2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 305 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: SUSPENSION (46 complaints · 15.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 26
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 20
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2002 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SUSPENSION appears in 46 of 305 owner complaints (15.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. SUSPENSION: 46 complaints, 15.1% of reports SUSPENSION 46 · 15.1% SERVICE BRAKES: 35 complaints, 11.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 35 · 11.5% · 3 crash reports AIR BAGS: 33 complaints, 10.8% of reports AIR BAGS 33 · 10.8% · 10 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 32 complaints, 10.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 32 · 10.5% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 23 complaints, 7.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 23 · 7.5% · 5 crash reports ENGINE: 21 complaints, 6.9% of reports ENGINE 21 · 6.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 6.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 · 6.6% · 1 crash reports 3 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 5.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 16 · 5.3% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 16 complaints, 5.3% of reports VISIBILITY 16 · 5.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 134 complaints, 43.9% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 134 · 43.9% · 10 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SUSPENSION 46 15.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 35 11.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 33 10.8% 10 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 32 10.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 23 7.5% 5 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 21 6.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 6.6% 1 crashes · 3 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 16 5.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 16 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 134 43.9% 10 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2003; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 2003. 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2003-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2004-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2004-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2005-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2010-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2010-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2010-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2011-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2014-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2015-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2015-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2016-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2003 Oct 2024 Recall campaign 03V520000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V520000 Recall campaign 04V131000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V131000 Recall campaign 09V123000 ◆ Recall campaign 09V123000 Recall campaign 14V435000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V435000 Investigation EA08023 ● Investigation EA08023
  • Campaign 03V520000 was reported 345 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 04V131000 was reported 434 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 09V123000 was reported 1,952 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 14V435000 was reported 3,871 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 10
2003-Q4 Owner reports 11
2004-Q1 Owner reports 12
2004-Q2 Owner reports 8
2004-Q3 Owner reports 8
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 9
2005-Q2 Owner reports 5
2005-Q3 Owner reports 9
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 4
2006-Q2 Owner reports 6
2006-Q3 Owner reports 5
2006-Q4 Owner reports 4
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 3
2007-Q3 Owner reports 7
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q2 Owner reports 4
2009-Q3 Owner reports 4
2009-Q4 Owner reports 8
2010-Q1 Owner reports 3
2010-Q2 Owner reports 9
2010-Q3 Owner reports 6
2010-Q4 Owner reports 4
2011-Q1 Owner reports 8
2011-Q2 Owner reports 5
2011-Q3 Owner reports 4
2011-Q4 Owner reports 5
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q3 Owner reports 4
2012-Q4 Owner reports 5
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q2 Owner reports 6
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 4
2014-Q3 Owner reports 9
2014-Q4 Owner reports 10
2015-Q1 Owner reports 14
2015-Q2 Owner reports 4
2015-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 5
2016-Q4 Owner reports 3
2017-Q1 Owner reports 4
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 4
2018-Q4 Owner reports 2
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 03V520000
Recall campaign 1 04V131000
Recall campaign 1 09V123000
Recall campaign 1 14V435000
Defect investigation 1 EA08023
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V520000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    THE TIRE PRESSURE LABELS DO NOT CONTAIN THE INFORMATION REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.
    Remedy:
    OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A CORRECT LABEL AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON OCTOBER 29, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V131000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    IF AN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE OCCURS, IT COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE ABS ECU. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON MARCH 24, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09V123000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    IF THE CORROSION IS ALLOWED TO PROGRESS, THE REAR TRAILING ARM MAY FRACTURE WHILE DRIVING, THEREBY INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE REAR TRAILING ARMS FOR INTERNAL CORROSION DAMAGE. IF SPECIFIED LEVELS OF CORROSION DAMAGE ARE FOUND, THE REAR TRAILING ARMS WILL BE REPLACED. REAR TRAILING ARMS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE REPLACEMENT WILL HAVE DRAINAGE HOLES ADDED AND WILL BE TREATED WITH RUST-PROOFING MATERIAL TO ARREST THE CORROSION PROCESS. INSPECTION, TREATMENT AND REPLACEMENT PROCEDURES WILL BE CONDUCTED AT NO COST TO OWNERS. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MAY 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT THE HYUNDAI CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-633-5151.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 14V435000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    If the front coil spring fractures due to corrosion it could cause the coil spring to make contact with the tire, possibly puncturing the tire and increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
    Remedy:
    Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the coil spring, free of charge. The recall began on October 24, 2014. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 124.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 305 complaints · page 1 of 13

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources