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What 162 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid

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 (162)Crash / fire / injury (5)Transmission & drivetrain (50)Engine (36)Electrical system (29)Driver assistance (18)Visibility & wipers (14)Fuel system (9)Speed control (7)Brakes (6)Backup camera & sensors (5)Body & structure (3)

1 of 162 complaints match · Driver assistance · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jul 13, 2021Driver assistanceCrash

Message: I own a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe with the Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist feature installed and activated. The Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist did not function properly to stop my car to avoid a low speed impact. I applied the brakes to stop. I could not avoid impacting another vehicle. The damage was minor. Hyundai did inspect my vehicle braking system on June 8 at Hyundai of Cool Springs. I was not provided full report on findings/corrective action. Hyundai America was supposed to provide a follow up report. I was called today and the Hyundai representative had no details on the brake inspection to share with me. I am suspicious. I think Hyundai is hiding a safety issue. I am reporting this event so the NTSB can contact Hyundai to determine if this is a safety defect needing corrective action. The Hyundai Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist is designed to help detect and monitor the vehicle ahead or help detect a pedestrian or cyclist in the roadway and warn the driver that a collision is imminent with a warning message and an audible warning, and if necessary, apply emergency braking. Ref: Hyundai owner's manual, chapter 7, page 7-2 On page 7-6 the system operation is described: System operation Basic function System warning and control The basic function for Forward Collision- Avoidance Assist is to help warn and control the vehicle depending on the collision level: ‘Collision Warning’, ‘Emergency Braking’ and ‘Stopping vehicle and ending brake control’. OTM070143N Collision Warning • To warn the driver of a collision, the ‘Collision Warning’ warning message will appear on the cluster and an audible warning will sound. • If a vehicle is detected in front, the system will operate when your vehicle speed is between approximately 6~112 mph (10~180 km/h). • If a pedestrian or cyclist is detected in front, the system will operate when your vehicle speed is between approximately 6~53 mph (10~85 k

NHTSA ODI 11424621

Working with the data? Download all 162 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 15, 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 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid verdict →