2010 Hyundai Santa FE problems
NHTSA has received 335 complaints about the 2010 Hyundai Santa FE, and 20% of them involve drivetrain & axles. Next are engine (14%) and transmission (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 335 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 41,000 miles 265 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 | 99 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 28 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 32 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 25 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 11 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 265 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 41,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 72,000 miles (53 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 13 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2010 ranks 14th most-complained-about out of 26 model years of the Hyundai Santa FE with enough data (185 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Vehicle stopped on incline of a hill, then reversed (gear shift in drive) back down 600 feet the hill and crashed against a concrete wall corner. Have 2 witnesses that switched off the engine, inspected wreck, found no fault codes with a launch 431-reader but figured that battery was drained after 2 months. Surviving daughter suffers from memory loss but at the time of the accident claims the brakes failed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the driver of the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole head on. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The driver sustained face and head injuries. The vehicle was towed to a salvage lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.
Yesterday while decelerating at about 30 MPH and coming to a stop sign, the car completely shut off. The check engine light illuminated. The car was restarted and continued to operate normally. The car check engine light did not illuminate again. I took to my dealer today (next am) due to my concern. I contacted hyundai and asked to extend my warranty and mentioned my car had similar problem description mentioned in the online 929 hyundai campaign.
Oil pump failure at 90,000 miles causing motor to be replaced. Hyundai dealership service manager told me there were no available motors to replace the one in my car.