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Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz

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

Owners have filed 5 safety complaints about the 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is lane departure warning, named in 2 complaints, 40% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers April 2026 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

5 complaints on file

5

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

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
LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 40%
POWER TRAIN 2 · 40%
STEERING 1 · 20%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 20%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 · 20%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 5.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz. 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

3 on file

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

26V316000 · May 19, 2026

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, and Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV) vehicles. Software in the front cameras may cause the forward collision avoidance system to activate prematurely and unexpectedly apply the brakes.
The risk
Unexpected braking increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the front camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 17, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 302. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 20, 2026.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 423,062 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

26V047000 · January 27, 2026

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
The risk
An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 41,651 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN

25V809000 · November 21, 2025

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson, 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2026 Genesis GV70 vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not have been installed properly, which can cause the air bags not to deploy as intended.
The risk
Side curtain air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will reinstall the side curtain air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning December 29, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 289 and 029G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 22, 2025.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 258 vehicles across all model years covered

Compare

Other years of the Hyundai Santa Cruz

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 19 3 —
2024 35 1 —
2023 79 2 —
2022 185 4 —

Other 2026 Hyundai models

Palisade 119 Tucson 61 Ioniq 9 37 Santa FE 36 Tucson Hybrid 27 Ioniq 5 24 Santa FE Hybrid 13 Kona 9

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