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2026 Hyundai Santa Fe

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

Limited mileage data: 3 of 36 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.

  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Seats. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

What owners actually said

36 reports
Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2026
Unknown Or Other

Rear Back Up Camera Had Moisture In The Lenses Making The Rear Back Up Assist Worthless. Nearly Caused Multiple Collisions While In Revers.

NHTSA ODI #11763931

Mileage unknown · Sep 6, 2026
Tires

Size 245 / 45 R 21 It's already my second tire thta gets a bubble on the side wall without any know crash One tire blew mid driving for no apparent reason on less than 10K miles I recommend you recall all those tires they are dangerous

NHTSA ODI #11762478

5,100 miles · Sep 3, 2026
EnginePower Train

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The failure occurred mostly while making a left turn and while accelerating from a stop and continued for 10-seconds before self-correcting. There was no warning light illuminated. Th…

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The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The failure occurred mostly while making a left turn and while accelerating from a stop and continued for 10-seconds before self-correcting. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was almost a crash during the failure. The failure was not self-corrected after one failure. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the failure was then self-corrected. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failures, and there was no DTC found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 5,100.

NHTSA ODI #11761943

Mileage unknown · Aug 29, 2026
Unknown Or Other

Oil light comes on and beeps when putting on brakes suddenly.

NHTSA ODI #11760551

Mileage unknown · Aug 19, 2026
Unknown Or Other

TAKE A BREAK" - the feature prompts the driver to “Take a Break” with that text and a‘Coffee Cup” logo after a certain period of continuous driving. There are instances when turning it off is necessary and Hyundai has removed that option - high distracting false alarm rate. The alert, visual and auditory are intrusive, unnecessa…

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TAKE A BREAK" - the feature prompts the driver to “Take a Break” with that text and a‘Coffee Cup” logo after a certain period of continuous driving. There are instances when turning it off is necessary and Hyundai has removed that option - high distracting false alarm rate. The alert, visual and auditory are intrusive, unnecessary, demonstrate a high false alarm rate leading to frustration and distraction. While designed as a safety feature, it has the opposite effect. The system inaccurately interprets the driver’s behavior as signs of fatigue with alerts popping up at an alarming rate. Perfectly normal and safe driving behaviors see the alert popping up again and again. Further there are environmental interferences - bright sunlight, reflections off glasses, bumpy roads requiring frequent corrections - system interprets these as driver inattention and cannot tell the difference between drowsy driving and navigating a poorly maintained highway. New Hyundai models do not allow the driver to disable the Take a Break alert. “You’re cruising down the highway, minding your own business, alert and focused, when your Hyundai flashes a coffee cup icon and tells you to take a break. Again - this for the third or fourth time in 20 minutes. You’re not tired, not swerving, and frankly, you’re getting annoyed”. The system is disruptive and unsafe as it disrupts the driver activating when the system detects inattentive driving, suggesting breaks even if the driver does not feel fatigued. The alert can illuminate even during short drives of less than 30 minutes. The alert can occur extremely frequently, especially during long drives, which is extremely annoying. The warning can appear shortly after starting a trip and may repeat every few minutes, which is extremely frustrating. It is far more disruptive than safe and helpful.

NHTSA ODI #11758055

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2026
Tires

FORMAL SAFETY COMPLAINT – REPEATED SIDEWALL BUBBLES IN PIRELLI SCORPION MS TIRES Vehicle: 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy Tires: Pirelli Scorpion MS Size: 255/45 R20 I am submitting this complaint because I am extremely concerned about a recurring and potentially dangerous tire problem involving my nearly new 2026 Hy…

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FORMAL SAFETY COMPLAINT – REPEATED SIDEWALL BUBBLES IN PIRELLI SCORPION MS TIRES Vehicle: 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy Tires: Pirelli Scorpion MS Size: 255/45 R20 I am submitting this complaint because I am extremely concerned about a recurring and potentially dangerous tire problem involving my nearly new 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy. The vehicle is equipped with Pirelli Scorpion MS 255/45 R20 tires. Within only four months of ownership, the first tire developed a significant sidewall bubble on the right rear tire. The vehicle had approximately 816 miles at that time. What is particularly troubling is what the dealer told me when addressing that first tire: the first replacement tire they received also had a sidewall bubble, and the dealer had to obtain another tire. In other words, a replacement tire supplied for my vehicle reportedly arrived with the same type of defect before it could even be installed. At approximately 10 months and 7,425 miles, another tire — the left rear tire — developed a sidewall bubble the same as the prior tire In total, two tires have developed sidewall bubbles during the first ten months of ownership of this car plus the ‘replacement’ tire. There have been no known impacts, pothole strikes, collisions, or other events that would explain these repeated sidewall failures. There have been no blowouts, and fortunately no one has been injured and the vehicle has sustained no damage. However, I consider myself fortunate that these problems have been discovered before a catastrophic failure occurred. The most recent tire was replaced by Oxendale Hyundai in Flagstaff. The dealer submitted the tire to Pirelli for warranty consideration and mentioned the bubbles in the other tires. Pirelli’s response was simply: “REJECTED.” There was no explanation, no apparent investigation, no request for additional information, and no discussion of the fact that multiple tires on the same nearly new vehicle

NHTSA ODI #11757804

Mileage unknown · Aug 15, 2026
Electrical System

This vehicle constantly pops up an alert to "consider taking a break" on the dash. It mutes everything else and causes a distraction. This vehicle was operated at normal highway driving conditions. THERE IS NO WAY TO DIABLE THIS. After looking online there is a reddit post from 2 years ago where this first came into effect and p…

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This vehicle constantly pops up an alert to "consider taking a break" on the dash. It mutes everything else and causes a distraction. This vehicle was operated at normal highway driving conditions. THERE IS NO WAY TO DIABLE THIS. After looking online there is a reddit post from 2 years ago where this first came into effect and people have been complaining about it constantly. This is a genuine safety concern as any unexpected change or alert causes the driver to look away from the road to see "whats wrong" and for this incident NOTHING IS WRONG. An hour long commute should not pop up 15 alerts because the road has ruts or its mildly windy or the driver is wearing sunglasses or any number of minor things the vehicle doesnt like.

NHTSA ODI #11757081

Mileage unknown · Aug 3, 2026
Fuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control

Over the past month, on two occasions my vehicle has emitted gasoline fumes filling my garage, and today my interior cabin smelled like gasoline. Additionally, after warming up, my vehicle experiences acceleration drop/stuttering when accelerating after idling. This happens every day. I took the car to two dealerships (San Tan H…

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Over the past month, on two occasions my vehicle has emitted gasoline fumes filling my garage, and today my interior cabin smelled like gasoline. Additionally, after warming up, my vehicle experiences acceleration drop/stuttering when accelerating after idling. This happens every day. I took the car to two dealerships (San Tan Hyundai and Chapman Hyundai Scottsdale) and they weren’t able to diagnose the issue.

NHTSA ODI #11754586

Mileage unknown · Jul 10, 2026
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesSuspension

I left work and my car pulled back I looked at my dash I just saw all the lights on indicators telling me I may stop or not I was so scared I live 45 mins from my job and this isn’t the first incident after the second day I bought this brand new car my low oil light came on and the dip stick was dry on a brand new car the follow…

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I left work and my car pulled back I looked at my dash I just saw all the lights on indicators telling me I may stop or not I was so scared I live 45 mins from my job and this isn’t the first incident after the second day I bought this brand new car my low oil light came on and the dip stick was dry on a brand new car the following day and from that point on my car is like a magnet and pulls to the right lane to another car this is causing me PTSD I BEGGED my husband to drive me to work in my 48 years I’ve never been afraid of a car when I let the dealership know they don’t care it’s a stupid woman well I’ve owned 2 brand new Palisades and they were amazing vehicles this one is just not working right

NHTSA ODI #11749658

Mileage unknown · Jun 25, 2026
Forward Collision Avoidance

-On [XXX] I was drivng on a highway while using cruise control. The car suddenly applied the brakes hard. I tried 4 times to use the accelrator and each time the brakes were applied hard again. -The car behind me laid on its horn and managed to shift to another lane thereby avoiding a rear end collison. -Fortunately I was driv…

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-On [XXX] I was drivng on a highway while using cruise control. The car suddenly applied the brakes hard. I tried 4 times to use the accelrator and each time the brakes were applied hard again. -The car behind me laid on its horn and managed to shift to another lane thereby avoiding a rear end collison. -Fortunately I was driving in an outside lane and got the car to the shoulder. -I turned the engine off and then started the car again. -There were no warning lamps or messages that I can recall. It happened quickly. -This incident came very close to causing at least vehicle damage and possibly physical harm to the occupants of my car and the car behind me. -I took my car to the dealership which is Crown Hyndai in St. Petersburg, Florida. They were unable to recreate the problem so the issue is still outstanding. -To prevent future incidents I no longer use cruise control and turn off the FCA system when I start the car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11746383

Official recalls

4

26V218000 · Seat Belts:front:anchorage

Apr 6, 2026

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Hyundai Ioniq 6, 2023-2026 Genesis G90, 2024-2026 Hyundai Santa Fe, and Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid vehicles. The driver and passenger seat belt anchors may detach.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A detached seat belt anchor will not adequately restrain the seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and reinforce or replace the seat belt anchors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning May 29, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and Genesis customer service at 844-340-9741. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 298 and 032G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov April 8, 2026.

26V047000 · Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/panel

Jan 26, 2026

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.

25V809000 · Air Bags:side/window:curtain

Nov 20, 2025

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson, 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2026 Genesis GV70 vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not have been installed properly, which can cause the air bags not to deploy as intended.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Side curtain air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will reinstall the side curtain air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning December 29, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 289 and 029G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 22, 2025.

25V549000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:critical Fasteners

Aug 25, 2025

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson and Santa Fe vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power and engine damage, possibly resulting in an oil leak.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash. An oil leak in the presence of hot engine components can increase the risk of an engine compartment fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 281.

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.