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2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 212.5.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 19 of 207 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 44 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 35 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

11 crash reports3 fire reports10 injury reports

What owners actually said

207 reports
Mileage unknown · Aug 19, 2023
Power Train

I purchased a new 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe and on multiple occasions when trying to accelerate the vehicle has failed to go above 30 mph. I have put on about 6,000 miles. When I pull over and restart the car. The issue seems to resolve. This is quite dangerous when trying to get on the highway or accelerate to pass for myself, pa…

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I purchased a new 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe and on multiple occasions when trying to accelerate the vehicle has failed to go above 30 mph. I have put on about 6,000 miles. When I pull over and restart the car. The issue seems to resolve. This is quite dangerous when trying to get on the highway or accelerate to pass for myself, passengers in the car and others. The dealer has not been able to repeat the issue. No warning or error codes appear. After repeated returns to the dealer, the dealer has now refused to review the vehicle without a $200 charge to investigate. I am happy to make the vehicle available for inspection.

NHTSA ODI #11539606

Mileage unknown · Aug 16, 2023
Forward Collision Avoidance

The front collision warning/assistance system on this vehicle does not appear to be working. The dealer claims that it is working. It seems that the protocol for testing for proper function is flawed and no one is tacking ownership of this issue. They are saying that in order to test the system a near collision must be imminent …

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The front collision warning/assistance system on this vehicle does not appear to be working. The dealer claims that it is working. It seems that the protocol for testing for proper function is flawed and no one is tacking ownership of this issue. They are saying that in order to test the system a near collision must be imminent and to simulate this puts the technician at risk of injury (understandable); Nevertheless, I have been in situations where I should have at least received a warning and there was none. On a test drive by the service manager with me in the vehicle the front collision assistance was verified on and active. The cruise control function was tested and worked to adjust the speed of the vehicle appropriately which tells me that assistance is available. It appears that the either the collision sensor is not recognizing collision danger or the danger message is not getting to the warning trigger and possibly the assistance trigger. This situation should be reported to the appropriate department a Hyundai for review.

NHTSA ODI #11538914

Mileage unknown · Aug 11, 2023
Electrical SystemEngineSteering

May 5th 2023 my car was broken in to.The back passenger window was broken out and the steering column was tour out .The car was undrivable. The car was towed May 18th to Nalley Hyundai.I just got my car back today Aug 11. I understand Hyundai is suing TikTok I was given a number.She said when they go to court.When .

NHTSA ODI #11538034

2,000 miles · Jul 27, 2023
Electrical SystemService Brakes, Air

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the downhill assist, traction control, auto stop, blind spot, and ABS warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull over and called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle was safe to drive. While driving a…

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The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the downhill assist, traction control, auto stop, blind spot, and ABS warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to pull over and called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle was safe to drive. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes independently activated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the wheel speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

NHTSA ODI #11534727

Mileage unknown · Jul 23, 2023
Lane Departure

when driving in the rain, the driver side (left) blind spot is not functional. When the right turn signal is used, the camera shows the right side of the car and the triangle on the right mirror lights up if there is vehicle in the blind spot. In the rain, the camera lens is as clear as when it is not raining. when the left turn…

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when driving in the rain, the driver side (left) blind spot is not functional. When the right turn signal is used, the camera shows the right side of the car and the triangle on the right mirror lights up if there is vehicle in the blind spot. In the rain, the camera lens is as clear as when it is not raining. when the left turn signal is used, due to poor aerodynamics, there is a large drop of water on camera lens which prevents driver from seeing the blind spot on the left side. The large drop of water is displayed on the dash instead of the left side of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11533937

Mileage unknown · Jul 19, 2023
Electrical SystemEngineSteering

Driving at 25 mph and the vehicle alerted "shift to neutral" and came to a complete stop and stalled. Had no warning, couldn't even pull to side of road. Could not start again and had to be towed.

NHTSA ODI #11533274

2,689 miles · Jul 14, 2023
Power TrainInjury

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle stalled and decelerated to 25 MPH as several warning lights flashed on the instrument panel. After multiple attempts, the contact managed to restart the vehicle and drove to her destination. The contact sustained severe emotion…

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The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicle stalled and decelerated to 25 MPH as several warning lights flashed on the instrument panel. After multiple attempts, the contact managed to restart the vehicle and drove to her destination. The contact sustained severe emotional trauma due to the failure but did not seek medical attention. The contact drove the vehicle to the dealer where they informed her that the throttle body was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 2,689.

NHTSA ODI #11532306

Mileage unknown · Jul 8, 2023
Air BagsCrashFireInjury

I was recently involved in a front side swipe accident where a person ran a red light and hit me while I was passing through an intersection. The impact was all in the front of the vehicle where the air bag had deployed. The air bag caught on fire within seconds after it had deployed. Thankfully I was conscious to where I was ab…

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I was recently involved in a front side swipe accident where a person ran a red light and hit me while I was passing through an intersection. The impact was all in the front of the vehicle where the air bag had deployed. The air bag caught on fire within seconds after it had deployed. Thankfully I was conscious to where I was able to unbuckle my seat belt quickly and someone came to my aid quickly enough to where I was able to exit the vehicle safely.

NHTSA ODI #11531008

Mileage unknown · Jul 6, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceService BrakesUnknown Or Other

Over the last Tom th, I have encountered some pretty scary issues with my brand new Santa Fe purchased in April. Last week, while driving, after I turned on adaptive cruise control, the system alerted me that “smart crusade control conditions weren’t met” and kept trying to engage the front left brake — this occurred three days …

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Over the last Tom th, I have encountered some pretty scary issues with my brand new Santa Fe purchased in April. Last week, while driving, after I turned on adaptive cruise control, the system alerted me that “smart crusade control conditions weren’t met” and kept trying to engage the front left brake — this occurred three days in a row. After turning off the smart cruise control and entering residential roads, the front left brake tried to engage in a manner that seemed consistent with ABS issue. I brought car in two days later to Dublin Hyundai and they said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. I picked the car up yesterday morning and then last night while driving on the highway, it alerted me that I need to “check highway drive assist system” and a warning light came up. After about 5 minutes, the car jerked me incredibly hard to the left on the freeway and then athe light turned off. Then two days ago, I was driving my car on the highway the car randomly said “emergency braking system activated” twice, while going 70 on the freeway in the middle of nowhere. This was while driving safely and no cars nearby either time. I looked online and it appears this is a problem that’s occurred in many Santa Fe’s, so there is clearly an issue with manufacturing (which I’m assuming is the same case as the previous issues I’ve run into).

NHTSA ODI #11530619

Mileage unknown · Jun 26, 2023
Trailer Hitches

2023 HYUNDAI SANTA FE- Consumer states: I saw the notice on TV regarding a recall on my specific vehicle for the trailer hitch issue. I immediately contacted my local Hyundai dealership and scheduled an appointment. The Service Department concluded that my vehicle was included in the recall, I was told that they had not yet rece…

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2023 HYUNDAI SANTA FE- Consumer states: I saw the notice on TV regarding a recall on my specific vehicle for the trailer hitch issue. I immediately contacted my local Hyundai dealership and scheduled an appointment. The Service Department concluded that my vehicle was included in the recall, I was told that they had not yet received a recommendation from Hyundai on a remedy for this fire hazard. My invoice indicates "your vehicle does have a Genuine Hyundai Towing hitch and 4-pin harness installed, there is currently no remedy available however you can continue driving the vehicle, but it is recommended that you park the vehicle outside until a remedy has been performed.April, 2023, I called the Hyundai Corporate Office and was assigned a case manager, Rohan. I suggested that Hyundai buy back the vehicle, with 5000 miles on it, because if I cannot tow my boat, it's useless to me, and also because I cannot park the vehicle in my heated 3 car attached garage. Rohan said he would try to find a local business to install a new hitch. I would have pay for it and submit the bill to Hyundai for reimbursement. The next time I heard from Rohan, he instructed me to find a local business to install the hitch. I did contact a couple local businesses and they all indicated that they wanted nothing to do with the Hyundai recall. My question to Rohan was, if he thought a private business could do the fix, why hadn't Hyundai come up with a timely fix, given the potential devastation that the outcome could have if a fire did occur. At the end of April, 2023, Rohan stopped accepting and responding to my calls. I believe that Hyundai has failed to timely remedy the towing hitch issue which, according to Hyundai, may ignite a fire even with the ignition turned off. Hyundai has known that these issues existed well before it was announced on TV in March, 2023 but did not officially notify the owners of the vehicles until the end of May, 2023. It is very unnerving driving this vehicle knowing this is the one that could catch fire anywhe

NHTSA ODI #11528825

Official recalls

1

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.

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.