2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

The contact owned a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that his partner was driving at 50 MPH, a light ahead had just turned red, with two vehicles stopped just a couple of feet ahead of her, the contact stated that his partner had proceeded to frantically attempt to brake, however, the vehicle did not brake in time, and the automatic braking assist did not initiate. The complete front end of the vehicle was destroyed, as the vehicle crashed into the vehicle ahead. There was no property damage. The vehicle came to a stop after the crash. The driver's side air bags were deployed, however, the contact emphasized that it appeared the air bag had not fully deployed. The vehicle was towed to a lot. No warning lights had illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact partner was injured, and she was seated in the driver's seat, and a single civilian seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle that was hit from behind was injured. The contact stated that his partner suffered injuries to her chest, and the other individual suffered injuries to the neck. Medical treatment was needed for both individuals. The local dealer was contacted however the vehicle was not diagnosed, as the vehicle was a total loss, and the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 23,824.

Beginning the evening of 8/21/2023, this 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe HEV began displaying warning messages: "Check Blind Spot Safety System" and "Check Rear Cross-Traffic Safety System." Simultaneously, the car would not register a "Ready to Drive" and could not be shifted into Drive or Reverse. The car could be shifted into Neutral. After turning off and restarting the car several times, the warning messages did not recur, and the car could be shifted and driven normally. The problem recurred in the following days. It appeared that the issue was unrelated to cleaning the sensors but may have been related to the car being left in the sun. The car had to be towed to a dealer on 8/23. This dealer claimed to be unable to reproduce the problem. It is believed that the dealer kept the vehicle in a shaded garage during this time. After retrieving the vehicle from the first dealer, the problem recurred the following day, 9/2, again after having been parked in the sun on a warm day. The vehicle had to be towed to another dealer who was able to reproduce, but not diagnose, the issue. As of 9/18, the dealer states that they have identified a connector that appears to be causing the issue, but they say that they don't know what the connector does, because it does not appear in manufacturer wiring diagrams corresponding to the VIN. Because of the dealer's and manufacturer's inability to diagnose the issue, it is unclear if the issue actually implicates the operation of the blind spot and rear cross-traffic safety systems identified in warning messages. Hopefully it is possible for NHTSA to work with Hyundai to figure that out. The vehicle is with the dealer in Chantilly, VA and is available for inspection.