2017 Hyundai Santa FE
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 967 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 25 Santa FE model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 14 involved a crash and 23 involved a fire. 18 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideFeb 3, 2022
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Santa Fe, 2017-2018 Santa Fe Sport, 2019 Santa Fe XL, and 2014-2015 Tucson vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module could malfunction and cause an electrical short, which could result in an engine compartment fire.
An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS multi-fuse, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 31, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 218.
Campaign 22V056000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engineSep 20, 2017
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2017 Santa Fe vehicles equipped with 3.3L engines. The crankshaft assemblies may have been produced with surface irregularities in the crankshaft pin, causing engine bearing wear.
The engine bearing wear may cause the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Hyundai will notify all owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the engine, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 168.
Campaign 17V578000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, hood, latchJun 5, 2017
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch actuating cable may corrode and bind, causing the secondary hood latch to remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.
If the hood is not securely closed or the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the secondary latch cable, free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owner's may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for the recall is 163.
Campaign 17V358000 on NHTSA.gov
Tires, pressure monitoring and regulating systemsMar 6, 2017
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2017 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The affected vehicles have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that may not have been set in the correct mode during vehicle assembly, and therefore will not provide an appropriate warning in the event of an underinflated tire. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."
An underinflated inflated tire can increase the risk of a crash.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the TPMS sensors, free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for the recall is 159.
Campaign 17V142000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, wiringNov 21, 2016
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Tucson vehicles manufactured May 19, 2015, to November 14, 2016, and 2017 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured November 28, 2015, to November 14, 2016. The affected vehicles may be equipped with an accessory trailer hitch wiring harness that, due to a malfunction of the tow hitch module, may result, in the trailer brake lights being constantly illuminated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
If the trailer brake lights stay illuminated while being used, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected accessory trailer hitch wiring harnesses, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 13, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 153.
Campaign 16V842000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, front, warning light/devicesMar 10, 2016
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured September 1, 2015 to February 12, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the wires in the front seat belt buckle harnesses may be damaged by the seat's height adjuster mechanism, resulting in a failure to provide an audible warning when front seat occupants do not fasten their seat belts. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Without a warning to remind the front seat occupants that their seat belts are not buckled, they may forget to buckle their seat belt, increasing their risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and reroute the wires in the front seat belt buckle harnesses to their proper locations, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 27, 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 141.
Campaign 16V145000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
967 reports, newest first.
Engine, May 22, 2023
Just had oil changed, and accelerating onto highway when the check engine light came on and a loud knocking in the engine, with no acceleration. A semi truck had to swerve to miss me due to lack of acceleration. Took it to my mechanic who said there were 6 recalls on this vehicle, one of which was a cam rod failure. Based on the codes the computer was showing, he said it was a manufacture issue on recall notice 17-01-071, for campaign 168 for 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. It only has 98000 miles. No engine, should ever fail with that many miles. I have had several vehicles, and not one has ever had any engine problems, and they all had 200000 + miles. This is clearly a manufacture defect, and I will be fighting this.
Engine, May 22, 2023, crash
The car's engine oil indicator does not turn on. I noticed a drag in the engine while driving, checked the oil and it was really low. I got an oil change. I noticed it again and this time there was no oil left in the engine. No light had gone on at all. It has been only less than 3 months since the oil was changed, I added oil and called hyundai. It has been nearly impossible to get my car looked at by Hyundai or have them look at the issue as there are no appointments available when this happened. It happened again recently. I am concerned that this will cause my engine to have issues. Today, I looked this problem up on the internet and found that there is a recall for this exact issue by the manufacturer, but not on my model/year. How do I get protection? Yes my car is available for inspection if needed.
Engine, May 22, 2023
I was traveling to work Monday (5/15/2023) morning when I noticed a knocking/vibrating sound coming from my front end. Within a minute my car had shut off/broken down. I was coming up to a red light and was breaking, before I could fully stop the light turned green and as I proceeded to put my foot back on the gas I realized my car was not accelerating, only coasting. I looked down and saw every light on the dashboard on and realized my car was “off”. Previous to the car breaking down there was no warning lights. I pulled over to the side of the road where I pressed my push start button and nothing happened. I then noticed the engine was smoking so I got out, popped the hood and noticed a burning smell. I immediately stepped away because I thought it was going to catch fire. I then called my insurance provider for a tow back to my home. Once home we checked the oil and noticed there was none in there, even with recent oil change. We poured oil in, in hopes that it would turn on, it did not. The engine is blown. Called Hyundai customer care that Tuesday to start the process of seeing if they’ll replace the motor because this is an extremely common and dangerous issue with these engines. They told me I have to wait 6-8 weeks for someone to come out and even inspect my vehicle. That’s where I’m at now!
Engine, May 17, 2023
On May 7th 2023, engine failure occurred on my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe while accelerating up to speed on minor arterial roadway with speed limit of 55 miles per hour. Engine cut out at about 6,000 rpm and check engine light flashed on. After pulling over, the engine exhibited clunking sound when trying to slowly accelerate to move onto tow truck. No warning lights for low oil or otherwise appeared prior to the engine failure despite mechanic reporting after the fact only 1 quart of oil was in the vehicle at the time of engine failure (should have been 5 quarts). Mechanic (Allies Automotive) described the engine as irreparable as an interior rod "buckled". Vehicle was not leaking oil and was regularly maintained every 5-7k miles with synthetic oil changes and routine maintenance tune-up services completed at or prior to dealer-recommended maintenance schedules including latest 100k milestone tune-up. Vehicle only had 117k miles at the time of the incident and was in excellent condition inside and out with an estimated re-sale value of approximately $14k. I was VIN:[XXX] The closest recall information related i could find would be that of NHTSA campaign 17V578000 (Hyundai recall No. 168) which applied to 2017Hyundai Santa Fe Vehicles produced between Jan 26th 2017 and Feb 13th 2017. When i search by my VIN I don't see it recall 168 come up; despite the engine failure appearing to match the description. Hyundai stated would not replace engine. Summary Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2017 Santa Fe vehicles equipped with 3.3L engines. The crankshaft assemblies may have been produced with surface irregularities in the crankshaft pin, causing engine bearing wear. Remedy Hyundai will notify all owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the engine, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at [XXX]. Hyundai's number for this recall is 168. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Power train, Engine, May 17, 2023
Without any notification from a malfunction indicator light, there was a sudden knock followed by loss of power. Luckily I was on a country road and not on the highway 99 where congested traffic could have been a hazard. My mechanic said it was a rod bearing code causing catastrophic failure of the motor.
Power train, Engine, May 15, 2023
Rod bearing failure causing rod knocking. Engine needs rebuilt or replaced!
Power train, May 15, 2023
My 2017 Sante Fe had an engine seizure on April 28th and Thank God nobody was injured. Allowing people to drive around in this ticking time bombs, without any notification of a potential issue, is very concerning. Especially for someone who owns 2 Hyundai vehicles that are driven on dangerous highways in PA. My car is not only serviced on a regular basis, but I am exception who actually checks his oil in between oil-changes. Little did i know or suspect what was happening under my hood. I had AAA tow my car to Freysinger Hyundai on Friday 4/29/23 for what was diagnosed by a trained mechanic to be Engine Seizure. Since that time, I have been very patient as I know I didn't have an appointment but i do own two vehicles from the dealership and expect some decent level of service. Three calls last week to the service department and all I was told was it was in line to be diagnosed. My car has about 88k miles on it currently and I am the original owner and therefore the 100k Mile Powertrain warranty is in effect. I just finished talking to the service manager, [XXX], and he informed me that my car is still waiting in line to be diagnosed as they are backed up with vehicles having similar issues. I asked if the dealership should contact me and give me updates and inquired about a loaner car to utilize while my current $45k car is in the shop. He informed me to rent a car from Enterprise and if approved, would be reimbursed. If my car is under warranty what question is there, other than the question of another recall. The folks at Enterprise told me they are getting a ton of Hyundai owners with engine seizure issues, which is what the AAA driver told me, and the service department at Freysinger keeps telling me. Engine Seizure in an acceleration lane could kill someone and this issues needs to be made public: check your oil outside normal service levels, and have all vehicles brought in and examined for signs of overheating/seizure. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Engine, May 12, 2023
The engine is consuming oil excessively, I am burning through 1.5 quarts of oil every 500 miles this is excessive. The car only has 66,000 miles on it.
Engine, May 10, 2023
At approximately 127,529 miles, our 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate AWD with the 3.3L V6 exhibited ticking sounds from the engine and a loss of power, while driving at non-highway speeds. As the vehicle decelerated to pull off the road, a catastrophic engine failure occurred with loss of all power and drivability. The vehicle was towed to our local Hyundai dealership, where a diagnostic revealed that a connecting rod had punched a hole through the engine block, necessitating a full engine replacement. Maintenance was regularly performed on the vehicle. Oil changes had been regularly performed with synthetic oil however, it was observed that oil consumption was a major issue with no check oil light being included in the vehicle. Incident has not been resolved by Hyundai as there is a backlog on when they can work on the vehicle and no service car has been provided.
Steering, May 8, 2023
The steering is sticky or notchy, it gets stuck like it moves around grooves instead of being linear. Since its not linear, every notchy movement requires a correction towards the opposite side and that results in over correction and this way the car is zig-zaggy. This becomes very prominent as speeds more than 40 mph, and quite significant on highways. Several time reporting to dealer, over the 6+ years of ownership, they have failed to recognize the issue and provide a fix. Several people have reported the same and can be viewed by searching for sticky steering problem and its not restricted to sante fe models. This is highly dangerous on the highways constantly having to correct and overcorrect and increases driver fatigue. Hyundai fails to recognize this hazardous steering issue and provide a voluntary fix or recall.
Electrical system, Service brakes, Engine, May 5, 2023
I bought this vehicle and there was a complete break down malfunction due to the ABS module system! This lack of due diligence caused both myself and my 7 year old to unwillingly enter a vehicle that put our lives at risk and a near death experience that still traumatizes my daughter until this day who refuses to enter any vehicle! This is an unfortunate mistake on your end and there is no where near enough compensation that will ever withdraw the fear from my innocent child’s eyes anytime I need to drive her to school, or basketball practice, or anywhere to run our daily errands and live a normal life! I have nothing else to add except I expect compensation for a safe vehicle and compensation necessary to help my child, my innocent child to get through this fear!
Engine, May 5, 2023
Purchased with 56k miles. Had oil change at time of purchase. Changed oil at 60k and again at 65k. At 67k with no warning lights, no low engine oil light, no warning of any kind, the engine blew. Seems to be a very common problem and dealership told me not covered under warranty since I’m not original owner. Seems to me to be a manufacturing issue if it’s happening as much as I’m seeing.
Engine, May 4, 2023
I was driving on a back road limited cell service with my infant when the engine just cut out while I was driving.
Engine, May 3, 2023
I was driving my children to school on April 25th. When I heard a knock or clunk sound with the car. Once that happened it also caused a decrease in power to the car, causing those behind me to almost have an accident. After the loud noise there was a continual loud knocking sound. I immediately stopped at the closest auto center. They advised me that I would need a new engine. I had another mechanic look at it as well, and he confirmed needing a new engine. NO warning indicators came on, no oil pressure problem, Nothing! I have always maintained the oil and fluids on the car at regular intervals. I have been told by my mechanic that he had looked at the engine on several occasions for an oil leak because my car was using more oil than he though it should, but there was never any sign of any leaks. This car had about 97,000 miles at the time this happened last week.
Engine, May 2, 2023
Oil light flickers on and off once we are on empty. Oil light flickered on and off, car shook, and almost stalled while making a right hand turn. When we have gotten oil changes we have been told we should not be burning so much oil that quickly.
Engine, Apr 27, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated, with a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle also lost motive power while driving at undisclosed speeds. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that engine was faulty. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.
Engine, Apr 26, 2023
The contact owned a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized, and the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The failure nearly caused a collision. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired, and the contact traded the vehicle. The contact stated that prior to the failure, the dealer previously performed an unknown repair after the engine was smoking, leaking oil, and making knocking sounds while driving. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered the contact a gift card. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. UPDATE 06/13/2023- Consumer is requesting reimbursement of $200 for the firestone evaluation, $1100 for repair cost, $600 for the rental, $50 for the tow, & $7000 for the loss in trade-in. (Consumer was given $11,000 deducting $7000 for the seized engine.) Copy of Hyundai claim form attached.
Air bags, Apr 25, 2023
The airbag light won't turn off. I was told the car is out of warranty and my extended warranty does not cover this issue.
Engine, Apr 23, 2023
Vehicle engine used the engine oil and cause motor failure. One day after hearing the engine start reving and my gas pedal could be held to the floor without any acceleration I was on an interstate I panicked hit the breaks and started to glide over, to try to see if gas pedal would work I hit it and the car drove as normal this happened twice after I bought the car from vroom in February 2022 a year later the engine needs rebuilding as when you start the car you can here loud rattling. No dash lights are for warnings. Family of 5 still owe 16,000 dollars on the vehicle.
Engine, Apr 22, 2023
Engine had power loss going up an overpass. No warning lights came on, and engine began to knock(maybe lifters?). There was a loud noise and we experienced critical engine failure, with a hole being blown through the block in at least 2 spots.
Engine, Apr 19, 2023
I was driving about 20mph down a country road, having just pulled out from the driveway. The car sounded fine, had no trouble accelerating. There were no warning lights on. All of a sudden, the car just died. Everything shut down. The country road was very narrow and there was no shoulder, so all I could do was put on my hazard lights and hope I didn't get hit. The car would not turn back on. I had it towed to a Hyundai dealership and was told that the engine had failed and it would be close to 15-20k to replace it. There was no warning indication that something was wrong with the engine. The car has 108,000 miles on it, but should have lasted longer than this.
Engine, Apr 18, 2023
Car Mileage approx 81,000 miles at time of incident. All records maintained for 7 years. Driving 70mph on highway. Pull of highway and lose power to engine. Engine has a complete failure. Luckily I was able to pull over to the shoulder, no smoke, oil spill. No check engine light ever came on. Hyundai replaced the engine, costs were approx $19k covered by the warranty. Car was under repair for 5 weeks. Long blocks are no longer available so it was frankensteined with a shortblock. One week after getting car back developed an oil leak. Hyundai will not warranty this issue. Car is in the shop getting repairs. Seeing everyones posts here having the same issue for the same model year I referenced RECALL # 168 which appears to be the same issue in all of these cars but my vin did not fall under its vin range. Good luck out there.
Structure, Apr 17, 2023
While just entering the freeway my hood flew open at approximately 65-70 mph, hit and broke the windshield, causing me to run off the road. The vehicle exhibited no prior indications that the hood could fly up. The vehicle was taken to a Hyundai dealership and we were told that we needed to contact Hyundai Customer Care that the dealership could not do anything until a Claims Manger contacted them. Upon contacting Customer Care a claim number was assigned and the Hyundai claims manger eventually called saying that this defect is not covered under the recall 163 (TSB# 17-01-050 for Secondary Latch Cable) because the manufacture date is 7/30/2016 and the recall dates are 7/12/2012 through 6/27/2016. This is only 33 days after the recall period ended and sounds like the Hyundai factory had an escape of a bad vehicle. I took pictures of the secondary latch cable, it shows corrosion, and uploaded to the Hyundai website at the advice of the Customer Care Representative. After a lengthy period time the Hyundai Clams Manager reported, on a recorded line as he stressed, that his management did not see this as a warranty or goodwill repair and suggested that I make an insurance claim for the repair and for a rental car. My wife, mother in law and children were not physically injured but emotionally rattled. We've had no choice but to drive the vehicle, with the hood secured alternate DIY means, as we awaited disposition by Hyundai. We now have no choice but to arrange both repair and loaner vehicle by ourselves. Again, the vehicle manufacture and recall date range are only 33 days apart - this smells of an escape from the Hyundai manufacturing plant. Also, isn't the purpose of the secondary latch to prevent the hood from flying up if the primary latch fails or is partially / false latched? Please contact me if you need any additional information i.e. Claim number, Claims Manager name, etc.
Engine, Apr 17, 2023
This is second time happening to me. I was driving on us 212west and all of a sudden there was a huge jerk and I lost power. I got almost hit by car behind me. Blinking engine light came on and this is the same thing happened last time with recall 953, knock sensor. I have talked to hyundai customer support. They are playing with peoples life.
Engine, Apr 13, 2023
UNKNOWN but it appears the oil is leaking from my car but I am not sure where as there are no puddles and we checked it and dipstick didn't detect anything, 4 quarts were added and it showed it was more than full then after waiting 3 hours for a tow truck to take it to the shop the oil was basically empty per the mechanic and the engine was shot and needs to be replaced but there is no engines available due to engine fires and other scenarios like mine yet an investigation is still going on and I am out a car