2005 Hyundai Santa FE problems
NHTSA has received 300 complaints about the 2005 Hyundai Santa FE, and 25% of them involve air bags. Next are cruise control (15%) and brakes (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 300 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 27 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 26 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 242 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 53 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 35 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 22 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 42 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 25 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 24 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 12 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 242 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 78,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 93,000 miles (61 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 27 complaints mention a crash; 26 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 23rd most-complained-about out of 26 model years of the Hyundai Santa FE with enough data (87 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Driving on a dirt road, vehicle started to wobble, vehicle swerved to the left and went over ditch, rolled and hit tree. Passenger was thrown from vehicle. Driver sustained spinal cord injury. Vehicle had front end, right side, and top damage. No airbags deployed.
My mother died in a vehicle accident with no other vehicles involved. Her santa fe went through a "t" intersection without stopping crossing highway, went airborne over hillside and struck a tree. Severed spine, chest trauma and shattered ankle. There are no skids marks at the scene airbags were deploy but when? Steering column is crushed in and steering wheel was bent inward. The road she was on is a residential side street. There is a 100 feet downgrade but straight as you approach the stop sign.
Passenger air bag system doesn't work as per dash light. Dealer states the sensor indicates the system is working properly.
The car dealer is telling me that all 4 tone rings and speed sensors on my hyundai santa fe are bad and need to be replaced. One was replaced 4 months ago under warranty. Now they say that the other 3 are bad. I have less than 53,000 miles on my car.