2025 HYUNDAI SANTA FE HYBRID Complaints

First Incident – XXX Weekend ([XXX]) Accelerating at an on-ramp to a major highway (I-37S) in [XXX], vehicle suddenly lost power. Speed dropped from 60 mph to 45 mph, then 28 mph, in a 65 mph zone during rush hour traffic. No apparent cause: had ¾ tank of fuel, a clean maintenance history, and no prior issues. Managed to reach the shoulder and, after several minutes, able to exit the highway. Vehicle would not accelerate above 35–45 mph and stayed around 30mph, and the hybrid battery showed less than 25% charge. Notified Red McCombs Hyundai (original seller). When a loaner vehicle became available, we brought the Santa Fe in. After a week, the dealership stated they could not duplicate the problem and returned the vehicle to us. Second Incident – XXX ([XXX]) On a planned trip from [XXX] to [XXX], again experienced a sudden and severe loss of power. While merging onto I-10W, in [XXX], the vehicle speed dropped from 80 mph to 60, then 50, then 38 mph. Able to avoid a collision because of an unusually wide median where I could safely stop. Used GPS to find a local Hyundai dealer - Casa Hyundai of [XXX] - and drove there, using surface roads only. Turned vehicle in for maintenance and continued trip using a loaner vehicle. Casa Hyundai reported, days later, that despite logged error messages indicating problem with hybrid system and advising user to immediately stop, they were unable to isolate problem. Third Incident – XXX (Unknown location in [XXX]) Entering I-10E after fuel stop (80mph zone) and accelerating hard on a slight incline, again experienced sudden loss of power, slowing to less than 40 mph. Drove on shoulder for two miles to next exit 284 and stopped w/motor running to recharge. No error codes or warnings displayed on dash. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the instrument panel went blank. The contact was able to pull over safely after the failure. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V047000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not include in the recall. The dealer was contacted by phone. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,900.

While driving, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power on the highway and would not accelerate beyond approximately 20 mph despite accelerator input. There were no warning lights or check-engine light. The condition created a safety hazard because the vehicle could not maintain normal traffic speed. Hyundai dealer has been unable to determine the cause on other vehicles with the same problem, and was trying to discourage me from reporting this. They also said that they'd keep the car for 3 days, and likely return it with no diagnosis, so do I really want to go through this? They seemed unconcerned that this is a very dangerous issue in a highway.

I've had this vehicle for 13 months, and it has roughly 13K miles on it. Since 7/3/26, it has been in the service department at Hyundai of Noblesville on three separate occasions. This all started on 7/3/26 when we were driving on the interstate and out of nowhere the vehicle lost critical power and would not go more than 20 MPH. There was some kind of warning message that momentarily popped up but then disappeared. We were so rattled, we didn't get a chance to take notice of what it said. It was towed to the dealership and they said they cleared the codes and drove it a little and the problem was resolved. It was driving OK and then on 7/15/26, we had just got onto the interstate and there was a sudden loss of power AGAIN. We had it towed to the dealership. They replaced the high pressure fuel pump and assured us that the problem was resolved. Then on 8/29/26, the same thing happened again on the interstate--critical loss of power. Had it towed to the dealership again. This morning, they say that it is the fuel pump railings that are the issue. I have placed a formal Hyundai Corporate Case and I am notifying you of this safety issue which presents major risk to the safety of anyone in the car.

When traveling home from work 8/27/26, my cruise control shut off and my car immediately went into “limp” mode. This almost caused me to get into an accident with a tractor trailer, in which, I may not have survived. Immediately pulled over and tried to find out what had caused this and how to get it fixed. Nothing worked to get it out of “limp” mode. There were no warning lights or messages, except LV3. Which was a completely different issue. This issue I was able to correct. Tried fixing the “limp” mode issue by doing as told by Google AI, turn car off, lock door with key fob, waiting 10-15 minutes for computer to reset. NOTHING. Also tried checking to see if there was a battery dump, in which this case would have been the fuel system not communicating with the hybrid battery system, NOTHING. I do have an appt with the dealership on 9/2/26 to have this looked at and inspected. I have not tried to start and or drive the car again, since. Do not want to be blamed by the dealership or manufacturer, that I did something wrong or caused more issues.

While driving in the evening around 9:00 pm with AC on crash detection lights came on along with other emergency dashboard lights . Speed was limited to 23 miles per hour .

My vehicle randomly slows it self down while driving. I would be pressing the gas and the car would voluntarily slow down on its own with no warning. This problem can lead to plenty of accidents due to me or any other driver around me being unaware when my vehicle will brake on its own. The problem has been confirmed by Hyundai Patterson of Tyler, Texas and they have worked on my car twice to fix the issue and it still hasn't been fixed. The issue started about a month ago and when the incidents would occur in the beginning their would be no warning lights on my vehicle’s dash. As of recently there maybe a check engine light that will pop up when the incident occurs. It's a hit or miss.

Our family was driving on the highway at 55mph (I-495 in Alexandria, VA), the car instantly began to decelerate, despite having my foot completely on the accelerator and we had to limp over to the side of the road onto the shoulder. We had to wait multiple times for the hybrid motor to re-power itself to get off an exit at 10-15 mph. The car is now in "limp mode" and will not drive above 35 mph. This is the 4th time that we have had the same issue occur. Hyundai has provided a different fix each time, but they have yet to find an answer as to why this instant loss of acceleration keeps occuring. In the wrong circumstance. This instant loss of acceleration could be deadly and cause severe injuries to the individuals in the vehicle.

On 08/22/26 at approximately 11:45 AM I was stopped at a traffic light and struck by a Ford Pickup truck whose approximate speed was 45 mph as described in the police officer who witness the accident totaling my Hyundai 2025 Santa Fe. No airbags were deployed. According to the police officer the frame was bent as well. Please see attached vehicles pictures

sudden loss of propulsion / limp mode, particularly under load or at highway speeds.