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Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2023 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid

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

Owners have filed 57 safety complaints about the 2023 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the trailer hitch.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 23 complaints, 40% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2022 to June 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

57 complaints on file

57

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 23 · 40%
POWER TRAIN 15 · 26%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 · 23%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 13 · 23%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 10 · 18%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 · 18%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 7 · 12%
LANE DEPARTURE 4 · 7%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 5%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 · 4%
STRUCTURE 2 · 4%
VISIBILITY 2 · 4%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 57.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 28.

32 24 16 8
22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2023 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

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

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

BACK OVER PREVENTION: AUTOMATIC SYSTEM BRAKING

2 injured · crash · towed · 23,824 miles

The contact owned a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that his partner was driving at 50 MPH, a light ahead had just turned red, with two vehicles stopped just a couple of feet ahead of her, the contact stated that his partner had proceeded to frantically attempt to brake, however, the vehicle did not brake in time, and the automatic braking assist did not initiate. The complete front end of the vehicle was destroyed, as the vehicle crashed into the vehicle ahead. There was no property damage. The vehicle came to a stop after the crash. The driver's side air bags were deployed, however, the contact emphasized that it appeared the air bag had not fully deployed. The vehicle was towed

NHTSA complaint 11633727, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

towed · 6,800 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30-35 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle worked as designed for several miles before the failure recurred. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure was due to the accelerator switch. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH in the driveway, the vehicle lost motive power. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 6,800.

NHTSA complaint 11602691. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
I am submitting this formal safety complaint regarding a structural defect in my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid that I believe poses a safety concern and warrants federal investigation under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (49 U.S.C. § 30101 et seq.). The vehicle exhibits a persistent and recurring structural creak originating from the pinch weld area adjacent to the hybrid battery storage compartment — specifically at a metal-on-metal contact point above the rear driver-side wheel well. The noise presents most prominently at low speeds over uneven surfaces, driveway transitions, and speed bumps. The root cause, as identified by service documentation and owner community

NHTSA complaint 11741754, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Own a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and have experienced the following issues over the past year and a half. Beginning after maybe 40,000 miles we pulled out onto a roadway and the engine immediately lost power and started flashing a glaring red warning that the hybrid system was failing and to pull over. We luckily were able to and turned the car off and waited. I tried to turn it on and it came back to life as if there was never an issue? We drove off. it left no warning code or did not update my Bluelink App. I took it to the dealership and they could not find any issues. Fast forward another 5 or 6 months and it happens again. Take it to the dealer and they keep it a week to go over it

NHTSA complaint 11719697, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
One two separate occasions while driving the car has lost the ability to accelerate. There is no acceleration power even when completely flooring the gas pedal. The dash displays a red circle warming that states "Check Hybrid system. Stop Safely". I have had to coast to the side of the road and then the car shuts off. It has taken several minutes before it can start again, and then displays a warning "Park with engine On to charge battery" before being able to shift the car into drive. I immediately took the vehicle to the dealership at which I had purchased the car. They have run a diagnostic on it and did not find any error codes stored in the computer. I picked up the vehicle from them

NHTSA complaint 11706383, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The vehicle will not accelerate and comes to a complete stop while driving. Within days, it displayed ‘Check Hybrid System. Stop safely’ and lost propulsion while driving.

NHTSA complaint 11704961. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
On September 4, 2025 as I pulled on to Interstate I-70 my car suddenly lost power. Gas engine died. Loud attention sound started. Instrument cluster started flashing red with message "EV system failure, stop immediately" EV battery showed full depletion although a moment before it showed about 75% power. There was only enough propulsion to keep moving slowly. Since this was a construction zone the shoulder was blocked off and roadway was reduced to only one lane. I had no where to go. A large truck narrowly avoided rear ending me. I was scared and felt helpless. Eventually I was able to pull off and shut off the car. It was able to be re-started immediately with no warning indicators and EV

NHTSA complaint 11689613, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am reporting a serious and recurring safety defect with my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, purchased new in January 2024. The vehicle has suffered from over 30–40 sudden hybrid system failures, including loss of acceleration, “Stop Vehicle” warnings, and check engine lights. These incidents happen without warning, including while driving at legal speeds (40–70 mph), on residential streets and highways. Most recently, the car failed twice in two days, while my teenage son was driving within all road laws, including once with a friend in the car. The vehicle simply stopped accelerating in the middle of traffic, endangering them and everyone around them. These failures have happened at legal

NHTSA complaint 11675461, quoted in part. 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
2026 13 3 —
2025 92 3 —
2024 34 4 —
2022 37 3 —
2021 20 3 —

Other 2023 Hyundai models

Palisade 400 Ioniq 5 387 Santa FE 210 Tucson 133 Elantra 98 Sonata 87 Santa Cruz 79 Kona 65

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Hyundai on this site — 205 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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