Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
179
Complaints
4
Crashes
1
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths
Owners of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz have filed 179
safety complaints with NHTSA
between January 2022 and August 2026.
The most complained-about system is the power train,
named in 89 of them
(50%). The typical failure was reported at 22,500 miles, the median
across the 20 complaints that gave an
odometer reading.
NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this
vehicle.
Recalls (4)
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
STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS
23V038000 · January 31, 2023
The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.
The risk
A detached roof molding could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the roof moldings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 241.
Hyundai Motor America · up to 16,104 vehicles across all model years covered
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
22V746000 · October 6, 2022
The defect
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.
The risk
Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.
Hyundai Motor America · up to 56,148 vehicles across all model years covered
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
22V197000 · March 28, 2022
The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.
The risk
An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall 222.
Hyundai Motor America · up to 16 vehicles across all model years covered
What owners report
Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add
up to more than 179.
POWER TRAIN 89 50%
ENGINE 49 27%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 34 19%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21 12%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 20 11%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 17 9%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 9 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7 4%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 2%
AIR BAGS 3 2%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 1%
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2022 at 80.
2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year
In owners' own words
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
AIR BAGS
2 injured · crash · towed
The vehicle was involved in a collision in which the airbags failed to deploy. Despite the severity of the impact, no airbags deployed. As a result, both adult occupants (my daughters) were injured. The failure of the airbag system to deploy raises serious safety concerns regarding the vehicle’s restraint system and crash sensors.
NHTSA complaint 11705417. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
1 injured · crash · towed · 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH while slowing down, the vehicle rear ended by another vehicle which caused the contact to crash into the vehicle in front. The air bags did not deploy. The contact struck the steering and had major injuries to the nose and neck and they required medical attention. The contact was unsure if the other drivers were injured. The vehicle was deemed totally loss from the insurance company. The manufacturer was contact but did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage 70,000. A police report was filed.
NHTSA complaint 11541527. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
1 injured · crash · towed
when pulling out on a intersection I was hit by a large box truck on the front and side drivers side at aprox. 20 to 25 mph. my air bags did not go off and my seat belt did not hold me from hitting the steering wheel Hyundai is saying the impact was not enough to force either one to help in this situation
NHTSA complaint 11681404. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
TRAILER HITCHES
fire · towed · 38,000 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he was made aware that flames had been observed emanating from the rear of the vehicle. Bystanders were able to safely extinguish the flames; however, local emergency services arrived as an added safety measure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who had yet to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches), but the VIN was not included. A fire report was filed. A police report was not filed, and no injuries were reported. The …
NHTSA complaint 11603137, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
The cars transmission has become very jerky at low speeds. The drive train will either hesitate or rev without power for a couple seconds. The problem started at around 14k miles.
NHTSA complaint 11755857. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
The transmission failed. The dealership computer identified the failure with Safety Recall 236.
NHTSA complaint 11754830. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
October 2025 while driving the vehicle at highway speeds, vehicle started bucking, losing power and then stalled. The check engine light did not come on. I was able to get off the side of the road and had it towed to the dealer. Dealer found injectors to be leaking and replaced all 4 GDI fuel injectors-mileage was 29,598. On July 1, 2026, again the same issue while driving the vehicle at highway speeds, it started bucking, losing power and stalling when slowed. This time the check engine light came on. Again, it was undrivable and had to be towed to the dealer. Dealer found after 15,000 miles, some of the new injectors failed and were leaking and all 4 GDI injectors were replaced …
NHTSA complaint 11749598, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
STRUCTURE:BODY
The tailgate of this vehicle opened by itself while driving and pulling a trailer. The key fob was stored safely in the cup holder of the vehicle. When I attempted to back the trailer into a driveway, the open tailgate was caught between the vehicle and the trailer, causing serious damage to the tailgate as well as the trailer that was being towed. If items that were stored in the bed of the vehicle had fallen out into the path of another vehicle or pedestrian, they could have been injured or killed. This problem has been reported to both my local Hyundai dealership as well as to the Hyundai Corporate Case Management group (HCCM). (case #[XXX] of the HCCM) The dealership attempted to …
NHTSA complaint 11745564, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving my vehicle on a two-lane highway, I experienced multiple sequential electronic system failures (including the vehicle no longer detecting the smart key), and all electronic systems on the car became inoperative. I lost all instrumentation, including my speedometer and tachometer. At the same time, I also experienced a loss of motive power, and the engine of the vehicle began running extremely erratically before completely cutting off. I attempted to make a safe stop on the side of the road, but after doing so, could not restart the vehicle. The electrical systems of the vehicle continued to behave erratically, and the engine would not restart. I contacted roadside assistance, …
NHTSA complaint 11745435, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Loss of power from the engine while accelerating from a stop in heavy traffic. Car began shaking and sputtering with intermittent spurts of power, unable to exceed 10 mph on narrow bridge. Pulled over and the vehicle smelled heavily of gasoline near the engine. This issue is the Third instance of my engine sputtering and losing power. The first instance, injectors 2 & 4 were replaced. The second instance Injector 3 was replaced. I followed dealer recommendations and only used top tier gas from busy stations, and manufacturer technician recommended techron additive every 1000 miles. There have been two additional instances where the engine sputtered but regained power, with the dealer unable …
NHTSA complaint 11742267, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
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
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file
, published August 20, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API
, most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file
, published 2026-08-19.
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.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst