Power Train Problems of Hyundai Santa Fe - part 2

The car has shut down unexpectedly for at least six times while driving at roads and highways. When this happens, engine stalls and nothing works and all alarms and check lights turn on and activated. Driver has to pull the car to the roadside which cannot be imagined when in a highway with all cars driving at 65-70mph and the car suddenly slows down to stop. The other problem is that when the car is turned off and on again, all alarm and faults go away, and it can be driven again! it clears all safety and alarm checks and lights and behaves like nothing has happened. Car was bought on june2023. The first incident happened on aug2023 and the next one on sep2023. The next incidents on feb2024, sep2024, nov2024 and the most recent on March 2025. The car has taken to the sport durst Hyundai dealership (durham, nc) after incidents, however dealership did not perform any repairs in first four times claiming they could not duplicate the incident! (service reports attached for 3) after the third incident, we opened a case with Hyundai company trying to invoke the lemon law, but our request did not go through despite all evidence we provided. Shamefully, their final suggestion to us was to sell the car! this was around March/Apr 2024. (final decision letter attached) on fifth time, the driver did not shut down the car and towed it to the dealership while leaving electrical system on. They checked the car and claimed they found the cause and changed a part from car claiming it has been fixed. This was on Nov. 2024. At the time we did not notice but, apparently that was a lie to make us quiet. The last time (sixth time) the same incident happened on March 5,2025. The car was towed to dealership and is left there. We do have all screenshots from engine failures, although the dealership tried to wipe the history at some point.

See all problems of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Front brake failure at 3k miles. Rotors warped so badly they failed to properly stop the vehicle. Vehicle shaking immensely transmission failure at 11k miles. While vehicle is in drive mode the transmission is stuck in first gear and will not shift. The tachometer was redlining at 6k I had to use the paddle shifters to get the transmission to shift. I was driving the vehicle as a manual transmission when I own an automatic.

Upon first start up of the day, dashboard notification states “transmission system error! check transmission oil immediately”, vehicle will not accelerate over 10mph with this error. After turning vehicle off, error is gone and vehicle operates as normal. Dealership is aware of this notification but states they could not duplicate it & found no issues.

See all problems of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Early March 2025 the vehicle was put car in park, got out of car to close yard gate, turned around to walk back to car but car was rolling forward and hit the flat bed trailer causing approximately $5000 in damage. It was put in park before getting out but jumped gear before getting back in. Another common problem is slamming the emergency brake on when attempting to drive. Was at a red lite left turn stop sign with foot on the brake. When the light turned green took foot off brake & put foot on accelerator to go forward, the car slammed the emergency brake on. This has happened approx 6 times in the 1-1/2 years of ownership.

Upon starting the vehicle and placing in drive, it drove like it was stuck in a low gear. A few seconds later the vehicle stopped moving while in drive and would not respond to drive or reverse despite turning off the ignition and restarting. I was stranded in an intersection and the car would not move. It had to be towed to the dealer.

See all problems of the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

While driving the car keeps jenkins, and on the dash board it cane up have your power train checked. My vehicle has been in the shop 4 times since February over 30 days twice. My vehicle is still currently in the shop at the dealership. They refuse to check my power train area, and keep telling me 2 of the cylinders are backfiring.

See all problems of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Was going down the highway at 65 when my vehicle completely lost the accelerating component. Almost got rear ended so I pulled off. Then made it to work when it happened again. The engine light came on and gave 2 codes. Finally got it towed to the dealership where they have decided it’s either a new timing chain or new engine due to mechanical loss. They discovered there was no oil in the car and they have also found metal shavings in my oil. Now they are telling me I need a whole new engine. I only have 124000 miles on this car. The car was driving perfectly fine the day before and had just been to the dealer and looked over 1,500 miles before and I was told everything was perfect working condition. I am out $4000 on a car I bought a year and a half ago in October 2023. Was told my warranty only lasted a year.

See all problems of the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Our vehicle continues to experience loss of power driving , on cold days below freezing. When driving normally this hybrid vehicle will be in hybrid mode at a stop, then when accelerating, the ice engine will not start to assist the hybrid, causing a bare minimum of power to be available, just enough to pull over. On several occasions this has led to very near rear end collisions from the driver's behind. So far I've been able to avoid injury, as I recognize the condition and am hyper attentive to its possible happening. The vehicle handed shown any check engine warnings until yesterday. As it was dying I pumped the accelerator to see if it would go, latching a tps out of range code. The condition has been brought to Hyundai corporate and dealerships with no repair, and no resolution, they say it's fine. This is well documented by others driving Santa Fe hybrids, and tucson hybrids on forums. No one fix has been established, with some dealerships replacing parts, and others no work being done because their scan tool sees nothing. With dozens of recalls for minor inconvenience issues, I do not understand why a recall for this drivability safety issue has not been mandated! these vehicles are defective, and potentially very dangerous. Loss of power, acceleration when others are behind you anticipating you to go, is a real serious danger, not to mention you being stranded in frigid weather. This began happening at 23k miles and continues today with 48k miles on mine. If the vehicle is shut off, then restarted, it is again drivable, until the next happening. One reason Hyundai, says nothing's wrong, and often blames the owners. I can't be without a vehicle, and Hyundai has washed their hands on this, so I'm stuck Hyundai must be forced into an investigation, and a safety recall on this or nothing will be done. How many accidents or deaths are required to get a recall accomplished?.

Brakes locked.

See all problems of the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I took my vehicle in on 2/03/25 for a back up camera recall and to have my transmission checked due it not shifting correctly. I was called within two hours and told the transmission needed to be replaced. Weeks later they called and told me they had good news and bad news, the transmission was replaced, however it would not work. They replaced the transmission for the second time and had me pick up the vehicle on April 17th. I picked the car up and immediately went back in and told her it was not shifting right. They told me to drive it home and see how it did and they would have the service advisor reach out. On the way home, the car was at 5000rpm at 60mph. It was not shifting. The check engine light came on the next day. The car was taken back and I was told on April 21st the transmission needed to be replaced again. I was called on April 7th and told that there was a wire they needed to check that went from the transmission to the pcm and they were going to check it and see if that would fix it. That is 3 total transmissions that have been in this 2022 vehicle. The vehicle is unsafe to drive and Hyundai corporate is not doing anything to help.

The battery warning light illuminated. The alternator was not holding power. I was on the freeway and the vehicle lost total power. After seeing a certified mechanic I was made aware of a oil leak from the valve gasket that was leaking on to the alternator wires and caused it to loose power. There is a recall for the same vehicle with the exact same issues, however my vehicle is not on the list of vehicles affected by this recall.

We have had our vehicle for over 2 years with routine maintenance. On 1/25/26 we were driving home and oil light came on then check engine light. The oil pressure the issue.

See all problems of the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the contact stated that after depressing the brake pedal the cruise control briefly failed to disengage. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The electronic power control (epc) and power train warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the stop lamp switch. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 13v113000 (exterior lighting); the VIN was included, but the vehicle had already been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 195,000.

See all problems of the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

High utilization of motor oil. Using 1 quart of oil every 300miles. Hyundai dealership (gurnee Hyundai-illinois) completed a "combustion system cleaning" but oil consumption continues unabated. Getting run-around from dealership and manufacturer. I am original owner. Care has 87k miles.

See all problems of the 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the message "shifter system malfunction - service immediately" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into the park or reverse. The contact activated the parking brake and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 18,192.

I have had issues with my dual-clutch transmission slipping gears in multiple ways while driving; most commonly while in drive and going downhill the tachometer will aggressively rev when just idling and without pressing the accelerator. Also, when trying to reverse out of a parking space on an incline or decline multiple times I have rolled forward as if in neutral and receiving no power to back the vehicle in reverse. Previously owned a 2023 sonata with similar transmission issues and blew a cylinder on the highway within a year of ownership(engine knocked out while driving about 65 and just lost power and had to pull over on side of highway. Went to dealership yesterday for regular maintenance and told them about transmission issues. They checked vehicle for any tcu updates and there were none. Test drove it and said it was driving normal. I know it’s not driving normally/safely. What can I do?.

The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling at the dealer, the transmission became inoperable. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that there was a hole in the front driver's seat. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the dealer declined to service the vehicle or honor the service plan. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 2,600.

The transmission is the problem that caused the vehicle to downshift while driving and resulted is a sudden jerk and slowdown in speed. My safety was at risk as the car slowed down suddenly and almost caused the vehicle behind me to rear end my vehicle. But luckily the other driver was able to stop. I previously brought the vehicle to Hyundai service (12/12/24) and they indicated that they couldn’t replicate the problem and there was no situation. The vehicle will be brought to the aforementioned service center again to check the situation (1/07/25). There were no warning the first time it happened, as mentioned earlier and after the second incident the car displayed the message that occurred the first time again which I have attached.

When pressing the accelerator from a full stop, the car would either not move at all, idle/roll forward, or unsteadily jerk forward. In addition, the car would brake while driving despite not applying any pressure to the brake pedal. This issue persisted regardless of "drive mode" and no cruise control was in use.

First of all the transmission locked up at 97,423 miles when I was on my way to work. It took almost a month to get this fixed under warranty. I bought the vehicle in 2021 with 55 miles on it. Now at 164,000 it has to have a new motor. It has burnt more than a quart of oil every week for the last 2 years. I have had it to the dealership multiple times to be checked and never got a response as to why it was burning oil. Then in December of 2024 I was on my way to work and the vehicle was struggling to go. I would push the gas and it would go a little but as soon as I let off the gas it would stop running. Took it to the mechanic recently (due to other issues) and was told that it is only running on 3 cylinders. Also that in order for it to stop burning 2 quarts of oil a week that the pistons needed replaced. Mechanic stated it would be cheaper and better with the other issue to replace the whole motor.

Automobile approached and stopped at stop sign. When accelerator pressed to continue, car remained in place, shuddering (as if transmission were slipping),and making significant noise. Car would not shift out of gear, nor move. Operator shut off car and then restarted car. Car started normally and was in park without shuddering. Expectations at busy intersection was that it was my turn to move and did not do so, creating doubt on what my car might do next. Traffic flow was briefly confused and some drivers honked and were unsure what they should do. This could have caused an accident with an impatient driver re-ending my car, or with others going through the intersection "out of turn" and unclear on my situation. No lights or other warnings were displayed before this incident. It has not re-ocurred. I brought into the dealer who had no other reports of this type of behavior.

T3g campaign 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe sport awd, 116000 miles. Purchased from a dealer in va 1/2020. Never would have purchased if engine issues had been disclosed. The letter re:t3g campaign went out to dealers/service managers from Hyundai (of which I have a copy) is dated for October 2019. We never received any information regarding a t3g campaign. We took my car to the dealership on 12/16/24. (valdese, nc). In 5 hours, they said they ran diagnostics & found the p0302 misfire code. Without running further tests, they adamantly claimed there was a dead cylinder & the only fix was to replace the engine. Note: spark plugs were replaced 2 weeks before this visit on Dec 1, 2024. They refused to listen to my concerns about the t3g campaign. Said vehicle didn't have that issue. That they couldn't run the tests because the p1326 code wasn't present (but it was in sept). They didn't do anything about the current open recalls. They said they didn't have time. Corporate confirmed that my vehicle has had the correct service campaigns completed to qualify for the t3g campaign. I have called corporate twice-no response. We are very upset over the lack of care and solutions. We gave consent for work & nothing was done. The service manager was practically shouting that this car would leave me stranded, it wasn’t safe to drive, & that the only option to fix was to replace the engine/get rid of it. I was basically told it wasn't worth fixing. Putting a new engine in would equal than the car is worth at trade in value. No one can give me a guarantee that a new engine (even brand new from the factory) would not have the same problem that is happening now. Make this right by immediately authorizing an engine replacement for my vehicle to include a loaner vehicle & tow charge cover. I am aware of the class action lawsuit from 2021. Hyundai refuses to issue a recall for this engine issue. Please see attached letter for more information.

Catastrophic engine failure without warning. Rod bearings blew car unable to produce power.

Upon going for an oil change at express lube in newton , NJ I was advised that there are multiple widespread & ongoing problems with a crack that forms in the oil pan next to the drain/fill plug. My vehicle was diagnosed with that very problem. I believe a a recall to should be done by Hyundai to replace these oil pans. Thank you.

Transmission: yes, available upon inspection I own a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. I have brought it in for repairs on the transmission a couple of times. The check engine light has come on but the computer was not displaying the problem. I am aware that this is not uncommon for the year, make, and model. Recently, I was driving my car on a high-speed highway when the transmission went out. While suppressing the gas, the transmission slipped and would not accelerate. As cars were passing me on either side, my car decelerated and cars behind me came close to rear-ending me. Again, this was at high speeds and put my safety in jeopardy. I was finally able to find a gap in the cars and able to get to the shoulder but not after several minutes of unsafe conditions. After this incident, I brought it back to the service center and the computer analysis did display that it is an internal transmission problem. The service center has inspected the transmission. Yes, the warning lamps were displaying, first about 8 months prior. As stated previously, the actual problem was not displaying. Attached document is previous work done for transmission due to incorrect computer diagnostics.

On december4th 2024 my car rolled forward into a barrier post. I stopped to get air in my tires and the parking allert went off as I got near the barrier post. I then parked my car. I left my car running and driver door partially opened. I dropped the valve cap between the spokes of the last tire being filled. So, I got into the car and backed up about three feet to get the cap. Parked the car got out and it rolled forward into the barrier post. I was completely out of the car but just by my driver door. I tried to get back in but it was too quick. Subsequently, I drove to work to let my supervisor know I would need time to go to the dealership. I was concerned air bags would deploy since that didnt happen. Also because the car didnt stop on its own felt the integrity of systems were questionable. So, I repeated the steps at work like the incident. Except, I stayed in the car. The car beeped and the dash said shift to p when my door was open and placing in drive and reverse. I never got any indications of such when the car hit the barrier. I found the two dtc's that showed on my Hyundai app were related to dtc u110387 and u110382. I had 99 miles on the car having purchased it with 15 miles on it. The original date of these dtcs is Aug 27th, 2024, with a last reported Aug 30, 2024. I see recalls 24v529000 and 24v246000. I don't know if they are related. But this has to be addressed. My car is at the dealership being repaired and my insurance rate will no doubt go up and the value of my car down. This isnt right.

I have had to have a problem with my power teain worked on at two different hundia dealership I am having an issue where the horn just stops blowing and that isvery dangerous. After switching off and restarting the horn will work again.

First- it has been reported to dealer at least twice when car was in for other service. They said they could not reproduce. When speeding back up from a stop on near stop, especially in a right turn, the engine will not accelerate. After a second or two it finally takes off. During this time, I fear getting hit by another vehicle, either from behind or to the side. It is very scary and puts me and my passengers at great risk! there was no warning indication at all. The date mentioned was the most recent time, but the issue has been happening since the car was brand new. Again, no help from the dealer.

On October 28, 2024 and again on November 26, 2024, a warning light appeared on the dash which said “ check hybrid system stop safely” within 20 seconds both times , the car became inoperable . When I stepped on the gas nothing happened . The first time I was blocking major traffic , the second time I was on an interstate in the right lane and had time to pull over. In about 15 minutes the light went off and the car drove as normal. The dealer has had the car after both instances , currently for 28 days, and has not been able to replicate the problem .

Transmission faulty needed to be replaced by Hyundai dealership.

The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received a notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v529000 (power train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Vehicle has gone into limp mode 2 times in the past week. Power when accelerating would not exceed 30 mph when pushing the gas pedal to the floor. Had to pull over as I was getting onto the highway and stop/ power down the car and restart.

My vehicle was in for repairs at both a collision shop and a dealership following a minor accident. When I got the vehicle back, I found that the seat controls were not working, preventing me from moving the seat backward or forward. During a test drive, the car lost power despite the gas pedal being fully pressed; it wouldn't accelerate and then suddenly jerked forward. This could have caused an accident if I had been on a busy highway. Further testing revealed an abnormal noise at 1500 rpm in multiple gears. The vehicle has been towed back to the dealership, but there's no word yet on when it will be fixed. Hyundai has been contacted multiple times, as the car has been awaiting parts and undergoing repairs for over four months. They don't seem to be taking these safety issues seriously nor helpful in resolving the issue.

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the injector pipe high pressure, cylinder gdi injector on cylinder 3, pipe high pressure, combustion seal ring, k bolt, and other parts were changed. The vehicle was repaired under warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

The contact owns a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormal knocking sound. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle sputtered and hesitated to respond. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 63,547.

See all problems of the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.