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

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while there was snow on the roof of the vehicle, the windshield wipers failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer because there was space between the hood and the windshield where the snow was collected, causing the windshield wipers to fail to operate as intended. The dealer tightened the wiper blades; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 35,000.

NHTSA ODI 11713548

AC evaporator drain design problem June, 2024 approx. 3500 miles under warranty, AC evaporator drain line backed up into the passenger front right. Brought it to service - they unclogged and drained the line at no charge. June 2025 approx. 12,K miles under warranty, AC drain backed up again. The excess water drained onto my feet as a passenger and collected under the front seat, saturating the rug area, potentially causing additional mildew and respiratory causing irritation. Service required an appointment. drained it charged $88. Filed a complaint incl Hyundai Motors ; was told the $88 charge was irreversible - cause was weather. The CAR HEALTH HAZARD seems to stem from a major design flaw The air intake is in the windshield wiper cowl resulting in wet tree and leaf debris , bird droppings, etc collect even when the car is not in use. Thus, when heat or air conditioning is activated, air comes in through the air intake and then through the difficult to acces filter recessed behind the glove box , then into the passenger area When the AC drain hose is plugged, it backs up through the dirty filter and then out, to accumulate under the passenger seat allowing more mildew. Re:My 2024 mile blockage, the water was drained, but the filter was not mentioned. In 2025 with the $88 bill, the water was drained no mention the filter. Draining the water does not correct the problem. It should be required at every service the l drain hose is checked, water drained. and filter changed at no charge until a design correction to cover the cowling or an interim solution is installed We lnotice that we have sporadic respiratory problems in the first of miles of riding in all the car From Hyundai Motor America - We expect reimbursement for the $88 service charge. Warranty draining the water and new filter annually. and an NHTSB approved fix of the problem and an NHTSB approved redesign of future models

NHTSA ODI 11682430

On Saturday Morning (August 9th), I was driving this car with my family on I-495 heading to the shopping mall. The SunRoof glass broke suddenly without any impact from outside. I was so alarmed and exited the road and checked it. There was a crack in the front side glass. I drove back home and found that they had exploded and scattered. I drove a car to the Hyundai Car service center to claim it, but they ignored me. I claimed this on the Hyundai America site, but the answer is that they won't fix this under the warranty. This is a panoramic sunroof, and it should support our family in the car accident. But it is easily exploded without any impact from outside. It is a safety-critical issue, but Hyundai doesn't take care of this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11682096

My wife was parking the car at carport, all of sudden unintended acceleration happened and hit through the wall. The damage on the car was $12478.57 and damaged the wall and storage on both sides of carport. My wife is scared to drive this car.

NHTSA ODI 11666275

The windshield showed a semi circular crack on the upper center directly below the rear view mirror cluster. It happened during a day of exceptional heat there is no indication of impact and the crack is symmetrical.The plastic cover of the rear view mirror broke simultaneously with the appearance of the windshield crack.

NHTSA ODI 11661979

Vehicle sun/moon roof exploded/shattered while driving on the highway with no apparent external cause. Sunroof was closed, driving middle lane, slightly below speed limit. Fortunately the material blind was closed otherwise the glass could have struck the occupants. Drove to manufacturer dealership who insisted it was a stone and not a manufacturer defect and to claim through insurance, which means a $1000 excess. I know this happens on various vehicles, noted on many forums.

NHTSA ODI 11615245

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

Sunroof exploded while traveling at highway speeds causing glass to fall into the cabin. No impact from rocks, just exploded out of nowhere. Massive loud explosions sound

NHTSA ODI 11562369

Windshield started to crack after 150 miles on the car from driver side spreading across whole line of sight. No visible or audible rock hit the windshield

NHTSA ODI 11560430

About three weeks after we bought the SUV, a small rock hit the windshield while we were driving on the freeway, causing a quarter-sized crack. We had it repaired. A week later, two more tiny chips appeared on the windshield. We didn't even notice anything hitting the windshield, and we only drove it on city roads with normal road conditions. The windshield seems to have very soft glass and gets cracked or chipped very easily in regular driving conditions. We've never encountered windshields this weak in our 20 years of driving experience. We feel it poses a potential visibility hazard for the drivers.

NHTSA ODI 11558122

Windshield cracks

NHTSA ODI 11509161

Windshield cracked and webbed

NHTSA ODI 11509162

I purchased this SUV new and noticed an issue with the automatic intermittent wipers. The dealership has replaced the windshield sensor and issue is now unreliable at best. Service department told me to simply wipe the sensor off or pour water onto the sensor to get the wipers to work. That seems to work for about 3 wipes and then stops again. Also, the driver seat changes position by itself while driving, and the advanced cruise control failed to provide any braking and almost caused me to rear end a stopped car in freeway traffic. Additionally the advanced braking system does not work at all... I had the salesman check the settings and they are turned on, but do not provide any braking function. The alert system does provide a warning if a car turns a corner in front of me, but fails to take any action.

NHTSA ODI 11498669