2026 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 38 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: VISIBILITY (5 complaints · 13.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2025 →
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 VISIBILITY appears in 5 of 38 owner complaints (13.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. VISIBILITY: 5 complaints, 13.2% of reports VISIBILITY 5 · 13.2% LANE DEPARTURE: 3 complaints, 7.9% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 3 · 7.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 5.3% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 5.3% FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 2 complaints, 5.3% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 5.3% STEERING: 2 complaints, 5.3% of reports STEERING 2 · 5.3% TIRES: 2 complaints, 5.3% of reports TIRES 2 · 5.3% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 5.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 5.3% BACK OVER PREVENTION: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 2.6% POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 2.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 23 complaints, 60.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23 · 60.5% 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)
VISIBILITY 5 13.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 3 7.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
TIRES 2 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23 60.5% 0 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 Oct 2025; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2025. 2025-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2026-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2026-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 Owner reports Aug 2025 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 25V549000 ◆ Recall campaign 25V549000 Recall campaign 25V809000 ◆ Recall campaign 25V809000 Recall campaign 26V047000 ◆ Recall campaign 26V047000 Recall campaign 26V218000 ◆ Recall campaign 26V218000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2025-Q4 Owner reports 2
2026-Q1 Owner reports 11
2026-Q2 Owner reports 16
2026-Q3 Owner reports 9
Recall campaign 1 25V549000
Recall campaign 1 25V809000
Recall campaign 1 26V047000
Recall campaign 1 26V218000
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 25V549000

    Report date
    Component:
    ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
    Consequence:
    A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash. An oil leak in the presence of hot engine components can increase the risk of an engine compartment fire.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 281.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 25V809000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    Side curtain air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will reinstall the side curtain air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning December 29, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 289 and 029G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 22, 2025.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 26V047000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 26V218000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    A detached seat belt anchor will not adequately restrain the seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and reinforce or replace the seat belt anchors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning May 29, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and Genesis customer service at 844-340-9741. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 298 and 032G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov April 8, 2026.
    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 38 complaints · page 1 of 2

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