Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Hyundai Santa Fe - part 1

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid has had multiple occasions, most recently on February 3, 2026 with 12,330 miles on the car, where the gas-powered engine fails to provide any power to the drivetrain. The car experiences vast power loss and enters "limp mode" where only the small hybrid battery is powering the vehicle. Max speed ranges from 10 - 25mph and there is little, if any, acceleration, even when the gas pedal is pegged to the floor. It is necessary to pull over, engage the flashing safety lights and try to find a safe place to park. After turning the vehicle off and on several times, eventually, the gas engines re-engages. The first incident of this type for this vehicle was on August 7, 2025 with approximately 4,400 miles on the vehicle. It was taken to the dealer, key Hyundai of salem, who could not find any dtcs and could not replicate the problem. They said "bring it back if it happens again. " they next time was on February 3, 2026 where it happened several times on a trip to and from a local restaurant. This time, at dtc code of p088000 powertrain / powerloss was recorded and reported. However, by the time the car was seen by key Hyundai of salem on February 5, 2026, the code has cleared itself. Hyundai's corporate policy is that historical codes can not be used for warranty claims. So, the dealer tried one potential fix, cleaning the tcm connectors under the driver's seat, and returned the vehicle stating that Hyundai corporate would not authorize warranty work unless/until the car was presented to the dealership with a current / live dtc or visible broken parts. It seems unsafe to put a vehicle back on the road that could lose power and drivability at any time for no apparent reason. I am aware that there have been several other reports of similar power loss / limp mode situations by owners of 2024-25 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrids. At the moment, I am told that there is no current technical service bulletin on this from Hyundai.

See all problems of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I tried to drive my 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid; the vehicle displayed a gear selection error message stating something like "gear already selected". The vehicle would not shift properly and would not power off or restart. I attempted multiple shutdown and restart attempts using the start/stop button with no success. The vehicle remained in this condition for about 30 minutes and would not allow normal operation or shutdown. Due to safety concerns, Hyundai roadside assistance was contacted and a tow truck was dispatched. Before the tow arrived, the vehicle spontaneously allowed shutdown without any intervention. This was a safety related failure involving the shift-by-wire system and vehicle power-down logic. The issue occurred without warning and left the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle had app 7150 miles at the time of the incident.

This car was in a bbb binding arbitration and Hyundai was told to fix: speed control malfunction, speed linit not posting to hub arbitrary fan engagement. The dealership alm west had the car 2 weeks and the car sat on their lot. They said we are unable to duplicate the problem. Now in addition I showed them the cracked windshield and they were not responsible. I had an insurance complaint I took it to safelite and replaced the windshield yesterday and I got it back with a new windshield and it also had a crack in the replacement windshield. I think Hyundai knows there's a problem with the glass which is also part of the safety system of the car.

I engaged the adaptive cruise control at 50 mph. This enabled the driver attention system which I had turned off at the start of my drive. The driver attention system is unable to see my eyes through my prescription corrective lenses. This caused the Hyundai to throw multiple 'failure to control vehicle/failure to watch road' warnings over the course of a few seconds; culminating with the system trying to stop the car in heavy traffic.

The vehicle's software was updated on oct 21, 2025. The software has serious flaw. When driving on slight incline on the passing lane the vehicle will apply the brakes without warning. This has happened 3 times. At times, when vehicles were following me they also had to apply the brakes unexpectedly. Had they not applied their brakes, they would have rear ended me at highway speeds. I also recall that there were no vehicles either in front or to the right ahead of me when it occurred. Also there was a guardrail on the left side of the highway at the time. This did not occur with the previous installed software. Every time this happened, the vehicle was in cruise control and driver assist was on to keep vehicle in the lane.

See all problems of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Vehicle began to display front collision avoidance system error/ radar blocked. This also disabled the 'Smart' cruise control features. This happened any time the cruise control was engaged and we encountered traffic. The unit was in the dealer's service department for a week, and the front radar module was replaced and reprogrammed under warranty.

See all problems of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

The engine has been running rough for awhile and emissions light came on. My car was having problems accelerating, 2 years ago the light came on but didn’t stay on so the dealer couldn’t diagnose problem.

See all problems of the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

My wife was parking our vehicle near the front of our home, simply rolling forward toward the car in front of her to complete parking on the left side of the street when the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated on its own. The vehicle turned hard to the right, struck the bumper of the parked car she was pulling up behind, continued right across the traffic lane where it hit two parked cars on the other side of the street with significant impact, lifting and turning one onto the sidewalk, at which point our vehicle went across the sidewalk and stopped after hitting a fence. The forward collision avoidance that we have experienced engaging previously, never engaged, despite hitting multiple vehicles on the lefft side and then right side of the street. The collision avaoidance alarms that we have experienced sounding previously, also never went off. The airbags never deployed, despite hitting 3 cars at two different sides of the street, as well as an iron fence that never moved. The vehicle went from traveling less than 5 mph while completing the last few feet of parking to a high rate of acceleration within a path of less than 40 feet, as evidenced by the significant damage it left. Had my wife not come to a stop as quickly as she did, she could have been seriously injured. If anyone had been on the sidewalk - there are 3 shcools on this block that children are often present - someone could have been killed. The vehicle is currently at a body shop being evaluated by insurance adjuster and likely a total loss. We reported tot the manufacturer and they intend to repsond to us by 9/16 and inspect the vehicle in its current state.

In relation to this incident, approximately 3,00 miles after an oil change, the engine oil drain plug fell out and caused all oil to leak and cause engine damage. Engine oil change was at approximately 125,000 miles. Drain plug fell out at approximately 128,000 miles. No warning lights or symptoms were present prior to vehicle shutting off and dying while driving. Vehicle was then towed to shop who previously did oil change. Shop confirmed drain plug was missing and oil level was empty. I am the manager of this shop submitting this on behalf of the customer with this vehicle. We are aware of the ongoing concerns in relation to case dp22-003 and would like to submit this information as further evidence for this case.

Driver assistant cruise and steering components relating to the warning system. The system notification is turned off in the settings; however, the issue overrides the setting. Cruise control and steering assist shuts off after brief but consistant warning to keep my eyes on the road. My eyes are on the road. I can do nothing to stop it from warning. It may happen up to 20 times in a distance of 9-20 miles. This has occured since purchase and occurs everytime the car is driven. While passing on interstate highways the system may shut off. Acceleration stops, steering assist shuts off. Four dealerships have seen the vehicle and a claim was issued by Hyundai America. A service manager finally, after many request, rode with me after a year of many service appointment resulting in a change of passenger facing camera. No change occurred in the system, it continues to behavior the same a prior to the camera change.

See all problems of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Hyundai's forward attention warning is so aggressively annoying it makes me want to drive off a cliff to shut it up. Driving with an arm in the 12 o'clock position? "beep! keep your eyes on the road!" polarized sunglasses? "beep! I can't see your eyes!" OH, there's a setting! let's turn it off. . . "beeeeep! where are your eyes!". I just purchased and cannot use cruise control I need to wear glasses it has a hard time seeing my eyes I cannot turn off I have tried many positions on steering wheel to no avail.

Seem like it burns oil quick.

See all problems of the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

I purchased a new 2025my Hyundai santafe hybrid. Since the day of my purchase there has been a constant error message that is displayed on dash saying "driver attention warning system failure". This light stays on constantly and disables cruise control and adapative cruise system. This affects the usability of the vehicles. When asked Hyundai they say, drivers arent expected to wear sunglass if this system has to work properly, they even say constant blinking will cause system to fail and disable cruise control. This is a serious concern. How can people drive a car without blinking and how can a new car have disabled cruise control all the time.

Hyundai disabling critical vehicle safety systems if people wear sunglasses. I brought my2025 Hyundai santafe hybrid, this has driver attention monitoring system. Since the day I brought this vehicle I have been getting issues related to driver attention warning system. This error is being caused for no reason, this comes on when vehicle comes on and stays on (sometimes for days sometimes for weeks and sometimes for hours). Hyundai says this issue is because I have a dash cam in car, error wont go away even when dash cam is removed. Recently Hyundai engineers said its because you may be wearing sunglasses. What? wearing sunglasses will disable aeb and cruise control !!!omg. I removed sunglasses and tried still wont work. Hyundai sent me list of things not to do, including not to laugh, not to shorten your eyes and not to wink. This is a major safety concern, not allowing drivers to wear sunglass which will disable safety critical systems.

I have taken my Hyundai Santa Fe 2022 phev under warranty for a fix of being in reverse, the function not working, the car revs aggressively not in gear and then put it in park and the car aggressively jolts forward in park like a hard gear change. Hyundai replaced pcm and said it was fine. I took car and immediately noticed grinding noises and straight back to Hyundai. They claim it's fine. Today same issue with reversing and aggressive car jolting. Hyundai is going to take it back tomorrow. I do not feel safe in this vehicle. It felt like the transmission was going to give out on the freeway. The rpm are maxing out at 5-20 mph and sometimes don't want to engage in drive. Extremely unsafe for freeway driving. There is something terribly wrong with this cars engine or transmission. Unsafe for Hyundai to release for use.

When accelerating at high speeds, over 70 mph, the car will sometimes appear to slip into neutral, and we are not able to accelerate at all. And then will need to coast to a stop, pull over, shut the car and restart. This has happened five times in the past year and always after one hour or more of driving at high speeds.

System keeps saying that I am not watching the road, which I am. No eye glasses or sunglasses on. This causes the cruise control to suddenly disengage creating a safety hazard. SUV is up to date on software/firmware.

Twice my car's gear shifter went from drive to the right hand side of the gear box. 90% or more of the power cut out immediately creating a massive safety issue. In both instances, I was pulling into traffic after making complete stops at stop signs. The first time, I turned left, the second time I turned right. The shift was untouched by me as it is not a stick shift car. Hyundai charged me close to $400 for the privledge of telling me that I or something bumped the shifter to the right. Also they claim that the shifter is designed to go into low gear if it does go to the right. A low gear should provide more power not cut it out. They refuse to fix the issue, but wanted me to bring it in so they could duplicate a problem that has occurred twice in four months.

See all problems of the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

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.

At 22000 miles wheel speed sensor went out, all control system shut down and car became unstable. At 44000 miles fuel injector went out, was driving on freeway and car started shaking and losing power, then in parking lot would not start at all, had to be towed to dealer. This is way to many breakdowns for a car with such low mileage.

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.

This truck has repeatedly gone in for service over 6 times for multiple issues. The worst issue which they cannot fix is the vehicle going into limp mode while driving . Loosing all acceleration then racing on its own . This is a very dangerous problem when on the highway. Hyundai service keeps telling me that the diagnostic is not showing a problem. This can be caused due to many things including transmission electrical or computer problems. I have reported to the office of consumer affairs and they claim Hyundai dealership in myrtle beach has not responded to them. Meanwhile I am driving in a very scary situation not knowing when this will occur. This happens at random times with no warning. This has happened at least 10 times in the last few months.

Frequent intermittent dash warning lights, no speed indicated, no tach indicated, cycles through warnings of safety systems malfunctioning. No lane departure, no adaptive cruise, no cruise, no forward collision warning, no blind spot warning. The disabling of these systems puts all drivers at risk. Dealership replaced front camera and windshield to fix this issue. Not fixed, continues to alarm at random times while driving.

See all problems of the 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Driving approximately 70-75mph on highway with cruise control set. Car starts to make rattling sound & engine warning light goes on, car struggles to accelerate and hovers around 60mph. Upon inspection of engine oil in car, fresh oil has been burned up quickly! added 1 quart. Drove 45mins at 70-75mph. Notice engine light on again. Check engine oil. Had quickly burned through 1qt! add new quart of oil. Let car rest overnight. Driving 70mph without use of cruise control. Then use cruise control. After a bit car engine sounds of rattling & struggling to accelerate. Rpm gauge seen going up & down. Through rear view mirror I see lots of bluish smoke. Pull over to let engine rest. Check oil = still 3/4. Use engine dectection device. Indicates that cylinders 3 &4 misfiring. Reset car warning indicator with my detection device. Finish drive going 60mph to arrive at destination without car engine warning going back on.

See all problems of the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

My abs and traction control lights keep going off, intermittently. They have been doing it for several years. It can be for hours or for days. I took a video of it happening a couple years ago, and photos, also. More recently my speedometer has started jumping. I had the abs recall performed when it was first implemented. When I've taken my vehicle to Hyundai (twice now specifically for this) they say they can see no codes and will do nothing. From what I have read on the abs recall, this is what are the symptoms of it. I am under the impression that I have somehow gotten a defective part, even when they did the recall. The recall was that it could cause an engine fire. Today driving home, for a second, downhill, the oil light came on for a second-then went off. I came home and parked. My husband checked. He said there is no oil in the car. That, I imagine is part of the other engine issue this model has. But you would think the oil light would come on sooner and stay on. He is going to get some oil and then take it to a shop when he gets off work. My main concern is getting the abs/speedometer fixed as I believe it is from the first recall. The second issue-that is probably a Hyundai "recognized" issue. They just keep telling me nothing is wrong with the abs/speedometer though. I have photos spanning several year, it falls in line with the recalled issue. Just replace the part already. The last date I went to Hyundai was Monday last week, so I'll put that as the incident date, as I was there for the abs/speedometer. I had to drive an hour each way to see them twice now to be told they can't do anything. Today the oil light came on.

I was driving at approximately 65 mph using the advanced cruise control system. Randomly, the system disengaged and I started getting 2 mil warnings on my console. Mil warning 1) was "check forward safety system" and 2) warning the advanced cruise control parameters are not met due to warning 1. A few minutes later, I received a message on my Hyundai blue link app showing dtc c162078. After researching this dtc, I found that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other drivers that experienced this same/similar situation -- unexpected loss of advanced safety features and Smart cruise control features. In fact, Hyundai published a technical bulletin for another model with the same issue. The loss of these functions places an unexpected safety risk to the driver if this issue occurs when there is other traffic present. My vehicle was involved in a frontal accident once about 1. 5 years ago and this issue has never occurred. This is the first instance of this issue since I purchased the vehicle brand new from the dealer.

While driving on a highway in April 2025, my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe sport suddenly lost all power after approximately 10 minutes of normal driving. All dashboard warning lights illuminated, and both the accelerator and brake pedals became unresponsive. I was forced to stop the vehicle using the handbrake in the middle of a 65 mph highway, creating an extremely dangerous situation for myself and other drivers. Prior to this incident, the vehicle had displayed the p1326 knock sensor code multiple times over a 10-month period, each time accompanied by hesitation when accelerating. The knock sensor was replaced twice under used car warranty by Honda. Despite these interventions, the same code and symptoms recurred. The Hyundai dealership(Dec 2024 at montgomery, Jan 2025 at enterprise) repeatedly stated that there was “nothing wrong with the engine. ” after the highway failure, the vehicle was inspected by a collision center and an independent mechanic. They confirmed that cylinder 4 had no compression and diagnosed a burnt valve. Full engine replacement was recommended. Hyundai initially indicated that the engine might be covered under the extended warranty but later denied the claim, stating that the damage was due to a cylinder issue and can not check bearing failure. They also claimed it was too late to determine whether the bearing was the cause. This is not an isolated issue. Many Hyundai owners across the u. S. Have reported identical symptoms—p1326 code, hesitation, cylinder compression loss, and ultimately engine failure—particularly in vehicles equipped with the theta ii engine. These failures often occur around or after 100,000 miles, despite regular maintenance. This ongoing and widespread cylinder-related engine failure presents a serious safety risk and must be addressed through manufacturer accountability, improved diagnostic standards, and proactive repair or recall efforts.

While merging onto the freeway, the accelerator pedal got stuck to the floor with the throttle wide open. The brakes and emergency brake were ineffective. Measures had to be taken to drive off of the road into ice plant, we we were able to turn off the engine. Further inspection revealed a missing grommet at the wall where the throttle cable passes through to connect to the gas pedal. Furthermore, the plastic around the throttle cable was cracked, which allows for the throttle cable and pedal to push through and get snagged. This could have ended horrifically. We are lucky to be alive.

See all problems of the 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Loss of acceleration and stuttering when I was trying to get up to speed on the interstate going up a hill. Instantly blinking check engine light. Won't go above 2000rpm or 60mph. P1326 code read glow relay short circuit.

I am unable to use speed control while wearing sunglasses due to the driver attention monitoring. It would be dangerous to drive without sunglasses.

I was backing out of a parking spot and suddenly the car accelerated backwards into a wall. The floor mat was not on the accelerator pedal. Obviously, I might have accidently pressed the gas pedal. But, I strongly believe I did not. For me to be mistaken, all three of the following would have to be true: 1) I would have had to put my foot on the accelerator by mistake, even though I am of sound mind and body, I was not distracted, and I have been driving for decades without having done such a thing. 2) I would have had to continue holding my foot to the gas pedal even as I felt myself racing backwards. 3) having slammed into the wall, I would have had to be unaware that I had caused the accident. That all three conditions were true seems highly unlikely. (not impossible. Just unlikely. ) I can't imagine stepping on the gas when I meant to step on the brake and then not realizing that I was doing so and then not remembering that I had done so. Cars have computers and computers sometimes have bugs. It seems more likely that a computer glitch caused the crash. And, I suspect that, if it has happened to others, they did not report it because they assume they would not be believed. (when I told a friend of mine what had happened, he told me that, on two separate occasions, he applied the brakes on his Hyundai (a different model) only to have the engine rev up and "fight" his braking. He had to press harder on the brakes to stop his vehicle. ) question: does the onboard computer record all of the car's and computer's activities? (note: I called the police, who came to document what had happened. I don't believe he filed an official report, but if you need what he recorded, let me know. ).

Vehicle would not shift when accelerating on gas pedal while driving, rpm’s went up to 5,000. Had the car towed to closest dealership and they haven’t looked at it. They stated they are unable to assist me with a rental car. I am home alone with 2 children and cannot go to work. There is a transmission recall on the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe with the exact problems the car has been having. Recall #236, campaign #22v746000. I called the recall consequences customer service # and they stated they were unable to help me until the dealership looked at it. The problem started in fall of 2024 and I took it into the dealership first on 11/5/24 and again when it continued the problem 11/14/24. The 11/14/24 visit they performed a software update and the car shifted smoother in Smart drive mode only. On Friday, 3/14/25, while driving home from work, the car would not shift at all when pressed the gas turning into traffic. I turned on my hazard lights and pulled into a parking lot. I called roadside assistance and had the vehicle towed to the dealership.

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.

The sensor always goes off stating my eyes aren't on the road to the point it trys to stop the vehicle in traffic. This prevents me from being able to use cruise control because the sensor is causing issues by not detecting my eyes.

The forward attention warning (faw) on the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe calligraphy can not be deactivated. Correction, it can be turned off for normal driving. For instance, driving around the city or not using Smart cruise control. As soon as you turn on the Smart cruise control it's reactivated and can't be turned off. The faw does not work when using prescription sunglasses / non prescription sunglasses or if the sun is hitting the inside of the cabin a certain way. The faw constantly flashes warnings and beeps at you even though you are looking forward and keeping your eyes on the road. If you look far down the road you shift your eyes up some, and the system beeps and flashes warnings to keep your eyes on the road. On a recent 230 miles trip I did not wear my prescription sunglasses / non prescription sunglasses and the faw system went off at least 50 plus times and I had my eyes on the road at all times. Very distracting, I then had to take my eyes off the road to see why it was beeping and telling me to keep my eyes on the road. The faw system actually makes for a stressful and distracting drive. At this time the faw is useless. I took the vehicle to the dealer and the faw is not a system that can be turned off. Hyundai needs to allow the dealers to be able and deactivate the system.