2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

Between [XXX] am on [XXX]. I powered on my vehicle and the rear trunk door simultaneously opened. As I was driving my son to school that morning, I noticed water dripping onto my foot. I continued to drive but was distracted by beeping and warning messages but because the dashboard display was constantly switching from daytime to night lighting I could not readily see the dashboard. I tried to manually adjust the light by turning the knob off "auto" and also turning lights to "off" but it would immediately switch back. I made it to the first stop light and while stopped I was able to observe water droplets on the front panel of the interior fuse box. I pulled open the panel and water dropped out onto to floor. I replaced the panel. I continued to drive but was panicked and worried that water was in the fuse panel area. I arrived at my son's school and left the car running as he was dropped off. On the drive home, the beeping continued. This time, I saw the warning message about vehicle in my blind spot but I was on the street corner about to make a right turn and there was no vehicle next to me! The lights also kept switching as before. There was rust observed in the fuse panel area. When I got home, I called the dealership to inform them what happened. They refused to give me a loaner. I told them that water intrusion should not have occurred (we had severe weather and heavy rains the day prior) and now my car was having electrical issues and I was concerned for my safety and the safety of driving my 3 young children in car seats should there be an electrical fire. I mentioned the recall on my vehicle for water accumulation in the tow hitch and risk of electrical fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Three times this has happened. The instances occurred on Highway 680 between Pleasanton and San Jose. I was going the speed limit - 65 miles per hour - as were tons of cars around me. Suddenly the car would brake, startling me because I was nowhere near another car. It frightened me a lot! I think it is the automatic braking system - either the front end collision warning or the blind spot collision warning. It could have easily resulted in an accident. I took it to the Hyundai dealership, and they knew they could not likely duplicate it. They showed me where to turn off the vehicle control (braking) for the front end collision warning and the blind spot collision warning. I have read on the Internet several other parties that have experienced this - car-controlled braking while traveling at high speed with lots of cars around.

While driving the blind spot safety system, driver attention warning system, and lane following system malfunction at the same time, and the vehicle loses power steering. The first time this occured was in the parking lot of an elementary school in April 2024. I was driving less than 2mph and the vehicle had less than 8,000 miles on it. The dealer said they would be unable to diagnose unless they witnessed the errors. The second time it occured was in May 2024 while driving on the interstate at around 75mph. The vehicle was driven directly to the dealership who kept it for four weeks. They said the connections to the ECU were severely corroded, sanded them down, and added a water protectant. The third time it occured was a month later. The dealership has had the vehicle for two weeks with no diagnosis. Losing power steering suddenly while driving is incredibly dangerous, especially in a vehicle of this size and weight. It is difficult to control the vehicle without power steering, and in all cases there have been other vehicles/people in the area who could have been injured.

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.