2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (6) · Fuel/Propulsion System (2) · Vehicle Speed Control (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2024-11-21 · campaign 24V879000 · 226,118 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.
Trailer Hitches 2023-03-17 · campaign 23V181000 · 584,784 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
Risk: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is completed. Dealers will install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting May 16, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 244. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-633.
Seat Belts:front 2022-10-31 · campaign 22V816000 · 14,933 vehicles
Defect: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023 Genesis G80 Electric, 2021-2022 Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
Risk: An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Fix: Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioners with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 14, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 238/011G. This recall is an expansion of recall numbers 22V-354 and 22V-458.
Service bulletins (47)
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.
Electrical System 2026-10-27 · 26-GI-003H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin provides information related to the navigation and head unit software changes introduced in the 2026 2nd navigation map and software update. the changes may vary depending on vehicle type, model, and navigation system. refer to the 2026 2nd navigation map and software update key improv
Engine 2026-10-09 · 26-01-081H DCS · Service Campaign
certain santa fe hybrid (tm hev), santa fe plug-in hybrid (tm phev), tucson hybrid (nx4 hev), andtucson plug-in hybrid (nx4 phev) vehicles may experience intake air line freezing and exhaust gasrecirculation (egr) valve corrosion due to excessive condensation accumulating within the egr system.this
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 2026-10-08 · 26-01-081H TSB · Service Campaign
certain santa fe hybrid (tm hev), santa fe plug-in hybrid (tm phev), tucson hybrid (nx4 hev), and tucson plug-in hybrid (nx4 phev) vehicles may experience intake air line freezing and exhaust gas recirculation (egr) valve corrosion due to excessive condensation accumulating within the egr system. t
Engine 2026-10-08 · 26-01-081H DN · Service Campaign
certain santa fe hybrid (tm hev), santa fe plug-in hybrid (tm phev), tucson hybrid (nx4 hev), and tucson plug-in hybrid (nx4 phev) vehicles may experience intake air line freezing and exhaust gas recirculation (egr) valve corrosion due to excessive condensation accumulating within the egr system. th
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
Showing the 6 most recent of 47 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-07-08 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:crank/Camshaft Position Sensor · 32,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 hyundai santa fe. the contact stated while driving 50 mph, the vehicle failed to respond while the accelerator pedal was depressed. the vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the camshaft sensor needed to be replaced. in addition, the vehicle was repaired several times however, the failure persisted.…”
2024-01-09 · Power Train · 31,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 hyundai santa fe hybrid. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power. the contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 40 mph. the contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. the contact stated that on several occasions, …”
2024-01-04 · Engine · 25,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 hyundai santa fe. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power and stalled. the contact was able restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to exceed 30 mph. the contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. the contact stated that on several …”
2023-07-22 · Power Train“i have been taking my 21 santa fe hybrid limited into the dealership for a year and a half for the same code . powertrain code p040b00, and to this day they can not repair this issue. i looked it up and a ton of us are having issues with this same code. it should be investigated, and customers should be warned. hyundai needs to recall these vehicle…”
2023-06-27 · Fuel/Propulsion System“while driving 80 mph down the highway my brand new vehicle shut off completely, the entire car lost power. in another instance i was going around a roundabout and my acceleration completely went out, my son was in the back seat and another car had to jump the curb to avoid crashing into us. i met a woman in the dealership who has been waiting over …”
2023-05-09 · Unknown Or Other“from what i have been told there is no recall on this issue. purchased a hyundai sante fe hybrid 2021 brand new in 2021. i live in la quinta california summers are especially hot. temps can be anywhere from 105 to 120 . only had the car for 6months when in light came on saying inverter needs coolant this has been a problem for the past 2yrs. checke…”
2023-04-10 · Unknown Or Other“whenever the weather gets above 80 degrees outside my car put a notice to refill inverter coolant, when everything is filled max line. i’ve mentioned it twice to the hyundai service and both times the employee told me not to worry about it and it is a sensor issue. that is unacceptable, i live in las vegas, nevada where temperatures on average in …”
2023-04-04 · Power Train“when turning at low speeds especially sharp turns and accelerating, a cracking sound occurs.…”
2023-02-19 · Power Train“gas pedal stops working while driving down the road. happened 3 times. will work again after awhile. dealership can't find what's wrong with it and so hyundai and the dealership said they can't fix it.…”
2023-01-24 · Unknown Or Other“on december 28, 2022, we were driving 70 miles per hour on route 75 in the third lane of a four-lane highway from michigan to tennessee. in ohio, the vehicle lost all drive power without warning. as it decelerated, we were able to maneuver the vehicle to the breakdown lane, narrowly avoiding other vehicles around us driving at 70 miles per hour. we…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.