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2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 179.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

95 reports with mileage · 225 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 196 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

7 crash reports8 fire reports3 injury reports

Power Train complaints

18 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 26, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

Bought this as a used vehicle with around 77k miles. The SUV was running fine for a little while until I drove onto the highway. It eventually began to bog down and there was hesitation and jumping instead of acceleration. This continued my entire trip home with the check engine light on. The car was only driven for about 300-…

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Bought this as a used vehicle with around 77k miles. The SUV was running fine for a little while until I drove onto the highway. It eventually began to bog down and there was hesitation and jumping instead of acceleration. This continued my entire trip home with the check engine light on. The car was only driven for about 300-400 miles in the time I had it. When I brought it to have an oil change, they found metal shavings in the oil. From what I’ve been reading, this has been a common problem for this vehicle. It has been sitting in a Hyundai service center for at least a month now with no real responses from Hyundai themselves. They told me they would not fix the problem due to lack of maintenance from prior owners and that they were marking my title (doesn’t make sense since I bought this with a clean title). According to what Hyundai told me, this issue was brought up by a previous owner in January 2026 with no repairs. How can you change the status of my title while refusing to repair a problem caused by a manufacturers defect?

NHTSA ODI #11759687

Mileage unknown · May 25, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. Purchased January 2026 took to Oxmoor Hyundai Service Center March 2026. February 2026 began using oil at a measured rate of 700 miles per tank of oil. Used 3 full tanks of oil within the month of February. Oil lights and engine lights on and off and flashing during this time. March 8, 2026, engine l…

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2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. Purchased January 2026 took to Oxmoor Hyundai Service Center March 2026. February 2026 began using oil at a measured rate of 700 miles per tank of oil. Used 3 full tanks of oil within the month of February. Oil lights and engine lights on and off and flashing during this time. March 8, 2026, engine light flashed and then stayed on continuously. Engine shook and stuttered and made a loud noise. Engine stalled while I was driving at 35-40 miles per hour. I was able to continue driving to my home with the stuttering and stalling. The next morning I drove it to the Oxmoor Hyundai Service Center. I told relayed the timeline of all symptoms I had experienced over the 2 month lifetime of my ownership. They did not attempt to reproduce the issue. They only entered "shakes in reverse" as the customer provided issue on the intake information. Service Center performed diagnostic, found cylinder misfires on cylinder 2 and cylinder 4. Replaced spark plugs to resolve Cylinder 2. Cylinder 4 continued to misfire. Used Borescope and found broken valve. They did not address the scoring on the cylinder of the valve. Recommended engine replacement. Advised it would not be covered under a warranty because the rod did not break. The oil consumption was proven with documentation from multiple Valvoline visits and the vertical scoring was present on the cylinder with the broken valve in the borescope photo. The Service Center refused to do a Boring Clearance Test or any other test that would prove the engine should be covered under an extended warranty or class action settlement. It wasn't until I reviewed HMA documents uploaded to the BBB Arbitration, that I realized that the information I initially gave to the Service Center of all the symptoms with timelines had not been entered into the system for diagnostic review by Techline. Arbitrator denied my claim under the theta settlement because the rod had not broken yet, BUT she said my engine was defective.

NHTSA ODI #11739906

Mileage unknown · Mar 23, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

Enterprise car sales sold me this vehicle when it had 3 open recalls on it. The vehicle itself was a problem from the beginning. When I took it in for it's first oil change the mechanic told me it had no oil in it. He said they sold me a car that is notorious for consuming oil and or seizing or blowing up. I had the engine repla…

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Enterprise car sales sold me this vehicle when it had 3 open recalls on it. The vehicle itself was a problem from the beginning. When I took it in for it's first oil change the mechanic told me it had no oil in it. He said they sold me a car that is notorious for consuming oil and or seizing or blowing up. I had the engine replaced on this car already and I just took it in for it's first oil change and it was already consuming oil. I want a new car but enterprise is telling me this is my problem

NHTSA ODI #11726332

Mileage unknown · Feb 10, 2026
EnginePower Train

Car stuttered and would not rev past 2k rpm. Blinking check engine light appeared Code was for known connecting rod failure for all theta engines for our 2018 sante fe. Hyundai is trying to get out of covering the cost of repair or replacement even though this is a very well known issue and is covered under warranty.

NHTSA ODI #11717081

Mileage unknown · Sep 30, 2025
EnginePower Train

Excessive oil burning even after replacing the motor once before.

NHTSA ODI #11690467

Mileage unknown · Feb 3, 2025
Power Train

Engine failure/ the check engine light comes on and it powers down,it has been in the garage 3 times for the same reason. I have a lifetime warranty on this motor and Hyundai will not cover it, I purchased an extended warranty and they won’t cover it either. Get told now that it is fixed for now come drive it around it might mak…

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Engine failure/ the check engine light comes on and it powers down,it has been in the garage 3 times for the same reason. I have a lifetime warranty on this motor and Hyundai will not cover it, I purchased an extended warranty and they won’t cover it either. Get told now that it is fixed for now come drive it around it might make it.or maybe it will only make it to the red light but you will have to take it to a Hyundai dealer.that we got thrown out of once because they were not submitted any paperwork . Need help I have been with out a car for 8 months and have made car payments and insurance payments

NHTSA ODI #11640481

Mileage unknown · Aug 12, 2024
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

I got my oil changed 98,161 March 1 2024 at mechanic shop Mechanic shop checked oil March 29 2024 at 98,867 a total of 706 miles driven since last oil change. They added 2.5 quarts of oil. So i did my own research online found out the Hyundai 2018 Santa Fe Sport Turbo 2.5 Theta engines has excessive oil consumption problems that…

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I got my oil changed 98,161 March 1 2024 at mechanic shop Mechanic shop checked oil March 29 2024 at 98,867 a total of 706 miles driven since last oil change. They added 2.5 quarts of oil. So i did my own research online found out the Hyundai 2018 Santa Fe Sport Turbo 2.5 Theta engines has excessive oil consumption problems that will cause Engine to seize/lock up, catch on fire, and other mechanical problems. I have an extended warranty TXXI and TXXC. Oil consumption leaks into the pistons and rod bearings and will cause a knocking in the engine. The oil is already in spark plugs and pcv valve which i replaced. But it will continue to keep happen over and over. I don't want my engine to catch on fire with me in it or at all that's why i am proactive in getting this solved now its already a problem. I contacted Wilson Hyundai dealership they did an 2 month oil consumption test Oil change i had to drive it for 1000 miles It failed. Then they did combuster chamber cleaning i had to drive it for another 1000 miles it failed again. So they submitted claim to corporate that i needed an engine. Corporate declined saying i was over my miles they had the wrong mileage it was a way just to deny me but dealership had correct miles so they could not follow through with that lie. So Corporate made Dealership send another claim in this time corporate denied it saying i was over my warranty. No i was not i started this at 98, 867 miles When 2.5quarts had to be added. I also had to wait a week to get into Wilson dealership because they were backed up in appointments i was at 100,212 miles and so where other Hyundia dealerships others were 1-2 months out in appointments. I had to be in a rental car for 2 months had to pay for it and still pay car note paid for oil testing which i was told i would be reimbursed for repairs and car rentals but they did not honor it nor did they pay goodwill pay for all of my inconvenience 2 month long testing and it failed and they still denied/ lied

NHTSA ODI #11607979

Mileage unknown · Aug 5, 2024
EnginePower TrainSuspension

There has been an ongoing issue with oil consumption and engine failure with my car. The engine didnt give any indication of running hot on the dashboard. It just shut off while driving. I've been to the dealer a few times with no help. On 8/4/2024 my car cut off in the middle of traffic with my daughter in the car twice. It t…

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There has been an ongoing issue with oil consumption and engine failure with my car. The engine didnt give any indication of running hot on the dashboard. It just shut off while driving. I've been to the dealer a few times with no help. On 8/4/2024 my car cut off in the middle of traffic with my daughter in the car twice. It took 3 hours to cool off in 90 + degrees heat. Oil wasn't in the spark plugs but they keep getting shorted out. Oil burns and the engine stalls. I have to replace it which I did but my car shut down. We could've been in a bad accident because it wouldn't drive off immediately. We were stranded on a 2 way country road. This is all horrible because again, we could've been involved in a bad accident on the road we were on. After 5 1/2 hours it finally started and 2 people had to trail me home.

NHTSA ODI #11606395

Mileage unknown · Mar 15, 2024
Power Train

My car cut off in traffic 1 week ago and almost led to an accident. This has been an ongoing issue that I reported 2 years ago with the engine consuming too much oil and ot has been leaking. I have to constantly purchase have oil and spark plugs.

NHTSA ODI #11577544

Mileage unknown · Jan 26, 2024
Power Train

My car is burning oil. Took the car to the dealership where an oil consumption was complete, a chamber cleaning, and then another failed consumption test. Hyundai will only cover 60% of the engine replacement because I am the second owner. I think this is unacceptable, how do they think they’re only 60% responsible for selling c…

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My car is burning oil. Took the car to the dealership where an oil consumption was complete, a chamber cleaning, and then another failed consumption test. Hyundai will only cover 60% of the engine replacement because I am the second owner. I think this is unacceptable, how do they think they’re only 60% responsible for selling cars like this? If I didn’t find this problem out when I did, I would have been stranded on the side of the road or I could have even burning my apartment complex to the ground. Someone has to do something about this, Hyundai is knowingly selling faulty cars and allowing the resell of these cars with no intention to ever cover the damages. My extended warranty will not cover anything because there is no cause of this problem. There is a class action against Hyundai over this that should be settled soon, meanwhile, these car dealerships are selling these used Hyundai/Kia timebombs. 
 Meanwhile, I’m putting a quart of oil in my car every fill up of gas, I owe 4 years on the car still, and I’m stuck. I included my email correspondence with the heartless Hyundai rep...I'm not even sure this is the right spot, I just don't want someone else to fall into this same trap as I did.

NHTSA ODI #11567954

Official recalls

4

22V810000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/traction Control/electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/module

Oct 27, 2022

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module could malfunction and cause an electrical short, which could result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS multi-fuse, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 16, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 237. This recall is an expansion of recall 22V-056.

22V056000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/traction Control/electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/module

Feb 3, 2022

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Santa Fe, 2017-2018 Santa Fe Sport, 2019 Santa Fe XL, and 2014-2015 Tucson vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module could malfunction and cause an electrical short, which could result in an engine compartment fire.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS multi-fuse, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 31, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 218.

17V801000 · Air Bags:side/window

Dec 13, 2017

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The side curtain air bags on these vehicles have a component that may detach during deployment of the inflatable curtain air bag.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the component detaches during deployment, the curtain air bag may not inflate properly during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, if the detached component were to enter the vehicle occupant compartment, there could be an increased risk of occupant injury.

Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver and passenger side curtain air bags, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 9, 2018. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for this recall is 171.

17V577000 · Suspension:front:springs:coil Springs

Sep 20, 2017

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The front coil springs may have been improperly manufactured and, as a result, may fracture under certain loads while driving.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the coil spring fractures, it can puncture the tire, causing a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: All of the affected vehicles are currently unsold on dealer lots. Dealers will replace both front coil springs, free of charge prior to the vehicle's sale. The recall began November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 167.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

2

AQ23002 · Hyundai And Kia Abs Module Fires

Opened Nov 17, 2023 · No close date supplied

Status: open (inferred from source dates) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/traction Control/electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/module

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions for the same or similar equipment supplied by Mando. Safety recalls included in this Audit Query (AQ) review include: Hyundai recalls 20V-520, 20V-543, 21V-161, 21V-160, 21V-303, 22V-056, 22V-810, and 23V-651. Kia recalls 16V-815, 20V-518, 20V-519, 21V-137, 21V-331, 22V-051, 22V-800, and 23V-652 The purpose of this AQ is to evaluate the timeliness and scoping of Hyundai and Kia’s defect decision making and adherence with reporting requirements; and understand the varying defect descriptions and remedies between these recalls.

DP22003 · Loss Of Motive Power

Opened Sep 12, 2022 · Closed Dec 12, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021. The Petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experiencing rapid loss of engine oil due to oil drain plug back outs, resulting in loss of motive power and/or catastrophic engine damage. Additional complaints were provided which alleged that the oil drain pans lack sufficient structural integrity and are susceptible to cracking. The petition itself can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI number 11481745. On September 12, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Defect Petition (DP22-003) to evaluate the Petitioners’ request. The Petitioners have provided additional complaints within four supplemental letters dated January 31, 2023, March 21, 2023, May 23, 2023, and August 4, 2023. ODI’s evaluation included the review and analysis of the complaints and supporting information submitted by the Petitioners, as well as additional complaints submitted directly to NHTSA which referenced either the oil drain plug or a crack in the oil pan. After reviewing the available data, ODI has not identified evidence that would support opening a defect investigation into the oil drain pan assemblies of the subject vehicles. Based on a review of the available information, a loss of motive power resulting from an oil drain plug back out has not occurred between the initial sale of a vehicle and the completion of its first oil change. If during an oil change service, a technician fails to remove the existing drain plug gasket before installing a new gasket, it is likely that a proper seal between the drain plug and the oil pan will not be made. An improper seal between the drain plug and oil pan could lead to the backing out on the drain plug, resulting in the sudden loss of oil while driving. Additionally, the provided examples of oil pan cracks were localized to the immediate vicinity of the oil drain plug and/or appeared to be the result of direct-contact with a tool during servicing.  There is no information to support that a vehicle-based defect exists relating to the oil pan assembly, and instead the documented incidents are related to the failure to follow the proper maintenance procedures during oil change service. In October 2023, Hyundai published a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) that provided detailed instructions for oil change service on its gasoline powered vehicles, specifically highlighting the need to remove and replace the existing drain plug gasket prior to reinstalling the drain plug. After a thorough review of the material submitted by the petitioner, the information already in NHTSA's possession, and the potential risks to motor vehicle safety implicated by the petitioners' allegations, NHTSA does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. Therefore, the petition is denied. A Federal Register Notice (FRN) further detailing NHTSA’s reasons for denial of the petition will be published. The reference numbers for the complaints to NHTSA cited by the petitioner can be found in the petition submission documents in the public file for DP22-003. To review those complaints and the additional complaints ODI added to its evaluation which are cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.