What 34 owners told NHTSA about the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev

While accelerating at a light, the accelerator became unresponsive, only propelling the vehicle a couple miles per hour. I was not able to pull over, as I was in the left lane of a very busy road. After about 15 seconds of lack of acceleration, the accelerator responded enough for me to pull over. I’m glad this incident did not occur on a highway, during a turn, or other hazardous situations. Dash displayed, “Check hybrid system. Pull over safely”. There was no indication or issue with the vehicle prior to this. I haven’t had any issues since I bought it several months ago. I’ve read reports of this same issue happening with this same model. I have a scheduled date for inspection.

NHTSA ODI 11708867

vehicle will not change out of EV electric mode and return to gas power causing hybrid battery drains to zero, vehicle loses acceleration, you can push the gas pedal to the floor and you have no acceleration, very UNSAFE when you are in traffic, no power to maneuver or avoid other vehicles quickly if needed, potential for accidents, hybrid system warning lights and alarms go on, have to try and pull over safely, battery will not recharge or takes a very long time to do so, only recourse is to shut vehicle off and restart which seems to reset vehicle, which in turn does not leave any warning lights other than codes on to show dealer, very dangerous to lose all acceleration capacity while in traffic, this has happened multiple times with the latest being today 3/23/25, vehicle is available for you to inspect, have had other powertrain codes issues as well, dealer has replaced fuel pump and erg valve but it does not resolve this hybrid issue, this battery drain issue has occurred multiple times but no resolution, help!

NHTSA ODI 11650017

Our vehicle continues to experience loss of power driving , on cold days below freezing. When driving normally this hybrid vehicle will be in hybrid mode at a stop, then when accelerating, the ICE engine will not start to assist the hybrid, causing a bare minimum of power to be available, just enough to pull over. On several occasions this has led to very near rear end collisions from the driver's behind. So far I've been able to avoid injury, as I recognize the condition and am hyper attentive to its possible happening. The vehicle handed shown any Check engine warnings until yesterday. As it was dying I pumped the accelerator to see if it would go, latching a TPS out of range code. The condition has been brought to Hyundai Corporate and dealerships with no repair, and no resolution, they say it's fine. This is well documented by others driving Santa Fe Hybrids, and Tucson Hybrids on forums. No one fix has been established, with some dealerships replacing parts, and others no work being done because their scan tool sees nothing. With dozens of recalls for minor inconvenience issues, I do not understand why a recall for this drivability safety issue has not been mandated! These vehicles are defective, and potentially very dangerous. Loss of power, acceleration when others are behind you anticipating you to go, is a real serious danger, not to mention you being stranded in frigid weather. This began happening at 23k miles and continues today with 48k miles on mine. If the vehicle is shut off, then restarted, it is again drivable, until the next happening. One reason Hyundai, says nothing's wrong, and often blames the owners. I can't be without a vehicle, and Hyundai has washed their hands on this, so I'm stuck Hyundai must be forced into an investigation, and a safety recall on this or nothing will be done. How many accidents or deaths are required to get a recall accomplished?

NHTSA ODI 11642761

Headed to my work ,outside temp 26 deg F, when on hiway entrance ramp, vehicle lost all acceleration. Vehicle is a hybrid, condition no warning lights on dash, vehicle was stuck in EV mode, which the ICE engine would not start to help as normally would do. Hybrid battery began draining very quickly. There was a semi truck right behind me accelerating hard to get on highway .This time I managed to pull over on the debris filled shoulder before the system fully shut down as it has done before with the warning ️ HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE, PULL OVER NOW ! and loud alarm going off. This is a serious loss of total motive power, which I've reported to Hyundai Corporate, and dealerships for repair before, to which they say " we can't duplicate, all systems are fine", and blame me for the problem. Hyundai has washed their hands of this dangerous situation and won't help me. This is the 5th occasion of this problem, I now know from my experience and reading Hyundai forums this issue is wide spread among Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe hybrids, with some places replacing parts, that doesn't fix the issue. I know how to react by pulling over immediately, shut off the vehicle completely, wait... Then restart the vehicle, and so far ,it will drive normal with no codes or warnings after that, until the next random occasion it happens. This is extremely dangerous in cold weather and around other traffic posing a major collision hazard and stranding someone who knows less about this condition. Hundreds have reported this as per the forums, yet no recall or TSB or real fix has been issued by Hyundai.

NHTSA ODI 11635034

Vehicle was being driven at highway speeds and suddenly lost the ability to accelerate with a "Check Hybrid System" warning. After pulling to the side of the interstate, car was shut off and restarted and brought back up to 40 / 50 mph when the same issue occurred with a lack of ability to accelerate and a "Check Hybrid System" warning. The issue appears to be related to some portion of the hybrid drivetrain. Car was then towed but two mechanics (one independent and one Hyundai dealership) could not replicate the issue and the vehicle system did not store any codes or history of the incident. The safety of the driver was put at risk by lacking the ability to accelerate on a major interstate, leaving the driver stranded for two hours waiting on a tow truck on the side of a busy interstate with traffic moving at speeds up to 75 mph.

NHTSA ODI 11616013

I was driving on the freeway when suddenly I heard a clunking sound. Suddenly I was unable to accelerate at all. My speed was 60 mph and I had the gas pedal pressed all the way to the floor. Nothing happened and my speed would not go over 60. Then a message began flashing on my dashboard. I cannot remember the exact verbiage, but something along the lines of Hybrid System Failure. My car began losing speed and I was unable to accelerate to make it go faster at all. I lost complete control of the speed control. I was in the middle lane of a 5 lane freeway and struggling to get over since I was unable to accelerate at all. It was an extremely dangerous situation as I could no longer control the speed of my vehicle on a freeway. Finally, I was able to exit to an off ramp. My car continued to lose acceleration and finally came to a complete stop on a side street. My car was then towed to the dealer and they are unsure what the issue is. On doing some internet research, I have found a lot of postings of people having this same exact issue with the Hyndai Santa Fe Hybrid 2022 and I think it's a dangerous defect in the car.

NHTSA ODI 11604387

While Driving home from work, the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Vehicle's, Hybrid battery began to discharge rapidly, the Gasoline Engine did not start to charge the system, within 1/4 mile the Hybrid Battery fully discharged, and the Vehicle lost all acceleration , the Dash warning " CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM, STOP SAFELY " came on along with a loud audible warning beeping. I pulled off the road as soon as possiable. The Vehicle would not accelerate, and the gasoline engine part would not start. Several other warning lights illuminated, including the 12V battery low warning. I turned the Santa Fe off, and called Hyundai Roadside Assistance. While on the Phone with the assistant, as it was Night time, I couldn't see to check the VIN number for her I turned on the interior lights, then continued talking to the assistant. I attempted to restart the Vehicle , and it started the Gasoline Engine this time, we talked, and she suggested I see if the Hybrid Battery would now charge it's self, which it very slowly did up to 1/8 full, then I attempted to move the Vehicle to a safer location , a Gas station parking lot. I was able to drive the short 1/4 mile to the parking lot, but the vehicle had very little acceleration. Almost no power! At the parking lot I attempted to rev the engine to get more power to the Hybrid Battery, while waiting for a Tow Truck.

NHTSA ODI 11565910

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Warnings appeared on the instrument panel at the same time the power steering would go out and I would not be able to safely steer the car. This happened on 4-5 occasions. These are the various warnings that would appear: Check Lane Following Assist System Check Blind Spot Safety System Check Driver Attention Warning System How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Not being able to steer was very concerned and happened to me while driving on a busy highway at one point. I could barely steer the car well enough to get it to the shoulder. I had to cross 4 lanes of traffic during rush hour. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I had it towed to the dealer the final time it happened. They stated that it is a problem with the power steering module Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Crossroads Hyundai of Loveland inspected the vehicle Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No, not until the moment the issue occurred. The strangest part of the issue is that after I would pull over and stop the vehicle, I would clean the sensors on outside of the car and on then restart the car and then sometimes it would work again. It seemed to happen on days that there was poor weather or messy roads that would impede the sensors' abilities.

NHTSA ODI 11451231