Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Hyundai Santa Fe - part 1

I was driving down a highway and was slowing down as motorcycle in front of me was turning. I than proceeded to drive, I heard a loud noise which everyone in the vehicle thought it was the motorcycle (it wasn't) we pulled over into the nearest gas station and saw that my oil light was barely blinking (it was barely noticeable) was fading in and out) we got out checked the dipstick and it was low. Was not due for an oil change for another 1500miles. We put oil in and waited checked the dip stick it was then reading between the two lines of l and f. We waited another 5-10 minutes before leaving. We pulled out and the vehicle acted as if it had no power. I pushed on the gas to get up to speed and the car died out; I got pulled over to the side of the road. The car gave me no indication of anything. No oil light. I drove the days before with no issues I was 38miles from home.

See all problems of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The vehicle suffered a severe engine overheating failure that created an immediate fire risk and electrical safety signaling failure. A brand-new replacement engine was installed by an authorized dealership in April 2026 under a goodwill warranty and had only been driven ~ 3,100 miles since installation. While operating the vehicle, the air conditioning suddenly stopped functioning. Upon restarting, the check engine light illuminated; however, there was never any dashboard temperature warning indicator, notification, or chime to alert the driver to an active overheating situation. Shortly after, the engine completely disabled itself and died while in transit in a parking lot. Aaa was contacted to tow the vehicle. Smoke was visible coming out of the engine's oil dipstick and oil intake spout before being towed. After being towed home, an overwhelming chemical burning odor was noted and continued to get worse. A physical check revealed that the oil level on the dipstick was critically overfilled a full inch above the maximum fill line. The local fire department responded to the scene to mitigate the thermal risk, ordered the battery disconnected due to safety hazards, and deemed the vehicle entirely unsafe to operate or connect to power. This represents a catastrophic failure of critical safety equipment and onboard driver warning networks on a newly installed engine assembly, presenting an active safety and fire hazard to passengers. An official corporate safety case has been opened with Hyundai motor America under case number: 43112676.

See all problems of the 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe sport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph and attempting to overtake another vehicle, the vehicle lost automotive power and decelerated with the check engine, battery, and oil warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was parked on the shoulder of the highway, and smoke was coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that after parking on the shoulder, the brakes erroneously activated, and the vehicle failed to move forward. The contact stated that moments later there were flames and smoke was coming from under the hood. The contact exited the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene, and the flames were extinguished by the firemen. The vehicle was destroyed in the fire. The vehicle was later towed to the residence. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 105,225.

See all problems of the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I went to the store, came home , parked and turned off the car. Went to go outside about 10 minutes ,maybe. Black smoke coming from right front. By the time I grabbed the keys and fire extinguisher there were flames coming from the engine compartment.

See all problems of the 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle at 60 mph the vehicle began to shake violently, and the engine experienced a complete loss of automotive power, the service vehicle soon, abs and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact veered off an exit into the parking lot of an autozone where a diagnostic scanner displayed the code "p0302". The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the exhaust valve on cylinder two had dissolved and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to a local Hyundai dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the exhaust valve in cylinder two was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,687.

See all problems of the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

2022 Hyundai Santa Fe plug-in hybrid, confirming the exact symptom “the gasoline engine continues running after the vehicle is switched off. ” the vehicle is on and your burn fuel and if the fuel tank is full then some major issue may occur.

See all problems of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the vehicle suffers from an intermittent, total engine stalling and propulsion failure. Without warning, the engine completely shuts down while driving and automatically drops the vehicle into "accessory (acc) mode". The vehicle is fully intact, operational when it restarts, and is available for immediate inspection upon request how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? this issue has occurred five total times in live traffic, severely risking the safety of the vehicle's occupants and surrounding drivers. The most recent and dangerous incident occurred on the freeway in heavy, stop-and-go traffic. A sudden, complete loss of power on a high-speed freeway leaves the vehicle entirely vulnerable to rear-end collisions, as it leaves no room or momentum to safely coast to the shoulder. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no. The vehicle has been brought to an authorized Hyundai dealership five separate times specifically to diagnose this exact stalling issue. Because the failure is intermittent, dealership service technicians have been unable to replicate the problem during their test drives or resolve the root cause. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? the vehicle has been inspected five separate times by authorized Hyundai dealership technicians during the service appointments mentioned above. No police, insurance, or independent manufacturer representatives have inspected the vehicle yet, as the stalling has not yet resulted in a physical crash. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?there are absolutely no dashboard warning lights, check engine indicators, error messages, or mechanical symptoms prior to the failures. The engine shuts down instant.

See all problems of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

With my 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe sel, at cold start the coolant gage on the digital cluster always shows 2-3 bars on the gauge and once the vehicle is put into drive (at least 30-45 seconds start up), the coolant gauze immediately increases in temperature reading without full drive (15 feet after gear placed in drive). This may be improperly reading the coolant temperature and the oem thermostat may be defective from manufacturer build. This can cause improper cooling and increase engine failure due to overheating.

See all problems of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

After a recall repair (campaign 9c2) was performed on my vehicle, it developed a hesitation and lack of acceleration issue that did not exist before the repair. The vehicle exhibits rough or delayed gear shifting, a noticeable lack of power/acceleration, and behavior that feels like the engine is not receiving adequate fuel. This occurs both during cold start and after the vehicle has been driven and is fully warm.

See all problems of the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The Hyundai theta engine is a bad design that has many recalls, a history of oil consumptions, and breakdowns that leave consumers in danger, on the roadside, and out of money. This engine has a design that causes worn engine components and high oil consumption causing reduced engine power, ruined spark plugs, and engine damage with no recourse as a owner. Recently, my family member had a hesitation that causes the car to run rough and display a check engine light. She was in traffic and the vehicle was stopping. Had this been on the interstate it could have been deadly. This is not uncommon for these vehicles. A quick google search is nationwide proof of an issue with these vehicles and engines that the government needs to hold Hyundai accountable. This particular vehicle has been assessed by a Hyundai and confirmed it is consuming oil at a higher rate than normal, as many other owners have documented. With this most recent issue of stalling out, the mechanic indicated that excessive oil consumption entering the spark plug port has fouled the spark plugs as the design of the engine is flawed. The oil consumption was discovered at approximately 99,000 miles and several steps were completed to "fix" and confirm the issue. There is no "real fix" to the issue due to the inherent design of the motor. Again, this is not a new issue with these cars and there should be recourse that holds Hyundai accountable for bad and dangerous engines. The check engine light did come on as the vehicle began to stall and run rough in traffic.

See all problems of the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I am currently burning through 2. 5 quarts of oil approximately every 800 miles.

Driving on highway no warning lights appeared the car made a loud pop noise and heavy smoke appeared from under the hood. Immediately pulled over and noticed all of the oil poured out and was nasty looking. The car was up to date on oil change. My car was towed home and bone dry no oil and no coolant the engine now had loud knocking and needs to be replaced for failure. The car was looked at by independent mechanic. Miles on the car are 152010. I had no warnings and up until the issues the car was serviced and cared for.

I was merging onto the highway and the acceleration stopped working and the vehicle would not go more than 25 mph. Had to restart car in shoulder, isue seemed to self correct but then it happened 10 minutes later stranding me in between the highway and exit ramp. This was a huge safety issue and myself and others lives were at risk. I am bringing the vehicle in for inspection but this seems to be a recurring Hyundai issue. There were no warnings that came on. The auto mode on the dash went from green to an amber color. When I restarted the vehicle nothing changed. After the second time it occurred a check engine light came on.

Today while driving to church we started hearing a ping noise ever so often. This just started then . After leaving church to go home the pinging noise got louder than the engine stalled and wouldn't start again. I had to have my car towed to my house. That is where it is now. The tow truck driver said that it was a rod. He said that he was mostly sure that it was happened. He stated that he has towed similar ones like mine with the same problem.

Complete unmitigated loss of acceleration and power while traveling at highway speeds, creating an immediate life-threatening road hazard. Following a warranty engine replacement and mandatory dealer software flash at clay cooley Hyundai (sherman, TX), the vehicle began experiencing powertrain communication issues. While operating the vehicle at 65 mph on the highway, the vehicle completely failed to accelerate and lost propulsion power, nearly resulting in a catastrophic rear-end collision with an oncoming 18-wheeler semi-truck. Dealership diagnostics claim "no trouble codes present," but live data telemetry confirms the high-pressure fuel pump (hpfp) is actively commanding and delivering a dangerous 1,600 psi to the fuel rail at hot idle. This abnormal fuel delivery is paired with a severe powertrain stutter in 3rd gear. Service personnel at multiple locations confirm a widespread, high volume of transmission failures and severe drivability issues specifically tied to this recent Hyundai software update. Corporate has denied repair coverage. The vehicle remains an active highway safety hazard and is completely undrivable.

Complaint summary: [xxx] / engine thermal fire risk / warranty deception my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe (2. 4l gdi engine) is experiencing severe powertrain degradation under the known theta ii engine defect class-action framework. On November 7, 2025, the vehicle logged a permanent diagnostic trouble code (dtc) p1326 via an independent scan, indicating catastrophic internal rod bearing wear. On xxx, the vehicle was brought to Hyundai of milledgeville for safety recall verification. Instead of executing the mandatory corporate-directed bearing clearance test (bct) to replace the failing engine block, the service department committed technical campaign malpractice. The technician forced the 9c2 ecu software update directly over the locked mechanical fault to suppress the dashboard warning lights and alter the vehicle's rom id parameter limits. When caught via a photograph of their active gds diagnostic tablet showing 7 historical system faults, the service manager provided a truncated printed report hiding page 1 and omitting the critical p1326 powertrain code count to evade a warranty engine replacement. Due to these unmitigated delays, the vehicle has suffered severe consequential safety damage. The advanced engine degradation and oil consumption have flooded the exhaust system, melting the catalytic converter substrate and triggering a new dtc p042000 (catalyst efficiency) fault immediately after the dealer visit. The extreme engine vibrations have also damaged the transmission's torque converter clutch (dtc p074100). The dealership refused a service loaner and knowingly sent a disabled consumer and an elderly passenger away in an active, failing vehicle that presents a sudden stall-on-highway hazard and a severe thermal exhaust fire risk under extreme summer heat conditions. Hyundai motor America corporate has failed to provide emergency towing or alternative mobility accommodations despite a registered corporate case file. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(.

See all problems of the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I was driving, and the SUV all of a sudden lost power. I was trying to press harder on the gas pedal to keep up with the traffic, but the SUV was stalling. The SUV would not move, and as I kept trying to press on the gas pedal, a roaring noise like something was trying to turn but the engine kept trying to move the car. It felt like something in the car was trying to move but something kept slipping. I had to turn the car off in the middle of the street and restart it before it would move. Cars were blowing their horns. This is a safety issue and a dangerous problem. The SUV just did the same thing a few days ago. I am calling the dealer to see what is wrong. I brought this car new 2023. It is under 12,000 miles.

See all problems of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

On July 4, 2026, I was driving 2. 5 hours from home. My car stopped after about an hour of travel. The car shook and the check engine light came on as the car shut down. There were no warning lights on in my vehicle. I have oil change records. My car had burned through all the oil in an hour. This is not a new problem with this model Hyundai. Every group I went to discuss the problem online all had customers who reported their vehicles suddenly started burning oil quickly which resulted in damaged motor with no warning lights in the dashboard. I had to have my car towed from out of town to the dealership. The dealership that said I had extended warranty on parts of the motor. However upon checking the motor, they said it wasn't covered. I filled out a claims report with Hyundai motors who looked into the problem and also said it's not covered under warranty. This is a known issue of Hyundai with a failure to warn of low oil in the car's warning center. This is a fault of Hyundai. I've taken good care of my car and just paid $1000 for new tires on July 2, 2026 before my trip. The dealership quoted me a price of $3500 to replace the motor with a used one. It would also require 16 hours of labor which I believe is $200 an hour. I believe they should replace the motor due to faulty systems. My car has 107,000 miles on it, but whenever I've gone to have it checked out, everything checked out fine even at the dealership. Also, this is a known issue that Hyundai is refusing to address with their customers.

While driving on the on ramp to [xxx] the car completely stopped and all systems shut off. There were two dash lights that flashed quickly with one being the check engine light but I did not see the other long enough to identify it. The dealership could not reproduce the issue but has the car now and is doing a more thorough evaluation. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the engine stopped. Yes it is available how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? extremely dangerous as it came to a stop in the middle of the road. It was late at night so at that moment no one was behind me. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no, the warning lights flashed on as the car died but disappeared once off. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe sport is subject to Hyundai recall 162 / NHTSA recall 17v-226, concerning premature connecting-rod-bearing wear that can cause engine knocking, engine failure, and loss of motive power. My vehicle developed engine knocking and a flashing check-engine light while I was driving. The vehicle is now at an authorized Hyundai dealership. Hyundai initially denied an engine replacement based on mileage. I escalated the matter to Hyundai motor America corporate consumer affairs. Hyundai has now confirmed in writing that, because my vehicle is more than eight years old and has more than 150,000 miles, Hyundai is applying the high-mileage provision of the theta ii settlement and will not replace the engine. Instead, Hyundai is offering either a repurchase or $2,000 in lieu of engine replacement. I understand that Hyundai is relying on the court-approved settlement. My concern is specifically whether Hyundai’s application of that settlement to my vehicle is consistent with the administration of recall 162 and the federal safety-recall remedy, given that my vehicle is experiencing the engine failure that recall 162 was designed to address. I am requesting NHTSA’s review of Hyundai’s handling of this safety-related recall matter.

We are driving on the highway and the engine just stop working but all lights are still working. I am trying to put gas but it seemed that the engine completely shuts off dangerously without warning. This put my family at risk because there were a lot of big trucks beside us. Theta ii 2. 0l turbo engine just stalled I believe this has been around . Can you please help us.

On 6/28/2026 I was waiting at a light and the check engine light was blinking. When I started up, the car was very sluggish. It continued to be sluggish on my trip home - 5 miles. I brought it to meineke 8301 san pedro blvd, albuquerque, nm (505) 273-8171. They ascertained that the engine was shot. They flushed out the oil in the engine and there was lots of metal in the oil. They instructed me to go to Hyundai immediately. There was a engine recall and their research showed that I was included under the recall warrenty. I've included their assessment. Both the drives to the meineke from my house and to Hyundai from meineke were scary. I didn't feel safe in the car. I went directly to josh baca, manager of larry miller Hyundai at 9820 coors blvd, NW, albuquerque, nm 87112, phone (505) 792-7035. He said that he needed to clear the recall with Hyundai. He called me back in a few days and told me that all the test diagnostics were made and that a censor malfunction was the cause of the problem and the front breaks needed work. I gave him the go-head. The cost was $1,319. I wasn't convince that was the primary problem. I use my car for short trips. I was driving to the gym on 7/31/2026, - having driven less than 50 mile since the recent repair - once again I stopped at a light and the check engine light lit up permanently - not flashing. The engine started to shake when it was idle and there was an unusual sound coming from it. I finished my drive to the gym although the drive just didn't feel normal or safe. Right now (8/1/2026) I am having my car towed to Hyundai. It is not safe to drive. My belief is that corporate Hyundai refused to fix the engine repair part of a class action lawsuit which includes replacing the engine. They had to see that my recall warrenty ends in September and they figured they'd stall until the warrenty was no longer valid. This is just a guess, but a very educated guess. They had to know that the engine was no longer safe.

See all problems of the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

On June 10, 2024 at 107,129 miles hertrich Hyundai dealership of new castle inspected my vehicle and submitted a request to Hyundai for engine replacement under the recall settlement of the theta ii engine settlement. Hyundai denied the request because of the rebuilt title, even though the rebuilt title resulted only from prior roof damage unrelated to the engine, powertrain, or recall issue. After continuing to seek assistance from Hyundai, my engine ultimately seized and suddenly stopped working on may 10, 2026, while driving on the highway with my two children. The vehicle lost power and stopped in traffic, creating a dangerous situation and causing my children extreme fear and distress. Had Hyundai honored the theta ii engine settlement when I first requested assistance, this failure could have been prevented. I request that Hyundai honor the theta ii engine settlement and replace my defective engine at no cost to avoid any future problems. My Hyundai Santa Fe is covered under the theta ii engine settlement. For over three years, I repeatedly contacted Hyundai after experiencing symptoms consistent with the known theta ii engine defect. Hyundai failed to provide meaningful assistance, did not properly process my requests, and denied coverage solely because of the vehicle’s rebuilt title.

We have been involved with an oil consumption problem since 2025 maybe earlier. No leaks just an over use of oil. I have had to fill it myself or take it to the dealer. They did testing and di some kind of cleaning that took 8 hours. We still have the problem and while driving the whole car shut down. No power in the middle of a highway. This has now happened twice and the first time we had to call aaa for help. It showed an engine sign and we checked the code. First it was an small air leak but they didn't find anything. It came up again, same message so we replaced the gas cap, but the oil was still disappearing and the car had shut down again. I spoke with the Hyundai corporation and they said to do the combustion cleaning again. So we set it up but found out that we had to pay for it so we declined. They refused to do anything about the car. We later found there were other cars made by the same company with the same problem. I did some research and they have had an oil consumption problem for quite a while. Now the catalytic converter is showing up as having problems. Well that's where the oil goes and can shut down the car due to airflow. They never disclosed it to us face to face, we had to find out about it after the the warranty was up. That was very dangerous to have stopped on a highway.

Drive train, head gasket, burned valve, leaking.

While I was driving my theta engine got seized and Hyundai denied extended warranty of power train.

My check engine light came on, and my car was also feeling "sluggish" and slow to accelerate. I scheduled a service appointment at my local dealer 4 days later. At the appointment, the technician stated everything checked out okay and the check engine light was likely an "anomaly" or "outlier" but otherwise nothing to be concerned about since everything checked out "okay" and no problems were identified during their test drive. However, that very afternoon, I was driving down the interstate, where the posted speed limit is 70mph, when my check engine light came on again and suddenly lost power, drastically reducing my speed and could not accelerate faster than 39mph. Luckily, the interstate was not busy at the time (about 10:30-11:00 a. M. Saturday morning) and there were only less than 4 cars behind me that were able to easily switch lanes and pass me. I moved over to the shoulder to a complete stop and restarted my car. My check engine light remained illuminated and was still slow to accelerate and "sluggish" but was able to (slowly) reach interstate speed (60-70mph) until I reached an acceptable exit and safely made it to my destination. I have since used roadside assistance to tow the vehicle from my home to the the same dealership for inspection and service (again).

See all problems of the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

While driving on the highway, my 2024 Santa Fe hybrid suddenly and without warning lost propulsion power. The loss of power was immediately accompanied by multiple simultaneous warning lights across the instrument cluster, glitching and abnormal behavior of the cluster display, and then a complete electrical shutdown of the vehicle. After the shutdown, the vehicle would not restart. The failure occurred in connection with a software update on the vehicle. At the time of the incident the vehicle had approximately 12,828 miles on it. Losing motive power while traveling at highway speed created a serious crash risk, as the vehicle was unable to maintain or recover speed in moving traffic. No crash, injury, or fire resulted. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Hyundai dealer for diagnosis. I have photographs of the instrument cluster taken at the time of failure showing numerous warning indicators illuminated at once. The symptoms I experienced — progressive or sudden loss of drive power, 12-volt/charging-related faults, and failure to restart — appear consistent with charging-control and DC-to-DC converter failures that have been the subject of prior recalls and complaints on Hyundai electrified vehicles. I am filing this report to document the incident as a safety concern.

On June 20, 2026, while the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe sport was being driven on richardson highway near mile 155 in alaska, smoke and flames developed from the engine compartment without any collision. The driver stopped and both occupants exited before the vehicle became fully engulfed. The fire created an immediate risk of serious injury or death and blocked the northbound lane. There were no known prior drivability problems, warning lamps, or other symptoms before the incident. The exact failed component is unknown. Potential areas requiring investigation include the engine, electrical system, abs/hecu brake module, multi-fuse, fuel system, and other engine-compartment components. Alaska department of public safety responded. Its report states that there was no obvious cause, but that the fire appeared to have originated in the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed and preserved for the manufacturer. Hyundai inspected the vehicle and confirmed that the inspection was completed on July 11, 2026. Hyundai later stated orally that it did not find an engine defect, but it has not provided the complete inspection report, testing methods, photographs, technical findings, or a written origin-and-cause determination. Hyundai has not explained whether the abs/hecu, electrical system, multi-fuse, fuel system, or other potential fire sources were separately examined. The vehicle sustained catastrophic damage and was a total loss. Both occupants escaped, but experienced severe ongoing psychological distress after the fire. I request that NHTSA evaluate whether the fire involved an engine, electrical, abs/hecu, fuel-system, recall-remedy, or other safety defect. The vehicle was available for Hyundai's inspection. Its current availability for further inspection is unknown. The vehicle remains preserved and is currently available for further inspection upon request.

The engine failed completely and is currently available for inspection at my residence. While traveling on a family vacation at highway speeds, the engine suffered a catastrophic connecting-rod bearing failure and seized. This caused an immediate loss of motive power, braking assistance, and steering control, nearly resulting in a fatal multi-car collision with my child in the vehicle. Warning lights illuminated on the dashboard during the failure as a sudden metallic knocking sound occurred and the engine died. The vehicle became completely disabled and had to be limped off the highway and towed. The VIN has a completed campaign 953 from September 2019 qualifying it for the lifetime warranty extension under the theta ii settlement.

After a recall repair (campaign 9c2) was performed on my vehicle, it developed a hesitation and lack of acceleration issue that did not exist before the repair. The vehicle exhibits rough or delayed gear shifting, a noticeable lack of power/acceleration, and behavior that feels like the engine is not receiving adequate fuel. This occurs both during cold start and after the vehicle has been driven and is fully warm. I returned the vehicle to the dealership (wallace Hyundai), where the service advisor personally test drove the car with me and confirmed he could feel the hesitation firsthand. Despite this, the dealership stated no issue was found and advised warming the car up for 1-3 minutes before driving as a workaround. I tested this exact recommendation, and the issue returned even after the vehicle was fully warmed and had already been driven. Hyundai motor America's national consumer affairs department has stated this is "under review" but has also described the hesitation as "normal" cold-start behavior related to catalyst warm-up. This does not match what I am experiencing, since the issue also occurs when the vehicle is already warm, and their own dealership's advisor confirmed the problem exists. I have also noticed a decrease in fuel efficiency (mpg) since the software update associated with this recall. This issue directly affects the safe operation of the vehicle — specifically the ability to accelerate reliably, including in situations like merging onto highways or pulling into traffic, where a lack of power could result in a collision. I do not consider the vehicle safe to drive in its current condition.

Id # 11746004. I accidentally entered the wrong incident date on my original submission. The correct date of the incident is June 17, 2026. Please update my file to reflect this correct timeline.

After having the service campaign 9c2 ecu software update for theta ii emissions improvement, TSB 26-01-013h-2 done, my vehicle started having driveablity issues. On a normal, cold start the engine's rpms go up really high, so I take my foot of the gas and the revs drop, almost stalling the car, and then the car bucks. I put my foot back on the gas pedal, and the engine revs really high again and takes off. If I try to drive normally, the car bucks and runs rough. My car also revs a lot higher during highway driving, than it did before the update. All of this is also causing terrible gas mileage. My car did nothing like this until I had the 9c2 update.

After driving the vehicle around all day, I parked it and turned it off and then it set on fire.

On June 16, 2025, I dropped my 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS (VIN: [xxx]) off at larry h. Miller southwest in albuquerque, nm for NHTSA safety recall #20v746000 (theta ii engine connecting rod bearing failure). It has now been over one week with zero communication from the dealership regarding the status of my vehicle. When I attempted to follow up by phone I was unable to reach anyone in the service department. Upon calling Hyundai corporate customer service I was informed that the dealership had a name discrepancy in my paperwork and my owner profile was not linked to my VIN in their system. The recall work has not begun. I was given a corporate case number but was told to call back the following day to check in rather than receiving a callback. The burden of all follow up has been entirely on me. This is my only vehicle. I have been without transportation for over a week affecting my ability to get to work. No loaner or rental vehicle has been offered or provided. My vehicle was brought in specifically for a federal safety recall involving a known engine defect that can cause fire or engine stall. The dealer’s handling of this recall has been completely unacceptable and I am requesting NHTSA intervention to ensure compliance. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.