The vehicle responds well when accelerating slowly. But when pushing on the gas pedal a bit faster the vehicle does not respond immediately. It hesitates then accelerates. It gets really bad when slowing to approximately 15 mph then pressing the gas pedal rapidly at about 1/3. It takes about 2 seconds before responding then all of a sudden it accelerates dangerously. It gets really dangerous on slippery pavement when turning left. I must be very careful now not to overspin because one day I almost lost control. I cannot trust the vehicle to take off rapidly to escape dangerous situations because it will not respond and I will want to press harder on the pedal. That could end up in dramatic accident. I went two times to dealer and they say it's normal. Hard to believe. I think that they know the problem and cannot fix it so they ignore it making us believe it is normal. I had a 2008 Santa fe and was really satisfied with it. That is why I purchased another one. But if this not fixed I will never and I say never buy another Hyundai product.

We're experiencing the exact same issue as everyone else here. We purchased a brand new 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate FWD on May 5 of this year, and I first noticed the hesitation during the 3-hour drive home from the dealership. We figured it was the result of the engine breaking in and that we should just be patient. However, it continued...and progressively got worse. Specifically, it's most pronounced when we accelerate from a dead stop, accelerate out of a rolling stop, accelerate out of a left turn, or try to make a quick passing or merging maneuver on the freeway.

In all of these conditions, pressing the gas pedal results in a 2 to 3 second delay before the transmission will suddenly downshift and we'll go blasting off. This is really dangerous, because we've had nearly a dozen instances of ending up extremely close to being nearly rear ended because the vehicle won't accelerate quickly enough. It happens when we get into the left lane on the freeway to make a quick passing maneuver and suddenly find ourselves unable to accelerate quickly enough to avoid being hit from behind, or similarly, where we'll make a left turn at an intersection and likewise be unable to accelerate fast enough to keep from being slammed into. The best way to describe it is to say that it's like trying to accelerate with a dirty, severely clogged, 10-year-old engine air filter, and the intake can't get enough air into the engine to accelerate as it should. I hope that makes sense.

Based on my research, it's apparently a widespread issue with the 2017s, as we've found dozens of similar complaints from people all over the internet who have experienced the same issue. Like everyone else here, we've also been to our local dealership several times about this issue and in every instance we're told that there is nothing they can do. They claim that, even though there are reports of a software update, our VIN number doesn't come up under any recalls so they can't do anything. But in the meantime, I suppose we're supposed to continue playing Russian Roulette with our lives.

We're at nearly 9,000 miles and the hesitation is still as present and pronounced as it was in the beginning. We've tried everything: driving in ECO mode, driving in SPORT mode, turning the traction control off, trying to alter the way we drive...and nothing works. Even though it's my mom's SUV, she refuses to drive it other than to work and back - so I do all of the driving now and I recognize it every single time it happens while we're on the road.

We also owned a 2013 Santa Fe Limited before this, with the exact same engine and transmission pairing, and that car was a DREAM to drive. The engine was buttery smooth, took off like a rocket ship, the transmission never hesitated or gave us a single issue - so, after driving in a car with this same powertrain for 4 years, I refuse to accept that this issue is simply a characteristic of this engine. That is completely untrue. We're trying really hard to be patient and not keep complaining to our local service center...but we've had quite a few close calls, extremely close, and I'm really hoping that some dealership, somewhere, can get us that important software update.

In fact, I just read an article that said that Hyundai will be replacing some engines FOR THIS SAME ISSUE due to a manufacturing defect with the crankshaft pin. It seems like the symptoms giving rise to this "engine replacement" recall are exactly the same as what we've all experienced.

So Hyundai, whatever it takes, PLEASE fix this soon! We've been faithful Hyundai owners [in our household] for the last 25 years and we've had an exceptionally great reliability record with every car my mom and I have owned. I love everything else about this car and I plan on keeping it for many years...but if this problem continues without an update or a recall very soon, I will have no choice but to seek remedies under state lemon law.

Purchased on 4/23/2017. Problem within a week. Trying to merge on freeway and vehicle hesitated. I was almost run into from the rear. It was very scary. I took it in and they could not reproduce the problem, so no fix. It happened a number of times after that and I decided to have it checked again. I'd just had both side lung biopsies so could not get it in until Aug. Again no problem found. My daughter drove it and it happened to her, she now refuses to get in it. I have had it in numerous times and still no fix. I'm happy and sorry to see others having the same problem. Makes me feel that I'm not crazy. I get so frustrated that the dealerships try to make the issue your fault if they can's figure it out. I was told to not drive in ECO mode or sport mode. Then told I was holding brake while trying to accelerate. I really need help with this vehicle as this is just the tip of problems.

Severe hesitation when trying to accelerate from a stop. Occurs intermittently and happens when turning left or right. More likely to happen if road surface is rough that vehicle is turning onto. The vehicle will begin to accelerate and then lose acceleration. Although pressing the accelerator the vehicle does not speed up even though the engine revs up. After about 3 or 4 seconds the vehicle then responds and begins to accelerate. This situation does not occur all the time. It may happen 3 or 4 times a week. This is a safety concern because I have almost been hit from behind as a result of the vehicle not accelerating.

Purchased the vehicle new mid July of 2017. Periodically noticed that there was a hesitation when I tried to get out into traffic. Very brief but long enough to allow oncoming vehicles to get close enough to cause me concern. I inquired at the dealership and they said to keep an eye on it and if it continued, I was to bring it in and have it attended to. Started to pay more attention to it when my wife complained about the same thing. It became progressively worse (especially turning corners and when the vehicle had not been used for a longer period - like overnight) so I had booked a test drive with a technician who was able to replicate the hesitation. I competed the first service on the vehicle early (5736 klms) so they could look at the hesitation issue at the same time they did the service. They said there was no mechanical issue but said the safety feature with the vehicle ie: when the vehicle felt like it would lose traction, the power would be reduced. I said this was a safety issue but mine not the vehicle! When I need power, I need power to get me out of a situation which may cause an accident! I was advised to accelerate more slowly (!) and if it continued, I could bring it back and they would look at it again. I will be bringing it back again - when you pay this much money for a vehicle, you would expect it to power up when you need it to power up. I drove a 2013 Santa Fe 2.0T for 40 months and it was the best vehicle I ever owned - that is why I went back and purchased a 2017 Santa Fe. Hopefully they can find me a fix.

bogs down at low speeds

I leased the 2017 Santa Fe Ultimate two months ago. The car is really plush but has a problem of bogging down at slow speeds (1-20 mph) when accelerating, particularly when turning. It seems the transmission is unsure which gear to be in. It is truly dangerous and very disappointing for a car I'll be stuck with for 2 years. The dealer is not close by and I had thought to get it fixed at my first service visit but after reading the comments on this site I have a bad feeling that I will be disappointed by the dealer's response. I had a similar problem with a Chevrolet a few years back (though not as scary as this). It was simply a design flaw on a computerized transmission which they did nothing to correct

I'm just curious on how this could be allowed by our federal government. The sometimes minor things that trigger recalls is nothing compared to this design flaw. I've been driving it very defensively while awaiting my service visit and can see the potential for an accident. Please do not consider this car when shopping - you deserve better. Mark

My new Santa Fe 2017 has a problem with the car not reacting to pressing the accelerator. Your press the accelerator and the car does not move and the engine does not rev. The hesitation is about 2 seconds long and is very scary. It happens intermittently and from a stopped position. I'm afraid at some point there will be a terrible accident from this problem. I've had it in to my Hyundai dealership and they can't find the problem. They have suggested I leave the car with them and they hope to be able to duplicate the issue and correct it. I sure hope so!

The car has a hesitation at low speeds causing a delay in acceleration. As another complaint indicated this can be a serious problem which could cause an accident. I have had this happen when turning left at an intersection. I accelerate but the car just sits there before accelerating allowing oncoming traffic to get dangerously close. I've learned to allow extra time in order to avoid this dangerous situation but the problem is intermittent and unpredictable. To be fair, I have not taken it to the dealer yet and found this site when searching to see if others have had this same problem, which at least one other person has reported. I am adding my complaint here so that Hyundai can see that this is a real issue and that they need to address it before someone is seriously injured or killed due to this malfunction in the transmission.

hesitation when down shifting between 10 to 15 mph

I have a 2017 Sante Fe Limited Ultimate 3.3 liter motor with the 6 speed transmission that I bought in April, 2016 and at approximately 200 miles I noticed that when driving in the normal mode and, also but not as much in the economy mode, the car has a hesitation when you slow down to between 10 and 15 miles per hour and then accelerate. I've done a little investigating and found that the hesitation is from the car down shifting from 3rd gear to 2nd gear. Now most cars when down shifting will have a very slight interruption in acceleration in some cars you might not even notice but the hesitation in the 2017 Santa Fe is so abrupt that it moves your whole body back and forward. This hesitation can also be dangerous, I approached an intersection and slowed down to between 10 and 15 mph and then tried to accelerate through the intersection the car down shifted from 3rd gear to 2nd gear as it should but the down shift took too long and left me in the intersection for a second or two longer than I should have been making the cars coming from the opposite direction dangerously close. I called the dealership at 200 miles and told them about this problem they told me to continue driving the car because the computer in the car is learning how you drive. I continued to drive the car and at 1000 miles it still had the hesitation so I brought it into the hyundai dealership. As I said this is an intermittent problem and it only happened once during the test drive with the mechanic while he was turning the car. He told me that it might be the traction control. When we got back to the dealership he said no code lights came on so there wasn't much he could do so he reset the computer and told me to continue to drive the car. I shut the traction control off and the hesitation continued so at 2000 miles I took the car to another Hyundai dealership the mechanic test drove the car by himself and he said he didn't see anything wrong I then test drove the car with the service manager and the hesitation only happened once. His response was that this was the way the the car was designed and it seems like I just don't like the way the car shifts and since no code lights came on there wasn't much he could do. I am extremely mad you would think that a car that has a sticker price between 42,000---44,000 dollars would have a flawless transmission cars costing thousands of dollars less have a smoother transmission. Now there is a lot that I like about the 2017 Sante Fe so I'm hoping that this hesitation resolves itself on its own as the car continues to break in or hopefully Hyundai sends out a computer update that fixes the problem I don't know how much longer I can tolerate this issue and I have considered taking a loss and trading the Sante Fe in for a Honda pilot. In the meantime for my safety and the safety of others I really have to watch driving through intersection between 10 and 15 mph.