Illustration2 ISSUES - (1 )WHILE TURNING, LOSES POWER STEERING MOMENTARILY, BATTERY AND SEAT BELT LIGHTS COME ON TEMPORARILY (2) WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT AT LOW SPEEDS, CAR "BUCKS" AS IF TRANSMISSION JAMMED OR BRAKES LOCKED UP MOMENTARILY --BOTH ISSUES ARE INTERMITTENT, AND MAY BE UNRELATED--
2009 Hyundai Santa Fe
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 212.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Santa Fe years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
550–25K
2825–50K
5350–75K
7775–100K
54100–150K
11150K+
278 reports with mileage · 80 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.
- Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 109 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 51 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
27 crash reports5 fire reports15 injury reports
What owners actually said
358 reportsFUEL GAUGE BECAME ERRATIC AND TRIGGERED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON ALSO IT WILL FLUCTUATE A LITTLE BIT WHEN IT HITS THE 1/4 MARK AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT WILL COME ON. IT WILL GO FROM 1/4 TO EMPTY CAN NOT TELL HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE TANK. WHEN I FILL THE TANK IT REGISTERS EMPTY AND THE AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT INDICATOR COMES ON…
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FUEL GAUGE BECAME ERRATIC AND TRIGGERED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON ALSO IT WILL FLUCTUATE A LITTLE BIT WHEN IT HITS THE 1/4 MARK AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT WILL COME ON. IT WILL GO FROM 1/4 TO EMPTY CAN NOT TELL HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE TANK. WHEN I FILL THE TANK IT REGISTERS EMPTY AND THE AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT INDICATOR COMES ON. STARTING THE CAR AGAIN ON THE SAME DAY OR THE NEXT DAY, THE GAGE COMES UP AGAIN TO THE FULL OR HALF WAY MARK AND THE LIGHT GOES OUT. THE CAR STALLS WHILE IN CITY TRAFFIC CAUSING A DANGEROUS SITUATION ANOTHER CAR COULD CRASH INTO ME.
THE FUEL GAUGE VARIES WIDELY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO KNOW AT TIMES HOW MUCH GAS THE CAR TRULY HAS. THIS SEEMS TO BY A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE.
I WAS COMING FROM FOOD SHOPPING, ON AUGUST, 26, 2019 AND WAS TRYING TO LEAVE OUT MY PARKING SPOT. WHILE ME BACKING OUT, MY VEHICLE ACCELERATED BACKWARD AND WHILE I TRIED TO STOP MY VEHICLE IT TAPPED INTO A LIGHT POLE. I WAS TRYING TO GET MY SELF OUT OF THIS WEIRD SITUATION. I SWITCHED GEARS TO PARK MY CAR, AND MY CAR ACCELERATED…
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I WAS COMING FROM FOOD SHOPPING, ON AUGUST, 26, 2019 AND WAS TRYING TO LEAVE OUT MY PARKING SPOT. WHILE ME BACKING OUT, MY VEHICLE ACCELERATED BACKWARD AND WHILE I TRIED TO STOP MY VEHICLE IT TAPPED INTO A LIGHT POLE. I WAS TRYING TO GET MY SELF OUT OF THIS WEIRD SITUATION. I SWITCHED GEARS TO PARK MY CAR, AND MY CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD SLAMMING INTO A BRICK WALL AND ALSO RUBBING AGAINST IT. MY CAR THEN SLOWLY STARTED TO BACK UP NOT EVEN LETTING ME BE ABLE TO BREAK OR SWITCH GEARS. FOR THE LAST TIME IT ACCELERATED FORWARD SIDE SWIPING A LADY CAR AND HITTING THE BRICK WALL AGAIN. MY AIR BAGS DID NOT GO OFF, LEAVING ME WITH AN CONCUSSION AND ALSO SEVER NECK AND HEAD PAIN. THIS ALL HAPPEN SO SUDDENLY AND RANDOMLY. I BARELY REMEMBERED WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL SEEING A VIDEO OFF OF THE CAMERA AT A NEAR BY GAS STATION. THIS SITUATION WENT FROM SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENING INTO A VERY DANGEROUS AND SCARY SITUATION. I CONTACTED NATIONAL CONSUMERS AFFAIRS HYUNDAI MOTOR VEHICLE, BECAUSE MY CAR HAD BEEN TOTALED, I WAS LEFT WITH HOSPITAL BILLS AND ALSO MY INSURANCE MAY GO UP, BECAUSE OF THE WHOLE SITUATIONS. I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE CAME TO SOME CLOSURE WHEN IT CAME TO THEM HELPING ME OUT WITH MY SITUATION, BUT THEY TOLD ME THEY CAN'T FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR AND THERE WAS NO DEFECT OR ANYTHING. AFTER SENDING THESE PEOPLE PICTURES, THE VIDEO, AND EVEN PROOF OF ME GOING TO THE HOSPITAL MORE THAN ONCE,THEY MADE ME FEEL LIKE THIS WAS ALL MY FAULT. I SPOKE TO A "PRIVATE" CONTRACTOR FROM HYUNDAI THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO LOOK INTO MY CAR AND ALSO A SPECIALIST THAT DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE ME HIS LAST NAME WHILE LOOKING INTO MY CASE. ALSO A LADY FROM HYUNDAI CALLED ME FROM A PRIVATE NUMBER FROM THE COMPANY. THIS ALL SEEM SO WEIRD TO ME AS IF THEY WERE SCAMMING ME WHEN IT CAME TO A SERIOUS SITUATION LIKE THIS. I FEEL LIKE HYUNDAI IS RUNNING FAKE INVESTIGATIONS. I'M HOPING NHTSA DO SOMETHING ASAP.
BRAKES COMPLEXLY FAILED WHILE I WAS DRIVING WITH BRAKES BEING PRESSED COMPLETELY TO FLOOR. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC BESIDE MY HOME IMMEDIATELY . BOTH BREAK LINES WERE LEAKING 'GUSHING' BRAKE FLUID. HYUNDAI RECALLED THIS SAME EXACT PROBLEM ON THEIR 2011 SANTA FE BUT WHEN I NOTIFIED HYUNDAI OF MY BRAKE FAILURE THEY INFORMED ME TH…
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BRAKES COMPLEXLY FAILED WHILE I WAS DRIVING WITH BRAKES BEING PRESSED COMPLETELY TO FLOOR. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC BESIDE MY HOME IMMEDIATELY . BOTH BREAK LINES WERE LEAKING 'GUSHING' BRAKE FLUID. HYUNDAI RECALLED THIS SAME EXACT PROBLEM ON THEIR 2011 SANTA FE BUT WHEN I NOTIFIED HYUNDAI OF MY BRAKE FAILURE THEY INFORMED ME THAT MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. ALSO THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ON WHEN THIS OCCURRED ! I WILL UPLOAD AN ACTUAL IMAGE OF LEAKING BRAKE LINES WHEN I RETURN TO THE REPAIR SHOP. VEHICLE PARTS REFERENCE NUMBERS PER HYUNDAI ARE 58722D AND 58718F. REPAIRS ESTIMATE IS APPROXIMATELY $665
GAS GAUGE HIGHLY INACCURATE. FUEL WARNING LIGHT GOES ON AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO APPEARS. HAVE TO PULL OVER AS AFRAID TO DRIVE. FINALLY GO TO NEAREST GAS STATION ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT GAS TANK WAS STILL HALF FULL. THIS HAS HAPPENED A NUMBER OF TIMES. VEHICLE HAS ONLY 60,000 MILES.
MY 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE HAS STALLED MORE THAN 4 TIMES WHILE DRIVING SINCE 2010. IT LOSES POWER WITHOUT WARNING RENDERING THE VEHICLE UNSAFE AND NOT ABLE TO BE DRIVEN. THE FIRST TIME IN 2010 IT STOPPED WHILE ON THE EXIT RAMP OF A HIGHWAY DOING ABOUT 50 MPH. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY "COULD NOT DUPLICATE TH…
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MY 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE HAS STALLED MORE THAN 4 TIMES WHILE DRIVING SINCE 2010. IT LOSES POWER WITHOUT WARNING RENDERING THE VEHICLE UNSAFE AND NOT ABLE TO BE DRIVEN. THE FIRST TIME IN 2010 IT STOPPED WHILE ON THE EXIT RAMP OF A HIGHWAY DOING ABOUT 50 MPH. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY "COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM" SO THEY DID NOTHING. BROUGHT SAME VEHICLE BACK TO DEALERSHIP IN 2011, 2014 AND 2019. EACH TIME WE ARE TOLD "COULD NOT DUPLICATE AT THIS TIME". THE MOST RECENT ON AUGUST 7, 2019 THEY REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY COMMENTING THAT "VEHICLE NOW OPERATES NORMALLY. VEHICLE DOES NOT STALL". THE VEHICLE HAS SINCE STALLED AGAIN DURING DRIVING. THE DEALERSHIP WILL ONLY LOOK AGAIN AT THE VEHICLE AT THE COST OF $100.00 PER HOUR. WE HAVE CONTACTED THE CORPORATE OFFICE AND THEY WERE NOT HELPFUL, IN FACT RUDE AND HUNG UP. AFTER READING SO M;ANY COMPLAINTS ON JUST THIS SITE I HOPE OUR GOVERNMENT CAN HELP GET HYUNDAI TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR VEHICLES BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED.
THE BATTERY LIGHT KEPT BLINKING, MY BATTERY IS NEW, ALSO THE SEAT BELT LIGHT FOR PASSENGER SEAT KEPT BLINKING EVEN WHEN THE SEAT BELT WAS BUCKLED. I STALLED OUT AND WOULDN'T START BACK UP. I WAS IN THE STREET WHEN IT WOULDN'T START BACK UP. I HAD IT LOOKED AT WHEN IT WAS TOWED AND THE SHOP SAID THERE WAS ALOT OF OIL ON MY ALTERN…
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THE BATTERY LIGHT KEPT BLINKING, MY BATTERY IS NEW, ALSO THE SEAT BELT LIGHT FOR PASSENGER SEAT KEPT BLINKING EVEN WHEN THE SEAT BELT WAS BUCKLED. I STALLED OUT AND WOULDN'T START BACK UP. I WAS IN THE STREET WHEN IT WOULDN'T START BACK UP. I HAD IT LOOKED AT WHEN IT WAS TOWED AND THE SHOP SAID THERE WAS ALOT OF OIL ON MY ALTERNATOR AND I WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE MY VALUE COVER GASKETS ALSO.
FUEL GUAGE DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY. FLUCTUATES GREATLY CAUSING POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE IF ONE WERE TO RUN OUT OF GAS ON THE HIGHWAY. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AFTER FILLING GAS TANK.
BOTH FUEL LEVEL SENSORS WENT BAD
Official recalls
213V113000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch
Apr 1, 2013
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of Park without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. The safety recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 110.
12V354000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE
Jul 25, 2012
Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2009 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured from April 19, 2006, through July 7, 2008. The occupant classification system (OCS) may need recalibration to accurately detect small statured adults.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Improper classification or detection may cause the front passenger airbag not to deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will update the classification software free of charge. The safety recall began on September 7, 2012. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
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
1DP21003 · Throttle Control System Vulnerabilities
Opened Nov 12, 2021 · Closed Jun 20, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Vehicle Speed Control:throttle
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated October 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (ETC) system on certain Kia vehicles resulting in the opening of DP21-003. Accordingly, Model Year (MY) 2005-2016 Kia Optima/K5, MY 2006-2015 Kia Sorento, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Elantra, MY 2007-2016 Hyundai Santa Fe, MY 2006-2015 Hyundai Sonatas are all part of the subject population. The petition was originally filed as a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire that can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under reference (ODI) number 11439675.On November 12, 2021, ODI opened Defect Petition DP21-003 to evaluate the petitioner?s request. ODI performed trend analyses of the VOQs related to vehicle speed control issues for all the subject vehicles and found that none of the 52 Model/Model Year Hyundai/Kia vehicles demonstrated any actionable trend that warranted an investigation.Petitioners submitted 1119 VOQs and non-VOQ cases in which sudden uncommanded acceleration (SUA) or loss of motive power (LOMP) incidents were alleged.For the 1119 reports, 220 were incidents involving crashes, from which 69 subject Hyundai-Kia vehicles were inspected by Hyundai/Kia dealer technicians, Hyundai/Kia engineers, and/or third-party representatives.ODI found the inspections identified no vehicle defects related to the ETC system.Of the 220 crash-involved reports, 13 Event Data Recorder (EDR) records were downloaded successfully and 11 of those indicated driver error: (i.e.) pedal misapplication.A condition where the accelerator pedal is mistakenly applied instead of the brake pedal when the driver wants to stop the vehicle.In addition, ODI reviewed a scientific journal paper published in Forensic Science International in 2016 by Mr. Park et al ., as well as related test videos. ODI does not believe there is any evidence of uncontrollable SUA occurrences in any of the tests reviewed. NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) reviewed the allegations regarding the potential noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 124.Based on the information provided, the Agency concludes there is insufficient information for us to determine if a possible non-compliance exists.Finally, both Hyundai and Kia informed ODI that all their vehicles manufactured after 2012 were equipped with an ETC management system, in which the engine speed will go to idle when the system sees signals from both the brake pedal and accelerator pedal at the same time; this is commonly known as the brake-throttle override system.After thoroughly assessing the material submitted by the petitioner, information already in NHTSA's possession, information submitted by Hyundai and Kia in response to an Information Request letter, and the potential risks to safety implicated by the petitioner's allegation, NHTSA does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. After full consideration of appropriate factors, the petition is denied. A Federal Register Notice (FRN) further detailing NHTSA?s reasons for denial of the petition will be published.