CSR

Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2021 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

20

Complaints

0

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid have filed 20 safety complaints with NHTSA between January 2022 and July 2024. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 8 of them (40%). The typical failure was reported at 28,500 miles, the median across the 4 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

24V879000 · November 21, 2024

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 226,118 vehicles across all model years covered

TRAILER HITCHES

23V181000 · March 17, 2023

Park outside until repaired

The defect
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.
The risk
A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
The 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.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 584,784 vehicles across all model years covered

SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER

22V816000 · October 31, 2022

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023 Genesis G80 Electric, 2021-2022 Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
The risk
An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
The remedy
Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioners with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 14, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 238/011G. This recall is an expansion of recall numbers 22V-354 and 22V-458.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 14,933 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 20.

ENGINE 8 40%
POWER TRAIN 7 35%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 25%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 15%
SEAT BELTS 2 10%
AIR BAGS 1 5%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 5%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 5%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 5%
SEATS 1 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 10.

2022 2024
2022 to 2024

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ENGINE

towed · 25,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle failed to restart, and the vehicle was towed. A message indicating that there was no power was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the intake valve had failed. Additionally, an unknown recall repair was performed on the

NHTSA complaint 11563515, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:CRANK/CAMSHAFT POSITION SENSOR

32,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle failed to respond while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the camshaft sensor needed to be replaced. In addition, the vehicle was repaired several times however, the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure

NHTSA complaint 11600067, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

31,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle lost motive power. A message indicating that there was no power was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, a red Hybrid warning light with a stop safely message was displayed. The contact stated that the Hyundai App displayed the Power Train and Chassis indicated the contact needed to schedule a

NHTSA complaint 11564397, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I have been taking my 21 Santa Fe hybrid limited into the dealership for a year and a half for the same code . Powertrain code P040B00, and to this day they can not repair this issue. I looked it up and a ton of us are having issues with this same code. It should be investigated, and customers should be warned. Hyundai needs to recall these vehicles or provide a solution. A year and a half is unacceptable

NHTSA complaint 11533831. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While driving 80 mph down the highway my brand new vehicle shut off completely, the entire car lost power. In another instance I was going around a roundabout and my acceleration completely went out, my son was in the back seat and another car had to jump the curb to avoid crashing into us. I met a woman in the dealership who has been waiting over a year for her recalled tow hitch to be fixed. When it rains or snows the forward safety systems shut off and the alert repeats extremely distracting on your dash, like sounds, red flashing lights, over and over again. You have to constantly hit the ok button while driving to get it to go away.

NHTSA complaint 11529228. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
From what I have been told there is no recall on this issue. Purchased a Hyundai Sante Fe Hybrid 2021 brand new in 2021. I live in La Quinta California summers are especially hot. Temps can be anywhere from 105 to 120 . Only had the car for 6months when in light came on saying Inverter needs coolant this has been a problem for the past 2yrs. Checked with Hyundai Service department my coolant is fine air conditioning works well. This not a safety issue but should be fixed and Hyundai is doing nothing about it. Many complaints have been ignored.

NHTSA complaint 11521248. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 76 3
2024 34 4
2023 57 1
2022 35 3

Other 2021 Hyundai models

Every Hyundai on this site — 201 vehicles, 276 recall campaigns and 3 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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Independent developer and analyst