5.9

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
14,135 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.

2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #12

Aug 062016

Santa Fe Sport

  • 150 miles

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

I bought my car in July of 2016. Since then I had issue with the acceleration. Sometimes car takes longer to start from the stop position and when it starts, it just accelerates. On other occasions, the car feels like stalling while driving and then pick up the speed again. This is an ongoing issue and I had bought to the sales person's knowledge at the beginning, when he drove around to feel about the same, it didn't occur at that time. But, every now and then this seems to be the issue with me.

- New City, NY, USA

problem #11

Sep 222016

Santa Fe Sport

  • 2,000 miles
Vehicle shakes and jerks at 50 mph on a 30% up grade. Unknown answer by dealership. Dealership has seen vehicle 3 times for this and all they said they did was reset sensors. This did not remedy the issue. I am not pleased or satisfied with results.

- Durham, NC, USA

problem #10

Apr 102017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 250 miles
Vehicle hesitates for a second or two when accelerating, both from a fully stopped position, or while driving at low speeds. Did not test high speeds. This can be a safety concern when merging into traffic, especially on a highway. Dealer service said they could not reproduce the issue, but it is very real, and very scary. I had documented this issue several times with Hyundai support but they just keep closing the case without any action.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #9

Aug 282017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 2,900 miles

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

Excessive engine braking on downhill roll with cruise engaged, will downshift then downshift again. While reducing the speed the cruise will cause the transmission to up-shift still rolling down the same hill at this point the cruise realizes the speed increase and does a double downshift from where it was. At this point the RPM has jumped to just under 5000 with the engine whining like its in pain. I live in and travel, to and from work in the lower savannah river area of South Carolina. The hill that I was on is about the length football field and the speed limit is 55mph unsure of the grade, but as I explained where we live. The first time I noticed this issue the odometer had just over a thousand miles and just thought it was an anomaly but now it has just under three thousand miles and it still has the problem. The car was purchased as a wedding gift for my wife and she's scared to drive it because of the cruise control issues. She would rather drive her 2007 Santa Fe the cruise control in it acts normal and feels dependable, even with 114,000 miles on it. I've contacted Hyundai motors and have taken it to the dealer with no results. Hyundai assigned me case worker angela godbey (714) 965-7049 she closed the case 8/23/17, but not without giving indication that the problem is a manufacturers installed defect.

- North Augusta, SC, USA

problem #8

Oct 072016

Santa Fe Sport

  • 50 miles
My 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe sport 2.0T ultimate hesitates starting from a stop especially on turns, to the point that it can be dangerous, as it may take several seconds before it will fully accelerate and I can avoid any oncoming traffic. It seems more pronounced in regular and eco mode than sport mode. The anti-skid traction light usually goes on when it is happening. This occurs at slow speed. When I took the car into the dealer, and it was checked by a factory rep who was there that day, they told me it was just the way the car works and it is the automatic anti-skid traction control working.I have been just very careful not to turn without a lot of space from any oncoming cars and I try to use sport mode to lessen the occurrences. This of course reduces fuel economy. I have now seen online reports by many other owners with the same problem and realize it is definitely not normal and needs to be corrected. I heard there may now be a technical service bulletin on this.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

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problem #7

Aug 022017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 250 miles
There is a serious issue with acceleration from a stop with this vehicle. The vehicle hesitates severely when trying to accelerate from a stop or low speeds. This is a safety concern, since you may be pulling into oncoming traffic and then the vehicle has no power to go. We only have <300 miles on the vehicle and my wife is nervous driving it. The traction control indicator seems to come on during the hesitation, but the vehicle is on flat, dry pavement and is not slipping.

- Painesville, OH, USA

problem #6

Jul 272017

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles

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

I purchased a new 2017 Santa Fe sport on 5-26-17. On 7-19-17 at around 7100 miles I received a message warning me of the engine overheating. I put a phone call in the following morning to my dealership and was told to bring it into the shop 7-20-17 (thur). That afternoon I received a call from my service adviser stating there was no check engine light on and they could not find an issue. I then restated it was not an engine light but an actual message stating the engine was overheatng. He then called me back 10 minutes later stating there in fact was a leak in the water pump and they needed to replace the gasket and that they would not have the part until 7-25-17 (tues). When I finally got my car back on the 26th (wed) all seemed fine again. On Friday 7-28-17 while driving on cruise control at 60 miles per hour I felt the car down shift and RPM's started going well over 5000 and the only way to stop it was to push on the break this happened twice withen an hour span. I contacted dealer again and was told to bring car back. Note they also had to fix a scratch put on my passenger mirror from when car was serviced the first time. I brought my Santa Fe back in on Monday 7-31-17 and finally decided to contact service department on wed 8-2-17 when no body called to let me know of issues. Since then todays date is 8-10-17 I contacted dealer again to find out status as of right now they had to replace head gasket, reprogram cruise control and replace thermostat on top of the gasket they already replaced on water pump. The service department also stated they still smell coolant in my SUV which concerns me still since I am 5 months pregnant. I did start case with Hyundai usa and am waiting to here what options I may have but know I do not want this SUV back for my safety.

- Gastonia, NC, USA

problem #5

Jul 052017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 100 miles
2017 Santa Fe sport 2.0T ultimate AWD - hesitation occurs when accelerating from low speeds, most frequently observed when making turns. Stepping on the accelerator causes the traction control light to blink and the engine to effectively stall out for a few seconds. When the throttle does engage after the hesitation, it is in a violent manner. This happens more frequently than not, and is incredibly dangerous. I've owned this vehicle for over a year and have 20,000+ miles on it. This is a reoccurring issue. Had I been aware of this site, I would've filed a complaint immediately.

- Brooklyn Park, MN, USA

problem #4

Jun 182017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 14,500 miles
There is sometimes hesitation after coming to a stop. This is especially frightening at busy intersections. I push on the gas and the car does not move. It has occurred at least 20 times, but it happened yesterday afternoon at a busy rotary. I have seen many other complaints, but Hyundai has no solution as of today. I am afraid this is going to cause a serious accident eventually.

- Lowell, MA, USA

problem #3

Jun 172017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 1,200 miles
The vehicle will not acceleration when turning sometimes. In sport mode its fine but eco and reg it acts up. I was almost T-boned cause the car would not move at a intersection.

- Bronx, NY, USA

problem #2

Apr 182017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 120 miles
Within days of taking delivery, the vehicle would take 3-4 seconds to accelerate from a stop, and would not fully accelerate until almost 10 seconds later, creating a huge safety issues for times when speedy acceleration (at intersections, close calls, etc.) was paramount. From there, the infotainment system glitched out and would not turn on until I restarted the car, and it had issues with voice commands intermittently, defeating the purpose of a hands-free device (once again creating more safety concerns). Most regularly, the vehicle would struggle so badly to accelerate from 0-40, and 50-60, and would redline, causing huge stress and strain on the vehicle's power train. Hyundai told me "this is normal" which it is not. This happened daily at intersections, back roads, and on highways--it did not discriminate. I had several near misses when the vehicle refused to accelerate. In fact, just today, I went to accelerate through a turn and had the gas pedal floored because it would not accelerate past 10 mph. It took a full 20 seconds to get up to speed. This has happened in all driving modes: Eco, normal, and turbo.

- Peyton, CO, USA

problem #1

Apr 162017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 300 miles
My new Hyundai Santa Fe has a hesitation or pause problem. Randomly the engine or power train does not respond when attempting to accelerate. It is a dangerous safety problem when it happens. If you are entering a highway, slowing down and then re accelerating, entering an intersection from a stop sign. The condition can leave you in a panic situation when there is no response for a few seconds and then the acceleration kicks in. Your driving timing confuses others approaching you. The condition happens going straight or turning. You could be completely stopped, rolling slowly.. I have driven this vehicle for 800 miles. It has a 2.0 liter engine with a turbo.

- Allston, MA, USA

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