2006 Hyundai Santa FE problems
NHTSA has received 143 complaints about the 2006 Hyundai Santa FE, and 20% of them involve air bags. Next are cruise control (14%) and brakes (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 143 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 66,000 miles 113 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 | 24 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 10 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Of the 113 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 66,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 77,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 24th most-complained-about out of 26 model years of the Hyundai Santa FE with enough data (62 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that the cigarette lighter was activated and once it became hot, it ejected from the holder independently. The contact attempted to retrieve the lighter from the floor to prevent starting a fire and was burned. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was neither inspected nor repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle went over an embankment while going 25-30 MPH. There was prior braking. The vehicle struck a tree on the front passenger side, the airbags did not deploy. The occupants were wearing seatbelts, but sustained minor injuries. There was a police report taken at the scene. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop, but there has been no inspection to why the airbags did not deploy.
Brakes failed to apply when coming to a stop at a red light causing me to hit the back of the car in front of me; speed less than 10 MPH; brakes "bucked" and would not re-engage and did not stop the car in time to prevent accident; applied emergency brake and turned off ignition to stop process; reported to local police; car has been impounded for investigation and confirmation of technical difficulties.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. When driving over a small puddle of water,the brakes would lock. Usually when the failure occurs,the brake light and battery lights would illuminate for about 35 seconds and then the steering wheel would lock. After a short time, the brakes and steering column would unlock. The vehicle was taken to the dealership on many different occasions. The technician finally concluded that water was entering into one of the pulleys.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the rear end of the vehicle began to fish-tail uncontrollably. The contact was able to regain control and resumed driving. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated the failure was related to the ABS ring, which was a common defect issue. The vehicle was repaired under the service warranty. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem.