← New search

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Santa Cruz years

Owner complaints for the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz are substantially higher than the model-year median of 35.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 21 of 183 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 90 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

5 crash reports1 fire reports4 injury reports

What owners actually said

183 reports
Mileage unknown · Mar 4, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Engine shut off on its own at low speed (4 mph) while driving in a parking lot and a warning light indicated to put the car in neutral and restart the engine.

NHTSA ODI #11455145

Mileage unknown · Mar 2, 2022
Unknown Or Other

While driving on a surface street, engine stopped responding while pressing the accelerator. Vehicle would not go faster than 28mph. Once turned off and restarted, engine acted normally. Vehicle is less than 1 week old with approximately 200 miles. This appears to be the same problem mentioned by multiple Santa Cruz owners on th…

Read full complaint

While driving on a surface street, engine stopped responding while pressing the accelerator. Vehicle would not go faster than 28mph. Once turned off and restarted, engine acted normally. Vehicle is less than 1 week old with approximately 200 miles. This appears to be the same problem mentioned by multiple Santa Cruz owners on the following forum: https://www.santacruzforums.com/threads/loss-of-power-as-others-had.9477

NHTSA ODI #11454929

Mileage unknown · Feb 25, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Washer fluid does not distribute properly on the windshield especially at highway speeds causing the wipers to leave streaks in the middle of the windshield right in the driver's field of vision. The vast majority of the fluid hits at the base of the windshield and runs off at an angle towards the driver's side window. The o…

Read full complaint

Washer fluid does not distribute properly on the windshield especially at highway speeds causing the wipers to leave streaks in the middle of the windshield right in the driver's field of vision. The vast majority of the fluid hits at the base of the windshield and runs off at an angle towards the driver's side window. The only way to get it to clear is to pull over or slow down to less than 20 MPH (not always possible) or to pump a lot of excess fluid on the windshield to get enough in the middle to partially clear it. This puts the driver at a much higher risk of running out of washer fluid. I have actually run out of fluid once in this car already which is a big concern. I regularly fill my fluids and have only had this happen one other time in over 30 years of driving. I have checked the Santa Cruz owners forums and there are a lot of complaints for this same issue indicating there is a design flaw in the washer system or nozzle. I am asking NHTSA to please investigate this. I have owned many vehicles and have never had one that couldn't clear the windshield properly. I am attaching the dealer's repair invoice indicating they duplicated the concern and that it was considered normal as the nozzles are not adjustable.

NHTSA ODI #11454157

Mileage unknown · Feb 23, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I accelerated at 10mph, the engine rpm's increased to 3000rpm but the vehicle speed did not increase. After I stopped at a stop sign the car accelerated normally. I did not restart the car. The car was in NORMAL mode.

NHTSA ODI #11453685

Mileage unknown · Feb 23, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Santa Cruz SEL Premium 70 miles on vehicle While driving at night at 40mph I tried to accelerate but the car acted like I was in too high of a gear. It would not go faster and I had traffic coming up behind me. Luckily I got stopped by a red light. Not being sure what to do I turned the car off and restarted. It ran fine after t…

Read full complaint

Santa Cruz SEL Premium 70 miles on vehicle While driving at night at 40mph I tried to accelerate but the car acted like I was in too high of a gear. It would not go faster and I had traffic coming up behind me. Luckily I got stopped by a red light. Not being sure what to do I turned the car off and restarted. It ran fine after that. Car was in SPORT mode. Car not inspected, thought it was something I did since we bought it that same day. No warning lights or messages.

NHTSA ODI #11453680

Mileage unknown · Feb 19, 2022
Unknown Or Other

iLOSS OF POWER. My hyundai t has 400miles on it. In the morning started driving very sluggish- felt the loss or 30% power. On a highway trying to pass the vehicle/merge into traffic- could not get up past 2.5K RPMS and get up to traffic speed -60 MPH. Felt very unsafe- had to quickly take the exit, as I was impeding traffic. Tak…

Read full complaint

iLOSS OF POWER. My hyundai t has 400miles on it. In the morning started driving very sluggish- felt the loss or 30% power. On a highway trying to pass the vehicle/merge into traffic- could not get up past 2.5K RPMS and get up to traffic speed -60 MPH. Felt very unsafe- had to quickly take the exit, as I was impeding traffic. Taking car to a dealership

NHTSA ODI #11452974

Mileage unknown · Feb 18, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Loss of power. Car in drive, no snow going to make a right turn on a busy fast street. Typical speeds on this street are 50 +, speed limit is 45. To get out in to traffic you need to have power to get up to traffic speed. So I hit the gas I say 1/4 throttle and started to make a right turn. I had very little power. The engine r…

Read full complaint

Loss of power. Car in drive, no snow going to make a right turn on a busy fast street. Typical speeds on this street are 50 +, speed limit is 45. To get out in to traffic you need to have power to get up to traffic speed. So I hit the gas I say 1/4 throttle and started to make a right turn. I had very little power. The engine revved up to 2000-3000 rpms but car was moving really slow. Its took several seconds to get to 5-10 mph. Top speed was 39-40 mph. If you hit the gas it would just rev higher but no increase of speed. The bad part was the on coming traffic had to come to a fast stop and swerving around me because I was going so slow. To get to 39 mph took 30 seconds. This car is a turbo and does 0-60 in 6 sec. I almost got hit in the rear and caused an accident. I made a case # with Hyundai but not response in several days. When I finally got a response said take car to dealer. Well I did that the next day. Dealer found not trouble codes and drove the car for 3 days putting on 100mi, no issues. I had no issues until 2200mi. This web site below has many others with the same issue which are making complaints to NHTSA as of the last week. I do have dealer service reports I can summit at a later time. See this forum where many others have same issue. Search loos of power. https://www.santacruzforums.com/threads/loss-of-power-as-others-had.9477/#post-191382

NHTSA ODI #11452784

1,200 miles · Feb 17, 2022
Power Train

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the RPM revved up; however, the vehicle would not exceed 25 MPH. The contact exited the highway and veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that as he turned off and restarted the vehicle, he was able to drive …

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the RPM revved up; however, the vehicle would not exceed 25 MPH. The contact exited the highway and veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that as he turned off and restarted the vehicle, he was able to drive the vehicle with no further issues. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 1,200.

NHTSA ODI #11452576

Mileage unknown · Feb 17, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I was passing on a 2 lane road with the gas pedal to the floor.  After I passed the vehicle, still in the passing lane i let off on the gas.  At that moment I had no power.  Had to brake and get back behind the vehicle I was passing.  Thank god there was no on-coming traffic, or I would not be here telling you this story. It too…

Read full complaint

I was passing on a 2 lane road with the gas pedal to the floor.  After I passed the vehicle, still in the passing lane i let off on the gas.  At that moment I had no power.  Had to brake and get back behind the vehicle I was passing.  Thank god there was no on-coming traffic, or I would not be here telling you this story. It took what seemed forever before I had power again.  Not sure what I did shifting gears or just timing out. I am aware of other people reporting a similar problem with no power on SantaCruzForums.com.  I am concerned about this moving forward. The car was new to me at the time, i thought i had done something wrong, then i read about other people having the same problem. I have had this occur since where it was not a issue, more of a irritant.

NHTSA ODI #11452567

Mileage unknown · Feb 17, 2022
Power TrainUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control

As other owners have reported, there is an issue that happens, seemingly at random, when accelerating from a stop. The vehicle feels as if it’s stuck in too high of a gear and accelerates very slowly despite high RPMs. The maximum speed I could achieve was 16 MPH after keeping the gas pedal nearly floored for 3-5 seconds, which …

Read full complaint

As other owners have reported, there is an issue that happens, seemingly at random, when accelerating from a stop. The vehicle feels as if it’s stuck in too high of a gear and accelerates very slowly despite high RPMs. The maximum speed I could achieve was 16 MPH after keeping the gas pedal nearly floored for 3-5 seconds, which normally would have had me to nearly 60 MPH. This happened to me in rush hour city traffic on a busy street with no shoulder. The only apparent solution is to shut off the vehicle and restart it, at which time the problem resolves itself and normal operation is resumed. In my case this caused a brief traffic backup that extended through the intersection of two major arterial streets and lots of upset drivers behind me. This has only happened once (occurred on 2/10/22) since purchasing the vehicle new on 12/28/21 and having driven it approximately 1,100 miles.

NHTSA ODI #11452489

Official recalls

4

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.

23V038000 · Structure:body:roof And Pillars; Structure:critical Fasteners

Jan 31, 2023

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A detached roof molding could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the roof moldings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 241.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Structure:critical Fasteners

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.

Consequence: A detached roof molding could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the roof moldings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 241.

Structure:body:roof And Pillars

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.

Consequence: A detached roof molding could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the roof moldings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 241.

22V746000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Oct 6, 2022

Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.

22V197000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/supercharger; Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pipes, Hoses, And Fittings

Mar 28, 2022

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall 222.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pipes, Hoses, And Fittings

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.

Consequence: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall 222.

Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/supercharger

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.

Consequence: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall 222.

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.