2026 Hyundai Santa FE problems, complaints & recalls

2026 Hyundai Santa FE recalls (4)

• Recall 26V218000Apr 6, 2026294,448 vehicles
  SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

  Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Hyundai Ioniq 6, 2023-2026 Genesis G90, 2024-2026 Hyundai Santa Fe, and Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid vehicles. The driver and passenger seat belt anchors may detach.

  Risk: A detached seat belt anchor will not adequately restrain the seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and reinforce or replace the seat belt anchors, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning May 29, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and Genesis customer service at 844-340-9741. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 298 and 032G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov April 8, 2026.

• Recall 26V047000Jan 26, 202641,651 vehicles
  ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

  Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."

  Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.

• Recall 25V809000Nov 20, 2025258 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN

  Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Tucson, 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2026 Genesis GV70 vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not have been installed properly, which can cause the air bags not to deploy as intended.

  Risk: Side curtain air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.

  Remedy: Dealers will reinstall the side curtain air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning December 29, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 289 and 029G. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on November 22, 2025.

• Recall 25V549000Aug 25, 202529 vehicles
  ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:CRITICAL FASTENERS

  Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson and Santa Fe vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power and engine damage, possibly resulting in an oil leak.

  Risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash. An oil leak in the presence of hot engine components can increase the risk of an engine compartment fire.

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 281.

Recent 2026 Hyundai Santa FE complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Sep 13, 2026SCOther / Unknown

   Rear Back Up Camera Had Moisture In The Lenses Making The Rear Back Up Assist Worthless. Nearly Caused Multiple Collisions While In Revers.

   NHTSA complaint #11763931 · source
2. Filed Sep 6, 2026NJWheels & Tires

   Size 245 / 45 R 21 It's already my second tire thta gets a bubble on the side wall without any know crash One tire blew mid driving for no apparent reason on less than 10K miles I recommend you recall all those tires they are dangerous

   NHTSA complaint #11762478 · source
3. Filed Sep 3, 20265,100 miOKEngineTransmission & Drivetrain

   The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. The failure occurred mostly while making a left turn and while accelerating from a stop and continued for 10-seconds before self-correcting. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was almost a crash during the failure. The failure was not self-corrected after one failure. The vehicle was turned off…

   NHTSA complaint #11761943 · source
4. Filed Aug 19, 2026FLOther / Unknown

   TAKE A BREAK" - the feature prompts the driver to “Take a Break” with that text and a‘Coffee Cup” logo after a certain period of continuous driving. There are instances when turning it off is necessary and Hyundai has removed that option - high distracting false alarm rate. The alert, visual and auditory are intrusive, unnecessary, demonstrate a high false alarm rate leading to frustration and distraction. While designed as a safety feature, it has the opposite effect. The…

   NHTSA complaint #11758055 · source
5. Filed Aug 18, 2026AZWheels & Tires

   FORMAL SAFETY COMPLAINT – REPEATED SIDEWALL BUBBLES IN PIRELLI SCORPION MS TIRES Vehicle: 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy Tires: Pirelli Scorpion MS Size: 255/45 R20 I am submitting this complaint because I am extremely concerned about a recurring and potentially dangerous tire problem involving my nearly new 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy. The vehicle is equipped with Pirelli Scorpion MS 255/45 R20 tires. Within only four months of ownership, the first tire developed a…

   NHTSA complaint #11757804 · source
6. Filed Aug 15, 2026AKElectrical System

   This vehicle constantly pops up an alert to "consider taking a break" on the dash. It mutes everything else and causes a distraction. This vehicle was operated at normal highway driving conditions. THERE IS NO WAY TO DIABLE THIS. After looking online there is a reddit post from 2 years ago where this first came into effect and people have been complaining about it constantly. This is a genuine safety concern as any unexpected change or alert causes the driver to look away…

   NHTSA complaint #11757081 · source
7. Filed Aug 3, 2026AZFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionOther / UnknownAcceleration & Cruise Control

   Over the past month, on two occasions my vehicle has emitted gasoline fumes filling my garage, and today my interior cabin smelled like gasoline. Additionally, after warming up, my vehicle experiences acceleration drop/stuttering when accelerating after idling. This happens every day. I took the car to two dealerships (San Tan Hyundai and Chapman Hyundai Scottsdale) and they weren’t able to diagnose the issue.

   NHTSA complaint #11754586 · source
8. Filed Jul 10, 2026TXBrakesDriver Assistance & Safety TechSuspension

   I left work and my car pulled back I looked at my dash I just saw all the lights on indicators telling me I may stop or not I was so scared I live 45 mins from my job and this isn’t the first incident after the second day I bought this brand new car my low oil light came on and the dip stick was dry on a brand new car the following day and from that point on my car is like a magnet and pulls to the right lane to another car this is causing me PTSD I BEGGED my husband to…

   NHTSA complaint #11749658 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology