← New search

2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 212.5.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 19 of 207 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Power Train. Review the 44 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 35 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

11 crash reports3 fire reports10 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

22 reports
Clear category filter
Mileage unknown · Dec 15, 2024
Service BrakesWheels

I purchased my 2023 Santa Fe brand new off the show room floor in Jan 2024. After about 6k miles when braking on the highway the entire vehicle would shudder and shake including the steering wheel. I took it into the dealership where I was informed this is a KNOWN ISSUE with this year/make/model with the rotors. They claimed the…

Read full complaint

I purchased my 2023 Santa Fe brand new off the show room floor in Jan 2024. After about 6k miles when braking on the highway the entire vehicle would shudder and shake including the steering wheel. I took it into the dealership where I was informed this is a KNOWN ISSUE with this year/make/model with the rotors. They claimed they would turn the rotors but if the issue persists they would replace them. About 2k miles later (apx 2 months) the shuddering happened AGAIN. So I made an apt to get them replaced where the new service tech tried to tell me again this is a KNOWN ISSUE but now I would be responsible for a $250 replacement of the rotors. I refused to pay as they are within the 12k or 1 year warranty and they refused to replace them. That service tech also said the day prior he had to deliver that news to 4 OTHER patrons about the replacement of their rotors. I feel extremely unsafe in this vehicle and the issue is still not fixed as I have a claim in process with the manufacture directly. The claim was put in on 12/7/24 where I was told I would be contacted within 2-3 BUSINESS DAYS by a manager due to my claim being escalated. It is now 12/15/24 and still NO CONTACT from Hyundai. The vehicle shuddering is increasingly worse and worse and I feel very unsafe in this suv.

NHTSA ODI #11630804

Mileage unknown · Oct 23, 2024
Service Brakes

Brake rotors warped. Beginning at approximately 5k miles, the steering began exhibiting a juddering upon applying braking. Over time, the juddering became more pronounced. At approximately 15k miles, I took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer confirmed that the brake rotors were warped. The defective brake components pu…

Read full complaint

Brake rotors warped. Beginning at approximately 5k miles, the steering began exhibiting a juddering upon applying braking. Over time, the juddering became more pronounced. At approximately 15k miles, I took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer confirmed that the brake rotors were warped. The defective brake components put my safety at risk, as well as the safety of my passengers and others traveling on the road by impairing my ability to safely stop the vehicle and impairing my ability to safely operate the vehicle while braking. There were no safety lights or warnings. I am aware that there has been a technical service bulletin for this exact issue for this model/year vehicle. Neither Hyundai nor the dealer ever altered me to the possibility that the brake rotors might warp due to defective components. Hyundai has thus far refused to cover the full cost of repairs, totaling over $1,400.00.

NHTSA ODI #11621614

Mileage unknown · Apr 30, 2024
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

Unknown issue, but the car has auto braked 2x on the interstate going 65mph. No cars were around me nor any objects in the road. It stated auto braking and sensors going off. Resolved itself within 60 seconds, but did almost cause me to be rear ended because a tractor trailer was quickly approaching me.

NHTSA ODI #11586128

Mileage unknown · Mar 7, 2024
Service Brakes

Whilst driving the vehicle a number of warning lights appeared on the dashboard. This occurred after the vehicle was brought to a stop at a stop sign. There were no outside influences before or after the warnings began. The vehicle remained operable and was driving back to our residence approximately 1 mile away. I made an appoi…

Read full complaint

Whilst driving the vehicle a number of warning lights appeared on the dashboard. This occurred after the vehicle was brought to a stop at a stop sign. There were no outside influences before or after the warnings began. The vehicle remained operable and was driving back to our residence approximately 1 mile away. I made an appointment with the local dealership to investigate the issue. The appointment was made for the following day. Whilst driving the vehicle to vehicle to the dealership on the following day the brakes became temporarily inoperable forcing me to leave the road and hit the right hand kerb. After pumping the brake pedal several times the brakes re-engaged and I was able to stop the vehicle. The dealership have explained that a rear wheel speed sensor (ABS) had failed and was sending messages to the the braking system which made the braking system inoperable. The dealership replaced the sensor and at this time the vehicle is operating as expected.

NHTSA ODI #11576097

Mileage unknown · Dec 17, 2023
Service Brakes

This hard brake peddle pressure issue started out immediately on an occasional basis but now occurs almost every morning on first start of the day. Press on the brake pedal - it's very hard to deflect - and if you don't overpower it to deflect the pedal enough to activate the brake lights, it won't start. Once you get it started…

Read full complaint

This hard brake peddle pressure issue started out immediately on an occasional basis but now occurs almost every morning on first start of the day. Press on the brake pedal - it's very hard to deflect - and if you don't overpower it to deflect the pedal enough to activate the brake lights, it won't start. Once you get it started the first time, brake operation will be normal for the rest of the day. A specialty maintenance blog has covered this issue comprehensively. The Hyundai Maintenance website is apparently aware of this potential problem. According to [XXX] , it is likely caused by a malfunctioning brake booster or vacuum leak and recommends taking the vehicle to your dealer for diagnosis and repairs. This is apparently a common problem across multiple Hyundai models since there are several threads on this subject on [XXX] : [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] I took my vehicle to the dealer where I purchased it and left it with them for a couple of days, Said they had thoroughly tested the vacuum line and found no leaks or problems and that the vehicle was performing as designed. Don't know how serious this is, but I have concerns. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11560545

Mileage unknown · Dec 16, 2023
Service BrakesCrashInjury

While parking, the brakes failed. Although the brake pedal was correctly and completely depressed the car failed to stop until it hit the building causing damage to structure and injuries occurred to passengers. The brake pedal pulsated but the car did not stop. Prior to this, the brakes would sporadically pulsate while braki…

Read full complaint

While parking, the brakes failed. Although the brake pedal was correctly and completely depressed the car failed to stop until it hit the building causing damage to structure and injuries occurred to passengers. The brake pedal pulsated but the car did not stop. Prior to this, the brakes would sporadically pulsate while braking. There were vehicle health issues that were reported.

NHTSA ODI #11560485

Mileage unknown · Nov 21, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

Upon braking hard and suddenly due to being cutoff on the interstate, it felt as if the antilock brakes did not properly engage but rather grabbed/grinded/scraped. Only when I let off the brake did they disengage. This happened the first time within 2 months of owning the car and with less than 2k miles on it, at highway speeds…

Read full complaint

Upon braking hard and suddenly due to being cutoff on the interstate, it felt as if the antilock brakes did not properly engage but rather grabbed/grinded/scraped. Only when I let off the brake did they disengage. This happened the first time within 2 months of owning the car and with less than 2k miles on it, at highway speeds (65-70 MPH) and this sensation has happened probably 4 times in the 7 months I have owned the car under various scenarios of stopping quickly. In addition, it recently happened when driving 25-30 MPH and coming to a normal stop approaching a stop sign - where it felt as if the brake on the front passenger tire grabbed/grinded/scraped (but not on the 3 other tires). I have taken the car back for inspection at the dealer twice, neither time have they found any issues. In addition, one evening the stability control light flickered, sounded as if the dash was frying/sizzling with no reason - roads were not wet, no leaves, grass or other debris, etc. and speed was 25-30 - this happened twice within 3 miles. Dealer found no issue with car after performing visual inspection of wiring, check of system for code errors, nor driving test to reproduce issue. Had the brakes failed, I could have been in an accident causing serious harm to me/my passengers or whomever I could have hit. I believe the ABS system needs to be replaced or reprogrammed but the dealer refuses to acknowledge a problem exists. Online forums indicate similar (and worse) issues, also with people stating they cannot get a dealer to resolve their problems. This is a serious malfunction of either the electric or braking system in some capacity and should be fixed before people are severely injured or killed.

NHTSA ODI #11556359

Mileage unknown · Jul 6, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesUnknown Or Other

Over the last Tom th, I have encountered some pretty scary issues with my brand new Santa Fe purchased in April. Last week, while driving, after I turned on adaptive cruise control, the system alerted me that “smart crusade control conditions weren’t met” and kept trying to engage the front left brake — this occurred three days …

Read full complaint

Over the last Tom th, I have encountered some pretty scary issues with my brand new Santa Fe purchased in April. Last week, while driving, after I turned on adaptive cruise control, the system alerted me that “smart crusade control conditions weren’t met” and kept trying to engage the front left brake — this occurred three days in a row. After turning off the smart cruise control and entering residential roads, the front left brake tried to engage in a manner that seemed consistent with ABS issue. I brought car in two days later to Dublin Hyundai and they said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. I picked the car up yesterday morning and then last night while driving on the highway, it alerted me that I need to “check highway drive assist system” and a warning light came up. After about 5 minutes, the car jerked me incredibly hard to the left on the freeway and then athe light turned off. Then two days ago, I was driving my car on the highway the car randomly said “emergency braking system activated” twice, while going 70 on the freeway in the middle of nowhere. This was while driving safely and no cars nearby either time. I looked online and it appears this is a problem that’s occurred in many Santa Fe’s, so there is clearly an issue with manufacturing (which I’m assuming is the same case as the previous issues I’ve run into).

NHTSA ODI #11530619

Mileage unknown · Jun 23, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

I was driving on the highway and the car phantom emergency braked for no reason at all.

NHTSA ODI #11528554

Mileage unknown · May 9, 2023
Power TrainService Brakes

Car was purchased January 21st had 3000 mile on it when service was needed for these issues. On march 23rd as I started driving my car wouldn't go above 30 mph, when pressing on the gas pedal the car wouldn't accelerate, the rpm gage would go to 4 but engine wouldn't make noise car wouldn't speed up. I put the car in park and ba…

Read full complaint

Car was purchased January 21st had 3000 mile on it when service was needed for these issues. On march 23rd as I started driving my car wouldn't go above 30 mph, when pressing on the gas pedal the car wouldn't accelerate, the rpm gage would go to 4 but engine wouldn't make noise car wouldn't speed up. I put the car in park and back in drive with no improvement. I pulled off at a gas station restarted the car and it was fine. During this time the auto on off button was orange on the cluster which I had never seen it that color before. Was looked at by the dealer but wasn't reproducible. Not sure the cause, but safety was in jeopardy due to not being able to go with speed of traffic. Also a couple weeks after purchase brakes began to squeal, took car to dealer on march 28th was told brake pads were sanded and cleaned, upon leaving dealer brakes continued to squeal, car is now back at dealer, supposedly needing front rotors and pads replaced. Dealer won't drive car until rotors replaced. Safety was in jeopardy cause of possible brake failure and resulting accident.

NHTSA ODI #11521230

Official recalls

1

23V181000 · Trailer Hitches

Mar 17, 2023

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is completed. Dealers will install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting May 16, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 244. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-633.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.