NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
rear camera malfunction just like other models
Continuous issue of front driver passenger power seat front level button failure. Continuous Headlights, fog lights getting fused every 4 months. Indoor back roof light works and sometime just does not work for months.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while the vehicle was either stationary, parked, or being driven, the seat belt buckle failed to operate as designed. The seat belt warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that during the colder months, the seat belt buckle was more difficult to latch securely. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Auto stop/go disables car’s ability to resume driving after stopping at a light etc. This is without activating feature. You have open and close door and press button on/off over and over. Turbo was changed bc mechanic assumed it was the problem. Now it is happening after reaching destination and then attempting to leave if not sitting long enough. New battery and $2000 turbo!
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating with the accelerator pedal depressed and the RPM raised. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally failed to start. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that there were metal shavings in the oil pan. Hyundai Eugene (89320 N Game Farm Rd, Eugene, OR 97408) was contacted; however, the failure was not identified. Upon further investigation, the Hyundai Blue Link App retrieved DTC associated with the Power Train EMS and Power Train TCU. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
I had a serious issue with the Santa Fe lane keeper system. I was driving on I15 in a winding portion through the Virgin River Gorge in relatively high traffic on a corner. I have used this feature many times in the past and expected a gentle nudge on the steering wheel. But unexpectedly the steering wheel turned hard left, almost causing a total loss of control. I am safe driver always checking for other drivers doing what they shouldn't, but I never expected my car to be the one making dangerous movements. If I hadn't had a firm grip on the wheel, I would have been out of control on a narrow bridge in heavy traffic. Am I the only one with this problem?
Front CV Joint inner axle boot losing grease due to manufacture insufficient torque or poor quality of the clamp material.
The vehicle was burning through oil excessively. I was adding 1 quart of oil a week. Dealer did an oil consumption test. They confirmed the engine needed replacement. These vehicles are getting to be known for this issue and the dealer is making me pay 40% of the repairs. They should be covering 100% because the issue is not isolated to my vehicle only.
For the past month my car has been stalling in traffic. The car stalls and then turns back on a few seconds later. It also stalls when I am accelerating after stopping for a red light. This situation is very dangerous and it means that I cannot drive my car expecting to be safe at all. It seems like the motor and the transmission are involved which makes the stalling very dangerous as those are major systems.
My Santa Fe developed difficulty starting beginning the afternoon of February 18. While waiting in stop-and-go traffic to park for a sporting event, the ISG (idle stop-and-go) activated at least 40 times. After at least the 40th time, the Santa Fe did not turn back on. After about 10 minutes, I was able to start it. This happened while I was stuck in very heavy traffic exiting the freeway. After that, it would always take multiple attempts to start the car even though the battery had more than enough power to turn over the starter. After a couple of days of dealing with this, I took the Santa Fe to my local Hyundai dealer. After diagnostics, they were able to reproduce the problem and they determined that the starter had developed an intermittent short which was likely caused by the multiple ISG activations on Sunday, 2/18/2024. While they verbally agreed with me that repeated activation of the ISG was the likely cause of the starter short, they wouldn't put that in the written service statement. At the time of this problem, my Santa Fe was 1,887 miles past the 5-year 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. I had purchased the Santa Fe a few months ago as certified pre-owned with about 58,500 miles on it so, even though being the 2nd owner, I retained the remainder of the bumper-to-bumper warranty as well as the 10 year 100,000 engine/drivetrain/transmission warranty. Oddly enough the starter, which is attached to the engine is categorized as part of the car's electrical system instead of as part of the engine so the starter replacement wasn't covered. I appealed to the dealer for a discount of some kind. They declined. They claimed to have called Hyundai USA which also supposedly said no to covering the cost of the new starter. A quick Google search for this problem revealed other owners of Santa Fes with the ISG have had the same exact issue.
Peeling paint as a result of manufacturing issue (no primer was ever added prior to paint). I have spoken with Hyundai twice and both times they have refused to repair since vehicle is no longer in warranty. I would like for Hyundai to take accountability for this for myself and all other 100’s of people who are dealing with this. They show no honor to those of us who have invested multiple thousands into their business.
Fire while driving - Electrical - No Warnings Reference NHTSA Recall 23V181000 Fire Extinguished once by fire extinguisher (civilian) then again by Union, MO fire department. Hyundai had the vehicle towed to their inspection facility. Inspection report being withheld. Claim has been denied. Hyundai now refusing to return vehicle.
Seatbelt wont snap or lock. This is a safety issue
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 22 MPH, the vehicle struck a pot-hole which caused the driver seat to move out of place. The contact stated that while accelerating, the front driver seat would shift backward and while shifted into reverse the seat would move forward. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the seat rail was damaged and the seat rail and seat needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
Oil Pan leaks after an oil change. Oil pan has a hairline crack just below the drain plug after normal tightening of the plug. Excessive oil was found on my driveway. No obvious engine damage, considering the vehicle was only moved from one spot to the other. The dealer stated the oil pan isn't covered under warranty. I simple internet search revealed there was a high number of complaints. It was a "Do It Yourself repair." The cost to fix was to replace the oil pain, new tools and 5 quarts of oil.
At various times the vehicle will not start. It takes multi times to to start the vehicle. The starter and battery have been tested and both are in excellent condition. Both key phob batteries have been replaced and the vehicle at times won’t start but the dash lights turn on. After twice of trying to start the breaks get really stiff. I’ve learned if I get out of the vehicle and open the hood and close it the car will start then any other time getting out and back in it does not start. I even placed the key phob in the designated location of the battery died and still won’t start. The check engine is not on either.
There is a system in the car that starts and stops engine, supposedly only at lights to save on fuel. Mine has stopped in the middle of a highway on my way up to Tahoe. Luckily I had just left light and only driven enough to reach the speed of about 10 miles per hour so the cars behind me were able to stop and not hit me. I had to completely turn the car off, put in park and restart car to get it to operate. It has stalled out like a stick shift would if not handled properly, but it is an automatic transmission, on numerous times. Sometimes this will cause the vehicle to completely shut down and sometime it will sputter for a few minutes and then slowly pick speed up and stop. The IGS button to turn this feature on and off when you get into the vehicle will sometimes stay off (not supposed to) and sometimes turn back off as it is supposed to each time the vehicle is turned on or off. It doesn't register as a recall, but I have done my research and saw that at one point you guys had done an investigation into this exact problem with my car. It doesn't show up on diagnostic and it doesnt do this every time I drive. So I have no way to show mechanics the isues. But this puts my life and anyone in my cars lives at risk. Not to mention any cars behind me if this happens on the highway again. I dont know what to do :( Can you please help me?
Seat belt won't snap on the driver side.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power while depressing the accelerator pedal, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the turbo was replaced. The contact stated that months later, the vehicle hesitated and jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where a part on the transmission was replaced; however, the failure returned, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and had the transmission replaced. The contact stated that months later, the vehicle began to sputter with an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light returned, and the vehicle was taken to the nearest dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
This has been an ongoing issue since the date of purchase 10/23. I've been taking my vehicle for regular check ups and oil changes. My vehicle appears to be consuming oil. I have to put a quart in every week, but no one can find the issue. The dealership told me there is a recall on these particular vehicles engine.
On August 24, 2023, I was walking to my car, a 2019 Santa Fe in my driveway. The back windshield spontaneously shattered! It was only 70 degrees out and I had my window cracked open a bit. The noise sounded like a gun shot. I was extremely fortunate that I was not behind the windshield or that I was driving. I have no explanation as to what happened. I called my insurance company, and the windshield is being replaced by Safelite on Tuesday, 8/29/23. However, I have to pay for $483 for a new windshield, my deductible is $500. I am more concerned about safety. I have seen other complaints about Hyundai windshields. Please Hyundai address this issue.
the systems forward collision and lane departure warning are randomly turned off. Dealership is not aware of how to fix
On June 28th at approximately 1130pm, my son was involved in a single vehicle accident. Upon impact with the tree the car immediately burst into flames
The Airbag light keeps coming on and saying it’s not activated, the wiring also keeps blowing out brand new headlights due to faulty wiring.
I am the owner of a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe in Pearl White (paint code SWP). The paint on my vehicle has begun peeling extensively on the hood, and other exterior panels. This appears to be the same paint defect that Hyundai previously acknowledged for the 2017–2018 Santa Fe Sport under a Customer Satisfaction Program (TXXW), but the 2019 model is not covered. The paint is bubbling and lifting without any impact or damage, suggesting a manufacturing defect. This significantly affects the vehicle’s appearance and may compromise corrosion protection. Numerous other owners of 2019 Hyundai models have reported similar problems. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this issue as a potential widespread defect and urge Hyundai to include affected model years in any extended warranty or recall efforts.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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.
2019 Hyundai the white paint is peeling. It was not caused by road damage. I asked the dealership and was told I was past the warranty due to my mileage.
On May 20,2023 my 2019 Hyundai Santa Ultimate turbo died while I was sitting at a red light in the far right lane in an extremely busy street. Car was running perfectly fine prior to it dying. For almost 15 mins my car wouldn’t turn over. Then it just started it right up. Took it home my husband checked for any codes, nothing. I checked the Blue Link app, no issues detected. On June 29th at approximately 9:08AM my car dies again while sitting at a red light. Next to an off ramp to an extremely busy freeway. I’m almost in a full panic the car restarts up. Within 5 mins it dies again. This time blocking a drive way to a driveway at a gas station. All 3 times were identical. All three have no warning. No indicator warning lights and nothing detected in the blue link app. Can’t get it to do it again. So frustrating.
Adaptive Cruise Control Automatic Emergency Braking Blind Spot Warning Forward Collision Warning Lane Departure Warning Lane Keeping Assistance Parking Collision Warning Rear Cross Traffic Warning Every one of these lights are going off in the car. I’ve taken it twice to the Hyundai dealership. Both times they have not been able to figure out what is wrong with it even with the OPD it’s not showing any issues or fault codes a technician has even had the car for one week went through every single sensor, cable, battery, alternator fuses and didn’t come up with any results. He returned the car back to me completely baffled and unable to fix the issue. Please email at[ XXX] For photos and video which I cannot add here on this website through mobile. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
While driving, the engine stalled out/cut off while the car remained on. I had to push the brakes completely to re-engage the start button. The engine turned off and the check engine light came on, but turned back off once the engine restarted. The car never turned off when the start button was pressed, just the engine.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH. The contact stated that the vehicle caught on fire while they were driving on the street. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The fire department was on the scene and filed a report. The husband had extinguished the fire using a fire extinguisher. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact had taken the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. VIN tool confirms parts not yet available.
White paint peeling off 2019 Santa Fe since 2023 ... Hyundai says they are aware of the defective paint issue but denied any recorse or responsibility. Paint comes off while driving and reduces visibility.
The forward collision avoidance system is malfunctioning and shuts down the traction and stability control systems making the vehicle more vulnerable to collisions. Multiple attempts to repair this system have been unsuccessful
These Hyundai's & Kia's are being stolen left & right across the nation....Hyundai needs to fix our vehicle with an alarm system. We haven't heard anything!!! We owe on the car and if it gets stolen or ruined, we still will have to pay on this vehicle. Also, on top of it all, it will be ruined; and from what we see on TV, they can't even get the parts to fix them. Our SUV is not worth anything now due to those stealing these vehicles because of the Tic Toc videos. Those videos should be banned anyway and taken off so no one else can learn to do this horrible theft. If we can ever get another vehicle, it won't be a Hyundai. This has made us very upset that we haven't heard anything from Hyundai nor there seems to be nothing happening regarding this issue. Why isn't the government pressuring this company? We don't see anything being done.
Caught on fire while driving
I was at a traffic light (stopped) and all of a sudden my sunroof exploded with no rhyme or reason behind it and glass shattered everywhere on top of me. Nothing was thrown at it and no other vehicles were around me to have any debris thrown up onto it. I got out and inspected the sunroof and found that there was no object imbedded on, in, or near the sunroof that would lead me to believe anything hit it. I contacted the Hyundai dealership about this and they will not cover it under warranty. I believe this is a quality control issue with faulty engineering of the sunroof and upon looking at other Hyundai forums, I found that others have reported the same thing occurring to their vehicles of the same make and model and the pictures of their damage look identical to my damage.
Panoramic sun roof glass exploded and shattered as I was driving down the highway on a 50 degree F cloudy day. There was no known object that struck the roof nor did we hit a bump in the road or anything. The sound was like that of a shotgun blast. I've seen other posts and settlements for earlier Hyundai vehicle makes and models where warranty was extended to cover a defect causing this. But my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe damage is not being covered under warranty since it is a couple thousand miles over the 60,000 mile warranty. Hyundai service reported there was no object or damage found to indicate it was caused by something impacting the vehicle. My concern is what will prevent the replacement glass from breaking again if the defect causing it to happen is not fixed.
Car just stopped working one day. First oil on spark plugs got them changed then the coil packs now oil is on the air filter. Car drivers really hard and doesn't shift properly. Took dealership and they aren't really helping or even trying to diagnose my car.
Was driving my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and it completely shut off when I was stopped at a red light. Super scary! I could not get the vehicle to start again and had to call police to help. Had my hazard lights on but still felt very unsafe because there was traffic that had to go around my vehicle. Tow guy was able to get it to start again but said the transmission felt jerky. The vehicle was towed back to my home. Then the next day the vehicle was able to start and seemed fine. I had a friend drive it to the dealership while I followed behind in another vehicle. Half way there, it did the exact same thing. Was stopped at a red light and it turned off. The reason felt like a hard shift to the transmission. The engine would start but it would not shift to drive. It had to be pushed out of traffic. A few people stopped their vehicles to help push. After it was pushed to a safe spot, I had it towed to the nearest Hyundai dealership. The dealership service tech thought it just needed a new starter. He installed the starter and some update software and claimed it was fixed. Picked up the car, drove it home and it seemed fine. The next day I needed to use this car to drive my three children to school (one of my kids has special needs). I felt the transmission jerking half way there and by the time we (thankfully) made it to the school parking lot, it did a hard shift and died. That could have been very scary and unsafe if we were stuck in traffic and it died! I had it towed back to the dealership. This time around the service tech said it needs a new transmission. It’s a 2019 vehicle with 40,000 miles. It shouldn’t need a new transmission. I don’t feel safe driving this vehicle, especially with my three children!
This is the second time my 2019 Hyundai Santa has suddenly veer right out of the lane. The error message was BAC Active. The dashboard turned red and the vehicle shook for a few seconds. I'm scheduled to take it back to the dealer. I have problems with the engine making noise and have been told the noise is normal.
For the duration of the vehicle's ownership, it has underperformed and operated unpredictably under hard braking, specifically with relation to the vehicle's ABS system. The conditions have caused meto never drive the car in snow, as this weather condition in particular exacerbates the braking issues and makes the car unsafe. Issues with the braking/ABS include: The ABS activating at slow speeds in all conditions, even on dry roads The ABS activating and preventing the vehicle from being emergency stopped in adverse conditions The ABS activating and exponentially extending the braking distance until it disnegages The ABS, once activated, does not stop unless the brake pedal is lifted from its initial activation position The vehicle doesn't appear to have any mechancial braking issues. Everything seems to be related to the ABS system, wheel-speed sensors and/or vehicle-management systems. The overall braking experience in this vehicle with the ABS on is that it simply will not stop within a safe braking distance window. The only way to stop this vehicle is without ABS. There is no other way to safely stop this vehicle with ABS. I have reached out to my Hyundai dealer and Hyndai corporate directly, both times being dismissed without anyone attempting to recreate the braking issues. I have a life's worth of experience driving in snow and multiple ABS activations in a range of vehicles. This is abnormal based on all of the experiential knowledge I possess, as well as a lifelong interest in cars. While I am not an engineer, I possess enough firsthand and academic vehicle experience to recognize the abnormality of this vehicle braking operation.
Electric power steering failed after starting car and beginning drive. No power assist was present. Concurrent with this failure the instrument panel displayed warnings that Blind Spot Detection System and Lane Keeping System were not working and needed attention. Codes for the later 2 problems were sent to central computer, but no power steering error code was sent. Disconnecting battery from car nor turning car off and on had no effect on errors. Let car set idle for 3 days. Restarted car and all problems were gone. Taking car to dealer on 9/20/22 in attempt to prevent future reoccurrence.
2019 Hyundai Santa fe first owner after each use of the Auto Stop/ Start feature is guaranteed that in 24-48 hrs the car will stall at stop lights and take anywhere from 15-20 min to restart. The power to the electronics continues but the engine can't restart from the stop. It appears as of the feature takes the power from the alternator, starter and battery and drains it until the car can be restarted. Once it starts it drives well until the system is engaged again. I have chosen to not use the system and the car has not stall however once the use of the Auto/ Start Stop system is engaged for a day or two it will stall the vehicle from a stop mostly at stop lights after so much time on standby mode while using the Auto Start / Stop system. Dealer can not recreate the issue.
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that on various occasions while driving at various speeds with the automatic START/STOP function activated, the vehicle started losing motive power while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving from a complete stop. The vehicle was able to restart. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the All-Wheel Drive (AWD) warning light was intermittently illuminated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,500.
On 3 different occasions my vehicle has not restarted at a stop light after the idle stop and go feature turned the car off. I can’t to a complete stop, the car went into idle mode, then wouldn’t restart when I hit the accelerator again. I put on my hazard lights so cars could go around me and all the lights on my dash were flashing, brakes would not engage and it took several attempts to restart the car. The car has also not turned on 4 times when I first get in and go to start it. All the dash lights go on then as well and takes several attempts to start the car. I took it to the dealer and they could not find any issues. It is scary to drive as I fear it not starting after coming to a stop and being stuck on a main road.
Liftgate is unable to be opened from outside, on button press it just beeps three times
The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the check Forward Collision Avoidance warning light was illuminated. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle veered into oncoming traffic. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the sensor in the windshield had malfunctioned. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated the windshield sensors were working as designed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the local dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 69,550.
Was driving and the car started stuttering. When I came to a stop the car would not move, a message flashed across the dash saying something about the auto stop feature was active and I had to put the car in park or neutral in order to drive again. Has happened numerous times almost daily. In order to stop this from happening you have to remember to turn the auto stop feature off.
While driving at 70 mph the rear panel of the panoramic sunroof in my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe exploded. We were not near other traffic or other sources of debris that could have impacted the glass. There was a very loud 'boom' sound, like a gunshot, and then the crackling sound of broken glass. Thankfully the sunshade was drawn and glass shards did not fall into the passenger compartment. Within a short amount of time large pieces of glass began to fall out creating a very heavy load on the fabric sunshade. We were able to collect enough of the large pieces by hand and remove them before the shade tore or otherwise failed creating an even larger hazard. Our 1 year old child was in his car seat directly below the failure -- had the shade been open, or had large pieces of glass fell before we could pull over and remove them he could have been seriously injured. Online research points that this is not an isolated incident and there is a pattern of this happening on recent model Hyundai/Kia products with panoramic sunroofs -- there is a class action lawsuit in Canada targeting Hyundai's lack of ownership of the problem. Hyundai dealerships and corporate were contacted to inspect and repair under warranty but were unwilling to do so in a reasonable timeframe (2+ month wait time). Vehicle was ultimately repaired by a body shop through our insurance company. There were no indications that this was a problem prior to the event.
Engine Failure. Engine stalls during deceleration. If it doesn’t stall while braking, it immediately stalls around 5 mph when I come to a stop sign or red light. Vehicle start/stop button will not work to start the vehicle back up. It is to sit for 10-20 minutes and then it will start. If I don’t let it sit, it gives me a message on the dash that the vehicle is already on/running even though it is not. I have done regular maintenance and have had it serviced 4 times for the same issues. It has 126,000 on it. The dealership said it was the oxygen sensors and spark plugs. We had those fixed and the problem continued. The dealership is now wanting me to pay $11,000 for a used motor to be installed. Check engine light keeps repeating oxygen sensor malfunction. This has been happening since July of 2022.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026