283 of the
10,385 complaints filed about the Hyundai Santa FE
are about the body and structure —
3% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2003.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the underbody of the vehicle was rusted from living in an area where anti-icing agents were heavily used. The contact associated the failure with Hyundai Service Campaign 947. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under Hyundai Service Campaign 947 in 2017. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
NHTSA complaint #11757437 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving my car and my “open” door light came on out of nowhere. When I stopped I got out and closed my door the light turned off. When I was driving again the light came on and when I tried to open my door, it got stuck. I had someone try to open it from the outside and it sounded like it unlatched but wouldn’t open. Now I have to hold the door when I’m driving because it sounds like the door is not shut all way even though it won’t open at all.
NHTSA complaint #11757304 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Engine Hood getting so hot it is bending or causing metal to bend , like someone sat on middle of hood. Popped it out and keeps forming a bend after driving. Not instelly but keeps coming back
NHTSA complaint #11740722 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently swerved from side to side. The message “Consider Taking A Break” was displayed and the Driver Attention Warning (DAW) warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the Automatic Emergency Braking activated while driving near a vehicle or object, slamming the vehicle to a stop and causing the cruise control to deactivate. The message "Keep Hands On Steering Wheel" was displayed even though the contact's hands were on the steering wheel. The contact also stated that the front and rear driver's side doors were vertically bent from a manufacturing defect. The contact stated that his girlfriend feared for her safety while driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case a filed. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
NHTSA complaint #11740318 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
OVER THE LAST 4 WEEKS (NOTICED APRIL 15 AROUND 6PM GOING TO CHURCH) THE PASSENGER FRONT DOOR OPENS AUTOMATIOCALLY WITHOUT ANYONE OPENING IT. THE DOOR IS LITTERALLY LOCKED AND SFERT DRIVEING THE DOOR JUST OPENS. FROM 4/15/26 UNITL 5/7/2026 THIS HAS HAPPENDED 5 TIMES.
NHTSA complaint #11736577 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2020 Hyundai Santa Fe quartz white pearl paint and the paint is blowing off as I drive in multiple places. I took it to the dealer because when I called they said there's a Z05 recall on white Hyundai paint and it would be covered. When I take it in, they say 2020's weren't covered because the paint issue was corrected in 2020, when clearly it wasn't. In any case Hyundai agreed to pay 65% of the cost, nothing more. THEY NEED to include all years that present this issue. Unfortunately I've now picked my car up and the paint in the areas that were painted are a different color white. I'm not happy with this remedy and I'm not happy that Hyundai refuses to take ownership with ALL vehicles painted in white. This recall should be revised to include all vehicles from 2016 forward instead of skipping one year which just happens to be 2020. Any help is greatly appreciated. The paint is already starting to show signs of coming off in other areas but those won't be considered until it's obvious paint peeling larger than a certain size.
NHTSA complaint #11734970 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the vehicle's liftgate would independently open while idle without warning. The contact stated that while washing her vehicle on an inclined driveway, the liftgate opened without warning. In an effort to avoid being hit by the liftgate, the contact fell to her left side on a concrete driveway. The contact suffered pain and bruises to the left side of her body, with major pain in her left foot. The contact was home alone and managed to drag her body onto a chair before calling her husband for assistance. The contact's husband drove the contact to an urgent care facility, where an X-ray was performed; the X-ray showed no fractures. The facility stated that their equipment was not sufficient to treat her injuries, and they placed a boot on her left leg and referred her to an orthopedic doctor. The contact went to the orthopedic doctor, who performed another X-ray, which showed no fractures. The contact was given another boot; however, the pain remained days after the visit. The contact then went to her pre-scheduled primary care doctor's appointment, where her doctor saw her condition and referred her to another orthopedic doctor. While at her second orthopedic appointment, another X-ray was performed, which also did not show a fracture; however, the orthopedic doctor suggested an MRI scan. The MRI scan showed that the contact had suffered a left heel fracture. The contact also went to another facility for a CAT-scan, which showed that her heel was misaligned and that surgery would be needed to correct the left heel fracture. The contact had surgery for the heel fracture and had the foot wrapped and splinted; the contact was given several medications post surgery. The contact had been scheduled for a follow-up appointment to monitor the heel's progress. In addition, the contact sustained injuries to her left wrist, left buttocks, and left lower calf. Since the injury, the contact has had to use a knee scooter, a walker, and a wheelchair for assistance
NHTSA complaint #11729920 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The door was completely shut - I was driving on the highway - no alarm on the instrument panel, fully stage 2 latched ( even if it is just stage 1 latched - the instrument panel gives an alarm - there was no alarms about door not fully closed) everything was normal. 15 minutes into the drive - I was exiting the highway, making a right hand turn - the door suddenly popped open, alarm went off on the instrument panel - thankfully did not swing open, I was able to hold onto the door. I shut the door again - drove for 200 Miles - no issue again. This was the first ever time I saw this issue at 90K miles
NHTSA complaint #11729290 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving on sunny day, the fixed roof glass located between the windshield and sunroof exploded across the entire width of the glass insert with a very distracting noise.
NHTSA complaint #11727870 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Rear subframe suddenly collapsed and broke due to extreme corrosion. Incident occurred while driving, allowing rear wheel to turn out causing loss of control. Luckily I was traveling at a low rate of speed and nobody was hurt. Found rear subframe was completely rotten out and collapsed on the driver side. Vehicle is now completely undrivable and has to be towed. Found that there was a recall/service program from Hyundai (campaign #947) and my vehicle was affected. I called my local dealership to schedule an inspection appointment regarding the recall. Dealership told me I had to call Hyundai customer care. I called customer care on Tuesday and my claim was escalated. The representative told me that I would be contacted by Hyundai within two days. I have not received any correspondence from the case manager. Called Hyundai Customer Care once more and the representative told me that they can't contact claims representatives directly and I would have to wait until they decide to call me.
NHTSA complaint #11727316 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The trunk hatch is no longer functioning. The car beeps, but does not unlatch. Once the gate is manually open from a latch inside the trunk, it will not close by pushing the gate close button. It just stopped working. I went into the grocery store, and when I returned with groceries, it stopped working. Hyundai says it's out of warranty and will cost $1800 to repair.
NHTSA complaint #11721567 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The roof of my car between the sunroof and the windshield (called panoramic sunroof) shattered as I was driving down the highway. It was about 10:00 pm on a weeknight and there were no cars within sight distance in front of me. When it happened it sounded like a gun shot going off at point blank range and I immediately pulled over and checked for bullet holes. Since it was dark I could not see any damage. Today I took the car and had a small chip fixed in my windshield down by the windshield wipers and the service tech pointed out to me that the roof was shattered. He told me that this happens a lot with this vehicle. So I got online and searched and found a lot of vehicles have reported the exact problem. Down to the sounds of gunshots. So I stopped at my local Hyundai dealership and recorded the conversation. He told me that theres no recalls on this car and It probably shattered by a rock or debris. I told him that when this happened it was late night and no cars within sight in front of me. He didn’t even come out and look at the damage. He said to call my insurance company and I said that is a manufacturer defect and I shouldn’t have to pay for their mistake. When I searched for this on the internet people stated that the dealerships will deny this manufacturer defect and that’s exactly what they said to me. My main concern is that this defect is documented by many vehicle owners from their 2020 vehicles and their Is a recall out for this problem but it stops at 2016 models. In this recall the shattered piece is replaced and there is actually compensation given for people getting scared or dealing with stress dealing with thinking they are getting shot at. I don’t care about any of that. I just want the issue fixed because I did not cause the issue, the manufacturer did. Reason being is that the exact thing is happening to numerous people across the Country. Thank you for your time.
NHTSA complaint #11718307 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle new, it was discovered that all four doors had structural deformities that appeared as dents. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who indicated that the deformities were caused by improper stamping of the doors during the manufacturing process. The contact was concerned that the structural integrity of the vehicle was compromised during the manufacturing process and was concerned about the safety of the vehicle if the vehicle was in a crash. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side door failed to properly open and close due to structural deformities. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000.
NHTSA complaint #11713690 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rear chassis was rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The independent mechanic performed no repairs on the vehicle. The contact stated that while touching the metal parts the parts were disintegrating. The contact stated that the 4x4 failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the abnormal sound was worsening. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.
NHTSA complaint #11704202 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the tailgate and the hood unintendedly lowered after being raised and struck the contact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11699911 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STRUCTURE:BODY:HOOD:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS:SUPPORT DEVICE/STRUT
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the tailgate and the hood unintendedly lowered after being raised and struck the contact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11699911 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was riding on a suburban street and ran over a branch I did not see due to rain and darkness. I went back and looked at the incident and the branch did not seem like it was that big but I quickly lost power and my car stalled and I could not get it restarted. I later found out that that branch took out my hybrid battery connection under the car which rendered the car useless. It is a 5000 fix. I don't know why such an important part is exposed under the undercarriage of an AWD SUV. I was traveling at 27 MPH. If I had been on a highway it would have been very dangerous to have stalled out so fast. Once it was stalled the battery drained very fast from me running my hazards so that the tow truck driver had to jump it to get it to go from neutral to park and my parking brake is electric so I couldn't activate the parking brake either. I would also like to say that the headlights on this car are severely underpowered.
NHTSA complaint #11698379 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.