What 67 owners told NHTSA about the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Hev

I've been having a few issues with my 2025 Calligraphy Hybrid I bought in November related to the main screen, sometimes when I start the vehicle it doesn't properly initialize and it will show me some of the icons and nothing else. No HUD, no speedometer, no remaining fuel, no hybrid information. It's a huge safety issue, it seems to happen every couple of weeks. I thought it was the digital key not working properly so I disabled that but still having issues. I have to let the car sit for a few hours or overnight and then when i turn it on then it's back to normal. I realized that when the main screen is off, it doesn't capture the mileage so the mileage is off by close to 300 miles right now. Huge issue, I've had it happen on my way home from work (25 miles) at least 4 times, and once on a road trip (150 miles). Also when this happens because I can't see the speedometer, I have to use Waze on the infotainment screen (which works without issue) to see my actual speed because the built-in navigation only shows me increments of 10 mph on the screen (this is just stupid).

NHTSA ODI 11672592

The cruise control system cuts of with message on screen stating that , system camera can’t see my face and the system de-activates. This is especially dangerous at highway speeds. The vehicle behind me doesn’t see a brake light as my vehicle suddenly looses speed. This is from Hyundais Driver Attention Warning (DAW) function. This function cannot be de-activated by myself or my dealership which is Webb Hyundai of Merrillville Indiana.

NHTSA ODI 11668783

Car was unused for less than a week and upon going to use it the vehicle was dead. Jumped vehicle and next day was dead again. In researching the problem, many other Santa Fe Hybrid owners have run into this same issue. Dealership admitted many hybrids from Hyundai face this issue and recommended installing a trickle charger for when not using the vehicle for a couple days which seems ridiculous for a brand new vehicle. Likely something draining battery slowly in car

NHTSA ODI 11665210

I was on a semi residential-commercial street that turns on to a freeway entrance. I was turning right and unavoidably entered the freeway when the sudden loss of power occurred. The car slowed down to about 20 mph and pressing on the gas medal didn't yield any more power. I immediately pulled over to the emergency lane upon entering freeway to let fast moving vehicles pass me on the left side. I turned off the vehicle and turned it back on. It seemed to turn on as normal so I proceeded to drive home slowly, staying on the slow right lane of the freeway driving under the speed limit until I took my exit to get to my home. All seemed ok until I turned onto residential street near my home. Again the car slowed down suddenly to 20mph and giving it more gas did not make a difference. The time difference between the first and second (recorded) incident was 25 minutes apart, having driven the vehicle only 140 total miles. The dashboard flashed a 20mph speed limit even though I never set those parameters, didn't set cruise control, and I didn't have auto stop or hold buttons engaged. The car simply slowed down to a 20mph speed limit without my input to the vehicle settings.

NHTSA ODI 11664480

Car did dashboard update on 4/10/25. Had less than 4300 miles. Unable to unlock car due to dead battery. Car unlock service opened door for tow company to jump battery and advise that the new 2025 Santa Fe Hybrid battery needs to be replaced. May need other service (alternator or Hybrid battery too) but the 12v battery had been drained. Interior lights would not turn on prior to this happening.

NHTSA ODI 11654636

The driver assist program will not work if the driver is wearing sunglasses. If you are using driver assist, which includes cruise control, and are wearing sunglasses, the vehicle gives a driver attention warning. The vehicle will them cut off the cruise control causing the vehicle to rapidly drop its speed. This is incredibly dangerous at highway speeds way speeds. Hyundai and its dealerships are aware of this issue but have not offered a solution. Also you cannot disable the driver camera that cause the driver attention warning. We have also had this occur while driving at night without sunglasses. My understanding is that this issue is across all model lines.

NHTSA ODI 11649989

Forward attention warning system sounds when driver is facing forward, eyes open, hands not blocking camera. Very distracting for driver and can lead to car decelerating itself.

NHTSA ODI 11648346

Washer nozzles are non adjustable, and spray too low on windshield to effectively clean glass, especially at highway speeds. Severe visibility issue. I have reported the problem to Hyundai corporate customer service, who are escalating the issue to upper management. I have also brought the vehicle to my local dealer where it was purchased and made them aware of the issue. Dealer agreed with me, and has heard same complaint from many other owners of this model. This should be a simple fix by swapping in an adjustable nozzle.

NHTSA ODI 11646694

This is a concern about the Driver Assistance Warning Consider Taking a Break 5 bell warning system. While we understand and appreciate the many safety features on new cars, we feel this feature is a safety distraction and hazard. We have turned this feature off in the Driver Assistance Warning section and we have turned off the bell. Despite this, this warning with its 5 loud distinct bells sounds very frequently and often automatically disengages our cruise control while we are driving on the highway. In a recent vacation road trip of over 3,000 miles, the enjoyment of our trip and our new car was greatly compromised. During that time we tried to discern what actions we were doing to cause it to go off. It would go off when looking at the gauges so we would try to look quick and then eyes back on the road. We tried driving without sunglasses (which is a hazard itself), making sure our hands were at the 11 and 2 position, looking straight ahead. Nothing seemed to make a difference, it would go off randomly and often. Careful and safe driving requires a driver to scan the rear view and side mirrors, the gauges, be aware of other drivers proximity to your vehicle and avoid staring only straight ahead. I am aware that there may be consideration of a mandate for all cars with this feature in the future, however, as of the time of purchase of this vehicle, this law did not exist and as such, we should have the right to choose to use this feature or not. We have contacted Hyundai Corporate and visited 3 dealers, none of whom would or could help except to tell us many others have voiced the same complaint. In our opinion this system as it currently operates is more of a hazard than a safety feature. We are seeking a software update or whatever means necessary to turn this feature off completely even when using cruise control.

NHTSA ODI 11645240

12V battery discharges and SUV has to be junp started. Hyundai removed the battery reset button that existed until 2023 model year. Manufacturer should do recall to change the 12V battery charging characteristics for 2024/2025 model years.

NHTSA ODI 11644956

Our car had 2149 miles on it. Engine started to stalled on [XXX] on [XXX] from OKC to Tulsa. We made it to Tulsa. The car was towed to Tulsa Hyundai dealership on 12/25/2024. After diagnostic on 12/26/24, we were told the car had bad gas. The dealership performed the necessary work including replacing 4 fuel injectors in order to fix the problem. It cost $3991.52 and it took a week. We were told since this was not a manufacturer problem that we are responsible for the repair. We paid for the repair. We always get our gas from Costco. So we filed a report with Costco stating that we got bad gas from them. Costco turned it into their adjuster at Gallagher Bassett. He investigated and told us that his findings indicated that Costco did not have bad gas in the month of December according to their quality reports. No other cars filed complaints regarding gas issue. Our claim was denied. The question remained where the bad gas came from. Was it truly a bad gas problem or did the car have fuel injector issues and that bad gas was a cover up. We bought a new car, we purchase gas from a reputable company and we ended up with this problem that we were responsible for through no fault of our own. We are filing a report to see whether there are other cars of this model that had similar issues. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11643381

[XXX] - On re-entering the highway, after getting gas. accelerating slowly on ramp (passing 35-40 mph) - I crossed a patch of snow, the brakes locked up briefly! (Fraction of a second) I was about 2/3 up the ramp. No other vehicles near. 1000 miles on 2025 Sante Fe. Arriving home and searching on line I find others have experienced similar brake events on a range of Hyundai products. 29 degrees light snow, some slush, mostly clear road. Cruise control had been on prior to stop. I didn’t notice status during ‘event’ but noticed it was on when I was back on the highway. Lane keep and centering indicators on. Adaptive cruise was not on. No other events in the 20 miles home. No prior similar incidents INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11643027

The Forward Attention Warning at times alarms constantly, even though I am looking forward. It is highly distracting as it alarms many times per minute. A menu option exists in the settings to disable it, but that doesn't work. I have read online that this is a common problem with 2024 and 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe models.

NHTSA ODI 11640616

THERE IS NO OPTION TO TURN OFF THE "CONSIDER TAKING A BREAK" WARNING. IT GOES OFF SEVERAL TIMES IN LONG ROADTRIPS. REQUESTING AN UPDATE SO WE CAN TURN THAT OFF BECAUSE ITS REALLY DISTRACTING TO HAVE IT POP EVERY 10 MIN!!!!

NHTSA ODI 11640006

When you stop the car , you cannot lock- unlock the car with keyfob. Nothing happens when you press these buttons on keyfob. And Media screen inside the car is still ON. But the car is OFF for sure. After few minutes only, keyfob works fine and you can lock-unlock, remote start etc. So for 5 minutes, you cannot do anything like locking the car, which is a safety hazard.

NHTSA ODI 11638786

The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the Forward Collision Avoidance Warning Alert System Failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle independently accelerated, and the contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle responded as needed. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 133,000.

NHTSA ODI 11627598

Hi Hyundai- my 2025 Santa Fe calligraphy HEV, with around 900 miles wasn’t turning on and only able to start with a jump. After parking, it was unable to maintain a charge to start up again even after driving 1-2 hours. The dealer wasn’t sure why, replaced the 12v battery first and recharged it overnight. Unfortunately it also drained. Finally diagnosed that the hybrid starter generator needed replacing. More bad news, after replacing they discovered what the service manager said was a defective relay pack of some sort had fused. And the kicker is the part is unavailable until January. I am not sure how widespread or rampant this issue is, but I am concerned there might be more or further issues identified.

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