Owners filed 2,823 complaints about the 2015–2025 Hyundai Santa Fe with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 33rd-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2017 model year drew the most (966), and the single most-reported problem area is engine, named in 46% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2017, with 966 complaints, led by engine (647).
- Spike years: 2017 (4.9× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: speed control / acceleration complaints came at a median of 9k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 70 complaints mention a fire and 103 mention a crash; owners reported 99 injuries.
Hyundai Santa Fe complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 254 | Engine (160), Transmission / powertrain (22), Brakes (21) | 66k mi | 9 | 13 |
| 2016 | 236 | Engine (151), Transmission / powertrain (21), Electrical system (11) | 62k mi | 6 | 2 |
| 2017 | 966 | Engine (647), Transmission / powertrain (163), Electrical system (67) | 20k mi | 14 | 23 |
| 2018 | 108 | Engine (53), Service Brakes, Hydraulic (12), Transmission / powertrain (10) | 22k mi | 6 | 4 |
| 2019 | 198 | Engine (71), Transmission / powertrain (34), Electrical system (26) | 10k mi | 16 | 12 |
| 2020 | 210 | Engine (76), Transmission / powertrain (26), Electrical system (25) | 15k mi | 13 | 9 |
| 2021 | 166 | Transmission / powertrain (50), Engine (37), Electrical system (29) | 20k mi | 4 | 2 |
| 2022 | 199 | Transmission / powertrain (57), Engine (53), Electrical system (31) | 18k mi | 8 | 1 |
| 2023 | 207 | Transmission / powertrain (44), Electrical system (36), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (35) | 9k mi | 11 | 3 |
| 2024 | 146 | Transmission / powertrain (42), Electrical system (28), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (15) | 15k mi | 11 | 1 |
| 2025 | 133 | Electrical system (29), Transmission / powertrain (22), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (20) | 10k mi | 5 | 0 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Hyundai Santa Fe problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 1,309 | 46% | 55k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 491 | 17% | 12k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Electrical system | 311 | 11% | 17k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Fuel system | 165 | 6% | 12k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
| Brakes | 143 | 5% | 27k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Automatic emergency braking / collision warning | 143 | 5% | 39k mi | — |
| Speed control / acceleration | 134 | 5% | 9k mi | — |
| Steering | 77 | 3% | 10k mi | Power steering repair cost |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Hyundai models in the index
- Hyundai Tucson (4,848)
- Hyundai Sonata (3,717)
- Hyundai Elantra (2,503)
- Hyundai Palisade (2,302)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.