2012 Hyundai SANTA FE

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2012 Hyundai SANTA FE has 474 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 5.9x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is engine problems (49% of all complaints), specifically: on thursday mar 22 2012 i was driving my hyundai santa fe se awd with 2400 miles on it in two way down hill road with a speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour than all of sudden without any warning or any sign the car just die on me i tried to turn it back on it did turn on so next day i took it to hyunda. ⚠️ 18 fire reports filed.

18 fire reports 30 crash reports 5 injuries

474

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

5.9x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ENGINE

234 complaints

49%

• ON THURSDAY MAR 22 2012 I WAS DRIVING MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE SE AWD WITH 2400 MILES ON IT IN TWO WAY DOWN HILL ROAD WITH A SPEED OF 20 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR THAN ALL OF SUDDEN WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR ANY SIGN THE CAR JUST DIE ON ME I TRIED TO TURN IT BACK ON IT DID TURN ON SO NEXT DAY I TOOK IT TO HYUNDA
• THE VEHICLE ENGINE STALLED RANDOMLY DURING DRIVING, TOTAL 4 TIMES, ALMOST CAUSING 4 ACCIDENTS. THE DEALER MECHANIC INSPECTED THE VEHICLE BUT COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSES FOR THIS PROBLEM AND THEREFORE WAS UNABLE TO FIX IT, LEAVING THE VEHICLE IN A STATUS WITH TREMENDOUS SAFETY CONCERNS. *TR
• I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, AND NOTICED A TICKING SOUND. OVER 2 MILES IT BECAME PROGRESSIVELY WORSE UNTIL IT WAS A LOUD KNOCKING. I HAD TO EXIT ONE FREEWAY, AND MERGE TO ANOTHER, BEFORE I COULD GET TO AN ACTUAL EXIT. UPON TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO SPEED TO MERGE, THE KNOCK BECAME SEVERE, I LOST COMP

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 14 fire reports💥 6 crashes

“ON THURSDAY MAR 22 2012 I WAS DRIVING MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE SE AWD WITH 2400 MILES ON IT IN TWO WAY DOWN HILL ROAD WITH A SPEED OF 20 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR THAN ALL OF SUDDEN WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR ANY SIGN THE CAR JUST DIE ON ME I TRIED TO TURN IT BACK ON IT DID TURN ON SO NEXT DAY I TOOK IT TO HYUNDA”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

43 complaints

• WHILE DRIVING I SMELLED ELECTRICAL SMOKE, PARKED CAR SHUT OFF ENGINE, OPENED HOOD AND FOUND AN ELECTRICAL MOTOR OF SORTS ON FIRE. *TR
• VEHICLE STALLED AS TURNING INTO DRIVEWAY OF SHOPPING COMPLEX. THE STEERING WHEEL FROZE AS I WAS TRYING TO TURN LEFT. IN THE DASHBOARD, NO LIGHTS ON EXCEPT "MALFUNCTION INDICATOR" LIGHT WAS LIT. RESTARTED CAR AND DROVE ON, THE "MALFUNCTION LIGHT" GOT TURNED OFF, CAME HOME AND THEN CALLED DEALER.
• AT 2 TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS THE CAR ENGINE HAS SUDDENLY STOPPED WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY ON LEVEL GROUND. LOST POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES. CAR RESTARTED IMMEDIATELY. SO FAR DEALERSHIP UNABLE TO REPRODUCE OR HELP WITH PROBLEM. *TR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 3 fire reports💥 3 crashes

“WHILE DRIVING I SMELLED ELECTRICAL SMOKE, PARKED CAR SHUT OFF ENGINE, OPENED HOOD AND FOUND AN ELECTRICAL MOTOR OF SORTS ON FIRE. *TR”

— NHTSA complaint filing

SPEED CONTROL

41 complaints

• DRIVER WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN SANTA FE SUDDENLY SURGED OR LUNGED FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT CAUSING CAR TO JUMP OVER A CONCRETE BUMPER AND INTO ANOTHER CAR PARKED AT A 90-DEGREE ANGLE. AFTER THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION WAS CLEARED DRIVER PROCEEDED TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP. ENROUTE THE SAN
• WHILE CHANGING LANES, THERE WAS A SUDDEN LACK OF RESPONSE WHILE I WAS PRESSING ON THE ACCELERATOR. THIS ONLY LASTED A MILLISECOND BUT WAS ENOUGH THAT I STARTED TO PRESS DOWN TO COMPLETE THE CHANGE WHEN THROTTLE RESPONSE RETURNED. I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES IN THE 3 MONTHS SINCE PU
• I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT, IN FRONT OF A BAKERY, AND STOPPED TO ALLOW A CAR TO LEAVE A PARKING SPOT. I THEN PROCEEDED TO PULL INTO THE VACANT PARKING SPOT AND WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS ACTUALLY GUNNING INTO A HIGHER GEAR, AND AS I WAS PUSHING HARDER DOWN ON THE BRA

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 11 crashes

“DRIVER WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN SANTA FE SUDDENLY SURGED OR LUNGED FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT CAUSING CAR TO JUMP OVER A CONCRETE BUMPER AND INTO ANOTHER CAR PARKED AT A 90-DEGREE ANGLE. AFTER THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION WAS CLEARED DRIVER PROCEEDED TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP. ENROUTE THE SAN”

— NHTSA complaint filing

BRAKES

28 complaints

• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ENGAGED; THERE WAS A DELAYED RESPONSE AND SHE ALSO HEARD A SQUEAKY NOISE. IN ADDITION, THE PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR ABRUPTLY AND THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY CAME TO A STOP. THE FAILURE
• I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT, IN FRONT OF A BAKERY, AND STOPPED TO ALLOW A CAR TO LEAVE A PARKING SPOT. I THEN PROCEEDED TO PULL INTO THE VACANT PARKING SPOT AND WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS ACTUALLY GUNNING INTO A HIGHER GEAR, AND AS I WAS PUSHING HARDER DOWN ON THE BRA
• STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT THE BRAKES FAILED TO WORK. *TR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 7 crashes

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ENGAGED; THERE WAS A DELAYED RESPONSE AND SHE ALSO HEARD A SQUEAKY NOISE. IN ADDITION, THE PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR ABRUPTLY AND THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY CAME TO A STOP. THE FAILURE ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

24 complaints

• DRIVER WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN SANTA FE SUDDENLY SURGED OR LUNGED FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT CAUSING CAR TO JUMP OVER A CONCRETE BUMPER AND INTO ANOTHER CAR PARKED AT A 90-DEGREE ANGLE. AFTER THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION WAS CLEARED DRIVER PROCEEDED TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP. ENROUTE THE SAN
• I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT, IN FRONT OF A BAKERY, AND STOPPED TO ALLOW A CAR TO LEAVE A PARKING SPOT. I THEN PROCEEDED TO PULL INTO THE VACANT PARKING SPOT AND WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS ACTUALLY GUNNING INTO A HIGHER GEAR, AND AS I WAS PUSHING HARDER DOWN ON THE BRA
• THE CAR WAS PARKED ON A SLOPING DRIVEWAY. THE KEYS WERE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION AND THE CAR WAS SHIFTED TO PARK. A 2 YEAR OLD CHILD ALONE IN THE CAR MANAGED TO SHIFT FROM PARK TO NEUTRAL WITHOUT THE KEY BEING IN THE IGNITION OR APPLYING ANY BRAKE PRESSURE. THE CAR THEN ROLLED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY AND

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 2 crashes

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

SPEED CONTROL(~50K mi)

$500

BRAKES(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 474 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ENGINE: ON THURSDAY MAR 22 2012 I WAS DRIVING MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE SE AWD WITH 2400 MILES ON IT IN TWO WAY DOWN HILL ROAD WITH A SPEED OF 20 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR THAN ALL OF SUDDEN WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR ANY SIGN THE CAR JUST DIE ON ME I TRIED TO TURN IT BACK ON IT DID TURN ON SO NEXT DAY I TOOK IT TO HYUNDA
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: WHILE DRIVING I SMELLED ELECTRICAL SMOKE, PARKED CAR SHUT OFF ENGINE, OPENED HOOD AND FOUND AN ELECTRICAL MOTOR OF SORTS ON FIRE. *TR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
SPEED CONTROL: DRIVER WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHEN SANTA FE SUDDENLY SURGED OR LUNGED FORWARD AND TO THE RIGHT CAUSING CAR TO JUMP OVER A CONCRETE BUMPER AND INTO ANOTHER CAR PARKED AT A 90-DEGREE ANGLE. AFTER THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION WAS CLEARED DRIVER PROCEEDED TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP. ENROUTE THE SAN
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
BRAKES: TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ENGAGED; THERE WAS A DELAYED RESPONSE AND SHE ALSO HEARD A SQUEAKY NOISE. IN ADDITION, THE PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR ABRUPTLY AND THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY CAME TO A STOP. THE FAILURE
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)