What 941 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev

While driving home on the highway from our sons hockey game at about 8:30 pm we were going about 60 mph when the car made a noise and began smoking and as we were trying to pull over on the side of the highway noticed by the reflection of a passing car that the engine on our vehicle was on fire under the vehicle. We had to evacuate the vehicle quickly and get our children out on the side of a busy highway with fire showing under the front end of the car.

NHTSA ODI 11734049

The contact owned a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe equipped with a Rockland Electric Mobility Scooter Lifter, Part Number: 10101194. The contact stated that after the mobility scooter lifter was installed on the vehicle, the vehicle experienced electrical failures. The A/C became inoperable, and the hatch opened intermittently. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked approximately a month after the lifter installation, the alarm sounded intermittently during the day. The contact observed the vehicle from the residence, but did not notice any abnormality. The contact installed the mobility scooter on the vehicle in the evening. The contact stated that the vehicle alarm sounded at night, and the contact noticed that the vehicle had caught on fire and there were flames coming from underneath the hood by the engine and firewall location. The vehicle was significantly burned from the front end to the trunk. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. A fire department report and a police report were filed. There was no property damage. There was no physical injury sustained. The contact sustained mental trauma, causing headaches and the right side of the lip to quiver. The contact had called Gregory Fox, an investigative reporter and anchor at WESH 2 News(NBC), who notified the manufacturer of the failure. The manufacturer followed up with the contact and informed the contact that a third-party investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the fire incident. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard, where a third-party investigation was conducted, and the manufacturer informed the contact that the fire was caused by the Rockland Electric Mobility Scooter Lifter. The vehicle was totaled. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

NHTSA ODI 11729701

On November 28, 2025 at approximately 2:20am, I was involved in a multi-car pile up crash on Interstate 85 south near Durham NC. At least 5 vehicles were involved and significantly damaged. At least two drivers were taken by ambulance to local hospitals. Fortunately I was not one of them. I was driving in the left lane of the 2 lane southbound interstate. It happened right in front of me and I had no chance of completely avoiding it so I veered to my left onto the shoulder to attempt to avoid a direct hit on the large Nissan SUV that was now straddling both lanes. I hit the front of the Nissan and the guardrail almost simultaneously at somewhere around 50 to 60mph which caused considerable damage to the front right quadrant and the entire drivers side of my vehicle, but my airbags never deployed and I sustained moderate to significant injury to my arms, shoulders, chest and neck, most likely due to how I was gripping the steering wheel in anticipation of the impact and from the seat belt. I did not require medical treatment at the scene but have since received treatment at home. I believe the airbags should have deployed given my speed at impact and where my vehicle came in contact with both the Nissan SUV as well as the guardrail. I believe this was a clear failure of the airbag system in my vehicle, which has since been deemed to be totaled by my insurance company.

NHTSA ODI 11702606

2017 Santa Fe, car had fire in 09/2024 and was with dealership until 05/2025. BSD, ABS, TRACTION, and Parking Brake lights on the dash when vehicle was picked up. Dealership not complaint to pay as the assume it is an Outside issue

NHTSA ODI 11670835

While driving, the vehicle lost its brakes and rolled to a stop on [XXX] at that point the vehicle compartment began to fill up with black smoke and soot and flames started to come out of vents. My daughter immediately grabbed her dog and exited from the vehicle to a safe spot away from the car. Within 10 seconds the vehicle exploded and erupted into a 20 ft fireball. If my daughter would have hesitated she could have been killed. Hyundai inspected the vehicle and found nothing conclusive except that this problem has been documented in other Incidents. The vehicle was declared to be totaled. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11636163

Purchased Vehicle 6/2022 has had an electrical problem since day one randomly does not start and must be jumped. I have taken in 2 times only to be told there is nothing wrong. I called Hyundai Corporate to see what steps I should take to resolve issues was told to take car in a third time and again told nothing wrong. A new battery was placed two months after my purchase date. And again this past February and issues still exist. Was given two option should problem not be resolved 1) Buy back vehicle 2) replace with different vehicle. Both options have been withdrawn. Explanation car has been on the road to long. I put $13500 down and have made payments for 2 years. There is still $12000 on the loan. Is there anything I can do to recoup at least my down-payment. I am a senior on social security and a part time job in which i am a caregiver and do not feel safe driving this vehicle. I and do not have a down payment to trade the car in. I do not want the vehicle there are other issues starting and with a parasitic draw there are bound to be additional issues down the road. Can you help please. Expected ResolutionHyundai take car back and return my down payment so I can purchase a reliable vehicle o Additionally just recently discovered vehicle was in 2 accidents which this information was never disclosed. I would not have purchased had I known.

NHTSA ODI 11592250

Engine seizure happened while driving and the engine caught on fire. The car was well maintained and had been up-to-date on all recalls.

NHTSA ODI 11582964

While I was stopped at a stoplight turn lane in my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe sport, smoke started to come out of my engine. I removed myself from the turn lane and got my car into a parking lot, and within a minute, flames appeared from the engine. I do not recall a warning light alerting me, as I was focused on getting the car to a safe place. I called 911 and the fire dept put out the flames as it consumed the front of my car. The whole engine area is toast, so not sure of the cause, and insurance will be processing the claim as a 100% loss. I was up to date on my service/recalls and the car had just hit 90,000 miles. We had recently checked fluid levels, so that was fine, but I did notice when driving the day before and that morning on my way to my destination, that the engine/ car seemed to be a little off or running a little rough. That may have been the precursor to the engine fire I experienced.

NHTSA ODI 11555030

On my 2017 Santa Fe equipped with a power lift gate, when the power struts start to fail, it is without warning and intermittent. The lift gate will fully open, then suddenly drop down about a foot before stopping striking the top of the head. At first the drop down would occur several seconds later when one was already under the lift gate and bump the head when moving back. This started about 2 months ago. Hyundai had to replace both power struts where the total job cost just over $1,700.00. The part were $1,244.08. Although I took a video of this with my cell phone, it is too large to email to my Gmail or AOL inbox. Eventually the lift gate could fail completely possible trapping a small person under same.

NHTSA ODI 11543545

On June 22, 2023, I went to start my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe in a shopping center parking lot. I had recently driven from the Pgh airport to Monroeville and stopped to run errands. Upon reentering my vehicle I used the push button start to start the car. The engine started and the center computer screen turned on, however the dashboard did not light up and I was not able to shift into Reverse. I cycled the car ~5 times trying to get it going, but the same start-up happened. Upon calling husband (after trying to start another few times) he recommended that I look at the fuses. At this point I opened the driver side door and was outside looking at the fuse panel. This is when I heard someone shouting from the highway across from the parking lot that my car was on fire. I looked at the rear of my car and saw flames coming from the rear bumper. I quickly stepped away from the vehicle. The entire drivers side of the rear bumper was engulfed in flames. Both the police and fire departments came to the scene. We were collectively able to extinguish the flames and the car was totaled.

NHTSA ODI 11532234

The car's engine oil indicator does not turn on. I noticed a drag in the engine while driving, checked the oil and it was really low. I got an oil change. I noticed it again and this time there was no oil left in the engine. No light had gone on at all. It has been only less than 3 months since the oil was changed, I added oil and called hyundai. It has been nearly impossible to get my car looked at by Hyundai or have them look at the issue as there are no appointments available when this happened. It happened again recently. I am concerned that this will cause my engine to have issues. Today, I looked this problem up on the internet and found that there is a recall for this exact issue by the manufacturer, but not on my model/year. How do I get protection? Yes my car is available for inspection if needed.

NHTSA ODI 11523234

I bought this vehicle and there was a complete break down malfunction due to the ABS module system! This lack of due diligence caused both myself and my 7 year old to unwillingly enter a vehicle that put our lives at risk and a near death experience that still traumatizes my daughter until this day who refuses to enter any vehicle! This is an unfortunate mistake on your end and there is no where near enough compensation that will ever withdraw the fear from my innocent child’s eyes anytime I need to drive her to school, or basketball practice, or anywhere to run our daily errands and live a normal life! I have nothing else to add except I expect compensation for a safe vehicle and compensation necessary to help my child, my innocent child to get through this fear!

NHTSA ODI 11520592

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while she was parked in her driveway, she was at the back of the vehicle and had lifted the lift gate to place items in the back when the lift gate inadvertently came down on the contact's neck. The contact was trapped by the liftgate and struggled to pull her head out. The contact had hurt her neck in the process of freeing herself and had set up an appointment with a doctor. The contact stated no warning lights or chimes were heard or noticed. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11512865

My lane departure and collision warning did not work when I crashed into a car head on and totallled my vehicle. I had not yet received my recall maintenance, nor did I know about both recalls. Only the first. Not only that but lane assist did not work and the airbag did not go off. Despite totaling the car, how did they not go off?????

NHTSA ODI 11508838

Car began to smoke from engine compartment. Stopped car in a driving lane on interstate 78 where construction barriers had closed both shoulders. Car then burst into flames. Car was a total loss before fire trucks were able to arrive. Just prior to the fire the Warning light for the abs system malfunction appeared on the dashboard.

NHTSA ODI 11503664

Vehicle spontaneously caught on fire in the engine compartment while driving in a parking lot. Within 30 minutes, the vehicle was incinerated down to the frame. Prior to this incident, a warning had flashed on the message center that the adaptive cruise control system was being disabled. It is pending insurance inspection and we are trying to contract Hyundai. The police report is not available yet, but is with the Faribault, MN, Police Department and is #[XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11495357

I was accelerating on the highway and my RMPS shot the whole way up over 7,000 then bottomed out. I lost speed so I pulled over. Another car pulled over to inform me my car was on fire. I turned the car off and the fire went out. The car was towed to Blaise Alexander (dealership) in Altoona, PA. The mechanic reported that a connector rod went through the oil pan, engine block, and brake starter. He kept repeating to me "I've never seen anything like this before". He reached out to Hyundai to ask if they would cover repairs (starting at $13,790). Hyundai said no. I believe this incident was more than mechanical, and is related to the open recall. I attempted twice to have my car repaired under the recall but the dealership "didn't have the part".

NHTSA ODI 11495138

On November 14, 2022 at approximately 0800 while traveling 495N in Massachusetts from Cape Cod my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe with 109,000 miles experienced catastrophic engine failure. I was maintaining a speed of approximately 70 MPH when without waring the 3.3L V6 engine stalled and made loud clunking noises while smoke filled up the cabin of the vehicle causing me to cough and choke, my visibility was also diminished. I was fortunate enough to pull the vehicle to the right side of the highway and did cut someone off because I panicked and could not see almost causing a serious crash. The vehicle was then towed to a Hyundai dealership in Raynham, MA. The service advisors tried helping me with getting a new engine replacement from Hyundai Corporate, Corporate would not honor their demands and now I'm without a vehicle for myself to get to and from work and for my family so they can attend school, doctors appointments and social events.

NHTSA ODI 11494097

This will be my second report to the NHTSA. I was originally told my car needed a new engine, but then it was confirmed that was not the issue since the car started and drove just fine, the recall for the ABS mod was brought up to two different Hyundai dealerships and their corporate office, I requested if it could not be fixed to buy back my car. It was denied. My car then caught fire while driving, resulting in my husband almost dying on the highway. Fire shot from the bottom of the car up into engulfed flames within seconds…and then blew. Determined it was an electrical engine fire. All could have been avoided if Hyundai had just listened to my concerns and checked my ABS. However due their refusal to do so, and refusal to inspect my engine for the recall, my family, kids included were put at risk. It seems to be happening all over the world with these cars and NOTHING is being done.

NHTSA ODI 11476720

Engine lost power while on freeway and a piston fired through the engine producing a hole and causing fire to travel through the exhaust system.

NHTSA ODI 11472053

My O2 sensor failed and is under my insurance investigation due to engine light that came on and upon inspection it was determined to have caught on fire under the vehicle. My safety and my children's were at risk potentially may have gone up in flames. Currently the insurance is pending review of any recalls for O2 sensor to determine if Hyundai is handling damages. At this time Hyundai has not taken responsibility.

NHTSA ODI 11468965

The contact owned a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while coming off the highway ramp she saw smoke coming from the hood of the vehicle. A witness stated there was fire coming from the hood. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to the parking lot and the vehicle would not stop. The contact let the vehicle slow down until she hit a bump and safely jumped out of the vehicle. There were no injuries and there was no medical attention needed. The fire and police were there to file a report. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The vehicle was towed to a city pound. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V056000 ( Engine Compartment Fire) was referenced. The failure mileage was 124,000.

NHTSA ODI 11465477

The contact owned a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the traffic stopped and the brake pedal was applied but the vehicle failed to stop. As a result, the contact crashed into an unknown vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire or injuries. The vehicle was towed to an independent lot. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 33, 000.

NHTSA ODI 11460560

I went to a drive through car wash. Put my car in neutral and it drives your car through the wash. Once it was done I changed to drive and tapped lightly to get out. I was going to have the car wash attendant wipe down my car. As I approached him my brakes wouldn’t work and the car continued to accelerate despite not pressing down on the gas pedal. None of my electrical lights were working. It took me onto a busy street in Chicago and kept accelerating at full speed. I was trying to brake, put it into neutral or drive, use emergency brake system and nothing was working. I was swerving to avoid hitting other cars or pedestrians. I erratically drove about 1.5 blocks until I hit another SUV. All my airbags deployed. My full trauma work up was negative at the hospital. I am not sure if anyone sustained major injuries in the other car. I filed an insurance claim and my car was deemed a total loss. Insurance company thinks there was definitely an electrical shortage but did not further investigate. They said it would take more money to investigate the cause rather than paying a lump sum for car. I filed a claim case with Hyundai 2 days after the accident. The initial representative said a case manager would call within 5-7 business days and would like the car preserved in case of investigation. I have called over 5 times and have never received a call back nor an initial call from the case manager assigned. There was no active recalls out at the time and the car was serviced a month prior at a Hyundai dealership. Since the accident occurred we received a new recall that the anti-lock brake system could malfunction and cause an electrical short. But according to recall notice there is still no remedy available.

NHTSA ODI 11460464

The contact owned a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while at a stop light, smoke was present coming from under the hood. While attempting to pull over to park, the brakes suddenly failed and an explosion occurred within the engine compartment causing flames from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and called the fire department who came to the scene an extinguished the flames. During the incident no injuries were reported, the vehicle was destroyed and towed away and a police and fire report was taken at the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The day after the incident the contact received a recall notice from the manufacturer for the NHTSA Campaign Number 22v056000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recall which included a fire hazard. The failure mileage was 54,000.

NHTSA ODI 11459713