Body Problems of Hyundai Santa Fe - part 1

Fuel access door does not open correctly. Fuel door does not have a lock or a require pressing of a button to open; you would normally just 'push' on closed door to make it pop open. Over the past (3) months, this has not always been working. Sometimes it requires multiple high-pressure pushes (or a light bump) for door to open. On other occasions, unlocking the vehicle (all doors) and not just the driver's door that unlocks when exiting the vehicle has somehow contributed to getting the fuel door open. Multiple online Hyundai Santa Fe forums make mention of the fuel door being a widespread issue and suggest requiring replacement of an actuator in fuel door by dealership or prying the fuel door open with a screwdriver. Prying door open, in my opinion, is not an option because of potential damage to door and painted surfaces around the fuel door.

See all problems of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

As I was driving the hood opened breaking the windshield which obstructed my view and caused me to veer off-road and crash. I acquired the vehicle less than a year ago and only learned of a recall for hood latches from the tow truck driver. Afterwards. I had no prior problems with the latch opening and I was not physically injured but my vehicle is a total loss.

See all problems of the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Paint peeling and chipping will cause rust.

See all problems of the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I closed my door and the driver door latch became stuck and will no longer open from the inside or outside. I have tried to open it myself, ask a mechanic and a locksmith and no one can open the door without damaging the door.

See all problems of the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Paint coming off of hood, no contact of any kind. Took to dealer and was told past its warranty sorry. Cost me over $1k to fix the problem.

I have a Hyundai Santa Fe 2020 had it only a year my sunroof is a panoramic and it busted out of nowhere. Nothing hit it just shattered on its own when I was going down the road. I know nothing hit it because nobody was on the road near me and I looked around and saw nothing. I was told to report it here so that’s what I’m doing.

See all problems of the 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Paint is peeling for no reason.

See all problems of the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Panoramic sunroof suddenly exploded while driving with passengers in the front in back seat.

See all problems of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The back passenger door will not open from outside or inside (driver side) which is safety issue that needs to be recalled immediately.

The sunroof glass violently shattered/exploded while driving the vehicle. The manufacturer claims the window meets current standards and is not defective. The curtain or fabric cover was extended covering the glass panel otherwise the driver would have been covered with broken glass.

Locked the doors normally with the remote. Went into the doctor's office. Returned to the car the driver's door would not unlock. All other doors worked normally. Could not unlock the door with either handle, the switch or the remote. The dealer says that the door latch mechanism failed in the locked position with the door closed. This would make it very difficult to exit the car in an accident, fire or submersion. The only exit is to crawl over the high mid console and exit through the right front passenger door, this is a very difficult maneuver.

White body paint chipping.

The paint is failing, it is coming off in sheets, there is no damage to the car where the paint is coming off.

The trunk will occasionally not open. The car and trunk are unlocked, and when you pull the handle to open the trunk the car beeps like it's trying to open it, but it will fail to open and will then give some failure beeps. This has happened to me several times, and I've read online this issue has happen to others too. This is a safety hazard and makes the trunk unusable when it happens. I have a video of the trunk not opening, but it doesn't look like I'm able to upload videos files to this submission.

See all problems of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Drive side door latch does not open from inside or out. Even after removing inner door panel and manually pulling latch cables the latch remains in the locked position. This is an obvious and major safety issue where the driver is unavailable to exit the vehicle. Other years were recalled for this issue however my 2014 model is not on the recall list for some reason. Even though the very same safety issue with door latch occurs.

My door lock actuator has gone out once again and it seems to be a common issue I believe it could potentially be a safety hazard if the actuator goes out and driver is unaware could potentially get drivers or other passengers stuck in vehicle.

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.

Rear passenger door cannot be opened from the inside. Lock operates remotely and manually and door can be opened from the outside. This is a safety issue. The door cannot be opened from the inside in an emergency. The door has not been assessed by a dealer tech. I have an appointment at the dealer to repair. There were no warning lights, messages or warning tones.

02.

See all problems of the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The left back door of the vehicle is not operational. This issue is causing significant concern, especially in potential emergency situations where access through this door may be crucial. It is imperative that this problem is addressed promptly to ensure the safety and functionality of the vehicle.

Rusted out subframe, less than 95k miles. No “salt belt” treatment offered to this vehicle. Vehicle in ohio since bought. Took to dealer for engine recall, found $1200 subframe replacement bill. Car was garage stored all of the time.

See all problems of the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Automatic parking brake does not engage. Brake is totally not functional.

On November 2nd of 2023, I was driving approximately 5 miles away from home when all of a sudden the sunroof glass shattered. It sounded like an explosion of glass. I was driving at 45 miles per hour which is the speed limit in the area. It was very alarming when the sunroof glass shattered, I was nervous and thought that someone threw a rock at the car. I wasn't sure whether to stop the car or keep on driving. Thank god there was no traffic, otherwise it would have been a very dangerous situation. I safely pulled over into a gas station to check what had happened. There was nothing other than broken glass on top of the car. The sunroof looks like it had pressure from the bottom up.

See all problems of the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The vehicle caught fire while driving due to unknown cause. The vehicle was unable to break as smoke began coming into the vents. Car came to a stop and the flames were present underneath the vehicle before engulfing the entire hood. Vehicle has been deemed total loss by insurance.

I was driving and heard a sound like an explosion. When I was able to safely pull over, I examined my 2020 sante fe and noticed the panel of glass right before sunroof exploded. No rock hit it, just exploded.

Paint peeling from roof of vehicle.

Interior lights will not turn off when car is turned off and door is opened. Open door warning stays on dash while driving. Doors will not stay locked. Car does not make beep noise when locking with fob. Radio stays on when car is off and door has been opened and then closed.

In may July of 2023 a bubble in the paint came up about size of a large egg. It has since gotten larger every week and broke open leaving exposed metal and paint falls off while driving hitting windshield I reported to Hyundai motor company but as soon as they could get me in at a dealer mid October. I have pictures from the beginning of the bubble until now showing how it looked when it started and how much worse it’s been getting every week.

On fri 30jun23 while driving across country in out 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe with a panoramic sun roof with our daughter, who was on her first trip after battling brain cancer, experienced the unthinkable. Wile driving down the highway states away from home we heard a deafening explosion with glass raining inside the vehicle almost causing us to veer off the road. Upon expecting the source of the glass in was discovered that the sunroof had exploded. Were lucky to have had the shade closed at the time of the incident preventing glass to fly in the face of my daughter who was sitting in the back seat. The incident left us stranded at a Hyundai dealer in fayetteville arkansas forcing us to rent a vehicle to complete our tip while waiting for repairs. We were informed by the dealer that this is a known issue and to keep a window cracked to prevent pressure from building up in the vehicle. This is a searious safety issue that needs to be addressed.

The 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe sport's body coating is clearly a hazardous manufacturer defect. The paint warranty for this and other models and model years was extended to 5 years late last year, but did not provide us with any safeguard. As a warranty, correction of the defect would only be approved by Hyundai if there was an observed problem. Within weeks of the end of the vehicle's 5-year warranty period, the pearl white paint suddenly started bubbling on the front hood in June 2023. Within a month, the bubbling and peeling had extended along the entire width of the hood as the deterioration accelerated with wind impact during each drive and water impact during frequent florida downpours. The white paint separated cleanly from the base coating, clearly indicating poor paint material and/or factory application (I. E. , failure of coating layers to adequately bind). The situation had degraded to making further driving hazardous, as moving at speeds above 35 - 40 mph caused additional peeling and flaking, which caused distractive flagging of loosened patches followed by tearing of large and small pieces of paint. The former would suddenly detach and "fly" towards and past the windshield, while the latter separated from the hood in streams that resembled snowflakes. These seriously distracted the driver, and presumably nearby motorists as well, putting all at risk. Fortunately, this has not resulted in an accident. We're aware that Hyundai is responsible for this road hazard, but cannot rely on a timely recall to remedy the matter. So, at the end of July, we had the vehicle stripped to expose the metal, and reapply coatings the way they should have been at the factory. This of course was done at significant personal cost. So far, this has played out very unfavorably in terms of the public perception of the lack of accountability for this manufacturing defect by Hyundai and the NHTSA, both of whom have been keenly aware of this years-long, on-going risk to u. S. Motorists.

I am the owner of a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe in pearl white (paint code swp). The paint on my vehicle has begun peeling extensively on the hood, and other exterior panels. This appears to be the same paint defect that Hyundai previously acknowledged for the 2017–2018 Santa Fe sport under a customer satisfaction program (txxw), but the 2019 model is not covered. The paint is bubbling and lifting without any impact or damage, suggesting a manufacturing defect. This significantly affects the vehicle’s appearance and may compromise corrosion protection. Numerous other owners of 2019 Hyundai models have reported similar problems. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this issue as a potential widespread defect and urge Hyundai to include affected model years in any extended warranty or recall efforts.

The vehicles panoramic sunroof shattered while driving. This created an unsafe situation and the insurance company still has not fixed in 6 months.

Car is unsafe to drive due to rusted out frame. The car has less than 100,000 miles on it.

Incomplete weld(s) in frame/body at drivers side rear passenger seat floor area. Dealer has vehicle and is unable to repair frame/body weld(s) without removing body from frame. Frame/body flexing in the area of hybrid batteries are will continue to worsen over time causing possible short in wiring and or batteries causing fire. Dealer has confirmed issue. Manufacturer is buying back above vehicle at this time. Only warning sign was a persistent rattle in frame/body in driver’s rear passenger floor.