10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
677 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #30

May 182024

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

The fuel door release button on my SUV has stopped working. It is a press and spring opening fuel door. While trying to get gas, it would not open, prohibiting me from putting gas in my car. (May 18, 2024) I went to the dealer on a Saturday in an emergency instance and while in the lane, because the shop had no openings, the technician had to remove the inside trunk panel and other trunk parts to separate the fuel door compartment from the car to get the fuel door open. He put tape over the door engaging mechanism, so it would not engage and become stuck closed again. There is no inside car release button for my model. Also, there was no indication in the health stats in the My Hyundai mobile app. I scheduled a service appt for the following Friday and received the notice that the part (fuel door release button) was on backorder with no ETA. (May 24, 2024). While speaking with the Service Agent, she mentioned that another 2 customers had this fuel door problem. (no details). This poses a problem for me because I have been driving with my fuel door open. Someone could tamper with my very expense SUV by breaking my fuel door completely off, chiffon my gas out, or putting something in my gas tank.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #29

May 012021

Santa Fe

  • miles
Vehicle horn continues to stop working. Problem occurred within a month of purchase. I have had it repaired 3 times, and each time it has been repaired it works for only a few days and then stops working. I am tired of paying to have it fixed, only to work a few days. It has been a safety concern as I have not been able to alert pedestrians, other vehicles, or animals to my presence. Having a working horn is a required safety feature for my employment and driving on company property.

- Crivitz, WI, USA

problem #28

Apr 152022

Santa Fe

  • miles
On two different occasions the car is rolled away from me and while I was out of the car and walking away from the vehicle. The first time it rolled backwards across the parking lot and into a flagpole and the second time it was a McDonald's parking lot and I was able to jump back in the car in time but it started to roll forward as I was bending down to get my debit card off the ground.

- Casa Grande, AZ, USA

problem #27

Apr 052022

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

My sante fe has shifted out of park and rolled away from me on 2 occasions. The first time I was about 30 feet away when my son and husband started screaming for me. The car we rolling across the parking lot. I tried to jump in and hit the brake but was unsuccessful and we slammed into a flag pole. The dealer ran a code reader on it and there was no codes so they denied responsibility. Basically called me a liar [XXX] it happened again In McDonald's drive thru The window lady witnessed it. I got out to.get my debit card and as I was leaning down the car rolled out of park snd started coasting away from me. I again, contacted my Hyundai who assigned another case manager. This case manager promised to reimburse me for a rental I paid for the first time the car rolled away from me. The case worker had told me she set up an appointment at another local dealer and they would have a rental waiting on me the next morning I asked her to call amd confirm the appt and rental and to call me back Never heard from her again After numerous calls and emails I recieved an email stating she could no longer assist me since I had obtained legal counsel. Complete lie I never informed them that I had retained counsel. I merely asked if I needed one.. This was their way of brushing me off for the 2nd time Myhyundai has record of me calling trying to gather a resolution at least 30 xs. I have contacted the attorney general's office who reached out to my dealer and my dealer told them they followed protocol and found no issue that would be a warranty issue Of course they aren't wanting to admit that this is issue because this one case could cost millions in recalls. Now there are more and more people that have had the same experience and I fear there will be death before this is addressed. Please help !! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Casa Grande, AZ, USA

problem #26

Feb 262024

Santa Fe

  • miles
While driving and must stop due to traffic light, stop sign or intersection and the auto start is on as soon I lift the foot foot from the brake pedal to continue driving the vehicle stumble and it completely stop the engine while the vehicle transmission is still in drive. In order to start again I have to switch transmission to park and turn key ignition switch to start vehicle, it start again and I can continue. While driving and must stop due to traffic light, stop sign or intersection and the auto start is on as soon as I lift the foot from the brake pedal to continue driving the vehicle stumble and it completely stop the engine while the vehicle transmission is still in drive. When I take the vehicle to the dealership the Service writer writes on the computer but they do not allow me to see a copy of what I am reporting. I like my vehicle, I just want it to be fixed and me and my two daughters be safe when needed after a mandatory stop due to traffic signs, intersection driving through or any other emergency stop and go due tragic and or road condition.

- Patillas , PR, USA

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problem #25

Dec 202023

Santa Fe

  • miles
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 #24

Sep 142023

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

April 2022 My 2020 one, Honda Santa Fe started rolling backwards in rolling to a flagpole as I was walking away from the car. I tried to to catch up with the car. It had my family inside screaming. But I was unable to stop it from slimming into the fireplace. I let Hyundaiusa know. They recommended that I take the car to the dealer. They promised to reimburse me for rental car after the diagnostic came back. they found nothing wrong with the car and never paid for the reimbursement Now September 2023. Same thing just happened again. I was in McDonald's drive through and I drop my debit card so I got out to get my debit card. I got out of the car and had to close the door and as I bend down at sensed the car start starting to pull away. The car once again started running away for me. I was outside the vehicle, but I was able to jump in the car and apply the brake before it slammed into McDonald's. I have made a police report. And I have a witness from McDonald's That saw the incident. I had already reached out to the attorney General's office About the first time the car rolled away from me in April 2022. They claim that my Hyundai found nothing wrong with the diagnostics. There was no argument I can make except for Being called a liar. The mechanic did a little demonstration showing us how the safety mechanism in the Santa Fe makes it impossible for the car to roll out of park if the doors open or. How it's impossible. Even if the door is open, it shifts back to park. If you hit the drive button with the doors open It automatically shifts to park... So there's supposed to be "no way. The car can shift out of park into drive or neutral." It rolled away in 2022 April, and it did it again September 2023.

- Casa Grande, AZ, USA

problem #23

Aug 122023

Santa Fe

  • miles
The panoramic sunroof which is made of tempered glass is a large piece above the back passenger. There is also a small piece above the windshield. The sunroof sits in between these two pieces (not made of tempered glass). I noticed a crackling sound driving my daughter to day care on Friday August 11. I couldn-??t figure out what it was. The next day I was on the highway, my husband driving our car and my toddler in the back when there was a loud pop like a gunshot. We pulled over assessed the car and realized the panoramic roof was shattering. We drove it home and realized the front piece above the windshield was also shattering and there was no impact. I googled this and apparently it-??s happening to a lot of people and the dealerships aren-??t helping saying it-??s not a manufacture defect when in fact it is. There was no impact that caused this. Anyone else would have lost control of the car and crashed hearing that loud pop or if the shade was open we could have had glass showering down on us. This is unacceptable if anyone would have mentioned this would happen I would have never bought this vehicle. I filed a claim and State Farm paid the claim to have it replaced but this car is only 2 years old and it should be under warranty and this is a definite defect. Please google panoramic roof shattering and see what comes up. I don-??t think enough people have reported this although some people have commented that they have so I-??m not sure if this is currently under investigation. If not please help

- Pottstown, PA, USA

problem #22

May 202023

Santa Fe

  • miles
My transmission keeps slipping. I was on freeway this time and it slipped out of gear but it was like I pushed all the way down on pedal the RPM went way up so I had to wait until it slipped back into gear to be able to continue on down the freeway. I backed up traffic for a minute because I can't put on gas until it goes back in gear.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #21

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 #20

Mar 082023

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

Front sunroof shattered on the interstate at 80 mph. There were no other vehicles near me and it was an unobstructed road (no bridges crossing the road) temperature was 40 degrees and sunny.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #19

Mar 282023

Santa Fe

  • miles
There were 2 instances where my vehicle stopped. Once I was driving 15mph and it said -??Put car in Park-??. The 2nd, I was driving 45mph and the vehicle said -??Step on the Brake to start car-??. I have also had 2 instances where my odometer just keeps going up and down. He 2nd instance, the car was making a ticking noise and hazard along with other lights were flashing.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #18

Apr 102023

Santa Fe

  • miles
Whenever the weather gets above 80 degrees outside my car put a notice to refill inverter coolant, when everything is filled max line. I-??ve mentioned it twice to the Hyundai service and both times the employee told me not to worry about it and it is a sensor issue. That is unacceptable, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada where temperatures on average in summer are 90+. That-??s a big risk an unnecessary danger to have my car engine over heat and stop in the middle of no where and potentially leave me stranded or worse cause an accident or fire. On top of that I have to see the message every day in the summer temperatures, without any way to remove the message. This will be the 2nd summer I-??ve seen this message appear in my car, and I-??m tired of the dealership & their car service staff telling me this is nothing to worry about-?? especially on car not even 4 years old!

- North Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #17

Apr 012023

Santa Fe

  • miles
After jacking up the car to do a tire swap from winter tires and wheels to the OEM tires and wheels on the front passenger side using the factory supplied scissors jack the vehicle rocked slightly, causing the jack to fall over and the vehicle to drop. I had already completed the tire and wheel swap on the driver side of the vehicle without incident. At this point the lug nuts were loose but had not yet been removed, so no damage to the vehicle occurred. This event happened in my garage that has a flat concrete floor with an epoxy coating. I was not touching the vehicle at the time. The vehicle was in park but the electronic parking brake was not manually set (not sure if that can be done). I believe the transmission (8 speed DCT) allows too much movement fore and aft before engaging the parking pawl that locks the front axles and prevents movement. Also, due to the height of the vehicle, the scissors jack must be extended near the very top of the maximum lifting height to raise the tires about 1/2" above the ground level, where the jack is naturally the least stable. I used wheel chocks on the opposite diagonal corner for the remaining wheels. The jack sustained a bent threaded shaft but otherwise appeared to be ok and the support arms did not seem to be bent. I will be replacing this jack with a sturdier unit soon and will not use this one again, however I will keep it in case in its needed for examination.

- Sycamore, IL, USA

problem #16

Feb 032022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Unknown vigorous shaking in rear of vehicle check engine light on. Stopped after turning car off and restarting. Hyundai found no causes and no codes when inspected for issue.

- Palm Coast, FL, USA

problem #15

Dec 282022

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • miles
On December 28, 2022, we were driving 70 miles per hour on Route 75 in the third lane of a four-lane highway from Michigan to Tennessee. In Ohio, the vehicle lost all drive power without warning. As it decelerated, we were able to maneuver the vehicle to the breakdown lane, narrowly avoiding other vehicles around us driving at 70 miles per hour. We do not know what caused this to happen. After several hours on the side of the highway, the vehicle was towed to Jeff Wyler Hyundai in Fairfield, Ohio. They have not been able to diagnose the problem as of today. The contact stated that the cause of the issue was due to an oil plug that was improperly tightened by the dealership during service maintenance. As a result of that, the oil was able to drain out and cause the engine to fail.

- Canton, MI, USA

problem #14

Dec 152022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The manufacturer has not issued a remedy for this recall #22V746000 since the initial filing of the recall on 10/6022.

- Bay Shore, NY, USA

problem #13

Oct 062022

Santa Fe

  • miles
I have been aware of this SAFETY DEFECT/RECALL for over 2 months now yet Hyundai has no remedy planned thus placing owners and others on the road in serious danger. This is unacceptable and I wish to file a formal complaint with the NHTSA. (NHTSA recall number 22V-746)

- Venice, FL, USA

problem #12

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 #11

Jun 142022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Refill inverter coolant comes up on my dash daily. I have taken the vehicle back to the dealership several times to get that serviced. After having the vehicle all day they tell me everything is running fine and they can-??t find the problem or figure out why the message is coming up. This has been going on since I bought the vehicle in April. They assure me the vehicle is safe to drive and this won-??t affect the vehicle in any way. This problem has not been resolved and I-??m afraid serious damage will happen if this message keeps coming up and they don-??t get it fixed.

- Calhoun Falls, SC, USA

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