2018 Hyundai Santa FE problems
Owners have filed 143 complaints about the 2018 Hyundai Santa FE with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 37.1% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of service brakes, hydraulic at 8.4%.
Complaints143
Crashes10
Fires7
Injuries12
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Engine 37.1% · 53
Unknown or other 8.4% · 12
Service brakes, hydraulic 8.4% · 12
Power train 7.0% · 10
Electrical system 6.3% · 9
Steering 5.6% · 8
Service brakes 4.9% · 7
Air bags 4.2% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 10 describe a crash, 7 describe a fire and 12 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 25 model years of the Hyundai Santa FE in this data, 2018 draws comparatively few complaints; 2017 is the outlier year.
Filings are rising — 62 in the last three years against 41 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 18,000 miles.
In owners' own words
The car began shuttering while driving down a main street (45-50mph). When we pulled over we smelled gasoline and burning. The car was towed to Hyundai service department. The service department informed my the fuel injectors were leaking causing a fire. The are replying the fuel injectors and told me it would be wise to have them replace all sparks plugs ($190) while they had the engine opened up. Engine · reported at 35,000 miles
Driving @60 w/cruse on going down a hill engine rpm's suddenly jump from 2000 to anywhere from 3000 to 5000 rpm's and the only way to stop engine racing is to tap the brakes to disengage cruse. Also vehicle will not speed up when turning a corner,like the transmission doesn't down shift.These both happen all the time.Vehicle has less than 800 miles. Engine · reported at 135 miles
This vehicle has 113,000 miles on it and the engine is blown. The warranty for these cars expires at 100 thousand miles. This vehicle was properly maintained and should not fail. I cannot claim this under auto insurance and the dealer wants to charge me 185 dollars to tell me on paper that I need to pay 20000 dollars for a new engine. Engine
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…