2020 Hyundai Santa Fe

I am writing to formally express my serious concerns regarding an ongoing safety issue with a certified used vehicle I purchased from McDonough Hyundai, [XXX] , in December 2024 and the dealership’s repeated failure to resolve the issue, even after a car accident occurred due to this malfunction. Two months after purchase, I discovered that my horn did not work when I attempted to use it. I brought the vehicle back for service and was told the issue had been resolved. However, the horn continued to malfunction. I have returned to the dealership approximately five times with the same complaint. Each time, I was told the horn works, yet it continues to fail intermittently. In June 2025, I was involved in a car accident and was unable to alert the other driver because the horn did not work. Despite the severity of the situation, no one at the dealership has taken appropriate action to identify or correct the issue. During my most recent visit, Service Manager [XXX] witnessed firsthand that the horn did not work. His technician pressed it once, and because it worked in that moment, the vehicle was returned to me without further inspection. This intermittent failure has still not been addressed. I have time-stamped video evidence showing the horn failing just two days after the last service visit. A non-working horn is a major safety hazard. The repeated dismissal of this issue is unacceptable. I expected better from a pre certified used vehicle. I would be happy to provide any information needed to resolve this issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I have a Hyundai Santa Fe 2020 had it only a year my sunroof is a panoramic and it busted out of nowhere. Nothing hit it just shattered on its own when I was going down the road. I know nothing hit it because nobody was on the road near me and I looked around and saw nothing. I was told to report it here so that’s what I’m doing.

June 2020 I purchased the car brand new 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe SE 2.5L from dealership, after the first year I started having issues with my display monitor just shutting off and my car going idle at red lights or when I’m sitting in traffic. I’ve never been in an accident and I’m not a reckless driver to my standards besides occasional potholes, the car going idle happened 3 times before I reached out to a dealership asking questions only for them to tell me, “it sounds like I’m using the start-Stop feature too much and it’s not recommended to be used often”. So I stopped using it completely. Fast forward throughout the years, it still happened about 5-10 times a year for the past few years, I’ve learned to hurry up and put it in park, give it gas, then put it in drive. Fast forward 2025, Feb I was passed due for an oil change about 300-500 miles the the oil light came on and when I check it myself the oil tank was completely empty, I assumed it was normal since I was passed due for an oil change, and a family friend told me that wasn’t normal, I follow the recommended oil change interval on my warranty paperwork 7,500 even set my car to it, after the oil change my car was fine. I took it in at 130,284 miles, fast forward June 2025, I start my car a morning for work & it’s at 135,658 miles, the oil light comes back on and I notice it’s completely empty again. 2nd time it’s happened this year, and two family friends that are licensed mechanics tell me that’s not normal especially if I’ve gotten an oil change this year & it’s seems like the engine is burning oil too quick. I took it in to get another oil change, tell them about the issue of it being empty when I’ve been this year and it doesn’t seem right, the dealership & a local quick oil change place tells me it’s due to me not bringing it in for regular maintenance. There are no lights on on my dashboard, and when I called the dealership to ask about using the lifetime powertrain warranty I have, I have to pay.

A few days ago, while driving on one of Chicago’s busiest expressways, my Hyundai 2020 Santa Fe with only 56,000 miles and a complete record of up-to-date maintenance, suddenly started smoking, smoke coming from under the front hood then caught fire without any warning. The fire consumed the entire front end of the vehicle from underneath the car to the top hood of car, to make matters worse, my seatbelt temporarily locked up during those critical moments, compounding the terror of the situation, potential risk to my life and property. I am incredibly grateful that I was able to escape unharmed, but I remain visibly shaken and traumatized by the experience. As you can imagine, this unexpected event has profoundly affected my peace of mind and trust in the safety of Hyundai vehicles. It is extremely concerning that a modern car, properly maintained according to its manufacturer's recommendations, could catch fire during regular operation, no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of any problems prior to the incident. I have always valued Hyundai’s engineering and safety standards, which is why I find this incident especially alarming. I am uncertain to what component failed the fire department stated it could have been either the brakes or electrical. As of writing this no official inspection to determine cause has been conducted however, I have reported the fire and filed an insurance claim and asked If they are able to determine how this happened to provide me with this information.

The contact owned a 2020 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that after the vehicle was unoccupied and parked in the residential carport, she was in bed for the night and four bystanders stopped outside the contact's residence. One bystander knocked on the contact's door, the second bystander ran to the back of the house to search for a rear entrance to enter the home and the third bystander grabbed the water hose and attempted to extinguish the fire but was unsuccessful. The contact mentioned the parts of the vehicle exploded. The fourth bystander called 911 and the contact evacuated from the home. The contact did not sustain injuries. The contact mentioned the bystanders did not sustain injuries either. No medical attention was sought. No police report was filed. The fire departments arrived on the scene, and the firefighters extinguished the fire. The fire consumed the vehicle in the carport and the fire spread to the house causing damage. Fire department reports were filed but no report number was available. The vehicle currently remained on the scene. The insurance company deemed the vehicle and her home totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and an inspector from Progressive Insurance in addition to an inspector from American Modern Home Insurance out to the contact's residence after careful review they could not discover a product defect responsible for the vehicle incident. The failure mileage was 61,000.

The vehicle seat caught fire overnight, Sept 26th, and was discovered the morning of Sept 27th 2024. The fire was contained to inside the vehicle and melted parts of the driver seat and lower part of steering wheel. The vehicle interior was covered in orange dust and had extremely toxic smell inside. Insurance 3rd party inspected and declared it a total loss. A few weeks later, a neighbor and fellow Hyundai SantaFe owner mentioned that he had heard of an issue with the Santa Fe catching fire. With this new information, I called Hyundai to alert them. Hyundai opened an investigation, but closed the claim since the 3rd party that declared it a total loss had already sold it as salvage. They also denied any recalls pertaining to my specific vehicle or knowledge that electrical fire was a potential issue for this model and year. There was a recall for a tow hitch that lead to fires....but mine did not have a tow hitch. Obvious concern is that this could be a wider issue than just 1 vehicle and lives and property of those owners and others could be at significant risk.

Back up camera glitches. Causes driver assist to take control at times when not necessary. Have has this in for service at least 4 times since purchasing vehicle in 2020. Service states repaired each time bit eventually happens again. This last time is getting more severe cause multiple electrical short in Overhead lights, Panoramic roof failure to close at times and rear hatch sometimes only partially opens. I saw recent recall for 2021 and 2022 Santa fe's, I believe this problem is what is happening with my 2020 Santa fe and the scope of the recall should be expanded.

I purchased this vehicle in early 2023. I was driving on the interstate and received a TINY rock chip that immediately cracked across my entire windshield in April of 2023 resulting in my replacing the windshield. I have since received two TINY rock chips one on 11/25/23 and one on 01/03/24 resulting in immediate cracks. the rock chips are barely visible and as soon as it was heard each time, the windshield cracked considerably. The windshield is faulty and defective. I have driven the same interstate for the last 10 years and have never had this issue with any other vehicle.