2012 Hyundai Santa FE problems
NHTSA has received 479 complaints about the 2012 Hyundai Santa FE, and 49% of them involve engine. Next are electrical system (9%) and cruise control (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 479 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 49% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 41 and 19
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 57,000 miles 380 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 | 112 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 56 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 25 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 36 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 34 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 48 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 36 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 18 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 380 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 57,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 89,000 miles (186 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 41 complaints mention a crash; 19 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 26 model years of the Hyundai Santa FE with enough data (237 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 owned a 2012 hyundai santa fe. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the contact was alerted of flames under the vehicle as black smoke poured from the engine. The contact crashed into a pole. The air bags deployed. The contact received bruises on the face and chest and experienced trouble breathing. Medical attention was received. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was towed and destroyed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guard rail. The driver's air bag failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the neck. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The failure and current mileage was 37,347. ..updated 01-10-14
On 2/4/15, my 2012 santa fe had an unexpected sudden acceleration, resulting in extensive damage to the vehicle and me, the driver. I had backed into my parking space at work facing a busy road and while re-positioning vehicle, going from reverse to drive, with my foot on the brake, the car propelled forward, going through a 4 foot snow bank and into a stone wall. The driver air bag deployed and hit me direct in center chest.
1) historical details / event: when I bought the car (august, 2012) I noticed the occasional sticking of the throttle and when pressing the break the car would seem to want to accelerate - this would happen once every three months: the dealer said they couldn't find anything. 2) recent event: on 07/07 while driving at 45MPH the car immediately started slowing down to less then 10MPH and the check-engine-light came on.
My 2012 hyundai santa fe I was driving home on the freeway, all of a sudden the oil light went on. So I immediately changed lanes to get off the freeway. I thought I need to get oil, than the engine light came on! I realized that I was losing power so got to the side of the road out of harms way. I tried to turn on the engine. There was nothing. I got towed to a auto repair shop. And left the car over night. It was so late to look at car.