IllustrationI was driving on a highway at 55mph at night today 3/1/2026 and all of a sudden the headlights, instrumentation lights, and computer display went out, very scary, the all turned back on about 1.5 seconds later.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Santa Cruz years →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: 4 of 19 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 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports1 fire reports0 injury reports
Electrical System complaints
3 reportsThe contact owned a 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while fueling the vehicle, the fuel gauge became inoperable. The contact stated that the fuel gauge displayed a full tank while driving, regardless of the actual fuel level. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel gauge sensor …
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The contact owned a 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while fueling the vehicle, the fuel gauge became inoperable. The contact stated that the fuel gauge displayed a full tank while driving, regardless of the actual fuel level. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel gauge sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred after the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,045.
While driving at highway speeds with Smart Cruise Control set during the day I put on sunglasses and the driver attention system turned off the system 6 seconds later. I repeated this event set several times at various speeds and driving conditions with the same 6 second failure result. I made the dealership aware of this and ve…
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While driving at highway speeds with Smart Cruise Control set during the day I put on sunglasses and the driver attention system turned off the system 6 seconds later. I repeated this event set several times at various speeds and driving conditions with the same 6 second failure result. I made the dealership aware of this and verified it with them in the vehicle. Apparently, system uses an IR camera to determine driver attention level via eye contact and does not work with most sunglasses. This seems to be a safety issue the dealership (or the manufacturer) should be the making the general public aware of.
Official recalls
326V316000 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
May 18, 2026
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, and Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV) vehicles. Software in the front cameras may cause the forward collision avoidance system to activate prematurely and unexpectedly apply the brakes.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Unexpected braking increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the front camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 17, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 302. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 20, 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.
24V877000 · Electrical System:wiring
Nov 20, 2024
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson and Santa Cruz vehicles. The console extension wiring assembly may be routed improperly, allowing the transmission to be shifted out of Park without applying the brake pedal.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A transmission that can shift out of Park without applying the brake pedal can result in a vehicle roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Owners are advised to use the parking brake when parking the vehicle. Dealers will reroute the console extension wiring assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 17, 2024. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 273.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.