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 1 of 2)

problem #32

Mar 182024

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles

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

I was pulling onto I75 at 6:00am when my car started shuttering, making a clicking/ knocking noise and slowing way down. Thankfully I was able to make it onto the shoulder before causing an accident. I was unable to accelerate enough to go anywhere so I called a tow truck. My car is burning oil at an extremely fast rate. I have to get my oil refilled about every 7-10 days with the only warning of low oil being a flicker of my oil light. Continue to be shut down by Hyundai when we mention it. Everyone I know with this engine has had to have it replaced or get a new car. But Hyundai doesn-??t want to do anything about mine. Currently sitting in their lot and they said it would be about a month before they would even look at it.

- Canton, GA, USA

problem #31

Jan 072024

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles
Driving down a 4 lane highway my car refused to accelerate and started shaking vigorously. My vehicles check engine light began to flask on and off. Had to pull off the high way and take the back roads the rest of the way home in fear that it would stop in the middle of the street. As we drove home, every time we would slow down or had to come to a stop the car would continue to shake and rattle with the check engine going and and off the rest of the way home. Took this to the dealership and they stated that I have a burnt exhaust valve on cylinder #2 along with needing a new catalytic converter and told me I should just replace the entire engine. I have 67k miles on a 2017 hyundai Santa Fe.

- Williamsburg, VA, USA

problem #30

May 032023

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles
I brought the car 4/2023 within 2 weeks I had to big it back brakes locking up replaced rotors and pads. Then the strut on right needed to be replaced because of noise and pulling, still pulls. Then the fuel pump went replaced that anc then the differential was replaced but still slipping. The oil light came in after the oil change had to add oil and requesting consumption test. I have had this car 6 months and nobody has figured out what-??s going on.

- Danville, VA, USA

problem #29

Jul 292023

Santa Fe Sport

  • 104,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle struggled while accelerating before there was an abnormal bang coming from the engine compartment. The contact was able to coast to the side of the roadway and received Roadside Assistance; however, the vehicle failed to restart. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, Roadside Assistance observed oil leaking from the engine and stopped the attempts to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that a piston had fractured, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 104,000.

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #28

Jun 302023

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles
My car is burning to much oil which has caused my car to have a check engine light. I was not due for an oil change until end of July 2023 and the car was barely with no oil. I took it in to get an oil change at Valvoline and they confirmed no oil was hardly in the chamber and that my car needed an oil consumption test by dealer. Hyundai models have been having multiple issues with engine failure. This is a safety Hazard as on the road is when I noticed my car shutting off on me. I am working on getting this taken care of with corporate Hyundai and dealer.

- Saint Louis , MO, USA

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problem #27

Mar 222023

Santa Fe Sport

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic where she was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V056000 (Service Brake, Hydraulics). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it remained. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Visalia, CA, USA

problem #26

Jan 032023

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles

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

Oil pressure sensor failed allowing pressurized oil to leak both externally and also internally into the attached electrical harness. The oil that leaked into the harness traveled to the ECM. The repair shop personnel stated that the failure is not covered by the 10 yr 100,000 mile power train warranty but does possess a fire or electrical failure.

- Conway, SC, USA

problem #25

May 102022

Santa Fe Sport

  • miles
The left rear differential completely failed at 25,000 miles. According to the repair shop (Connie & Dicks in Claremont, CA) there was something structurally wrong with the rear differential and it never should have failed like this on a 5 year old car with 25,000 miles. The pinion nut was loose which caused the pinion gear to walk forward and backward in the housing which caused wear on the differential and resulted in catastrophic differential failure.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #24

Feb 192021

Santa Fe Sport

  • 133,000 miles
My car has started jerking when up shifting and seems to only be happening when the car has not warmed up. Then today while driving on the interstate at 78mph my car lost power. Not completely. Almost like something "gave out" and I lost the forward force I was going. It also became louder, almost like a lid hum. When you accelerate the vehicle does not want to

- Clarksville, AR, USA

problem #23

Feb 282017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 500 miles
There's always a 2-3 seconds hesitation in situations where acceleration is necessary. After 2-3 seconds of hesitation after stepping on the pedal for acceleration, the car revs and produces high pitched and loud sound with no acceleration or accelerates abruptly. Quickly merging into highway, making turns, changing lanes from a full stop and slow movement feel like playing russian roulette. Hyundai service center always claims they cannot replicate my complaint and my concern is ignored.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #22

Mar 102019

Santa Fe Sport

  • 28,000 miles

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

Just got this car 2 weeks ago and it hesitates when turning or trying to get out into traffic. Very scary! has happened 4 times at random under the same circumstance of turning or merging..

- Englewood, CO, USA

problem #21

Mar 052018

Santa Fe Sport

  • 24,000 miles
When making a left or right 90 degrees turn from a stopped position exiting a driveway or from a stop sign on smooth surfaced roads, upon acceleration, at the midpoint of the turn the forward momentum starts to lag and pressing the gas peddle results in what feels like a loss of or reduction of engine power causing potential for not getting up to a safe speed to merge safely in front of oncoming traffic. Complained to the Hyundai dealer that stated was a computer issue having to do with traction control and requires an update which is not available at this time.

- Palmer, AK, USA

problem #20

Mar 272018

Santa Fe Sport

  • 8,500 miles
I have a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe sport 2.0 with 8500 miles on it. Since I took possession of this car, I have been having repeated occurrences of engine stalling coupled with the traction control light going on. This happens when I make either left or right turns into traffic: Acceleration stalls completely for 2-3 seconds, and the traction control warning light flashes. I cannot get the car to accelerate at all, even with the pedal fully depressed to the floor. The engine revs extremely hard, but the car does not accelerate. This happens on completely dry pavement. There is something seriously wrong with the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, and someone is going to die as a result of this problem. I have come close to being rear ended multiple times, and I have nearly been T-boned when taking a turn in front of on-coming traffic. I have researched this problem online, and it is wide spread with hundreds of identical complaints. This needs to be addressed immediately before someone dies in the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #19

May 012017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 3,007 miles
This initially started around 3K miles. We thought the vehicle adjusting to our driving patterns; however overtime it became a constant problem. I called the service dept. & they'd not heard of this occurring. It's getting much worse and I'm afraid to drive it. The vehicle randomly at no specific speed seems to either get stuck in a gear or try to stall turning left, right (dry conditions) or as I'm on the highway moving lanes; no specific mph. (this is a driving death machine and for safety purposes I refuse to put other lives at risk) there's a 2-4 sec. Delay, forcing me to punch the gas (my grandfather or father would have stated; "sounds like sawdust in your engine") to get my vehicle to move; ultimately a near miss of a fatal incident on two separate occasions and becoming very close to getting T-boned due to this dangerously "unpredictable & extremely unsafe" vehicle. My husband was fed up and took the vehicle into the dealership.we provided detailed explanations of our experiences. Yesterday received back from service tech our invoice of service work and they state no problems; & update cause to resolution :tsb 17-BR0002 tcs update. In normal driving conditions from 5 mph to 20mph the rpms shouldn't suddenly increase to 5K without forward motion. This occurs in normal, eco, and sport at sporadic times. My vehicle has 10,223 miles this morning.I spoke with hyundaiusa & inquired of a buyback for vehicle considering the seriousness of the vehicle's safety and because the service technician stated there's no fix now or in the near future. An engineer from Hyundai Corp would have to come and there's no idea when (?). so I respectfully request an investigation into the seriousness of this safety. If there's any potential of preventing lost lives of children and babies, please help.

- Parker, CO, USA

problem #18

Feb 232018

Santa Fe Sport

  • 11,000 miles
While turning left from a stop onto a state highway in northern California all accelerative capability was lost when the vehicle crossed a set of railroad tracks at an estimated 5 mph, mid-way through the turn. The AWD vehicle is equipped with a 2.4L normally aspirated engine. The vehicle was in the 'eco' driving mode and the automatic transmission was in the 'd' range. Attempts to add power via the accelerator pedal were met with no increase in engine RPM and, consequently, no increase in vehicle speed. The condition persisted for 10-12 seconds, during which time the vehicle traveled only 75-90 feet with the accelerator pedal nearly 'floored.' There was no shoulder and only one lane in each direction, which precluded moving the vehicle to a place of relative safety. The weather conditions were sunny and clear, and the temperature was 55F. The roadway surface was clean dry, and free of loose material or contaminants. The incident occurred on a tangent section of highway with no grade and a crown slope of approximately 2-percent.

- Galt, CA, USA

problem #17

Feb 192018

Santa Fe Sport

  • 400 miles
Severe hesitation occurs when trying to accelerate form a stop. Hesitation occurs intermittently and happens when turning right or left. More likely to happen if the road surface that the vehicle is turning on to is rough. The vehicle will begin to accelerate and then lose acceleration. Although pressing the accelerator the car does not speed up even though the engine revs up. After about 3 seconds the vehicle then responds and begins to accelerate. Situation may occur 3 or 4 times a week. This is a safety concern because I have almost been hit from behind because the vehicle slows down without warning.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #16

Jan 102018

Santa Fe Sport

  • 9,230 miles
Yesterday, while driving the warning light symbols for the ESC and dbc came on out of the blue. I was on a local road, no incline or decline, a straight level road with traffic moving at about 30 mph. Immediately the car seemed as though it did not want to go forward. I pulled over and turned the car off and on again and the warning symbols disappeared. I continued home and parked the car. While in park, the two warning symbols illuminated again with an additional warning of mil. The vehicle is still in park and a message comes across the console that there is something possibly wrong with the transmission and the vehicle could lose power. I turned it off and on again and on the 3rd try, the warning symbols disappeared. I took it to the Hyundai dealer this afternoon for service and on the invoice it stated that an inhibitor switch was installed / recall completed. Now I never received notice that there was a recall for my vehicle nor can I find anything online regarding problems with this issue.

- Apopka, FL, USA

problem #15

Oct 132017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 75 miles
Transmission shifting is erratic. Stumbles/slams into gear 90% of the time. Shifting is felt throughout entire car. Transmission upshifts way to early when slowly accelerating or driving at low speeds. Car could be going 20 mph and has already put itself in 4th or 5th gear. Then when you try to accelerate, the car bucks and will eventually slam into the lower gear that it should have been in. Makes it very difficult and uncomfortable to drive in stop and go traffic. Transmission doesn't downshift properly either. You must come to a complete stop before making a turn onto a street. If not, the car will not downshift to the correct gear and when you try to accelerate, the car will start bucking and eventually slams into the appropriate gear. I took the car to springfield Hyundai in springfield, pa to have it looked at. After waiting there for 3 hours, they told me that they couldn't replicate the issue I was complaining about, but performed a "software update" that may help. I'm still not sure how a car that was purchased only a month prior, from a Hyundai dealer, had a "software update" that wasn't performed before I purchased it. The 14 year old Honda element that I traded in on this car shifted and drove smoother.

- Secane, PA, USA

problem #14

Dec 042017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 8,500 miles
Starting from a dead stop or at low speeds this vehicle hesitates to go for at least 3-4 seconds making it unsafe if another vehicle is coming at you. When turning from a dead stop the anti slip light comes on when this occurs, this has happened during dry weather. This occurs most frequently in either eco or regular driving mode, not so much with sport mode. I don't like driving in sport mode too much as it wastes fuel. I've noted a whole lot of complaints of this issue and feel that Hyundai needs to do something about this, before an accident occurs! we leased this vehicle in Dec 2016 and it has less than 9000 miles on it as of this Dec 2017.

- Salem, OR, USA

problem #13

May 292017

Santa Fe Sport

  • 300 miles
I purchased vehicle 5/25/17. Noticed that sometimes a delayed acceleration from a stop. It has gotten much more frequent and is a problem in traffic or making a turn. Had couple of scary moments. I have contacted the dealer several times to schedule an appointment, but no one calls me back and getting very frustrated as this is a safety issue. I live 30 miles from the dealer so am going to have to make a special trip there.

- Townsend, GA, USA

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