2020 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 200 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (54 complaints · 27.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 15
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2019 →
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 ENGINE appears in 54 of 200 owner complaints (27.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 54 complaints, 27.0% of reports ENGINE 54 · 27.0% · 3 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 18 complaints, 9.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 18 · 9.0% VISIBILITY: 18 complaints, 9.0% of reports VISIBILITY 18 · 9.0% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 7.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 7.0% · 1 crash reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 11 complaints, 5.5% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11 · 5.5% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 11 complaints, 5.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 11 · 5.5% · 2 crash reports LANE DEPARTURE: 7 complaints, 3.5% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 7 · 3.5% AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 3.0% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 3.0% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 6 complaints, 3.0% of reports STRUCTURE 6 · 3.0% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 78 complaints, 39.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 78 · 39.0% · 4 crash reports 5 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)
ENGINE 54 27.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
POWER TRAIN 18 9.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 18 9.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 7.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11 5.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 11 5.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 7 3.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 3.0% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 6 3.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 78 39.0% 4 crashes · 5 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 2020; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 2021. 2020-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2021-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2022-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2023-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2024-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2025-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2025-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2025-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2025-Q4: 22 owner reports 22 2026-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2026-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2026-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 Owner reports Jan 2020 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 21V00M000 ◆ Recall campaign 21V00M000 Recall campaign 23V181000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V181000 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003
  • Campaign 21V00M000 was reported 348 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2020-Q1 Owner reports 4
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 5
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 7
2021-Q2 Owner reports 3
2021-Q3 Owner reports 4
2021-Q4 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 6
2022-Q2 Owner reports 4
2022-Q3 Owner reports 11
2022-Q4 Owner reports 3
2023-Q1 Owner reports 10
2023-Q2 Owner reports 9
2023-Q3 Owner reports 5
2023-Q4 Owner reports 12
2024-Q1 Owner reports 3
2024-Q2 Owner reports 4
2024-Q3 Owner reports 5
2024-Q4 Owner reports 5
2025-Q1 Owner reports 9
2025-Q2 Owner reports 11
2025-Q3 Owner reports 9
2025-Q4 Owner reports 22
2026-Q1 Owner reports 12
2026-Q2 Owner reports 21
2026-Q3 Owner reports 10
Recall campaign 1 21V00M000
Recall campaign 1 23V181000
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 21V00M000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V181000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is completed. Dealers will install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting May 16, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 244. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-633.
    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 200 complaints · page 1 of 8

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