What 199 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

Driving at a low speed and blind spot warning light comes on, then all warnings light up and car loses all power and goes into limp mode. Engine light stays on, but will start back up after it is shut off, open and shut car door and restart. Engine light stays on. Has happened to me three or four times. In the past, the engine light will eventually go off before I can get it to the dealership. Hyundai said they couldn’t duplicate the problem last time it was taken in, so nothing could be done. Gives error code P063512 each time and says EMS which I assume means emissions.

NHTSA ODI 11612685

A few times recently our car has had a hard time starting even though it's only a year old. It's like it's having a hard time turning over. And then when driving, it has a hard time accelerating - it almost feels like the car is in neutral while trying to drive. It jerks and shimmies to the point where you have to pull over to see what's going on. We were on a pretty busy road and couldn't accelerate to the point of safely merging into traffic. An online forum said it was a "loose ground" that's causing the acceleration issues.

NHTSA ODI 11608866

I was driving down the expressway and my sunroof exploded. It scared me so bad that I swerved and almost lost control of the car. I thought something hit me.

NHTSA ODI 11603644

Driving up steep hill to my mom’s house car would not drive up, as it hesitated I pressed gas pedal to no avail. I turned off car, got out & nothing was blocking me. Turned car back on & accelerated, this time it went forward.

NHTSA ODI 11603655

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the Emergency Braking System was erroneously activated, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop in the middle of the road. During the failure, the message "Emergency Braking System Engaged" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11602302

Horn does not function. Trip to the service department and was advised it’s a known issue and they will call me when one comes in. This car is one year old and the horn not working is a major safety concern for me. A search online shows this is an issue for several buyers without a recall notice.

NHTSA ODI 11601794

There is an extreme amount of hesitation/delay from when you depress the accelerator and when the vehicle accelerates. I have had multiple incidences (both from a complete stop and while already moving) where I depress the accelerator and there is a concerning amount of lag time before the vehicle initiates movement. This has almost led to multiple accidents. This defect happens in all drive modes. This issue appears to have gotten worse over the time we have owned the vehicle. We did not notice this issue earlier on. We bought the vehicle brand new in Dec. 23.

NHTSA ODI 11599523

Several times lately of extended crank. Saturday evening, car had been parked for 4 hours, did remote start and had extended crank of about 2 seconds. Car ran for about 3 minutes before we left. We left home and hit main road, tried to accelerate and vehicle seemed to go into limp mode. Would keep cutting the fuel out if tried to accelerate even above 40 mph. No check engine light came on. Put in neutral, could not get above about 3500 rpm. Vehicle was in smart mode where decides which mode to be in (normal, fuel economy or sport), when would try to accelerate it would try to change to sport as it knew power was not there. Was on a 6 lane highway and could not get up to speed. Finally was able to pull to side of road, shut engine off, waited a few seconds, restarted and issue went away, still no check engine light. I have contacted my local dealer, they said they have seen on another vehicle, was not sure of outcome, having service manager call me. Lots of complaints online forums of similar issues.

NHTSA ODI 11596090

Tire inside sidewall blew out on rear right tire. No curb, no pothole. 40mph speed

NHTSA ODI 11595356

I was driving at around 11 a.m. on a city road at about 30 miles per hour when front passenger tire suddenly popped and car began to swerve almost colliding with vehicle in adjacent lane. The TPMS alert showed up on dashboard after the tire popped. There were no potholes or any objects that the car hit. The car along with tires had been inspected during routine maintenance at the dealer five days prior to this incident and no issues were found on tires or any lights on the dashboard. There were also no symptoms leading up to the tire suddenly popping. I contacted the manufacturer who referred me to an authorized center. After submitting the claim at the authorized center, they provided a replacement 255/45R20 at 50 percent discount.

NHTSA ODI 11590614

WHEN I WAS DRIVING TO WORK THE MORNING OF 5/20/2024, MY PANORAMIC SUNROOF EXPLODED OUT OF NOWHERE. PART OF THE GLASS FELL ON MY HEAD RESULTING IN A CONCUSSION.

NHTSA ODI 11590079

Driving down the interstate yesterday & heard a very loud ‘POP!’ Looked when I got home to find that the sunroof glass had shattered (as has, apparently, happened to more than a few vehicles by Hyundai, as well as other manufacturers), & fell onto the fabric liner below it. Thankfully, I did not have any of my grandchildren in the back seat at the time, & the sunroof was closed. At the very least, Hyundai needs to replace and repair the glass, & be sure, before it’s returned to me, that it’s better than it was when it was new.

NHTSA ODI 11590254

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that upon noticing that coolant was leaking onto the ground, he opened the hood and discovered that coolant was leaking from the radiator. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that a foreign object had struck the radiator, causing coolant to leak into the engine compartment. The dealer informed the contact that a failure caused by a foreign object was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that upon examining pictures of the failure provided by the dealer, he noticed that there were rocks stuck in and near the radiator. The contact determined that the large gaps of the front grill were allowing foreign objects to strike the radiator. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened; however, the case was later closed. The failure mileage was approximately 11,591.

NHTSA ODI 11587396

I've been driving in Arizona on southbound [XXX] just south of [XXX] and noticed an issue that is very odd. I have a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe that has Highway Driving Assist that does both speed control and distance from the vehicle ahead of me and Lane Keeping Assist. After I pass [XXX], but before an overpass for [XXX], my vehicle, if those systems are on, goes haywire and all those safety systems turn off. I have experienced it on at least 3 of the lanes on that stretch. It happens both early in the am and later regardless of sun. It doesn't happen on northbound. As more cars have these features, this interference should be looked in to. I have not experienced this on any other of our highways. Here's a link to the the rough location. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11586874

Unknown issue, but the car has auto braked 2x on the interstate going 65mph. No cars were around me nor any objects in the road. It stated auto braking and sensors going off. Resolved itself within 60 seconds, but did almost cause me to be rear ended because a tractor trailer was quickly approaching me.

NHTSA ODI 11586128

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ODI 11582187

The harness does not stay tight on the child’s chest. The harness was adjusted to the correct fit, when pulled to check the tightness the harness does not stay taught. It releases without pushing the release button

NHTSA ODI 11580193

While driving on [XXX] at 65 MPH, without warning the sunroof spontaneously exploded and shattered. It produced an extremely loud bang, like a gunshot, startling me to where I almost lost control of the vehicle. There were no vehicles in front of us, no vehicles behind us, and nothing above us (not traveling under a bridge or overpass). We were traveling in the state of Mississippi at the time and it was 58 degrees and raining, NO HAIL was coming down ever. The dealer cannot explain why this would happen but would not cover it under warranty. The vehicle is brand new with 4,100 miles on it when this occurred. Insurance company is paying for the repair which is now complete. The shattered sunroof is thrown away but I have pictures of it right after it happened. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11579260

Sunroof exploded at highway speed glass was contained by interior fabric. Sounded like tire or gun shot . Was able to stop but frightened. Took to dealer and left it. Car has less than 3500 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11577704

I have taken my vehicle back into the dealership because my car will sometimes unlock itself, I am constantly having to check the doors to make sure they are still locked and most of the time it has unlocked itself. Most of the time I hear it unlocking as I am walking away. It is very disturbing. It also beeps as if another vehicle is going to crash into me and most of the time there aren't any vehicles anywhere near me. The phone charger does not work, i have been having issues with this from the beginning. The steering wheel also says I have to put my hands on the wheel when I have them on the wheel. I have a video of the car going a lot of rpms and it barely moved, a golf cart passed me up. The car also locks up sometimes when I am backing up. I drive my parents to San Antonio for their Dr. appointments and am a little fearful of staying stranded either direction. My father is very ill and I am their driver. The dealer insists my car is the only one having these issues but I have read on reddit and other platforms of other Santa Fe's with similar issues. These issues do not occur ALL THE TIME, but this does occur at the most inconvenience time.

NHTSA ODI 11576901

have read lot of complaints from the I Hyundai form and this is happening to my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe that the Shifter system malfunction! Service Immediately light came on and it would not let the car park, reverse, go into neutral had to turn the car off. then car had to be restarted in order for it to go into park. the car only has 7388miles.The car is being worked on today 3/112023

NHTSA ODI 11576634

Whilst driving the vehicle a number of warning lights appeared on the dashboard. This occurred after the vehicle was brought to a stop at a stop sign. There were no outside influences before or after the warnings began. The vehicle remained operable and was driving back to our residence approximately 1 mile away. I made an appointment with the local dealership to investigate the issue. The appointment was made for the following day. Whilst driving the vehicle to vehicle to the dealership on the following day the brakes became temporarily inoperable forcing me to leave the road and hit the right hand kerb. After pumping the brake pedal several times the brakes re-engaged and I was able to stop the vehicle. The dealership have explained that a rear wheel speed sensor (ABS) had failed and was sending messages to the the braking system which made the braking system inoperable. The dealership replaced the sensor and at this time the vehicle is operating as expected.

NHTSA ODI 11576097

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the panoramic sunroof exploded. The panoramic sunroof glass and the shades were closed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 9,100.

NHTSA ODI 11575634

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving on three occasions, at approximately 60 MPH, the cruise control was engaged, and the contact attempted to accelerate using the toggle and the vehicle accelerated to over 110 MPH. The brake pedal was depressed, and the cruise control was deactivated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140.

NHTSA ODI 11574733

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 50-65 MPH, the vehicle stalled and decelerated to a complete stop with several unknown warning lights flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was restarted and operated normally. The contact drove the vehicle to the dealer where several fault codes were reset. The contact continued to experience the failure and returned to the dealer where the dealer replaced the throttle assembly and later replaced a front camera with a hard code. However, the contact stated the failure persisted. The vehicle was with the dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and provided the contact with a case number and a case manager to assist with the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,700.

NHTSA ODI 11573956