engine stopped. Towed it to a mechanic. They told me the engine seized up and that this was happening alot with Hyundai vehicles.

- Aberdeen, NC, USA

problem #132

Aug 062023

Santa Fe

  • miles
I have a Hyundai Santa Fé XL 3.3L 2015. I had a real danger situation with my family some months ago, when I had to pull over on a Highway after engine failure. I have this car for 11 months and all my maintenance records. Car died while I was driving putting me and my family in a danger situation. Not alerts or warnings signs. The car just died. I towed the car to a Hyundai Dealer, and after 3 weeks they reached out to me telling my engine is gone and there is no coverage/warranty/recall for that. After some research on-line I found thousands of people describing exactly the same issue. Major engine failure without any warning even with all schedule maintenance on date. I pretty confident that I am being victim of this knowing Hyundai issue and they don't care to keep people life in danger.

- Hammonds Plains, AL, USA

problem #131

Mar 022023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Oil consumtion issue. Same issue on their 4 cylinder motor. No indicator to tell you there is low oil. Engine fails. In addition, they do not manufacture the engine for replacement. I was instructed, by law they have to manufacture parts for 10 years. It is within 10 years and they haven't made parts for this motor for some time now. I request that this be investigated, as from searching the internet there are many people that have similar issues with the 3.3 liter engine. Hyundai should be force to recall them, just like they did for the 4 cylinder. In addition, their ingition system is flawed and can be easily stolen. Yet another reason why they should be forced to recall the vehicles.

- Henrietta, NY, USA

problem #130

Feb 122024

Santa Fe

  • miles
Recent cold weather starts in the morning (40-50 degrees fahrenheit) have caused my car to have poor or stalled acceleration. It will occasionally not go past 20 or 40 mph while the RPMs rev high. The DTC error code would read P2565 as a pending code. An independent mechanic changed out my transmission fluid and switched out my boost pressure sensor but the problem is still there. Hyundai says that they need to replicate the problem but it does not occur when I take it to them so it's very hard to have this intermittent issue diagnosed by them. This is a very dangerous issue in my opinion if your cars engine revs high without accelerating and can potentially cause serious accidents and injury. I know I'm not the only person experiencing this issue as I've read on online forums of other car owners describing the same issue. Please issue a safety recall before someone is seriously injured or dies as a result of this intermittent issue.

- Westminster, CA, USA

problem #129

Sep 102023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Premature failure of engine that was regularly maintained. Vehicle started sounding louder than normal and stalled spontaneously while driving, stopping in the middle of an intersection. No warning lights illuminated prior to incident. Vehicle had started again when prompted to finish traveling to destination. Oil was checked at destination and was low by 1.5 quarts. Vehicle was towed to nearest Hyundai dealership. Vehicle has now been at dealership for almost 5 months. Tech stated that internals were extremely clean upon inspection but that oil port to 1 or more cylinders may have been blocked, causing burning or premature ware and failure. No metal shavings were found in oil according to tech, and engine still turned freely. Hyundai corporate has agreed to cover 90% of cost to replace motor and offer a 12 month /12,000 mile warranty.

- Woodridge, IL, USA

problem #128

Jan 202024

Santa Fe

  • miles
My 2015 Santa Fe Limited with 44,000 miles developed a knocking sound coming from the engine. No lights appeared on the dashboard, no low oil pressure warning, etc. I was able to drive it to my local dealership, but the brakes were very jerky and the car shut off when I pulled into the parking lot. I was told I needed a new engine, but was denied Hyundai paying for it because the 5 years/100,000 mile warranty had expired. I called corporate and pointed out many instances of excess oil consumption, recalls, and extended warranties due to engines. I was told that my engine didn-??t qualify and I would have to pay to have it fixed. I was also given a phone number for a class action lawsuit because Hyundai knows of these kinds of engine problems on my make and model.

- Syracuse, UT, USA

problem #127

Jul 122017

Santa Fe

  • miles
My 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe sport with 15,643 miles is consuming a lot of oil. I am having to add engine oil on a weekly basis.

- Lares, PR, USA

problem #126

Dec 292023

Santa Fe

  • miles
My 2015 Santa Fe has metal in oil so my engine not working it went out

- San Antonio , TX, USA

problem #125

Dec 312023

Santa Fe

  • miles
The engine caught fire and the vehicle is a total loss. Acceleration became inconsistent at time of the incident while driving on the freeway. Once that was noticed, and at a speed of 50mph, I immediately heard a loud clicking noise coming from the engine. ALL warning lights also immediately went off. I noticed white smoke and pulled over on the freeway. Once parked, black smoke was emerging from the engine. I exited the vehicle to safety and within 30 seconds, flames emerged from the vehicle. The vehicle maintenance was kept current during the 7 months of ownership. There were no prior warnings of any issues before the incident occurred.

- Glendora, CA, USA

problem #124

Nov 012022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Hello, I'm not sure if this is something that you would handle or not. My husband and I have a Hyundai Santa Fe (husband-2015, Mine - 2013). We both bought the vehicles used and haven't had any major problems until about a year ago when both of our vehicles started drinking motor oil like people drink water. We don't have any signs of a leak anywhere. We had taken it to the Hyundai Dealerships and other mechanics and both say that Hyundai has been known to have this problem. Many years ago, I had a Hyundai Sonata which I bought brand new around 2003 and had it for many years. I never had this problem. After doing my research, I have seen where other people have had this problem with their Hyundai vehicles. I emailed several people about our situation, one being [XXX], and received a response from Hailey, Customer Service Specialist with Hyundai Motor America and her response was for us to have Oil Consumption Testing done. She said that it would be our responsibility to pay for the testing and any repairs that need to be done since we're past the warranty and the years of our vehicles. From what the dealership and other mechanics keep saying, I feel it should be a recall for this problem due to Hyundai being aware that this has been a problem with their vehicles for years. I've known people to have cars much older than ours that never had an oil consumption problem such as this. Also, from what I read, this Oil Consumption Testing is a process that is done in stages which can be costly. Plus this Oil Consumption problem can lead to our engine dying without us knowing when it will die. With this problem, we don't have any warning that our motor oil is low or empty for our oil light will either blink or don't come on at all. I have seen mine blink, but by then the oil was already gone. My husband's oil stick had burnt and he purchased another one from Hyundai. The new one is now burnt and mine is burnt as well. This is a safety hazard. I feel that Hyundai shoul INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INF

- Wilmington, DE, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?