2023 HYUNDAI SANTA CRUZ Complaints

My new 2023 Santa Cruz lost power on freeway. The dealer performed a transmission software update; however, the issue was significantly worse after the upgrade, causing me to lose power again on a busy freeway. The vehicle was towed back to dealer. Today I was told the transmission needs replacement. Transmission failure is a dangerous safety issue. It’s my understanding that the 2022 Santa Cruz was recalled for transmission issues. Please do the same for the 2023 model so others don’t experience the terror of suddenly dropping power while surrounded by 65 mph+ cars. Thank you.

The dual clutch transmission frequently, though not consistently, malfunctions under acceleration. Typically, when accelerating from a stop, when the transmission shifts from 1st to 2nd gear, the clutch will slip causing a sudden loss of acceleration and shaking of the vehicle. Hyundai calls this a "judder". This causes a safety issue to myself and others because of the unexpected sudden loss of power. If this occurs while crossing another street or pulling out into traffic, it could lead to a collision. I took the vehicle in to Hyundai to have it fixed. They claim to have performed what they called a "judder test" and said that the car passed the test and didn't need any repairs. There have been no warning lights or codes. It is clear to me that Hyundai's testing procedure is inadequate to detect the issue, probably just so they don't have to pay for as many repairs.

My issue was that I would press the gas pedal, but once I got to 20 mph the engine would stop giving power and I couldn’t get up to speed. My top speed was 30 mph, even though I would give it gas to speed up. This was the worst after I would come to a stop at a traffic light. As I pressed the gas to gain speed, it would struggle to gain speed in the middle of the intersection, causing the cars behind me to be frustrated and aggressively tailgate. I was able to find a parking lot, parked and turned the car off for approximately 20 minutes. After that I turned the car back on, I went for a test drive and there was no problem at all. When this all happened no warning lights came on. Very concerned that this will happen again, as I have no clue what triggered this incident. I have reported this to my dealer, but as this just happened today nothing has been inspected.

Upon pulling onto a street, the vehicle lost power. Pressing on the gas pedal provided no power or faster RPM's. No warning lights were activated. I pulled in and out of two different side streets with very little power. Parked and shut off the vehicle. Restarted and the power returned. This is very unsafe as I was pulling out on a busy street and was unable to accelerate faster than 20 mph. Contacted the dealership and they cannot see the vehicle for nearly a month from now.

The most major problem that occurred on 2-3 different occasions is that the emergency braking system activated for no reason on one occasion, almost causing a Rear end collision with a person behind me. No one to my sides, and in front of me on all of the occasions. Headlights on the automatic, setting on a bright sunny day, will turn off and on no change in lighting which annoys other drivers because they think I’m flashing them. After starting the car in Drive the first time I break and then go to accelerate there’s a delay in the acceleration. as well as other times while driving. Today, the back up camera didn’t shut off when shifting into drive like it normally does it didn’t go off until I went into parking pushed the radio button. I’m pretty sure it’s a computer issue

As I was driving the call 4 times has turned off in the middle of the road. An error message pops up and stays to put the car in neutral and to push the start button to start it. This has nearly caused an accident because it happens when I am driving . The vehicle also threw out error code P023600 Twice and had the check engine light on. The service department has not been able to recreate the issue.

coolant temperature gauge keeps fluctuating between midpoint and cold. engine light is on. dealership has no remedy.

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

On May 1, 2023 I pulled my 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz into my garage at about 5pm and fyi It was blustery outside and had been raining & snowing all day. At about 5:15 pm I heard a loud bang followed by another. I looked out the back door and saw that the whole garage was completely engulfed in flames. My garage is attached to my home and the fire spread fast especially with 40 to 50 mile per hour winds feeding it. The only thing we could do was to get out with with our 2 dogs and nothing else. The consensus among fire professionals are that my vehicle started the fire. So here I sit with absolutely nothing!

The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space, the contact crashed into a pole; however, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries and received medical attention. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not diagnosed by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,200. The VIN was not available.