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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 · Feb 18, 2024
Unknown Or Other

EPB and Auto Hold lights were lit on the instrument cluster in yellow. Power was diminished and once stopped and the car in park, doors would not unlock. Starting and then stopping the car would not reset the lights nor allow the doors to unlock. Fixing the issue requires a second person to raise the hood, and disconnect the po…

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EPB and Auto Hold lights were lit on the instrument cluster in yellow. Power was diminished and once stopped and the car in park, doors would not unlock. Starting and then stopping the car would not reset the lights nor allow the doors to unlock. Fixing the issue requires a second person to raise the hood, and disconnect the positive terminal on the battery to allow the computer to reset. Reconnect the positive battery terminal all the lights were out and more importantly the doors would unlock.

NHTSA ODI #11572576

Mileage unknown · Jan 18, 2024
Power Train

My vehicle was affected by NHTSA Recall Number 22V746000. The dealer Stew Hansen Hyundai in Clive, IA refused to fix this vehicle under the recall. They tried to claim that my less than one year old vehicle was damaged by me and that's why it had the exact same symptoms of the recall. The vehicle spent more time in their shop th…

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My vehicle was affected by NHTSA Recall Number 22V746000. The dealer Stew Hansen Hyundai in Clive, IA refused to fix this vehicle under the recall. They tried to claim that my less than one year old vehicle was damaged by me and that's why it had the exact same symptoms of the recall. The vehicle spent more time in their shop than I was able to drive it. Hyundai Corporate was no help at all. My options were to either buy a new transmission out of pocket to remedy the recall or to trade in the vehicle and buy something off their lot in order to have a working vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11566272

Mileage unknown · Dec 27, 2023
Power Train

* On the date of 12/13/23 my 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz had a loss of power to the drivetrain on two occasions , once in a parking lot , second when merging into traffic. * I felt to drive the vehicle was a risk to myself and safety of others. * 12/21/23 is the last report of DTC. 49,701 miles * The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is at a…

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* On the date of 12/13/23 my 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz had a loss of power to the drivetrain on two occasions , once in a parking lot , second when merging into traffic. * I felt to drive the vehicle was a risk to myself and safety of others. * 12/21/23 is the last report of DTC. 49,701 miles * The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is at a Dealership in Maryland for powertrain inspection and problem diagnosis. * The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz did display a engine warning lamp, no symptoms notice before powertrain failure. Engine code ( P1C2E92 ) * First warning lamp on 12/13/23 ( no driving symptoms noticed ) 49,186 miles

NHTSA ODI #11562176

Mileage unknown · Dec 18, 2023
EnginePower TrainVehicle Speed Control

Dec. 16 2023 / 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz(Daily Driver) VEHICLE SAFETY CONCERNS / DANGEROUS DRIVING SAFETY ISSUES INCREASED RISK OF CRASH (HIGHWAY) Transmission: Problems started Dec. 11,2023 Monday Having trouble gaining any speed. The engine revving when getting on freeway when practicing normal function acceleration, slow havi…

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Dec. 16 2023 / 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz(Daily Driver) VEHICLE SAFETY CONCERNS / DANGEROUS DRIVING SAFETY ISSUES INCREASED RISK OF CRASH (HIGHWAY) Transmission: Problems started Dec. 11,2023 Monday Having trouble gaining any speed. The engine revving when getting on freeway when practicing normal function acceleration, slow having hard time gaining speed, car jerking. Transmission gauge will go beyond4-5 sometimes 6 on RPM just as regular pick up to accelerate problems noticed week of Dec. 11/2023. We were going to bring it up when taken for routine maintenance that would be due at 39,000 mile oil change. car currently standing at 37,000 miles. Radiator: Problems started Dec. 16, 2023 (Saturday) Pearland is 12 miles from home route on 288. Incident occurred while driving from Bushi Ban Martial Arts & Fitness after son's class. I was on freeway and car started to lose speed & over heat. The car beeped and said overheating. hood and oil light began to flash. Luckily was exiting freeway when it occurred speed was 60 mph slowed down to 8 mph and it cooled down enough to coast home. When in driveway hot pink liquid spewed every where, battery cover blown open, liquid all over tubes and engine. The liquid leaked all over driveway and was on drivers side quarter panel and paint was bubbled up. Damage to paint from heat of liquid. Lights on dash that are lit up are engine light, oil can light, battery light on staying on not turning off. Car is not able to be driven due to MFG. defective radiator, transmission, possible engine damage. Looked online noticed recall on thousands of vehicle including the 2022 Santa Cruz 4 recalls stated. Have not turned car back on due to needing it checked out by dealership ASAP need it towed to dealership. De Montrond Hyundai 3260 Gulf Fry Texas City, Tx 77591 Followed instructions on maintaining service at dealership as stated on warranty. REQUEST THAT THE CAR BE TESTED AND OPENED TO FIND ALL DEFECTS AND DAMAGE.

NHTSA ODI #11560626

Mileage unknown · Dec 11, 2023
Engine

Leaving work my truck started shimmying like I had a flat. I realized I had no power when accelerating and my engine light came on. I wanted to make it home so chanced it in the interstate. Any acceleration under 2000 rpm my whole car shook and shuddered. It even shakes when idling before I shut it off. The dealer said they can…

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Leaving work my truck started shimmying like I had a flat. I realized I had no power when accelerating and my engine light came on. I wanted to make it home so chanced it in the interstate. Any acceleration under 2000 rpm my whole car shook and shuddered. It even shakes when idling before I shut it off. The dealer said they can’t even schedule it for service for weeks.

NHTSA ODI #11559614

Mileage unknown · Dec 7, 2023
Trailer Hitches

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer and a second dealer, Sterling McCall Hyundai (10505 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77074) and other unknown dealers were…

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The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer and a second dealer, Sterling McCall Hyundai (10505 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77074) and other unknown dealers were contacted. The dealers informed the contact that the remedy was not yet available for the Hyundai Santa Cruz vehicles. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11558967

Mileage unknown · Nov 20, 2023
Engine

Took 2022 Santa Cruz Limited in for an oil change and tire rotation at Grayson Hyundai in West Knoxville, TN, 11-2-22, on the way home smelled burning oil. Found that the dip stick was out of the engine block and oil sprayed all over the interior of the engine compartment, underside components, underside shield, wheel wells, br…

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Took 2022 Santa Cruz Limited in for an oil change and tire rotation at Grayson Hyundai in West Knoxville, TN, 11-2-22, on the way home smelled burning oil. Found that the dip stick was out of the engine block and oil sprayed all over the interior of the engine compartment, underside components, underside shield, wheel wells, brake caliper, etc when I got home (85 miles away from dealership). I took pics off the engine compartment and dip stick that was left out before they towed it to the dealership. Contacted service adviser, they towed it back and provided loaner. They said, "it lost no oil" and was still full. They said they would remove all the oil from the engine compartment and figure out what the issue was. They had the vehicle for two weeks and said that the dipstick "failed" and showed me the original dipstick with now a very visible cut in the o-ring that was not there before when I took pics of the dipstick before they towed it from my home. I use my vehicle for emergency response and did not feel safe driving the vehicle with oil still all over the engine compartment and underside of all the vehicle. Hyundai customer service did NOTHING, they told me to drive it as it is despite being covered in oil. I went back and forth with Hyundai Customer Service and they would not give me higher position names, numbers or contact information for me to escalate my grievance and safety concern, then HUNG UP ON ME. I had to immediately trade the vehicle and lost my 2.74 interest rate and much of my equity as it only had 26000 miles on it with only 25,000 owed.

NHTSA ODI #11556033

Mileage unknown · Nov 6, 2023
Exterior Lighting

Vehicle is equipped with automatic headlights. They constantly turn on and off during the day as soon as you enter any type of shadow. This causes the headlights to “flash” the driver in front of you. While traveling on the interstate at 75 mph if you go under an overpass they turn on, less than 1 second but take 30-60 seconds t…

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Vehicle is equipped with automatic headlights. They constantly turn on and off during the day as soon as you enter any type of shadow. This causes the headlights to “flash” the driver in front of you. While traveling on the interstate at 75 mph if you go under an overpass they turn on, less than 1 second but take 30-60 seconds to turn off! During that time the dash darkens and you cannot see the speedometer,HVAC controls, etc. Even with the headlight switch turned to OFF the dash continues to dim as if the headlights were on! I have had the dealer (San Tan Hyundai in Gilbert AZ) check them twice. Each time I am told operating as designed. This needs a software update to make the automatic headlight system less sensitive. There is no reason why my dash is dimming while the system is off or why the headlights are coming on during a bright sunny day because I drove through a shadow.

NHTSA ODI #11553737

Mileage unknown · Oct 16, 2023
Power Train

When driving home from work, the vehicle shuttered and almost lost power to the vehicle. Received error code DTC P1C2D03 Powertrain TCU through the MyHyundai application and is available for inspection. My safety is put at risk due to loosing power to the vehicle while driving which almost caused an accident on the highway. Ther…

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When driving home from work, the vehicle shuttered and almost lost power to the vehicle. Received error code DTC P1C2D03 Powertrain TCU through the MyHyundai application and is available for inspection. My safety is put at risk due to loosing power to the vehicle while driving which almost caused an accident on the highway. There is a similar recall in place for the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz for the same issue. However, the recall only applied to the Santa Cruz with a certain vin prefix. I haven't had the vehicle inspected by the manufacturer (Earliest appointment is 17 November 2023). I only received the check engine light once the shuttering started to happen.

NHTSA ODI #11550276

Mileage unknown · Oct 11, 2023
Electrical SystemPower TrainUnknown Or Other

1.Spring 2023 Received a Recall on tow hitch wiring package (may catch on fire)... No solution yet! I was experiencing transmission problems around same time. 2. My Hyundai App warns of transmission problem on 07/22/2023. Took my (19 month old) 2022 Santa Cruz to Preston Hyundai 07/24/2023. Earliest appointment available was s…

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1.Spring 2023 Received a Recall on tow hitch wiring package (may catch on fire)... No solution yet! I was experiencing transmission problems around same time. 2. My Hyundai App warns of transmission problem on 07/22/2023. Took my (19 month old) 2022 Santa Cruz to Preston Hyundai 07/24/2023. Earliest appointment available was scheduled for 08/09/2023 (16 days waiting period). 3. 08/09/2023, at Preston Hyundai, says they must order a new transmission and refuses to give me my truck back claiming it is UNSAFE to Drive (even though I drove it 16 days (over 400 miles) waiting for my service appointment!). Truck has remained at Preston Hyundai since 08/09/2023 and replacement transmission ETA is 10/24/2023, making total time in dealership 76 days to date (or 92 days since being notified on my Hyundai appof transmission problem! Truck has not moved or been started since 08/24/2023. 4. Back on 07/22/2023, I attempted to program Navigation system with "vacation address" but Nav System displayed prompt that Nav it needed a map update. I cleared the "OK" prompt off the display but I started getting "Check Engine" dummy light appearing and other dummy lights appearing! Also my tachometer gauge (also is the right turn signal mirror camera), quit working and started beeping every 10 seconds or so. 5. On 07/24/2023, at Preston Service Dept., I ask them to update Nav System. I was told that it takes too long and they won't do it! (lacking personnel and time and I should do it myself. I researched "How To" and discovered many warnings from owners that their vehicles computer system got messed up attempting the map update. I've been communicating with Hyundai headquarters who suggested I inquire about the "BuyBack" Program at my Dealership! I did inquire on 10/10/2023 and they've never heard of it, but evaluated my truck and offered me $27,000 for my 20 month old truck, leaving me a $15,000 expense for a new 2024 Santa Cruze. 6. I've now contacted a "Lemon Law" Law Firm!

NHTSA ODI #11549354

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.