2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

The vehicle has suffered a catastrophic structural manufacturing defect involving a transmission case half seal failure. The transmission is actively seeping/leaking fluid directly from the factory-mated case assembly line seal. This presents a severe, progressive safety hazard. Transmission fluid leaking from the case half migrates along the underbody of the vehicle and directly coats hot exhaust and powertrain components during highway operation. This creates an immediate risk of under-hood smoke, thermal degradation, component stalling, or a potential vehicle fire at high speeds. Certified diagnostic inspection confirms this is a factory assembly defect (defective RTV sealant application or improper factory bolt torque) and not mechanical wear-and-tear or driver neglect. The vehicle currently has 88,000 miles, but the structural failure was first physically documented by a licensed facility at 59,870 miles. The manufacturer (Hyundai Motor America) has currently refused to honor the powertrain failure, forcing the vehicle to remain on the road with an active powertrain fluid leak risk.

NHTSA ID

11753084

Incident

Jun 3, 2025

While accelerating at a light, the accelerator became unresponsive, only propelling the vehicle a couple miles per hour. I was not able to pull over, as I was in the left lane of a very busy road. After about 15 seconds of lack of acceleration, the accelerator responded enough for me to pull over. I’m glad this incident did not occur on a highway, during a turn, or other hazardous situations. Dash displayed, “Check hybrid system. Pull over safely”. There was no indication or issue with the vehicle prior to this. I haven’t had any issues since I bought it several months ago. I’ve read reports of this same issue happening with this same model. I have a scheduled date for inspection.

NHTSA ID

11708867

Incident

Dec 18, 2025

Oil leaking from engine dripping down to floor.

NHTSA ID

11657968

Incident

Apr 23, 2025

Ever since new this suv will periodically hesitate when trying to accelerate. I have almost been rearended numerous times over the last few years do to this issue. I have had the SUV into the dealer and complained about this issue every time and they cannot seem to do anything about the issue. The have update software (or at least said they have) and done other things and it has made NO difference. This issue almost caused a serious accident just this week when I was trying to merge into traffic on I5.

NHTSA ID

11656192

Incident

Apr 20, 2025

vehicle will not change out of EV electric mode and return to gas power causing hybrid battery drains to zero, vehicle loses acceleration, you can push the gas pedal to the floor and you have no acceleration, very UNSAFE when you are in traffic, no power to maneuver or avoid other vehicles quickly if needed, potential for accidents, hybrid system warning lights and alarms go on, have to try and pull over safely, battery will not recharge or takes a very long time to do so, only recourse is to shut vehicle off and restart which seems to reset vehicle, which in turn does not leave any warning lights other than codes on to show dealer, very dangerous to lose all acceleration capacity while in traffic, this has happened multiple times with the latest being today 3/23/25, vehicle is available for you to inspect, have had other powertrain codes issues as well, dealer has replaced fuel pump and erg valve but it does not resolve this hybrid issue, this battery drain issue has occurred multiple times but no resolution, help!

NHTSA ID

11650017

Incident

Mar 23, 2025

Our vehicle continues to experience loss of power driving , on cold days below freezing. When driving normally this hybrid vehicle will be in hybrid mode at a stop, then when accelerating, the ICE engine will not start to assist the hybrid, causing a bare minimum of power to be available, just enough to pull over. On several occasions this has led to very near rear end collisions from the driver's behind. So far I've been able to avoid injury, as I recognize the condition and am hyper attentive to its possible happening. The vehicle handed shown any Check engine warnings until yesterday. As it was dying I pumped the accelerator to see if it would go, latching a TPS out of range code. The condition has been brought to Hyundai Corporate and dealerships with no repair, and no resolution, they say it's fine. This is well documented by others driving Santa Fe Hybrids, and Tucson Hybrids on forums. No one fix has been established, with some dealerships replacing parts, and others no work being done because their scan tool sees nothing. With dozens of recalls for minor inconvenience issues, I do not understand why a recall for this drivability safety issue has not been mandated! These vehicles are defective, and potentially very dangerous. Loss of power, acceleration when others are behind you anticipating you to go, is a real serious danger, not to mention you being stranded in frigid weather. This began happening at 23k miles and continues today with 48k miles on mine. If the vehicle is shut off, then restarted, it is again drivable, until the next happening. One reason Hyundai, says nothing's wrong, and often blames the owners. I can't be without a vehicle, and Hyundai has washed their hands on this, so I'm stuck Hyundai must be forced into an investigation, and a safety recall on this or nothing will be done. How many accidents or deaths are required to get a recall accomplished?

NHTSA ID

11642761

Incident

Feb 13, 2025

When pressing the accelerator from a full stop, the car would either not move at all, idle/roll forward, or unsteadily jerk forward. In addition, the car would brake while driving despite not applying any pressure to the brake pedal. This issue persisted regardless of "drive mode" and no cruise control was in use.

NHTSA ID

11636018

Incident

Dec 21, 2024

Headed to my work ,outside temp 26 deg F, when on hiway entrance ramp, vehicle lost all acceleration. Vehicle is a hybrid, condition no warning lights on dash, vehicle was stuck in EV mode, which the ICE engine would not start to help as normally would do. Hybrid battery began draining very quickly. There was a semi truck right behind me accelerating hard to get on highway .This time I managed to pull over on the debris filled shoulder before the system fully shut down as it has done before with the warning ⚠️ HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE, PULL OVER NOW ! and loud alarm going off. This is a serious loss of total motive power, which I've reported to Hyundai Corporate, and dealerships for repair before, to which they say " we can't duplicate, all systems are fine", and blame me for the problem. Hyundai has washed their hands of this dangerous situation and won't help me. This is the 5th occasion of this problem, I now know from my experience and reading Hyundai forums this issue is wide spread among Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe hybrids, with some places replacing parts, that doesn't fix the issue. I know how to react by pulling over immediately, shut off the vehicle completely, wait... Then restart the vehicle, and so far ,it will drive normal with no codes or warnings after that, until the next random occasion it happens. This is extremely dangerous in cold weather and around other traffic posing a major collision hazard and stranding someone who knows less about this condition. Hundreds have reported this as per the forums, yet no recall or TSB or real fix has been issued by Hyundai.

NHTSA ID

11635034

Incident

Jan 6, 2025

Certain Hyundai vehicles with exterior white paint may exhibit peeling or bubbling on metal body panels: hood, fender(s), roof, door(s), quarter panel(s), and tailgate/trunk. The paint warranty coverage for affected vehicles has been extended to 10 years/unlimited miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use and is valid for original and subsequent owners. The warranty extension does not apply to any vehicle that has ever been declared a total loss or sold for salvage by a financial institution or insurer or has a branded or similar title under any state’s law.

Some Hyundai vehicles with exterior white paint may exhibit peeling or bubbling on metal body panels: hood, fender(s), roof, door(s), quarter panel(s), and tailgate/trunk. The paint warranty coverage for affected vehicles has been extended to 10 years/unlimited miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use and is valid for original and subsequent owners.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN), that have been identified in U.S. vehicles following prior crashes, theft, or non‑certified airbag replacements. These inflators are not approved for use, may rupture during deployment, and have caused serious injuries and fatalities. Please see attached announcement, provided by NHTSA, for more details.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN). These inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehicle manufacturers and have primarily been found in vehicles that previously experienced a crash and underwent airbag replacement using non-genuine parts. These dangerous inflators have ruptured during deployment, posing a serious risk of injury or death due to metal fragments entering the vehicle cabin. To date, Hyundai is aware of three people who have died while driving a Hyundai vehicle with one of these substandard replacement airbag inflators that deployed in what likely would have been a survivable crash. NHTSA has issued a public advisory urging vehicle owners and service professionals to have vehicles inspected if there is reason to believe that a non-genuine replacement airbag may have been installed. Vehicles with salvage or rebuilt titles, prior airbag deployments, or unknown repair histories may present a higher risk. NHTSA strongly cautions against self-inspection by vehicle owners and recommends inspection by trained technicians.

Certain 2021 – 2023 model year Santa Fe, 2021 – 2023 model year Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2022 – 2023 model year Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid vehicles may experience an inoperable horn that may be caused by foreign substances causing internal parts to oxidize. At Hyundai, we are committed to providing vehicles of outstanding quality and value. In an effort to meet this commitment, the warranty coverage for the horn assemblies under these conditions has been extended to 10 years/ 120,000 miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use (whichever occurs first) and is valid for original and subsequent owners.

Some vehicles may have an inoperable horn that may be caused by foreign substances causing internal parts to oxidize. Hyundai is extending the warranty coverage for the horn replacement under this condition to 10 years or 120,000 miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use (whichever occurs first) and is valid for original and subsequent owners. If a horn needs to be replaced, follow the instructions within this Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 26-BE-001H-1 to install the latest design. Please note that any vehicles under 10 years/120,000 miles are covered by this TSB, even if vehicle is with original warranty of 5 years/60,000 miles.