2026 Hyundai Santa FE: problems, recalls and reliability
4 recalls and 36 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is forward collision avoidance (17% of complaints).
Data updated weekly · 12 new complaints in the last 90 days · latest recall Apr 2026
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 36 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“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.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control,Unknown Or Other,Fuel/Propulsion System · Aug 2026
“Depending on the angle of the vehicle and the sun, around the heads up display the sun will reflect off of the plastic causing a thick bar of light on the windshield. This can make it very hard to see while driving and is right in the line of sight. Brought the car to the dealership and was able to reproduce it under the right conditions with another vehicle of the exact same model. In attached photos, it shows the glare in 3 different spots. It's all depending on the angle of the sun and vehicle but it's all across the heads up display.”Owner report · Visibility/Wiper · Jul 2026
“I had a flat tire. When I recently bought the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, I did not think to ask about a spare tire, they have been standard on every car I bought in the past. However, this car did not have one and I had a flat tire. They provide a sealant which is supposed to get you to a tire repair shop to get the tire fixed. That was worthless. Not having a spare is dangerous if you are caught with a flat tire in a remote area with no cell service. In addition, I had to pay $144 to get towed to a tire repair shop to get a $15 repair completed. Common sense has been replaced with greed.”Owner report · Wheels · Jun 2026
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“Driving down the road and the sunroof just exploded. No rock, no nearby cars that could have kicked something up. Just crumbled in.”Owner report · Visibility/Wiper · Jun 2026
“The cruise control was set at 75 mph and we were driving down the interstate when the engine suddenly lost power and shut off. This happened with no warning and no warning lights activated. Several days later, we were driving down the interstate with the cruise control set at 72 when the engine again lost power and shut off. We were able to get the car to move again both times by shutting off the cruise control. No warning or warning lights activated either time the engine lost power. We were very lucky not to get hit by oncoming traffic both times the engine shut itself down.”Owner report · Forward Collision Avoidance · Jun 2026
“Driving at 70 mph on interstate, driver adjusted hands on steering wheel and accidently pulled both paddles, shifting car into neutral. Fortunately, there was little traffic, and the driver was able to move to the side of the interstate, out the car into park and shift back to drive. This was highly dangerous. Losing control of the vehicle while traveling at 70 miles an hour could have resulted in death. This feature is completely unnecessary in a family SUV and is going to cause an accident.”Owner report · Steering,Power Train · Jun 2026
“While driving, the sunroof glass of the vehicle exploded/shattered with no known trigger, force or debris striking the glass. At the time no risk to myself as the sunroof shade was closed. I am in the process of getting this inspected and repaired.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · May 2026
“The back windshield of my 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe just exploded outwards. The vehicle hasn't been moved or driven today. The glass exploded out the back and shot over 18 ft away. There has been no change in temperature it is 70°. It was terrifying and came out of nowhere there were no cracks or chips in the back windshield. I'm so glad we were off to the side when this happened or it would have caused serious injuries.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · May 2026
“The right side power captain seat in the second row began to fold down without the button being pressed. It happened with and without the seatbelt plugged in. It came down while my toddler was in her rear facing car seat and began to crush the car seat and push on her feet. The chair would not stop the power seat motors even with both my wife and myself pushing back on the seat trying to free our daughter from the car seat. It continued to push down the moment there was more space to collapse. No errors or messages or engine lights of any sort were displayed anywhere. Even after removing our daughter it happened several times again.”Owner report · Electrical System,Seats · May 2026
“There has been an active recall on the front seat belts of Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles for almost a month. I scheduled an appointment online to have this fixed and was called by the dealership to let me know that there is currently no way to fix this. According to what I have read online, letters won't begin going out from Hyundai regarding the recall until June 2026. That is a very long and unacceptable time for people to drive cars with malfunctioning seat belts. Hyundai needs to be forced to do something sooner regarding this issue.”Owner report · Seat Belts · Apr 2026
When filing, owners marked a crash in 0 of these complaints and injuries in 1 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 4 campaigns
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2026 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Santa FE by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2026 Hyundai Santa FE reliable?
NHTSA has 36 owner complaints and 4 recall campaigns on record for the 2026 Hyundai Santa FE. The most complained-about area is forward collision avoidance (17% of complaints).
Does the 2026 Hyundai Santa FE have open recalls?
4 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:side/window:curtain. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.