CSR

Hyundai · NHTSA safety record

2026 Hyundai Santa FE

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

Owners have filed 36 safety complaints about the 2026 Hyundai Santa FE with the US government. Of those, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. 4 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 5 complaints, 14% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers November 2025 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

36 complaints on file

36

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

1

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
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 · 25%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 · 14%
SEATS 5 · 14%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 11%
TIRES 4 · 11%
POWER TRAIN 3 · 8%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 · 8%
ENGINE 2 · 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 6%
STEERING 2 · 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 3%
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 36.

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 2026 at 34.

36 27 18 9
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 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 crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2026 Hyundai SANTA FE, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV N/A AWD SUV N/A FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 17.4% 18.5%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

4 on file

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

26V218000 · April 6, 2026

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Hyundai Ioniq 6, 2023-2026 Genesis G90, 2024-2026 Hyundai Santa Fe, and Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid vehicles. The driver and passenger seat belt anchors may detach.
The risk
A detached seat belt anchor will not adequately restrain the seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and reinforce or replace the seat belt anchors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning May 29, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and Genesis customer service at 844-340-9741. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 298 and 032G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov April 8, 2026.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 294,448 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

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:CRITICAL FASTENERS

25V549000 · August 26, 2025

The defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson and Santa Fe vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power and engine damage, possibly resulting in an oil leak.
The risk
A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash. An oil leak in the presence of hot engine components can increase the risk of an engine compartment fire.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 281.

Hyundai Motor America · up to 29 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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 injured

The right side power captain seat in the second row began to fold down without the button being pressed. It happened with and without the seatbelt plugged in. It came down while my toddler was in her rear facing car seat and began to crush the car seat and push on her feet. The chair would not stop the power seat motors even with both my wife and myself pushing back on the seat trying to free our daughter from the car seat. It continued to push down the moment there was more space to collapse. No errors or messages or engine lights of any sort were displayed anywhere. Even after removing our daughter it happened several times again.

NHTSA complaint 11735879. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rear Back Up Camera Had Moisture In The Lenses Making The Rear Back Up Assist Worthless. Nearly Caused Multiple Collisions While In Revers.

NHTSA complaint 11763931. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
Size 245 / 45 R 21 It's already my second tire thta gets a bubble on the side wall without any know crash One tire blew mid driving for no apparent reason on less than 10K miles I recommend you recall all those tires they are dangerous

NHTSA complaint 11762478. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

5,100 miles

The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The failure occurred mostly while making a left turn and while accelerating from a stop and continued for 10-seconds before self-correcting. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was almost a crash during the failure. The failure was not self-corrected after one failure. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the failure was then self-corrected. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failures, and there was no DTC found. The manufacturer was notified of the

NHTSA complaint 11761943, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Oil light comes on and beeps when putting on brakes suddenly.

NHTSA complaint 11760551. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
TAKE A BREAK" - the feature prompts the driver to “Take a Break” with that text and a‘Coffee Cup” logo after a certain period of continuous driving. There are instances when turning it off is necessary and Hyundai has removed that option - high distracting false alarm rate. The alert, visual and auditory are intrusive, unnecessary, demonstrate a high false alarm rate leading to frustration and distraction. While designed as a safety feature, it has the opposite effect. The system inaccurately interprets the driver’s behavior as signs of fatigue with alerts popping up at an alarming rate. Perfectly normal and safe driving behaviors see the alert popping up again and again. Further there are

NHTSA complaint 11758055, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES:SIDEWALL
FORMAL SAFETY COMPLAINT – REPEATED SIDEWALL BUBBLES IN PIRELLI SCORPION MS TIRES Vehicle: 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy Tires: Pirelli Scorpion MS Size: 255/45 R20 I am submitting this complaint because I am extremely concerned about a recurring and potentially dangerous tire problem involving my nearly new 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy. The vehicle is equipped with Pirelli Scorpion MS 255/45 R20 tires. Within only four months of ownership, the first tire developed a significant sidewall bubble on the right rear tire. The vehicle had approximately 816 miles at that time. What is particularly troubling is what the dealer told me when addressing that first tire: the first replacement

NHTSA complaint 11757804, 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
2025 134 5 —
2024 151 7 —
2023 210 1 —
2022 199 5 —
2021 166 6 —
2020 213 1 —
2019 200 2 —
2018 109 2 —
2017 968 6 —
2016 236 3 —
2015 254 2 —
2014 493 3 —
2013 605 3 —
2012 353 1 —
2011 181 2 1
2010 259 2 1

Other 2026 Hyundai models

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