Home · 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev · Complaints

What 181 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (181)Crash / fire / injury (20)Engine (64)Electrical system (25)Speed control (24)Brakes (22)Transmission & drivetrain (21)Steering (20)Suspension (16)Lights (14)Body & structure (10)Engine & cooling (8)

3 of 181 complaints match · Body & structure · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Sep 25, 2020Body & structureCrash1 injury

ON JUNE 14,2020, I BACKED OUT OF A PARKING SPOT IN A LOT OUTSIDE A GROCERY STORE AND MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED BACK HITTING A BARRIER POLE. WHEN I PUT IT IN DRIVE, IT LEAPT FORWARD AND SPED BETWEEN A POKE AND A PARKED CAR, RACED DOWN A TEN-FOOT EMBANKMENT AND CRASHED INTO THE CORNER OF A BRICK BUILDING. I LATER LEARNED THAT THIS WAS CALLED SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND THAT THE BRAKES DO NOT WORK WHEN SUA HAPPENS. IT WAS ALL OVER WITHIN SECONDS AND I HAD NO TIME TO ACT. MY CAR WAS COMPLETELY TOTALED AND I SUFFERED RIB CAGE AND STERNUM CONTUSIONS FROM THE SEAT BELT. THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. MY CAR SCRAPED THE PARKED CAR AND MY INSURANCE COMPANY PAID FOR THAT DAMAGE.

NHTSA ODI 11361175

Sep 4, 2013BrakesLightsAirbagsBody & structureCrash

FIRST OF ALL I KNOW OUR 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE IS NOT MADE IN USA, IT IS A KOREAN 2.4 L, 7 SEATER BOUGHT IN PANAMA. I WROTE TO THE HYUNDAI COMPLAINT WEBSITE AND THEY VERY POLITELY ANSWERED THAT THE CAR WAS A NON-US MODEL AND THEY SENT ME A LINK TO A WEBSITE WHERE I COULD FILE THE COMPLAINT. I DID IT BUT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN ANSWER, YET. MY FIRST PROBLEM AFTER THE CRASH WAS THE UNAVAILABILITY OF PARTS FOR REPAIRING THE CAR. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH OUR LOCAL CONSUMER AUTHORITY HERE IN PANAMA. OUR CAR WAS IN THE SHOP FOR MORE THAN 9 MONTHS, ITS RUNNING NOW BUT STILL SOME PARTS MISSING. THE ISSUE IS THAT AFTER GETTING THE CAR BACK FROM THE SHOP I RECEIVED A CALL FROM OUR LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER (PETROAUTOS) TELLING ME ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN OF THE FAULTY BRAKE SWITCH (JUST AS IN THE US MODELS) AND THAT I HAD TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE DEALER. SO I LOOKED UP IN INTERNET AND I FIND SEVERAL RECALLS RELATED TO THE BRAKES. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY CHANGED THE SWITCH. SO IM WONDERING IF THIS WAS RELATED TO THE CRASH BECAUSE I ALWAYS HAD MY DOUBTS OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I BRAKED THAT DAY. FINALLY THERE WAS A CRASH AND ALTHOUGH I KNOW THIS MAY ONLY BE FOR YOUR INFORMATION OR FILES, AND THAT YOU CAN'T HELP ME; PLEASE TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT FOR YOUR EVALUATIONS. THANKS.

NHTSA ODI 10541823

Jun 24, 2013Body & structureSpeed controlEngineCrash1 injury

ON JUNE 11, 2013 I WAS DRIVING MY 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. I WAS IN A PARKING LOT AND HAD PULLED INTO A PARKING PLACE. I WAS STOPPED AND PUTTING MY CAR INTO PARK. AS I REACH NEUTRAL MY CAR ACCELERATED FAST...THIS WAS MORE THEN A LUNGE FORWARD, IT WAS MORE LIKE A POWER SURGE. MY CAR CONTINUED FORWARD AT A VERY FAST SPEED, DESPITE MY BRAKING ( THERE WERE SKID MARKS) AND HIT A WALL. I ENDED UP WITH LOTS OF MASSIVE BRUISING AND SPRAINED MUSCLES. PLUS I WAS VERY FRIGHTENED. THERE WAS LOTS OF DAMAGE TO MY CAR. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHERE I PURCHASED IT. IT IS SILL IN THEIR BODY SHOP. A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT I CHECKED THE INTERNET TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM. THERE WERE LOTS & LOTS OF EXAMPLES OF THIS, SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM, WITH THE 2011 SANTA FE. I DON'T SEE ANY RESPONSES FROM HYUNDAI. THIS PROBLEM HAS TO BE DEALT WITH. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10521561

Working with the data? Download all 181 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev verdict →