9.5

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,000 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.

2021 Hyundai Santa Fe electrical problems

electrical problem

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2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments

problem #20

Dec 202023

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

This vehicle has to replace car horn 3 time unsafe to drive this vehicle have opened repair. Unable to get load. have to Walt for service day.this vehicle have only 14000 mile I am disable person.

- Teaneck, NJ, USA

problem #19

Jul 102023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Hyundai filed Recall Campaign 236 for the vehicle entering an unsafe state. On July 10th I took in our 2021 Santa Fe Limited with just over 15,000 miles, which had been operating normally with the serious safety defect and received the Remediation for this recall filed under NHTSA Recall Campaign 236. I took possession back of the vehicle and within a few miles of driving had the exact issues the recall remediation was supposed to fix, occur. I lost the ability to safely control the vehicle followed by multiple warning lights displaying and then experienced full loss of power. I could not signal or use emergency blinkers while going at speed on I-405 between mile marker 5 and mile marker 6, this placed everyone around me on the highway at risk. I am deeply concerned that the Recall Remediation for Campaign 236 may not work.

- Mercer Island, WA, USA

problem #18

Jun 012022

Santa Fe

  • 20,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary at a traffic light, the vehicle turned off and on intermittently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the key out of the ignition to completely turn off the vehicle. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to her destination. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact associated the failure with the recall. The local dealer was not contacted regarding the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Hialeah, FL, USA

problem #17

May 052023

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

Horn stopped working

- Berlin, NJ, USA

problem #16

May 092023

Santa Fe

  • miles
From what I have been told there is no recall on this issue. Purchased a Hyundai Sante Fe Hybrid 2021 brand new in 2021. I live in La Quinta California summers are especially hot. Temps can be anywhere from 105 to 120. Only had the car for 6months when in light came on saying Inverter needs coolant this has been a problem for the past 2yrs. Checked with Hyundai Service department my coolant is fine air conditioning works well. This not a safety issue but should be fixed and Hyundai is doing nothing about it. Many complaints have been ignored.

- La Quinta, CA, USA

problem #15

Oct 242022

Santa Fe

  • miles
I was accelerating after being at a stop sign onto a major two lane road when all of the warning systems came on and the car stalled while the front of the car was partially on the major two lane road. The alarms, including the collision warning were going off, and it took me several minutes to restart the engine. I was very lucky that I was not hit by oncoming traffic. This was immediately reported to our local Hyundai dealer. They took two weeks to schedule our appointment and then told us nothing was wrong and that everything "checks out". Today, I receive the recall notice telling me the loss of power "could increase the risk of a crash" and yet they do not yet have a fix for it. This means I am paying for a car that is unsafe to use with no remedy in sight. Had this occurred on the highway, I would have been killed.

- Barkhamsted, CT, USA

problem #14

Nov 122022

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

While driving the crash avoidance emergency braking came on out of nowhere, and the steering locked up. I was driving on a straight and level roadway with no vehicles in front of me when suddenly the whole dash lit up with warning lights and the car, a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe, came to a emergency stop, the steering wheel was shaking and wouldn't turn. This was the second time this happened. The first time on 09/29/22 I called the car dealer and was told that "They knew of the problem and that there was no remedy". This is extremely dangerous, both times it happened while I was driving on a highway at a steady speed, thankfully the roadway was dry if it had been raining I would have probably crashed.

- Belford, NJ, USA

problem #13

Oct 112022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The vehicle will not move forward or reverse, when drive or reverse is selected. The car has been at the dealership since 10/11/2022. I was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. No one in the hyundai organization (including the dealership) can tell me when replacement will be.

- West Seneca, NY, USA

problem #12

Sep 292022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Car was bought approximately a year and a half ago and it was working fine until last September 2022 when it started to stall the engine when having ISG (Idle Stop and GO) ON. It has no pattern, but during the last 2 months it has shut down more than a dozen times. I've taken the car for inspection at Hyundai (2 times so far) and they can't find any faults when running a scan and said that they car is just fine. They assured that an ECM update would solve the issue but it has not improved anything in the car. The car has continued the pattern, when you stop the car it starts to shudders before stalling the engine, all without any error lights. Next November will be the third time bringing the car for the same issue without any resolution. Also, as a minor problem, it has started disconnecting the cellphone from the apple car and you can't reconnect it unless you turn off the car.

- San German, PR, USA

problem #11

Oct 152022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Having issues with the dash going completely black; so you can not see any instruments on the dash panel or the head unit (navigation/radio/airplay). The car has been into the shop three times so far with no resolution. The newest issue; the horn doesn't work, the safety features such as lane assist, lane departure etc. only work intermittently, and I have had the brakes slam on for no reason. The last time I took the car back to dealer and told them I was afraid to drive the car, the service manager changed the settings on the safety features, not sure how that was to fix anything? We have been so close to being rear-ended because of the faulty braking system. The electrical system is having major issues, I have videos of the car doing all these things and have showed them to the dealership and they claim they can not fix the car because it doesn't happen when they drive the car.

- Bushnell, FL, USA

problem #10

Jul 282022

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

Car was without power after 16 months and 7500 miles. Got it jump started. Two days after that, car would not start again. Second time jump started. Taken to the dealership (Alexandria Hyundai) where two days after that they found "nothing wrong with the car" and returned it to me. Before that, I asked them to change the battery, they denied my request and I paid out of pocket for a new battery as maybe that was the problem. One month approximately after that, car would not even open. Got it jump started again. Drove to blocks and completely and suddenly shut off in the middle of a busy intersection posing a major safety concern for myself and third parties. Involved 911 and towing. Had to spend 40 minutes depressing the brake for the car not to roll down and avoid an accident. Taken to the dealership again. 5 days after that, dealership found "nothing wrong with the car". 7500 miles inspection done in parallel "supposedly" put the tires at 35 psi per report issued but dashboard shows tires at 30 psi. Do not trust dealership, car poses significant driving and safety concern for me and third parties.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #9

Aug 042022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Seat full forward, into the dash with no input from operator. SECOND OCCURRENCE 08/04/2022 at 1700 Central time when parking the Santa Fe in the garage. When turned off, the driver's seat ran full forward and reclined forward into the dash - unsafe and potential injuries -- have a photo. I will be contacting the local dealership tomorrow to schedule an appointment for an inspection and routine maintenance. Since this is no longer an isolated occurrence we will be asking our dealer for assistance. Complaint Number 11475184

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #8

Aug 012022

Santa Fe

  • miles
I took my car to the dealer because it hesitates when accelerating. I was told since no lights are on there's nothing they can do. This can be very dangerous as it jerks when accelerating

- Toms River, NJ, USA

problem #7

Jul 212022

Santa Fe

  • miles
17551 mileage. Parked vehicle. Placed in Park, set parking brake. Drivers seat moved full forward and leaned forward pinning me against the steering wheel forcing the breath out of me before I was able to stop the spontaneous movement. Restricted my breathing could have injured my ribs had I not stopped it.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #6

Jun 292022

Santa Fe

  • miles
I keep my vehicle backed into my single car garage. I have had 3 incidents in the last couple of months Beginning of mayish to now, where I start the vehicle, put it in drive and it does not drive. Twice it started to reverse and today it acted as though it were in neutral. I've taken video of the last 2 incidents showing that drive is selected, the dashboard and the Birdseye camera. My dealership is working to resolve but has stated to plan on my vehicle being there for awhile. This seems to be quite dangerous. When I turn the vehicle off and restart it, drive works.

- Hudson, FL, USA

problem #5

Jun 062022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The vehicle sporadically turns off its engine by itself, mostly stopped when placing the transmission in park gear. One time the engine went out in the middle of the avenue. After these events when starting the engine it makes a noise for a few seconds. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer and they say that there is no type of technical bulletin on this type of problem.

- Hormigueros, PR, USA

problem #4

Apr 112022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The vehicle has a wireless phone charger which causes the phone to overheat. It causes so much heat that the phone shuts down to prevent damage to the phone. There is a potential risk for fire.

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #3

Feb 082022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Car had a dead battery called road service they tested the battery said it had a bad cell they jumped it and I took it to the dealership they tested it by Hyundai protocol charged it for 60 minutes then load tested said it passed didn-??t find anything wrong with it sent me on my way couple days later dead battery brought it back to dealer charged it tested it said nothing wrong sent me on my way. Have to jump car every couple of days

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #2

Nov 022021

Santa Fe

  • miles
While driving in the fast lane on the freeway at speed limit the car suddenly began to slow/stop, after which a warning flashed on the display that said Danger, collision imminent, or something like that. There was no one close in front of me when that happened. This exact scenario has happened three times now in this car, in the same way! I felt my life was endangered every time by the sudden and unnecessary braking of my car.

- San Clemente , CA, USA

problem #1

Sep 272021

Santa Fe

  • miles
Car would not start; battery was too low to activate lights or locks, let alone starter. An attempted jumper cable connection to an older car was insufficient to make the motor turn, even after just running the assist car while connected for 20+ minutes. A subsequent jump from the AAA 2000 Ah jump pack did work although their -??test-?? indicated battery state-of-charge and state-of-health to be less than 30%. Their obvious recommendation was battery replacement and, with the vehicle now running, a drive to the dealership was attempted. At the first intersection a full vehicle stop engaged the engine Stop-Start function, but without sufficient battery for the -??Start-?? part. Not only would the vehicle not restart but there was insufficient battery power to put the transmission into PARK nor engage the emergency brake to prevent the vehicle from rolling into busy cross-traffic; only the service brake worked. Fortunately, a nearby motorist recognized the emergency and placed rocks under the tires to prevent the vehicle from rolling forward. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where the battery was replaced without significant comment on the total failure of nearly all systems in the event of battery failure. The outcome of this major battery failure could have been catastrophic as the ONLY system even marginally functional was the non-power-assisted service brake.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

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