2005 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 214 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (55 complaints · 25.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 17
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 11
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2004 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 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 AIR BAGS appears in 55 of 214 owner complaints (25.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 55 complaints, 25.7% of reports AIR BAGS 55 · 25.7% · 5 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 37 complaints, 17.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 37 · 17.3% · 4 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 20 complaints, 9.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 20 · 9.4% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 18 complaints, 8.4% of reports SUSPENSION 18 · 8.4% FUEL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 7.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 17 · 7.9% SEAT BELTS: 15 complaints, 7.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 15 · 7.0% ENGINE: 7 complaints, 3.3% of reports ENGINE 7 · 3.3% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 7 complaints, 3.3% of reports STEERING 7 · 3.3% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 2.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 2.8% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 53 complaints, 24.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 53 · 24.8% · 5 crash 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)
AIR BAGS 55 25.7% 5 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 37 17.3% 4 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 20 9.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 18 8.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 17 7.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 15 7.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 7 3.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 7 3.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 2.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 53 24.8% 5 crashes · 0 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 Apr 2005; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 2005. 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2010-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2014-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2005 Apr 2025 Recall campaign 05V450000 ◆ Recall campaign 05V450000 Recall campaign 05V527000 ◆ Recall campaign 05V527000 Recall campaign 14V435000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V435000
  • Campaign 05V527000 was reported 1 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 14V435000 was reported 2,388 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 4
2005-Q4 Owner reports 6
2006-Q1 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 4
2006-Q3 Owner reports 5
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 3
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 5
2010-Q4 Owner reports 2
2011-Q1 Owner reports 4
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 7
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q3 Owner reports 4
2012-Q4 Owner reports 2
2013-Q1 Owner reports 4
2013-Q2 Owner reports 4
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 5
2014-Q1 Owner reports 4
2014-Q2 Owner reports 6
2014-Q3 Owner reports 15
2014-Q4 Owner reports 8
2015-Q1 Owner reports 10
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 4
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 6
2016-Q2 Owner reports 7
2016-Q3 Owner reports 7
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 5
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 3
2018-Q1 Owner reports 6
2018-Q2 Owner reports 4
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 4
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 2
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 05V450000
Recall campaign 1 05V527000
Recall campaign 1 14V435000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05V450000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE POSSIBILITY OF MISCLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN AS AN ADULT MAY ALLOW THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL COLLISION CRASH OR THE SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A SIDE COLLISION CRASH; SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL ENSURE THAT THE VEHICLE'S OCS WILL PROPERLY CLASSIFY CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN WHEN SEATED ON THE FRONT EDGE OF THE SEAT AND WILL DISABLE THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAGS. DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE'S OCS ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT TO PROVIDE AN INCREASED MARGIN FOR RECOGNITION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 21, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI AT 1-800-633-5151.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05V527000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    THE POSSIBILITY OF MISCLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN AS AN ADULT MAY ALLOW THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A FRONTAL COLLISION CRASH OR THE SIDE IMPACT AIRBAG TO DEPLOY IN A SIDE COLLISION CRASH; SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL ENSURE THAT THE VEHICLE'S OCS WILL PROPERLY CLASSIFY CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN WHEN SEATED ON THE FRONT EDGE OF THE SEAT AND WILL DISABLE THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAGS. DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE'S OCS ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT TO PROVIDE AN INCREASED MARGIN FOR RECOGNITION OF CERTAIN SMALL CHILDREN. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 6, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI OF PUERTO RICO AT 1-800-981-0188.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. 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 2026-08-21 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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 214 complaints · page 1 of 9

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 2026-08-21 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: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources