2017 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

This is a 2017 Santa Fe Sport with pearl white paint. The paint has peeled in 5 different spots on the car. I have taken it in 2 different times to have it repainted. It was told many times by the service people that this is a known issue to Hyundai but that corporate wouldn't do anything about it. The first time, the dealership completely covered the costs of the paint job in good faith since it was out of warranty. The second time, I was required to pay 5% of the paint job. End of February 2023, I received a letter from Hyundai corporate acknowledging an issue with the paint. They extended my warranty coverage 6 years from the date of purchase...so I had 2 months (until April 2023) of extra coverage. Does not seem like too much of an "extended warranty". This is a known issue yet it is barely being taken care of by Hyundai. They need to stand behind their products. I should also state that currently, I have 3 more spots where the paint is peeling and I need to take it in...again...for the third time.

Two weeks ago, I heard a noise when we started our Santa Fe but the car continued to run and no warning lights were on the dash. The day after I heard the noise, I was driving and the car suddenly stalled - fortunately, I was on a side road but had I been elsewhere I could have easily caused an accident and been a danger to myself and others. I was going 30 MPH and looked down to see my car said 0 MPH so I pulled off the road. My car had no warning lights at all prior to the stalling but once I stalled, the check engine light came on. All my electrical continued to work. We had the car towed to our usual auto mechanic who told us our engine had failed but they believed our issue was under a Hyundai recall. We had our vehicle towed to the closest Hyundai service center, but they denied that our VIN was under the recall despite our car being the exact make, model and month of manufacturing the recall stated. Attempts to speak to Hyundai corporate resulted in the same denials. So now, with no warning, my 6 year old, barely used car has a completely dead engine through no fault of our own. Our car was regularly maintained by our local auto mechanic. Our car is currently sitting at the Hyundai service center after being quoted over $17,000 to replace the engine.

I was driving on the highway in a mountainous area going downhill. The cruise control was on with the speed set at about 80 miles/hour. Then the car was losing speed, the RPM needle started swinging from left and right. I stepped on the accelerator but the car continue losing speed to 40 miles/hour and continue losing speed. I turned on the emergency light to warn the other drivers and was able to move the car to the shoulder and stopped it without an accident. But the cars behind me could have smashed into my car that day and that would be the last day for my mother (in the car at that time) and me. The car had 41000 miles on it and we had the maintenance done just recently. I did not notice anything else abnormal before the incident. We reported the problem to the dealer and have to pay for the dealer to inspect the car. The inspection has been scheduled but not done yet.

The left rear brake caliper broke off and was hanging next to the wheel. The brake fluid was leaking and had leaked out. it is available for inspection. This occurred while driving home from an errand. Had it occurred earlier on a steep hill down the mountain, the results would have been catastrophic, probably resulting in loss of life. The vehicle has yet to be inspected by the manufacturer but will be soon. No warning lights just noise of caliper banging against car and loss of brakes. Event occurred close to home problem discovered there.

I was driving with my 2 children in the car, and with no warning there was a loud pop noise and lots of smoke came out of the hood I had to pull over as quickly and safely as I could. The car died and would not come back on. Mechanic advised that the rod went through the engine block. I took the car to the dealer after seeing on line that the same year make and model had the same thing happening to the point the cars have caught on fire. I have taken very good care of all of my vehicles she had an oil change every 7k miles on Synthetic oil. I was told the recall was in the 4 cylinder engine and i have the 6 cylinder engine. It is the same exact thing that happened to the 4 cyclinder engine and having all the mechanical reciepts showing that the car was taken care of per service miles.

Car lost power, and engine has catastrophic failure. Needs new engine, has 74k miles on it!

My engine had been using oil at a very fast rate and I was just told that hyundai consume a lot of oil. I have had this car since 77k miles and have issues ever since I bought it. At first I had issues with it not accelerating on the interstate and then it would randomly stop while I was driving, almost like a car hiccup. I took it to the dealership, and other car shops and no one found anything wrong. Finally two weeks ago, I was on I85 and my car was driving really roughly and idling roughly as well. No lights came on until it started to decelerate on the interstate to 30 miles an hour and I had to pull off to the side of the road. Then a bunch of different lights came on and I turned it off and it wouldn't turn back on. I had it towed to the dealership, and they stated I had a bad engine, and Hyundai may replace it but it will take the shop 4-6 months to even take the engine apart to see whats happening. I'm out of a car for at least 4 months probably more, and there is nothing I can do. The mechanic is thinking there is an issue with the bearing.

1. Over several documented and undocumented times since July 2021, this vehicle has consistently lost >1 quart of oil every 1k miles. 2. This issue has been confirmed by the dealerships involved several times. 3. It is identified as the Theta engine failure. It began in 2012-13 and has been a constant for Hyundai and Kia models for 7 years. 4. There were no warnings from the initial ignition vehicles system check or at any time while operating this vehicle. Even when the engine loss was measured at about 4 qts. 5. This vehicle has been through 2 complete "oil consumption" programs that measure the oil loss during three consecutive 1K mile periods. Also it has had 2 "combustion cleanings" after which a follow up 1k mile oil check found that it still lost >1 qt of oil. 6. The failure of this engine is always a concern. I have personal and anecdotal testimony of what can happen with the failure of this engine. My wife and I are both in our 70's. We are also helping our 26 year old grandson with various transportation requirements. He has spastic dysplasia cerebral palsy and is unable to walk without a cane or walker. Longer distances require a wheelchair. We cannot push that wheelchair, we cannot carry him. We are in trouble if this engine fails and we are miles from home. Also, the vehicle under went the required ECM UPDATE as required by the NHTSA at 39843 miles on January 11, 2019. This update required the installation of a module that would decrease the RPM'S of the engine if there was a failure. There are horror stories on various FB Group pages about the terror of being on a 70 mph road, in the middle lane, when the engine fails and goes immediately to 35 mph. I have a personal friend who experienced that on I-95 in Maryland and was petrified. 6. Finally, after speaking with various Hyundai Service employees, I feel that I was mistreated after the first process. When my SUV lost >1 qt after 1K miles after the cleaning, I should have gotten a new engine.

Engine started making a loud ticking sound about a year ago. No check engine lights and no oil lights. Brought it into Liberty Hyundai in Ramsey, NJ. They flushed the system for $200 and said there was nothing else that had to be done. Then Jan 2023 oil warning light comes on. Checked oil and it was full. Brought it to Paramus, NJ Hyundai and they replaced the oil sensor for $1600. Still said everything was okay. Car is still not sounding right with 74,0000 miles.

The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine and oil pressure warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle experienced rough idle. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V578000 (Engine And Engine Cooling), however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 162,000.