2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Engine Problems

With my 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL, at Cold start the coolant gage on the digital cluster always shows 2-3 bars on the gauge and once the vehicle is put into drive (at least 30-45 seconds start up), the coolant gauze immediately increases in temperature reading without full drive (15 feet after gear placed in Drive). This may be improperly reading the coolant temperature and the OEM thermostat may be defective from manufacturer build. This can cause improper cooling and increase engine failure due to overheating.

NHTSA ID

11752272

Incident

Jul 22, 2026

I was merging onto the highway and the acceleration stopped working and the vehicle would not go more than 25 mph. Had to restart car in shoulder, isue seemed to self correct but then it happened 10 minutes later stranding me in between the highway and exit ramp. This was a huge safety issue and myself and others lives were at risk. I am bringing the vehicle in for inspection but this seems to be a recurring hyundai issue. There were no warnings that came on. The auto mode on the dash went from green to an amber color. When i restarted the vehicle nothing changed. After the second time it occurred a check engine light came on.

NHTSA ID

11750041

Incident

Jul 12, 2026

When the car is off and in park and you go to turn on the car on by pressing the brake and power button button, the electrical system doesn't register and wont turn the ignition on and the brake gets stuck and you cant start the car. The same thing happens when the cars auto ignition is turned off at a red light then you press the gas to go but it doesnt show the gear is in drive and the ignition turns off and wont turn back on. The major safety concern is when this happens at a red light or in traffic and my car stalls and I am at risk of getting rear ended. I have taken the car to the dealership twice now for the same issue. The first time they claimed it was fixed but it wasnt and now it is at the dealership again for the same issue and I have not received any remedy yet. There is no warning to this issue it happens out of know where and is extremely dangerous. The issue has been going on for several months.

NHTSA ID

11732250

Incident

Apr 18, 2026

When making a right turn from a complete stop, the vehicle intermittently exhibits noticeable hesitation and reduced acceleration compared to normal straight-line launches. This has occurred approximately 5–6 times. The delay in power delivery creates an unsafe condition when merging from on-ramps into higher-speed traffic, as the vehicle does not accelerate as expected. This mismatch between expected and actual acceleration can lead to misjudgment of traffic gaps. No warning lights or diagnostic messages have appeared. The issue appears intermittently and specifically during right-turn launches from a stop.

NHTSA ID

11722281

Incident

Aug 8, 2025

Vehicle was not driven for 2 days. The check engine light is one and says "active airflap issue" the flaps appear to be open when a/c is on and closed when vehicle is off. There is no debri or anything arount the air flaps. This could cause potential overheating and should not happen in a years time. We travel for my husband's job and this could be very dangerous. We thought we were buying a new RELIABLE vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11689964

Incident

Sep 26, 2025

this truck has repeatedly gone in for service over 6 times for multiple issues. The worst issue which they cannot fix is the vehicle going into limp mode while driving . Loosing all acceleration then racing on its own . This is a very dangerous problem when on the highway.hyundai service keeps telling me that the diagnostic is not showing a problem. This can be caused due to many things including transmission electrical or computer problems. I have reported to the office of consumer affairs and they claim hyundai dealership in myrtle beach has not responded to them. meanwhile i am driving in a very scary situation not knowing when this will occur. This happens at random times with no warning. This has happened at least 10 times in the last few months.

NHTSA ID

11664524

Incident

May 30, 2025

Vehicle has about 4k miles. Received “transmission system error, check transmission oil immediately”. The vehicle barely drives. Has a hard time changing gears. Hyundai says there are no recalls and are not being helpful in getting help. They say everything is fine but it is clearly not working. Brand new vehicle and cannot get it fixed.

NHTSA ID

11657034

Incident

Jan 19, 2025

Transmission. Less than 6 months of buying the vehicle, Hyundai replaced the transmission and now I’m still having problems..it revved up to 2.3 rpms but didn’t change gears then jerks into gear..not everyday but atleast once a week. I’m waiting now on the dealership to look at my car now..but they’re dragging their feet.

NHTSA ID

11642945

Incident

Sep 30, 2024

The issue I have is related to the transmission and exactly what is outlined in the Hyundai Santa Fe recall 236. My car was not included in that recall though. But the problem is exactly the same.

NHTSA ID

11618549

Incident

Sep 9, 2024

While the car was in park, we used the auto start feature to get the A/C going as we walked to the car. We heard a loud popping sound then shut the car off. My husband looked under the hood to look around for what could have made the noise and asked me to start the car. When I did, the car started moving forward on it's own with my husband standing in front of it and our 3 kids in the car to witness, which was scary but fortunately nobody was hurt and we were parking and not in traffic. I was able to use the brakes to get it to stop moving. We drove it about a mile and when attempting to put it in park, it prompted me to use the parking break because the Park function wasn't available. When I attempted to put it in drive, it flashed through all of the gears before saying, "Shift gear malfunction" then "Service Immediately." I used the parking break and was able to turn the car off after a few attempts of it going into accessory mode. This was 30 days after purchasing the car brand new with 10 miles on it leaving the lot. We found the safety recall posted online on July 8th, but were not informed by the dealership.The dealership didn't have a loaner to provide, so we had to pay out of pocket for a rental car for 7 weeks before they finally provided a loaner for the final week before it was repaired 60 days later. We were told there was no ETA on when the parts would be received, but we had to call the Service Advisor or go in person because they were not responsive by phone or email. The transmission, software and battery were replaced. We are pursuing a buyback. No consumer of a new vehicle should be expected to pay their car payment for a new vehicle while also renting a car. Our reimbursement from Hyundai's Corporate office is still pending. The official safety recall notices came within the last week of the repairs being completed.

NHTSA ID

11613194

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, there was water leaking into the cabin of the vehicle from underneath the instrument panel onto the accelerator pedal. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the engine and outside the vehicle were extremely hot, and the temperature gauge had malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 100.

NHTSA ID

11605722

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

Mileage

100 mi

Shuddering/shaking when driving. Whether or not when accelerating. Turn vehicle on and it jolted and died but would start up again after a few minutes.

NHTSA ID

11600293

Incident

Jul 1, 2024