50 of the
469 complaints filed about the Hyundai Santa Cruz
are about the other systems —
11% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2022.
my 2023 Santa Cruz had 7500 miles when purchased 4/25/26. I have had issues with the screen blackening/fading which cuts of electronics; ex; safety features. This was taken in twice. Then the truck loses power. Going 55 or 75, suddenly truck drops to 20mph. Car's honk, brake & swerve not to hit us. It has been at dealers three times now for same issue. Since I've owned vehicle, it has been at dealer for 29 days tomorrow and it is still there. The truck is a death trap, always something wrong.
NHTSA complaint #11753189 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I can not disable the Driver Attention Warning (DAW) function on this vehicle. The "Take a Break" warning comes up at random times for no apparent reason. I understand the functionality but it often gives false warnings, distracting me from the driving task. This car needs to the ability to shut off the function, and, like other vehicles, set a time for setting the warning, i.e., every 45 minutes, hour, etc.
NHTSA complaint #11699642 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Transmission does not advance through its ranges fails to shift leaving stranded middle of intersection. Misses a whole range looses excelleration. You
NHTSA complaint #11692942 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Consider taking a break warning triggers continually; sometimes as frequently as every other minute causing distraction during driving. It has occurred since purchasing vehicle. Dealership says can not disable.
NHTSA complaint #11685527 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2nd replacement DCT transmission failed Loss of power while driving on the interstate , upon acceleration no increase in speed, went from 65mph to 38mph before able to pull off the highway. Intermittently it is not shifting, shuttering, hard reverse shift, hesitation from park into drive
NHTSA complaint #11681408 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
We purchased our 2024 Santa Cruz [XXX]. On [XXX] the Santa Cruz we purchased from Korum Hyundai Dealership died on the highway as my husband and I were heading to town through the mountains. We had to roll to the side of the road as the Santa Cruz just lost all power and would not accelerate, it just died and lost power. I thought it was a fluke. My husband was driving. I asked if he had hit a button or something, he said no. Turned the ignition to off and he restarted the Santa Cruz and it turned on. On Saturday, [XXX], driving on [XXX] , heading west from Glenoma, Washington to Morton, Washington driving approx 60 mph when the Santa Cruz lost all power again driving down the highway. It was a very dangerous situation! We have logging trucks and semi trucks up and down that highway going speeds of 60 mph and more! I lost all power and had to roll to the side of the road in the Santa Cruz. Some of that stretch of highway does not even have places to pull over and some of that highway has metal guard rails as well as drop off cliffs. EXTREMELY HAZORDOUS SITUATION to have the Santa Cruz simply lose all power going down the highway! On this date the Santa Cruz had 4522 miles on it. I looked at the dash panel to see if there were any warning lights and made a point to look at the mileage. There were no warning lights. Nor warning messages. April 3rd the 2024 Santa Cruz Night was dropped of at the Korum Hyundai Service Dept. The dealership has had the vehicle for 3 weeks and states they cannot replicate the problem. There are no warning lights. Since then I have been on Hyundai Forums and have multiple people tell me the exact same situation has happened to them. They ended up finding out it was the fuel injectors. The forums also stated that the dealership could not replicate the issue when take to service department for other owners. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11655846 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The sun roof exploded in an upward projection while traveling 65mph with driver window slightly open. Glass everywhere with tiny glass slivers inbedded in my right hand and cheeck. Heard slight popping noise just prior to glass failure. Headed to dealership on 3/3/2025. Found other reports online from 2024 Santa Cruz owners.
NHTSA complaint #11645807 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehice experienced FULL power loss several times. Truck taken to dealership and stated no problem found. Incident happened again a week later. Determined wires can become lose from battery terminals for no reason.
NHTSA complaint #11639015 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Backup camera doesn't work 50% of the time (black screen) when in reverse OR when it works stays on after being put into drive. Has happened numerous times (over 20). Took to dealer, they said if there's no error code, they can't do anything. (Of course it worked fine the 15min I was at the dealer).
NHTSA complaint #11629181 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On 3 separate occasions this has occurred . When accelerating, the engine or power train completely loses all propulsion. Twice I was starting a left hand turn and crossing oncoming traffic. On one occasion I was turning right onto a 50 MPH highway and quickly veered off the road onto the berm. The only item on dash board flashing on the third incident was the cruise control preset and it was flashing 20. At the time I was not using the cruise control and I did not set it for 20. No dash board warning lights lit during the first two losses of power. I reported it to the dealer. Today I had a maintenance appointment and inspection at the dealer. After that inspection, they informed me that they found no codes to identify the issue. I should let them know if it continues. My 3 failures happened at approximately 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 miles. My safety and that of my passenger were most definitely affected each and every time. After 30 seconds to one minute the full functionality returns as if it never happened.
NHTSA complaint #11619977 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hi, my car is a certified 2022 hyundai santa cruz I've been in touch with hyundai and they're very unhelpful. I'm experiencing jerking while creeping uphill or driving in traffic at low speeds as well as in reverse. and its way worse when i have any bit of load in the bed. its extremely invasive, its really dangerous particularly when in reverse, because its hard to modulate the speed properly, when you feather the brakes when rolling into a parking space or reversing to a hook up a trailer it either is dead on power or jerks at a slight speed which makes it difficult to control. this is something that passed hyundai's certified program but concerns me because there is no way its safe. I've lent my car to other people and they were concerned as well. please note i got my brakes and replaced and system bled but the issue persists. additionally I've experienced this issue for over 5000 miles (41k - 47k miles) please consider this complaint because its a legitimate safety issue and i have a feeling its related to this cars transmission woes. Thank you!
NHTSA complaint #11618907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
On [XXX] my new 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz’s transmission failed while driving. Vehicle down shifted with a noticeable loss in power and speed. This was a very dangerous condition as I was in traffic when this incident occurred. The vehicle’s odometer shows ONLY 4761 total miles since purchasing this car brand new at Sheehy Hyundai in Waldorf, Maryland INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11611216 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This vehicle has a design flaw with the grill opening. I had a whole in radiator that cost $1700 from road debris hitting it. Now 3 months later I am putting out $1400 to replace air conditioning condenser for the same reason. The openings for the grill that is supposed to protect these components are to large.
NHTSA complaint #11603981 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My wife and I were driving yesterday afternoon and on the highway we heard a very loud sound and pulled over and it turns out our sun roof glass (on a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz that I lease) seems to have spontaneously shattered. There was no falling debris that we could see, we did not see a rock coming at us, we were not near an over pass from which something might have fallen on the car. As far as I can tell, the glass just shattered for no discernible reason. (I took pictures). I almost lost control of the car it was that loud.
NHTSA complaint #11600081 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was accelerating onto an interstate and my vehicle would not accelerate. My foot was to the floor on the gas but would not go above 35mph. I had to turn around on a on ramp , drive on the grass and limp my way home at 35 mph. No warning lights appeared.
NHTSA complaint #11579874 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vehicle goes into limp mode not allowing you to go over 25 miles per hour. Happens randomly and unexpectedly causing you to about be rear ended. Once you pull over and shut vehicle off and restart it is normally ok for an unknown period of time
NHTSA complaint #11580015 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
EPB and Auto Hold lights were lit on the instrument cluster in yellow. Power was diminished and once stopped and the car in park, doors would not unlock. Starting and then stopping the car would not reset the lights nor allow the doors to unlock. Fixing the issue requires a second person to raise the hood, and disconnect the positive terminal on the battery to allow the computer to reset. Reconnect the positive battery terminal all the lights were out and more importantly the doors would unlock.
NHTSA complaint #11572576 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving Santa Cruz Limited 2024 down the highway when the tailgate lowers by itself. It has happened twice on me. My key fob was in center console of vehicle. Reported incident to dealership.
NHTSA complaint #11569308 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1- 1226/24New car-mileage- 300 miles-driving on turnpike at 70 mph truck lost power/ momentum slowed to 40mph before vehicle would move forward again 2- driving in school zone 25mph truck loses power/momentum 3--mileage 1375 driving in traffic at 40mph same as above taken to dealer states no codes
NHTSA complaint #11566670 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.