CSR

Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2022 Hyundai Santa FE

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

193

Complaints

8

Crashes

1

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2022 Hyundai Santa FE have filed 193 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2021 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 55 of them (28%). The typical failure was reported at 14,250 miles, the median across the 22 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose 46% year on year: 51 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 35 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 5 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (5)

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

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

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

21V524000 · July 9, 2021

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe and Sonata vehicles equipped with 2.5L turbocharged engines. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the high-pressure fuel pump and fuel rail.
The risk
A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 207.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 15,752 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 193.

POWER TRAIN 55 28%
ENGINE 52 27%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 45 23%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 31 16%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 26 13%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 15 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 15 8%
SERVICE BRAKES 11 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 6 3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 6 3%
AIR BAGS 5 3%
STRUCTURE 5 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 47.

2021 2025 2026
2021 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

1 injured · crash · towed

Front air bag did not deploy in accident. I was rearended in stopped position at 55+MPH by a SUV that pushed me forward causing front end collision with the stopped car in front of me. Front, rear and back passenger damage with intrusion. Towed to dealer. Bought new from Watermark Ford, Marion, IL ~3 months ago, no recalls, no other accidents. I sustained neck, head and arm injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Crash report with Illinois State Police. Auto insurance has full details and adjuster inspecting. I have pics of my vehicle and the ones causing damage.

NHTSA complaint 11476513. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash · towed

Someone ran a red light at low speeds and t-boned my and I flipped over. The damage to the back passenger was minimal that should not have caused my car to flipped which in turn made me sustain multiple injuries including a broken rib for such a minor incident. The safely of this vehicle flipping so easily for such an accident has me very concerned. I have also retained a lawyer for this accident as well.

NHTSA complaint 11586010. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

Child opened the back hatch (as instructed). The child then pressed the button to close the back hatch. Fingers were trapped at the bottom of the hatch, and the hatch “clamped” into position. The interior hatch release was not sufficiently intuitive for the chiller to remove the trim and slide the tab, resulting in the child being trapped for 10-15 minutes before help arrived.

NHTSA complaint 11745502. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

Vehicle experienced a spontaneous interior fire while parked and turned off. No collision, no injuries. Fire originated under the driver-side lower dash/kick panel near the fuse/BCM wiring, then spread into the driver door harness/trim. Exterior body and engine bay show no impact or external origin. Details: Heavy charring/melt concentrated at lower dash/junction area with upward/sideways spread along wiring paths; interior plastics, dash switches, and door wiring damaged. Vehicle was unoccupied. Aftermarket: No hardwired accessories in the origin zone. A dashcam was powered via center console USB/12V with a small battery pack (not connected to the under-dash fuse block). Status: Towed to

NHTSA complaint 11699433, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
While accelerating, the 8-speed transmission sporadically hangs in 1st gear and will not change to 2nd. The motor revs to about 4000 rpm and will only travel at about 15 mph. This causes a safety hazard when attempting to enter fast moving traffic. After several attempts, the Dealer has said that they cannot duplicate this issue in their shop and has not made necessary warranty repairs to fix this vehicle. Hyundai assigned a case manager who says that since the diagnostic did not pull any codes and they could not replicate the problem, they would not make any repairs. There is about 5000 miles left on the factory warranty.

NHTSA complaint 11757403. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The horn has now stopped working in my vehicle twice. It was replaced 01/27/2023, and is now non-functional again. I believe this to be a safety issue as I have no way to warn other drivers or pedestrians of my presence, if necessary. One example of this, was that a vehicle was proceeding into my lane on the interstate yesterday afternoon and I had to avoid them hitting my vehicle by driving onto the shoulder of the road, as I could not use my horn to let them know they were coming into my lane while I was on the side of them.

NHTSA complaint 11756159. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

towed · 74,900 miles

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway and approaching a stop sign, the message "Check Transmission Oil Immediately" was momentarily displayed. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be diagnosed unless the message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving approximately 35 MPH the following day, and the engine power was reduced. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The driver contacted Bluelink and was advised to pull over safely. Bluelink and the dealer advised the driver to tow the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the

NHTSA complaint 11752368, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
This email serves as a formal dispute of the warranty denial issued by [Lester Glenn Hyundai Toms River NJ] regarding the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) passenger airbag sensor in my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe.The dealership has refused coverage, attributing the failure to "water damage." I strongly dispute this finding and am formally requesting a Corporate Goodwill Repair Exception or a tier-two engineering review of my vehicle due to the safety-critical nature of this component.

NHTSA complaint 11750523. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The airbag sensor is on in the car. When I told the dealership they stated that the sensor is not covered under the warranty even though it was over by a fe hundred miles. None of the airbags will deploy if there is an accident. I don't see why a safety issue is not covered by the warranty. For the dealership to fix it, it is going to be over $800.

NHTSA complaint 11749400. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I did a navigation update as requested by the infotainment system on the Hyundai. After the update, the air conditioner would not turn on when the ac button was depressed . I took the vehicle to my local Hyundai dealer and they found the ac blower and ac button working intermittently. After further inspection, the mechanic found the multi fuses that sit on the PCB bloc had one burnt fuse that did not blow and was still hot and the PCB block had melted around where the fuse connected to it. ( Hyundai stated that they required the damaged PCB fuse, the PCB block and the harness). I'm concerned that the electrical short discovered by the Hyundai mechanic could have progress and burnt my car or

NHTSA complaint 11749431, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Santa FE

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 30 4
2025 124 5
2024 136 7
2023 204 1
2021 164 6
2020 203 1
2019 192 2
2018 108 2
2017 951 6
2016 235 3
2015 254 2
2014 493 3
2013 605 3
2012 352 1
2011 181 2 1
2010 258 2 1

Other 2022 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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst