103 of the
10,385 complaints filed about the Hyundai Santa FE
are about the wheels —
1% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2013.
I am reporting severe safety risks and inspection fraud on my AWD 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe (VIN: [XXX]) caused by Universal Hyundai in Orlando. Inspection Fraud: The dealer falsified safety metrics, marking my brakes as a failing 4mm to push a $659.90 repair (RO# XXX), then passed those exact brakes at 5mm eleven days later (RO# XXX). Tire Malpractice: Mechanics over-inflated my tires to a dangerous 39 PSI and botched the alignment. This caused structural tire belt separation and severe sidewall bulges. The rear tire has suffered rapid, catastrophic deflation, dropping flat to 14.5 PSI and down to an empty 5.5 PSI. Crash & Drivetrain Risk: Operating an All-Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicle with a rapidly collapsing tire and asymmetric alignment forces the wheels to spin at mismatched speeds, creating severe friction that is destroying the internal powertrain transfer case and causing an immediate highway blowout crash risk. The service manager admitted "human error" and issued a full refund but banned my vehicle to avoid an audit. Hyundai Corporate has been notified under Case #XXX but has delayed resolution. Active consumer fraud file logged with the State of Florida under Case XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11749944 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I had a flat tire. When I recently bought the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, I did not think to ask about a spare tire, they have been standard on every car I bought in the past. However, this car did not have one and I had a flat tire. They provide a sealant which is supposed to get you to a tire repair shop to get the tire fixed. That was worthless. Not having a spare is dangerous if you are caught with a flat tire in a remote area with no cell service. In addition, I had to pay $144 to get towed to a tire repair shop to get a $15 repair completed. Common sense has been replaced with greed.
NHTSA complaint #11744626 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I have been fighting this issue now for 2 years, vibration while driving interstate speeds, especially right rear seat. I have had tires replaced twice trying to fix balance issue only to find out that one rim will not road force balance correctly, even with tire matched it only reduced road force balance to 20lbs (30lbs with out match). I have had it at discount tire and Gettel Hyundai of Lakewood ranch, FL several times. Hyundai sent a senior tech to look at tires, did not speak to me to get explanation of my concern, did a balance, got same numbers and said was good to go. My other 3 rims have a max road force of 12lbs without even being matched. This causes vibrations when driving, extra wear and force on the tire and is a safety concern. This rim is the issue and Hyundai refuses to fix it.
NHTSA complaint #11725596 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I purchased a brand new 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy from the dealer and I saw a the tire pressure drop from a normal 36 psi to 32 psi and the vehicle would vibrate. I filled it up right away thinking due to weather. Then, it dropped again after a couple of days to 32 psi and vehicle would vibrate again. I took the vehicle to Costco to get it inspected thinking it's some sort of a slow leak and vibration could be due to 32psi pressure. When Costco tried to repair the tire, the sidewall failed on the tire. Costco said I needed a new tire. When removing another tire, the same thing happened, the second tire sidewall broke as well. I ended up getting all new set of tires, which ended up costing me $1350. They informed me that these are Pirelli's tires and is known to have vibration at high speeds and could develop buldge and shows signs of early deterioration and abnormal wear problems. I found the same thing after doing some research. I provided the Costco report to Hyundai National Consumers affairs along with the pics of the tire. They told me go to the dealer first and upon arriving at Hyundai dealer, they weren't really interested in knowing what happened since I didn't purchase a tire warranty plan. I spoke to Hyundai consumer affairs and they said there's nothing they can do either since I didn't have tire protection purchased from them. This is a brand new vehicle with factory installed tires and for them to just not take responsibility for selecting a poor supplier that is known to have these issues shows they don't care about the customers at all. I have been a long time loyal customer of Hyundai for at least 10 years. This was my 3rd Hyundai vehicle and if they don't resolve this then this will be my last Hyundai vehicle
NHTSA complaint #11720812 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
One of the original OEM tires (Pirelli Scorpion MS KS NCS XL - 245/45R21) had the acoustic dampening foam on the inside of the tire fall apart. Dealership indicated that there was 'no impact damage or modifications found with the tire during inspection; meaning this was likely a manufacturing defect due to adhesion issue. Despite the problem and the fact that this tire has less than 12K miles on it at the time of the incident, the local Hyundai dealership, Hyundai corporate and Pirelli all refused to cover the cost to replace the tire. Hyundai dealer said to file a complaint with Hyundai corporate, Hyundai Corporate said that this was a Pirelli tire warranty issue (no paperwork provided about Pirelli tire warranty at time of purchase) and Pirelli indicated that only the local dealer or an authorized dealer of their tires can submit warranty claims, and that it is contingent upon a Pirelli inspection and prorated based on the remaining tread of the tire. This leaves the consumer in a difficult position having to bear the burden of the tire replacement cost upfront, and little chances of recourse as these 3 parties skirt responsibility of the OEM tire. When the acoustic foam fails, the car shakes violently at high speeds, for us this stats at ~50mph. There is no warning light that appears for this, dealer originally thought this was related to ice build up which did not rectify the problem causing us to have to go to the dealer twice for diagnostics. Online forums seem to point that this acoustic foam adhesion issue is especially common in colder climates. Symptoms of problem first appeared in early January, with full diagnosis confirmed early Feb.
NHTSA complaint #11719072 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Intermittent and variable vibration/shaking at all speeds ranging from mild to severe. Worse when cold. TSB 25-SS-002H-1. Despite multiple balancing attempts (hunter road force balancer) and complete set of tire swap there was no resolution. TSB indicates this is a known abnormality/issue and present across all models. Vehicle inspected by 2 different hyundai dealerships and independent dealership without resolution. Began at 7500 miles and has persisted.
NHTSA complaint #11703429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Ever since I bought by car in 2022 brand new the car has been shaking when I press on the brakes going around 70 mph. I took the car multiple times to the dealership and all they do is resurface the rotos. One time they refused to even look at the car so I called corporate and they got the dealership to do the same thing as before. But still the car shakes. I called corporate and they said to take to dealership to once again get the rotos resurfaced (how many times are they planning to resurface the damn rotors?) I took to dealership because the car was saying it was overheating. They ended up changing the thermostat or something related to it. And I asked them to once again look at the rotors because of the issue. The guy came back and said “we didn’t look at your rotors but you need brakes and that’s $500”. They refused to guarantee me if doing the break job will fix my issue. And I’m fed up. I looked online and as it turns out, the Santa Fe’s have a lot of possible manufacture defects. Such as: -Breaking System (Shudder / Vibration Common Issue) -Cooling System (Common Failures) - Suspension & Steering Components -AWD / Drivetrain (If AWD) -Electronics & Software - TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) Audit - Turbo oil-supply pipe crack / oil leak risk -Fuel-system pipe / fuel-rail hose leak (on certain turbo models -Transmission oil-pump / transmission-system recall (power-train issues) -Rear-view / backup-camera defect (visibility / electronics issue) (this actually did happen to me and they fixed it, but they denied it was a recall when I asked if this was common. So they lied) -Trailer-hitch wiring harness fire-risk recall And possibly more issues I’ve yet to come across other owners having. These are pretty serious issues. Some causing even the car to catch fire. This is extremely worrisome and I need peace of mind. Please help me out Thank you for your time
NHTSA complaint #11702185 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I lease a vehicle (under one year old) equipped with low-profile Pirelli tires. After three months, one tire developed a sidewall bulge. I contacted Pirelli and was referred to Hyundai. The Hyundai dealership advised that Pirelli tires are not covered under Hyundai’s warranty and that Pirelli must authorize any replacement. I was subsequently informed that Pirelli declined coverage.
NHTSA complaint #11680184 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A year after I purchased vehicle the paint started peeling off the wheel. When I took it to the dealership they kept telling me they were still addressing problem and would get back to me. Contacted them several times and they still didn’t have the problem solved. Then the dealership changed ownerships. New dealership says not their problem. And it was too late at this point. I also have the paint on my hood of my car peeling. Both of these problems are gonna be very expensive to repair! I see this is a known problem. Hyundai needs to be accountable. I live in Auburn Al
NHTSA complaint #11651609 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I purchased my 2023 Santa Fe brand new off the show room floor in Jan 2024. After about 6k miles when braking on the highway the entire vehicle would shudder and shake including the steering wheel. I took it into the dealership where I was informed this is a KNOWN ISSUE with this year/make/model with the rotors. They claimed they would turn the rotors but if the issue persists they would replace them. About 2k miles later (apx 2 months) the shuddering happened AGAIN. So I made an apt to get them replaced where the new service tech tried to tell me again this is a KNOWN ISSUE but now I would be responsible for a $250 replacement of the rotors. I refused to pay as they are within the 12k or 1 year warranty and they refused to replace them. That service tech also said the day prior he had to deliver that news to 4 OTHER patrons about the replacement of their rotors. I feel extremely unsafe in this vehicle and the issue is still not fixed as I have a claim in process with the manufacture directly. The claim was put in on 12/7/24 where I was told I would be contacted within 2-3 BUSINESS DAYS by a manager due to my claim being escalated. It is now 12/15/24 and still NO CONTACT from Hyundai. The vehicle shuddering is increasingly worse and worse and I feel very unsafe in this suv.
NHTSA complaint #11630804 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Abs system is randomly locking up calipers causing a dangerous speed wobble. Dealership can't re create so won't diagnose. Have had to replace all brake calipers and components were near new but ruined because of abs applying brakes when unnecessary. Vehicle is very unsafe to drive, pulled hard to left at one point veering me into oncoming traffic. Independent mechanic has made caliper release by manually releasing abs system. Same results were not found by releasing pressure at master cylinder making abs the obvious culprit. No warning lights but I just replaced two cracked rotors on rear at 130k miles. That should not happen. Has caused hub readings of 270 on three different tires at 3 different times. Santa fe has recall on this system for every year but mine, very curious as to why not. If this was not a dealership only part , it might not be such a big issue, but being it is main source of stopping a 4000 lb vehicle, I have concerns. Hyundai dealership was very condescending and of little to no help. I have an Independent are certified mechanic who is happy to talk with you if needed. Please help, as of right now am.making payments on an unsafe vehicle with not much hope of it being fixed.
NHTSA complaint #11606096 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Driving up steep hill to my mom’s house car would not drive up, as it hesitated I pressed gas pedal to no avail. I turned off car, got out & nothing was blocking me. Turned car back on & accelerated, this time it went forward.
NHTSA complaint #11603655 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The rear and drive unit is having issues loud popping sound when driving this is a major safety concern, and seems to be a huge problem across the board as I’ve been reading about on Hyundai forums
NHTSA complaint #11514518 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I live in Roy city utah and i drive a santa fe 2001 and my trailing arm in the rear driver side snaped while i was going 45 mph. when i took it in to a shop to have it looked at they said that my trailing arm had snaped do to the rust corrision under the car. I know that there are recalls on the santa fe for the rear suspention trailing arms but only if you live in a salt belt state and utah is not one of those states and i think it should be because of the salt we use on our roads as well as i live 20 mins from the great salt lake . i have bearly had my car 5 months befor it broke i paid 2000.00$ for it. i guess i didnt fully understand the saltbelt state thing and i called young hayndai in ogden utah and they called a tow truck and had my car towed to the dealer ship they had it like 12 days or something befor they diganosed it. when they said that its not on recal because of the salt belt state thing they are trying to charg me 274.00$ just for them to tell me what i already knew was wrong with it and for the towtruck. because of my broken car i just had lost 2 highpaying jobs and i have no money to pay the dealership so they said that i cant have my car till i pay them then they said that they can only hold my car for 10 days . idont know what to do cause my santa fe was not only my only ride but its where i lived. so now im back to sleeping in the street and i dont know where or what the dealership has done with my car. please help me and order a recall on my santa fe because of the rust from living utah and all the salt here. Thanks for your time.
NHTSA complaint #11513870 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I read the recall on vehicles of my type and it sounds like the issues I have been experiencing. I’m thinking the car was recalled and repaired ineffectively before I got it. The brake fluid is leaking with no obvious fix, I’ve taken it to a few mechanics to check.
NHTSA complaint #11513437 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The Driver's-side rear wheel came completely off the vehicle while traveling at 65 mph on Interstate 75. The vehicle violently swerved into the left lane, and then my wife was able to pull off to the right side of the road. She almost tipped over from the side of the road being on a steep incline. A couple of days before this, the vehicle was at the Hyundai dealership getting a 'Service' where they changed the oil and performed a 'safety' inspection. They did NOT perform the inspection, but lied on the form saying all systems passed. They reluctantly admitted that they didn't do the inspections. There were NO warning lights of any kind before or after the incident, which could have killed my wife.
NHTSA complaint #11470577 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.