2026 Hyundai Santa Fe

I bought a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD Calligraphy on April 25, 2026 from Pohanka Hyundai. On April 27, the second row captain's seat on the driver's side folded, pressing my child's chest to his knees. He had his seatbelt on and stated that, even though he tried, he was unable to resist the pressure from the automated collapse/folding feature. While I was in park, a child sitting in the third row pressed the second row collapse button next to their third row seat. The second row captain's seat with a 60+ lbs. child belted in folded. There were no indications that the seat was moving, no alarms or flashing lights on the driver's dashboard notified me. Had I not gotten out to look for someone, my child would have been folded in that position for the next 30 minutes as we drove from school to our home. I called the dealer on April 27 to ask about the collapse feature and if it should sense the seat is occupied before folding. The person who sold me the vehicle asked that I bring it in on April 29 for a diagnostic because he was not aware of a recall on the Santa Fe Calligraphy. A diagnostic was run on the vehicle on April 29 by Pohanka Hyundai Service Center. They stated that no codes came up and no recalls were reported.

There has been an active recall on the front seat belts of Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles for almost a month. I scheduled an appointment online to have this fixed and was called by the dealership to let me know that there is currently no way to fix this. According to what I have read online, letters won't begin going out from Hyundai regarding the recall until June 2026. That is a very long and unacceptable time for people to drive cars with malfunctioning seat belts. Hyundai needs to be forced to do something sooner regarding this issue.

Safety Concern – Lack of Air Conditioning Ventilation in Third Row Seating I am writing to formally report a safety concern regarding a vehicle that lacks adequate air conditioning and ventilation in the third-row seating area. The third row of this vehicle does not receive sufficient airflow, resulting in significantly elevated temperatures compared to the front and middle seating areas. This creates an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe environment for passengers seated in the rear. This issue raises several safety concerns, including: - Increased risk of heat-related illness, especially during warm weather conditions - Lack of proper air circulation, which may affect breathing comfort - Potential danger to vulnerable individuals such as children, elderly passengers, or those with medical conditions In addition, the absence of adequate ventilation in the third row appears inconsistent with standard safety expectations for passenger vehicles, where all seating positions should have reasonable access to airflow and temperature control. I am requesting the following: - A formal evaluation of the vehicle’s ventilation system - Clarification as to whether this is a design issue or mechanical defect - Appropriate corrective action to ensure safe and adequate airflow to all seating areas I would appreciate a timely response regarding how this concern will be addressed. Please note that I am documenting this issue due to its potential impact on passenger safety. Sincerely, [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Se INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe has a dangerous power-fold feature for the middle row. This problem is making headlines in another model, the Hyundai Palisade, and for good reason. Why isn't the Santa Fe included in the recall(s) that are intended to correct the problem in the Palisade? In my vehicle, the second row has two seats (captain's chairs). The power-fold feature is the only way to fold the middle row for additional cargo space. When my wife activated the power-fold, I was unable to prevent that seat from folding. When I activated the power-fold, and an [XXX] relative was standing outside the vehicle, he was able to reach in, but he was not able to prevent the seat from folding, and he was very concerned when he learned this. Please note that, when the middle row seats are (manually) positioned forward in the vehicle, the power-fold feature does reverse when the folding seat contacts the back of a front seat. So there must be a sensor, but its threshold is set very high. In addition, when the conflict is removed, by (manually) moving the middle row seat backward in the vehicle, the auto-fold seems to take that as an invitation to fold again. I have only observed this once, but I argue that this is an uncommanded movement, and that there is no possible justification for this software/firmware action. Thank you for reading this. Please consider the Santa Fe for a future recall campaign. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

vehicle unable to determine when a passenger is seated with seatbelt fastened in 2nd row captains chairs and the ‘one-touch’ tilt-and-slide button is pressed. The seat will keep folding and crushing the passenger. This is a known issue with the Hyundai Palisade at this time and is affecting my vehicle as well. Please have Hyundai issue a recall immediately. My teenage son was in the seat at the time this happened.

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while attempting to adjust the front driver's seat, the second-row passenger’s side seat engaged unintendedly. The child was seated in the booster seat, and the main seat started to fold down. The contact was unaware that the seat had been activated, but was able to stop the seat from fully folding. The child was unharmed. The dealer was notified of the failure; however, the manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The manufacturer opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 174.

"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.

After turning off the radio with the push button control the instrument cluster and navigation display panel went completely dead black. After pushing multiple buttons several times the panel came back to life. This has not yet been reported to the dealer. On 12/12/2025 this same vehicle also experienced faulty engine / power train components which required replacement @1199 miles. Throttle body assembly and torque converter assembly which caused loss of power when accelerating onto a high speed parkway attempting to reach @55mph along with excessive vibration when brakes were off. Took dealer 22 days to fix the problem.