2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Xl Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road, and the contact listened for the abnormal sound. The abnormal sound was persistent. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the engine seized. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that a year prior, an unknown recall notification was received for a special engine warranty program. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a timing chain failure. The contact was informed that the timing chain needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ID

11732932

Incident

Apr 1, 2026

Mileage

80,000 mi

Check engine light came on and then vehicle stalled took to shop and said the engine was needing to be replaced. Looked into issue and seen multiple issues with this engine and happening to a lot of Hyundai engines where vehicles need to get complete new engines

NHTSA ID

11730319

Incident

Apr 8, 2026

Our vehicle had 145,000 miles and all maintenance and repairs performed at Hyundai dealerships. Joseph Airport Hyundai in Vandalia, Ohio replaced the timing chain at a cost of $3500. After replacing the timing chain our vehicle began consuming large amounts of oil (9 quarts over 5000 miles). The dealership has tried several repairs and the vehicle still continues to consume the same amount of oil. We now have 160,000 miles on the vehicle and need to always carry a 5 quart container of oil so it doesn't run low. This never happened until we had the timing chain replaced.

NHTSA ID

11700732

Incident

Mar 24, 2025

Two bolts flew out of the CCVT system, blowing a hole in the valve cover and destroying all the timing components. Because of the issue, all oil spilled from the car. The other two bolts in the system were bent as well. I was driving the vehicle when this happened and could’ve been seriously hurt. I now need a new engine.

NHTSA ID

11697217

Incident

Oct 10, 2025

On [XXX], the check engine light came on in my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The dealership diagnosed a complete engine failure requiring full replacement. The vehicle has only 54,000 miles. The dealer submitted a warranty claim to Hyundai, but Hyundai denied it because I could not provide receipts for every oil change, despite the fact that the vehicle has been responsibly maintained. An appeal to Hyundai’s goodwill department was also denied. This sudden and premature engine failure poses a serious safety risk. Engines from this generation (Lambda II / GDI family) are known to suffer from rod bearing failure, oil consumption, and sudden seizure. If this failure had occurred at highway speed, it could have led to loss of power, stalling, or an accident. Numerous owners have reported similar engine failures in 2016–2019 Santa Fe models at relatively low mileage, and Hyundai has already issued recalls and warranty extensions for related engines. This indicates a potential widespread defect that may not be adequately addressed. Requested Action: I am asking NHTSA to investigate Hyundai’s engine failures in the 2019 Santa Fe XL, review Hyundai’s denial of warranty coverage for vehicles experiencing these failures, and consider expanding existing recalls/warranty extensions to include this model. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11691250

Incident

Sep 22, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the engine compartment, with the check engine warning light illuminated. Upon inspection, the contact discovered oil leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the rod bearings had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000

NHTSA ID

11690937

Incident

Oct 2, 2025

Mileage

91,000 mi

The car died out of nowhere and seized the engine. The engine is blown. I have receipts of the No check engine or oil light had came on, even up to the point of failure. The car was towed to a dealership where they confirmed this to be the case. The car's oil was checked prior to the trip and was at the full line, after the 30 mile journey, the car had used roughly 2qts of oil and was at the low level.

NHTSA ID

11590740

Incident

May 23, 2024

On [XXX], 2024 I brought my car in for a recall that the dealership called me and advised me that I needed to get it done so I brought it in and mentioned that it was hesitating a little bit so they did the inspection and found out I needed oil They proceeded to tell me there was sludge and oil or something like that and they did an oil flush twice $600 later everything should be fine as I turn my back to walk out after paying I was told to listen for any noises so I was concerned for noises because what they did just may not be the fix. so fast forward a week and a half later I hear a subtle noise in the engine and make an appointment for [XXX]. Bring the car in to the Staten Island Hyundai dealership and was treated like a criminal with my own car! They kept on saying customer neglect and that I may need a new engine and it has to go to corporate so nothing‘s gonna happen. It’s cause it’s the weekend and I expected to hear something on Monday but weeks by and not hear nothing until they need more oil change records the last record they have was at 36,000 miles apparently they think I never took it anywhere else so they wanted anything after that and then later on after I submitted that they denied my engine replacement because I didn’t submit anything prior to that anything prior to that would’ve been cleared and it wouldn’t show customer neglect because they do the multipoint inspection every time you walk in the dealership so I was neglecting the car. Why did they not find anything on it? Keep in mind that the oil light never went on there was no oil leak and the engine light never went on so there was no indication that anything was wrong with this car until we heard subtle noise and Hyundai dealership on Staten Island told us we needed a replacement and so this has been going on for two months now and I’ve been calling places trying to get an engineering placement with no luck. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11589837

Incident

Feb 16, 2024

The engine seized with no warning. We had our camshaft replaced six months prior that was covered by our extended warranty. Hyundai dealer was tracking oil consumption issue prior to repair and notice consumption was increasing. We had three oil changes from November through April. Our last oil change was on 3.25 and engine seized 1,200 miles later. Hyundai offered to cover 60% of the $22,000 engine replacement. We were told that we would need to cover the cost ($2,200) for our Hyundai dealer to break down the engine for our extended warranty to inspect. Unfortunately, they have all but guaranteed that they would deny coverage due to carbon being present in the piston. We are left to cover the cost or junk our car.

NHTSA ID

11588781

Incident

May 4, 2024

Mileage

120,848 mi