2006 Hyundai Santa Fe problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (22) · Vehicle Speed Control (19) · Service Brakes (10)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Santa Fe model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
83 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Suspension:front:springs:coil Springs 2014-07-18 · campaign 14V435000 · 271,773 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model Year 2001-2006 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured from March 31, 2000, through February 15, 2006, that are registered and operated, or which were originally sold and registered, in the following 20 salt belt" states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Vi
Risk: If the front coil spring fractures due to corrosion it could cause the coil spring to make contact with the tire, possibly puncturing the tire and increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the coil spring, free of charge. The recall began on October 24, 2014. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 124.
Service bulletins (50)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2026-10-08 · 26-EM-016H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning procedure for vehicles diagnosed with this condition. all internal combustion engines consume some engine oil during normal operatio
Engine 2026-10-07 · 26-EM-015H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. this bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures for vehicles exhibiting this condition. all internal combustion engines consume engine oil as part of normal engine operatio
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DL · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn). these inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehi
Air Bags 2026-04-10 · DTN DCS · Other
the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by jilin province detiannuo automobile safety system co., ltd. (dtn), that have been identified in u.s. vehicles following prior
Exterior Lighting 2025-11-06 · 25-BD-012H TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information regarding condensation related to the accumulated moisture in the headlamp, rear combination lamp, daytime running lamp (drl), or fog lamp. this tsb illustrates the various causes of condensation inside the lamp assembly. lamp assembly replacement is not necessary
Visibility/Wiper 2024-02-14 · 24-BD-001H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin contains information about the proper removal of the windshield wiper blade protective cover on all models. if the protective cover is not removed correctly, there is a possibility of the rubber insert and rail spring becoming partially separated on the inner side of the wiper blade, w
Showing the 6 most recent of 50 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-09-11 · Fuel System, Gasoline“the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the exhaust muffler detached and fell off the vehicle. no warning lights were illuminated. the dealer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with fuel tank failure. the contact was informed that the…”
2025-01-29 · Engine · 🔥 fire“i was driving my 2006 subaru forester vin #[xxx] around 5 pm. i was waiting in an offramp lane to make a left turn, behind numerous cars. suddenly, a car pulled up next to me and told me to pull over because my car was on fire. i pulled over to the shoulder and as i did so the car lost power. i looked back once i got out of the car and sure enou…”
2023-03-17 · Air Bags · 264,000 mi“the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. the contact stated while starting the vehicle, the air bags warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, but it was not diagnosed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer stated the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. the failure mileage was 264,000.…”
2022-12-09 · Suspension · 💥 crash“got in a roll over accident where the air bags did not deploy and caused serious injuries.…”
2022-07-21 · Fuel/Propulsion System“gas tank rusted and started leak in june of 2000. minor at first then worse. extremely dangerous, luckily new caught fire or exploded. manufacturer did not notify us of extened warranty, …”
2021-10-05 · Vehicle Speed Control · 143,000 mi · 🔥 fire“the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. the contact stated while driving approximately 70 mph when the vehicle began to accelerate without the accelerator pedal being depressed. the contact was able to pull over and noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. the contact stated no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was towed to a …”
2021-07-30 · Fuel System, Gasoline:storage · 118,000 mi“the contact owns a 2006 hyundai santa fe. the contact stated while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal fuel odor inside and outside the vehicle. the contact discovered that there was fuel leaking underneath the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the fuel tank was faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehi…”
2020-06-18 · Air Bags · 980,000 mi“dashboard red airbag stay on all the time. *tr…”
2020-04-06 · Vehicle Speed Control · 215,000 mi“on march 4, 2020, heading home at night on a curvy mountain road my car (2006 hyundai santa fe) suddenly jerked, started to accelerate to over 80 miles hour. at the same time half of the panel light behind part of the rpm's and half behind the mph went out; the rest of the panel was still lit up; i was heading down the curvy road accelerating headi…”
2019-11-12 · Air Bags · 118,900 mi“the air bag light is constantly on. when i turn the car on the passenger restraint light goes on to show restraint system off.. however when there is nobody sitting in front seat the light goes out and it should stay on…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.