2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport

I am reporting a serious safety concern involving a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport with approximately 132K miles. While driving at highway speed, the vehicle suddenly lost power/velocity and the engine light flashed. This created an immediate safety hazard, as maintaining speed is critical in highway traffic. Within seconds, the vehicle regained power and the warning light turned off, giving the impression that the issue had resolved. Shortly afterward, while exiting the highway, the vehicle began shaking and felt as though it would stall but was able to drive home less than one mile. A mechanic retrieved misfire codes for cylinders 2 and 4. Further inspection revealed internal engine damage in cylinder 4 requiring major rebuild. A full deconstruction revealed that one of the valves in cylinder 4 had partially broken. This failure occurred with little to no warning and involved a sudden loss of power at highway speed, which could have resulted in a serious accident. The vehicle’s warning systems did not provide adequate or persistent alerts prior to significant engine failure. Over the last 6 months it began consuming oil frequently requiring weekly checks, however no warning systems or errors to indicate an underlining concern. Based on research, similar Hyundai vehicles have documented issues involving excessive oil consumption and internal engine damage without sufficient warning. This raises concerns about a potential safety defect affecting engine performance and failure detection.

The contact owned a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. No warning lights illuminated. The contact pulls over to the right side of the road, exits the vehicle, and notices flames coming from the engine, and smoke starts coming inside the vehicle. The contact mentioned that a bystander gave him a fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire, the flames stopped, then a couple of seconds later, the failure persisted. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was towed to J&J Towing. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating to the failure of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V810000(SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 170,000.

At 4 AM on March 10,2026, I received a recall for the tires (Recall ID:26T009). I took it to the Hyundai dealership to get it serviced. The Director Mr. [XXX] , informed me that the only recall they have for me is a software recall. In addition, the do not fix any tire recalls I would have to reach out to the manufacturer such as Kumho tires co. When the service tech [XXX] looked at the tires, he informed me that there is Bridgestone tires on the vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2/27/26 Kept regularly scheduled oil changes with dealer. Car began to knock and lose power, Oil light is periodically flashing on and check engine light came on. Took car to Valvoline oil change-they state no fluid on the oil dipstck. Scheduled oil change was not for another month. No oil leaks at all. Vehicle is bucking and knocking and loses acceleration. I have an appt at the dealer tomorrow3/2/26 and am hoping hyundai will cover any necessary repairs as they have multiple Technical service bulletins about this.

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact received an undisclosed recall notification, and the local dealer was contacted; however, there were no appointments available. On a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an O'Reilly's Auto Parts to be diagnosed, and DTC: P1326 was retrieved. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that there were damages to the engine caused by engine misfire. The dealer was in the process of determining if the engine needed to be replaced. The contact waited and then called the dealer and was informed that DTC: P1326 was not the correct code and that there was another fault code related to the recall. The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

engine cut out on highway, check engine light flashing. Car would not exceed 50 mph on highway and would hesitate/jump trying to go up any hill/incline. Took to mechanic and vehicle had P1326 knock sensor code. There appears to be a service campaign (Campaign 966/T3G) for 2013-2018 Sanat Fe Sport vehicles, but when i enter my VIN campaign does not appear. This is a safety risk/hazard and should be covered by the campaign/addressed by dealer. Car has always been well maintained and adhere to service schedule.

The contact owns a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the engine made a knocking sound, and the vehicle started shaking before starting to smoke. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined that there was a hole in the engine block and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that since Service Campaign: 953 (ECM & Cluster Update) was not completed in a timely manner, the engine replacement was not covered. The contact had not received the notification for Service Campaign: 953 (ECM & Cluster Update) or owned the vehicle when the Service Campaign had started. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.

My vehicle is using excessive oil. I first noticed this around 80 000 miles. Initially it started off with not being able to get the 5000 miles before next oil change and dropped to around 4000 miles. It then dropped to 3000 and now less than a 1000 miles before I am needing at least 2 quarts of oil. I have had the vehicle examined by midas and they confirmed there are no leaks, cracks or reason for the excessive oil consumption. They suggested that I contact the dealer as this is a known issue and to get help with replacing the engine. I contacted the dealership and was told I would get a call back and never did. I also contacted hyundai on their website and put in a complaint and requested the engine be replaced, with no response from that as well.