Wiper Problems of Hyundai Santa Fe - part 1

Front wipers of the vehicle stopped working with snow buildup. This was solved once by tightening a bolt but happened again while driving.

See all problems of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

My name is [xxx] I live at [xxx] my phone number is [xxx] my social security is [xxx] . I own a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe that is subject to safety recall 25v-808 involving the rearview camera system. On [xxx] at 12:30pm while operating my vehicle, the rearview camera malfunctioned (the image was [blank / inoperative]). Due to the loss of rear visibility, I was involved in a minor accident while backing up. At the time of the incident, I had not yet received the recall repair. The malfunction experienced is consistent with the defect described in the recall notice regarding the rearview camera harness. This incident caused [minor vehicle damage / property damage. I am reporting this to document a safety-related incident connected to an acknowledged manufacturing defect. I am requesting that this incident be reviewed as a recall-related accident and that Hyundai advise on reimbursement or compensation options. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

It was snowing lightly/moderately, and prior to driving, the windshield was cleared with snow and the wipers set to low. Once driving began, the wipers stopped working on multiple occasions for a brief period each time, before resuming on their own. During the period that the wipers stopped, the snow accumulation on the windshield caused poor visibility and potential danger to our car as well as others on the road. There were no prior indications on the dashboard or otherwise that anything was wrong with the wipers prior to, during or after the incident, which causes significant concern of a potential repeat of the issue. We returned home with the children immediately and plan to call the dealer first thing in the morning.

I have had the driver’s side wiper blade stop working properly twice since purchase. The first instance involved ice within the vicinity of the wiper arm mount on the driver’s side. There was compacted snow and ice next to the arm motor mount location. When the wiper was activated, the wiper could not extend fully vertical due to the snow and ice in the corner and this caused the wiper arm to become loose. The driver’s wiper arm then failed to properly operate and frequently overlapped the passenger wiper arm/blade which still functioned. The arm was replaced under warranty at a dealership. The second time this happened, I was driving during a snowstorm and the wiper was turned on with minimal snow and ice accumulation from roughly one hour of driving and occasional wiper use. The snow buildup between the driver’s wiper blade and the a pillar prevented the blade from completing a full sweep of the windshield and the driver’s side wiper came loose and failed to function properly. It frequently became entangled with the passenger wiper blade, causing visibility issues while driving. I have an appointment for this. The wiper arm itself has splines that match up with the wiper motors located between the hood and windshield. If an obstruction of snow or ice either holds the wiper blade down or prevents a full range of motion, the wiper motor easily strips these splines from the wiper arm, resulting in wiper arm failure, damage/bending of the arm(s) and cosmetic damage to the plastic a pillar trim (from wiper over extending past a pillar. The design of the vehicle wiper recess location prevents lifting the wiper arms if there is any snow or ice accumulation on the vehicle and the wipers are in the normal down position. Combine this with the lack of any melting capability from the windshield defroster or a dedicated wiper defroster, there is no way to ensure the wipers will function properly when needed during a snow or rain storm and freezing conditions.

See all problems of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

My windshield is the problem. My granddaughter drives with me often and afraid the glass will shatter. Yes, the corporate office for Hyundai. No, this was done while driving, all occasions.

See all problems of the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Within a month of purchasing the vehicle [March of 2025] I was having a windshield replaced due to a crack. After I had that one installed, it needed to be replaced due to scratches on the windshield [safelite warrantied it under faulty glass]. Now within 2 weeks I have had 2 small impacts and 2 chip/cracks filled. I have never had issues with windshields in my driving career thus far like this. I understand windshields can pick up rocks and what not but searching online it doesn't seem to be an isolated incident at all. I think Hyundai may be using cheap glass or something. This is very frustrating because im constantly looking anytime I hear an impact on the windshield. Also, I do not want to be constantly calling safelite for chip repairs.

The car was brought to the dealership where it was purchased. The right rear passenger window exploded while on the highway; the pieces then shattered and fell into the child safety seat installed. There were no other vehicles around as I was driving and the temperature inside the car and outside were about the same. There were no warnings and there was no abnormal noises or flexing prior to the window completely shattering.

While driving on a service road at approximately 45 mph, the corner side glass on my 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe shattered suddenly and without warning. There was no impact from a rock or object, and no other vehicles were present that could have caused debris. We had just entered the service road, and road conditions were normal. My [xxx] was seated in the front passenger seat at the time of the incident. The glass shattered inward, and the only thing preventing glass from entering the cabin was the window tint holding the shattered pieces together. This presented a serious safety hazard, as occupants could have been injured if the tint had not contained the glass. Once parked in my garage, I took pictures and tried to examine the damage but the window was still crackling and popping. My husband was able to inspected the window immediately after he returned home and confirmed there is no visible rock chip or point of external impact. The fracture pattern appears to originate from inside the glass or along the edge, consistent with a stress fracture or defect rather than road damage. This failure occurred under normal driving conditions with no accident, no debris strike, and no extreme temperature change. The sudden shattering while driving posed a significant risk to driver control and passenger safety, especially with multiple children in the vehicle. I am also aware of other owner complaints involving unexplained glass cracking or shattering on Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles, which raises concern that this may represent a broader defect rather than an isolated incident. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Driving in light rain at 65 mph , drivers side wiper failed after using auto feature. Occurrd 12/23/20125. Wiper was fixed by dealership under warranty on 12/26/2025. 3 weeks later on 1/12/2026 very same situation occurred and exact same malfunction happened yet again. Drivers side wiper total non-operational again. Taken back to the dealership for repair and the dealership said with 100% certainty issue was caused both times from ice and and snow buildup ans will not submit under warranty. Vehicle is garage kept ( heated) and had absolutely no ice or snow on the vehicle upon operation. Weather was 40+ degrees both days when malfunction occurred. Safety issue was serious due to my wife now unable to see through the window potentially causing an accident during adverse weather conditions.

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while there was snow on the roof of the vehicle, the windshield wipers failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer because there was space between the hood and the windshield where the snow was collected, causing the windshield wipers to fail to operate as intended. The dealer tightened the wiper blades; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 35,000.

See all problems of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Something is wrong with the front windshield. Since I bought this SUV the last year, I've noticed that the wipers are very noisy and the windshield gets dirty very frequently. The last week, the windshield cracked for no apparent reason. I called the dealer and their response was that it's not covered by the warranty and I have to claim it from my car insurance. They also have no explanation for the wiper problem and the stains that appear on the windshield.

The window washer fluid is does not cover the the upper areas of the window, making it difficult to see particularly in snowy or icy weather.

Vehicle was in driveway for 3 days. When I got into vehicle to drive I saw the windshield had a large crack on driver’s side approximately 16” long. No vandalism or rock damage caused this problem. Has to be a stress fracture.

On Saturday morning (August 9th), I was driving this car with my family on I-495 heading to the shopping mall. The sunroof glass broke suddenly without any impact from outside. I was so alarmed and exited the road and checked it. There was a crack in the front side glass. I drove back home and found that they had exploded and scattered. I drove a car to the Hyundai car service center to claim it, but they ignored me. I claimed this on the Hyundai America site, but the answer is that they won't fix this under the warranty. This is a panoramic sunroof, and it should support our family in the car accident. But it is easily exploded without any impact from outside. It is a safety-critical issue, but Hyundai doesn't take care of this issue.

I am writing to formally file a complaint regarding a sudden and unexplained crack that appeared on the windshield of my vehicle, which was parked in my driveway overnight. The vehicle was stationary, had not been involved in any accidents or incidents, and was not subjected to any apparent external impact upon discovering the damage, I conducted thorough research and found that more than one owner of the same vehicle or same type of model have experienced an identical issue — a crack that originates at the very top edge of the windshield starting from the top and travels downward through the middle of the glass. The consistency in the location and pattern of the damage strongly suggests a potential manufacturing defect or a design flaw. This issue raises serious concerns not only about product quality but also about driver safety. Windshield integrity is a crucial component of vehicle safety systems, and such defects can compromise visibility and the structural strength of the car in the event of a collision.

The windshield wiper fluid is designed to only hit the bottom of the windshield. This does not allow for the windshield to be properly cleaned while the vehicle is in motion. Creates a safety hazard if you cannot wash debris or an excess of bugs from the field of view of the driver. There are multiple complaints regarding the spray location onto the windshield.

Windshield washer nozzles spray so low on the windshield that the center and top won’t clean which makes driving unsafe.

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.

This was a certified vehicle I purchased. I dont believe it was certified because after returning it after -3- weeks because the windshield wipers werent working properly. After they looked at it the dealership told me that whoever put the windshield in it broke part of the windshield wiper connections and also ruined the calibration on certain safety features, and broke the windshield itself. This was not caught on their certification process and just put out on the lot to sell. They expected me to pay 1/2 of the expense for which I refused.

Windshield was broken by a rock on the highway.

See all problems of the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

While driving west in I-70 near frisco, CO. The sunroof randomly exploded, throwing glass throughout the vehicle. I was driving the car with my wife and dog, all of us got covered in glass and the exploding glass was extremely loud. We were lucky the sound didn’t cause me to drive off the road or that any of falling glass severely cut us.

See all problems of the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

In this car when you are driving and it is raining hard and you are on a big highway at night with cars coming towards you, the windshield does not clear and it streaks really bad so you cannot see. I have sent pictures to the dealership as well as Hyundai of what it looks like just when you clean off the windshield of snow that it streaks really bad then too and the streaks stay on there, so if you clean your window the day before and get up the next day the halo streaks are still on there. I can somewhat handle that part but when you are driving in rain and you cannot see it is very dangerous . This is a brand new car and this is the 4th time I have had it in the shop for this and they keep saying they cannot duplicate it, but they have not had it when it is raining at night. I do not even want to drive this car at night if I think it may rain because it is so bad. The manufacturer has not inspected it, only the dealership. I am driving a 2026 loaner right now because it is still in the shop but they want me to come pick it up this week saying they cannot duplicate it. If you look the 2026 has had a new windshield design and I know that it is probably because they know the 2025 design is dangerous. I cannot upload on here . Is there anyway I can get an email address to send the documents too? I can scan the receipts from the times it has been there but the conversations are all via email that I have. If I could get an email I could send them over.

Wipers are in the office position, but suddenly go up and down 2 inches, while off, and won't turn on. It snowed the day before, but wasn't while I was driving. Also, my hood is peeling. I have white paint.

Washer nozzles are non adjustable, and spray too low on windshield to effectively clean glass, especially at highway speeds. Severe visibility issue. I have reported the problem to Hyundai corporate customer service, who are escalating the issue to upper management. I have also brought the vehicle to my local dealer where it was purchased and made them aware of the issue. Dealer agreed with me, and has heard same complaint from many other owners of this model. This should be a simple fix by swapping in an adjustable nozzle.

Rear reverse camera stopped working. Image became grainy, then flickered, then went to a blue screen. Can't see anything behind the vehicle when backing up is a big safety hazard.

See all problems of the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe 🔎.

Front wiper blades randomly fail during use. Risk of crashing increased due to reduced visibility when raining. No warning lamps or other messages. First time happened, 01/01/2025.

Windshield wiper in auto mode. Sometimes wipers turn on automatically in bright sunny days with nothing on windshield. When it rains, sometimes automatic wipers will not activate until windshield is completely covered with rain, and visibility is greatly reduced. Sensitivity adjustment has zero effect.

I have owned my vehicle since July 29th 2024 and have now replaced two windshields on my car. It has less than 6000 miles on it. I have looked online and many other people have had the same issues with Hyundai windshields. Something is not right with the glass itself, these tiny rocks should not be basically shattering my windshield while I’m driving.

Vehicle sun/moon roof exploded/shattered while driving on the highway with no apparent external cause. Sunroof was closed, driving middle lane, slightly below speed limit. Fortunately the material blind was closed otherwise the glass could have struck the occupants. Drove to manufacturer dealership who insisted it was a stone and not a manufacturer defect and to claim through insurance, which means a $1000 excess. I know this happens on various vehicles, noted on many forums.

Ac evaporator drain design problem June, 2024 approx. 3500 miles under warranty, ac evaporator drain line backed up into the passenger front right. Brought it to service - they unclogged and drained the line at no charge. June 2025 approx. 12,k miles under warranty, ac drain backed up again. The excess water drained onto my feet as a passenger and collected under the front seat, saturating the rug area, potentially causing additional mildew and respiratory causing irritation. Service required an appointment. Drained it charged $88. Filed a complaint incl Hyundai motors ; was told the $88 charge was irreversible - cause was weather. The car health hazard seems to stem from a major design flaw the air intake is in the windshield wiper cowl resulting in wet tree and leaf debris , bird droppings, etc collect even when the car is not in use. Thus, when heat or air conditioning is activated, air comes in through the air intake and then through the difficult to acces filter recessed behind the glove box , then into the passenger area when the ac drain hose is plugged, it backs up through the dirty filter and then out, to accumulate under the passenger seat allowing more mildew. Re:my 2024 mile blockage, the water was drained, but the filter was not mentioned. In 2025 with the $88 bill, the water was drained no mention the filter. Draining the water does not correct the problem. It should be required at every service the l drain hose is checked, water drained. And filter changed at no charge until a design correction to cover the cowling or an interim solution is installed we lnotice that we have sporadic respiratory problems in the first of miles of riding in all the car from Hyundai motor America - we expect reimbursement for the $88 service charge. Warranty draining the water and new filter annually. And an nhtsb approved fix of the problem and an nhtsb approved redesign of future models.

On the afternoon of 2 Mar 2024, the front panel of my sunroof exploded suddenly while driving at freeway speed, without warning or provocation. No one was injured. After the initial shock, I pulled over and inspected the damage. Fortunately, the inner upholstery was intact and kept all of the shattered glass out of the passenger areas. I had to drive almost 30 miles to the nearest gas station / auto parts store in order to perform makeshift repairs with duct tape and plastic. I took digital pictures of the exploded sunroof. I contacted my Hyundai dealership and have plans to take the car in for inspection and repairs this coming week.

The panoramic sunroof spontaneously shattered while driving under normal conditions. It sounded like a loud gunshot and then shards of the glass fell into the car - luckily the liner caught the majority of the shattered glass. The vehicle is currently at a dealership to fix the damage. I am fortunate that no other cars were around me when the spontaneous shattering happened. The loud noise caused me to slow down considerably, and some glass shards fell backward. If the glass shards had fallen into the vehicle it could have cut me. The dealership has no idea why my sunroof spontaneously combusted, but after doing some research, I saw that Hyundai has had this happen to many other of their vehicles with panoramic sunroofs, and they have gone through a handful of class action lawsuits over the damage. As it is the holidays, I have yet to hear back from my insurance company, but I have started the process of filing a claim online - however, the online form said I would need to call since the damage is on the sunroof which fell under a specialty circumstance. There were no warnings, messages, or other symptoms before the failure. The shattered glass came out of nowhere and without warning.

Windshield started to crack after 150 miles on the car from driver side spreading across whole line of sight. No visible or audible rock hit the windshield.

About three weeks after we bought the SUV, a small rock hit the windshield while we were driving on the freeway, causing a quarter-sized crack. We had it repaired. A week later, two more tiny chips appeared on the windshield. We didn't even notice anything hitting the windshield, and we only drove it on city roads with normal road conditions. The windshield seems to have very soft glass and gets cracked or chipped very easily in regular driving conditions. We've never encountered windshields this weak in our 20 years of driving experience. We feel it poses a potential visibility hazard for the drivers.

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.