What 20 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev

While driving 80 mph down the highway my brand new vehicle shut off completely, the entire car lost power. In another instance I was going around a roundabout and my acceleration completely went out, my son was in the back seat and another car had to jump the curb to avoid crashing into us. I met a woman in the dealership who has been waiting over a year for her recalled tow hitch to be fixed. When it rains or snows the forward safety systems shut off and the alert repeats extremely distracting on your dash, like sounds, red flashing lights, over and over again. You have to constantly hit the ok button while driving to get it to go away.

NHTSA ODI 11529228

While I was traveling 70-75 mph the vehicle had a sudden loss of engine and battery output performance and I began losing speed. There was a very rapid decrease in speed, and no warning chime activated per manual. “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely, triangle warning displayed.” The vehicle would not accelerate despite pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor and had to be coasted off the interstate through three lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder. No fault indications were present in the Bluelink app despite warnings present on the dash. Mileage was 6506 at the occurrence, vehicle was in Smart. Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist were being utilized, when disabled acceleration did not return. I was advised to turn off the car and turn it back on due to no faults present via remote troubleshooting tools and no dealership within 150 miles, and the vehicle resumed operating okay. After taking it for service at the next available “emergency slot” two weeks later at my local dealership and the car being there for one week, they reported condition could not be duplicated, the vehicle is operating to the manufacturer's specifications. I noted my serious concerns and that a serious safety defect that allows a vehicle to lose all acceleration on the highway and the vehicle not sounding a warning chime can lead to dangerous scenarios on the road and I was assured there was nothing wrong with my vehicle and it would not occur again as it was operating within manufacturer specifications. The vehicle did have a subsequent failure of this same type at a later date. It was not investigated by anyone other dealership. The manufacturer failed to address the loss of acceleration concerns when requested. No chime activated but should have received one per manual. A safety warning was present on the dash, “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely” service warning triangle. I am unsure how long it appeared before the loss of acceleration due to no chime.

NHTSA ODI 11477826

While traveling 70 mph the vehicle had a sudden loss of engine and battery output performance while driving and began losing speed despite the accelerator being fully depressed. There was a very rapid decrease in speed, and no warning chime activated per manual. “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely, triangle warning displayed.” Observed battery indicator rapidly deflecting left and right. The vehicle would not accelerate and had to be coasted through four lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder of the highway. While on an SOS call with Bluelink, who was unable to see the location of my vehicle, Oil Light illuminated, and a message on the dash said “Check Battery Discharge.” After the first Bluelink Operator was unable to assist in dispatching a tow truck due to the inability to see the vehicle’s exact location, the second Bluelink Operator was able to assist and dispatch a tow truck to the location and tow the vehicle to the closest dealership. The vehicle could not be turned on or placed in neutral. Was given a jump start to place in neutral to tow. Upon arrival at the dealership, the key fob would not register inside the vehicle for the service manager and technician to move with the tow truck operator. The vehicle was evaluated by the dealership and the only reported issue was a signal error that was present when the vehicle arrived at the dealership after being towed. Dealership reported radar was not vertical and contributed that to the cause of loss of acceleration on the highway despite not having identified it before or being a result of being towed. I requested this be reported if truly the cause since that could be catastrophic. The matter was considered resolved by the dealer since it couldn’t be duplicated. This unknown, continued sudden loss of output power, acceleration, and electrical power is a Serious Safety Defect and significant impairment to the vehicle, posing a fatal risk for the operator and other motorists on the road. Occurred at 24618 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11477832

This vehicle hesitates to a dangerous degree when trying to accelerate from a stop or rolling stop. When pressure is applied to the gas pedal, the vehicle will not accelerate until nearly a whole second later. This delay in response has created dangerous situations where merging onto a road in a predictable and smooth manner is crucial (i.e. turning right at a red light, a 4-way stop). I did not notice this problem during my test drive, but now at almost 10,000 miles, the problem has become more pronounced. No warning messages in the gauge display. The vehicle has not been inspected by police, manufacturer, or insurance representative.

NHTSA ODI 11463716