NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe.
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash | |
| Side Crash | |
| Rollover |
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash |
Component: VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash.
Consequence: A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
Component: TRAILER HITCHES
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.
Consequence: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: 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.
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60-75 MPH, the Automatic Emergency Braking system engaged erroneously, almost causing a crash. The contacted stated that the failure mostly occurred while driving at highway speeds with no other vehicle nearby. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
I'm reporting a rearview camera issue in my Hyundai Santa Fe 2020. The camera image was previously static/distorted and has now completely stopped working. When the vehicle is placed in reverse, no image is displayed. This creates a safety risk, as the rearview camera is essential for visibility and preventing accidents while backing up. I am aware there has been a recall for similar rearview camera issues; however, my vehicle is not included because the recall is VIN-specific, despite experiencing the same problem.
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 60 MPH, the sunroof shattered outward. The contact stated that his wife was able to drive the vehicle safely back to the residence. The vehicle had not been taken to a dealer nor an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
I was driving on the road and all of the sudden my car went limp and would only move 45 miles per hour. I took it to the dealer which I have lifetime powertran on my car. It has been there for over a month at the dealer. They asked me to provide all oil changes,services, and registrations. I did that and then fidelity asked them to tear down the engine again to see if I had carbon build up. Then after the dealer did that they ask the dealer to tear the motor down even further to see if the exhaust valve was bad and if it was bad they would not replace my motor. My car consumed so much oil that I was changing my oil so often. I have been renting a car just to get back and forth to work. In my contract it says that the exhaust valve is covered under my lifetime powertran. I feel like hyundai and fidelity are giving me the run around. I took very good care of my car and I have shown that. Hyundai has had alot of problem with there motors with the oil consumption and motors just going limp. I feel I will never buy a hyundai again. I am losing money everyday because of the dealer and fidelity. I need the motor replaced and it was no abuse on my part I took care of my car. I want fidelity to tell me how I abuse the exhaust valve. I did my oil changes and took care of my car. I am still paying on my Hyundai and can't afford another car. I have alot of medical bills that I pay. Any help would be great. Sincerely [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe has 2 NHTSA recalls and 173 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. The high number of complaints suggests potential reliability concerns — review the complaint details above before purchasing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
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| Side Crash |
| Rollover |
The front piece of the panoramic sunroof spontaneously shattered while sitting in my parked vehicle. I heard a loud pop and saw that the entire piece of glass was totally shattered. I took it to the dealership and they told me it is a known problem with this type of sunroof on their vehicles, they said it is not covered by warranty. The estimated repair cost was over $800. Had I been driving down the road with the sunroof open, it could have presented serious safety risks.
On the morning of February 20 2026 at around 6:35am. I was on my way to work when the engine light started flashing and the speed started to decrease. I was traveling on a major highway in heavy rain with a lot of traffic. I had to put on my hazard lights and quickly pull off the road. The code given is P1326 which has to do with the engine and wiring harness. I just purchased the vehicle on Jan. 17 2026. The Carfax stated no open recalls.
Our vehicle has encountered a catastrophic engine failure (burnt valves) due to a known and ongoing issue with the piston rings install in this engine.
HI! Leaking valve cover gasket which damages spark plugs, ignition coils and fuel injector. Defective High Pressure Fuel Pump and fuel injector causing fuel to spray into engine and into engine oil. Large amount of fuel found in oil pan when oil changed. Complaint filed with Hyuandia, no response at this time. Thank you, [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The roof of my car between the sunroof and the windshield (called panoramic sunroof) shattered as I was driving down the highway. It was about 10:00 pm on a weeknight and there were no cars within sight distance in front of me. When it happened it sounded like a gun shot going off at point blank range and I immediately pulled over and checked for bullet holes. Since it was dark I could not see any damage. Today I took the car and had a small chip fixed in my windshield down by the windshield wipers and the service tech pointed out to me that the roof was shattered. He told me that this happens a lot with this vehicle. So I got online and searched and found a lot of vehicles have reported the exact problem. Down to the sounds of gunshots. So I stopped at my local Hyundai dealership and recorded the conversation. He told me that theres no recalls on this car and It probably shattered by a rock or debris. I told him that when this happened it was late night and no cars within sight in front of me. He didn’t even come out and look at the damage. He said to call my insurance company and I said that is a manufacturer defect and I shouldn’t have to pay for their mistake. When I searched for this on the internet people stated that the dealerships will deny this manufacturer defect and that’s exactly what they said to me. My main concern is that this defect is documented by many vehicle owners from their 2020 vehicles and their Is a recall out for this problem but it stops at 2016 models. In this recall the shattered piece is replaced and there is actually compensation given for people getting scared or dealing with stress dealing with thinking they are getting shot at. I don’t care about any of that. I just want the issue fixed because I did not cause the issue, the manufacturer did. Reason being is that the exact thing is happening to numerous people across the Country. Thank you for your time.
On the morning of December 10, 2025, I left my home for an appointment. I traveled for about 15 minutes before entering onto the highway. As I entered the highway, I traveled about half a mile and was scared by a very loud explosion! I pulled over to assess my vehicle and the surrounding area. The sunroof had SHATTERED to pieces, fortunately I didn’t have it open at the time. It was just a miracle I didn’t have an accident from being startled, or receive any cuts or injuries due to this unforeseen event. As I was driving, there was very little to no traffic and I never heard anything like hit the car or window or anything. I called my insurance company and filed a claim. They eventually had me to take it to a Collision Center 12/22/2025. They removed all glass from sunroof, and determined that there was an issue with the glass rack, and it would end up being very costly. My Insurance Provider contacted me to say they would not be able to provide coverage due to the cost and findings of the Collision Center. So they backed out and informed me that I needed to file a claim with Hyundai. So I picked the vehicle up 1/19/2026 from the Collision Center. Then I filed a claim with Hyundai, and was told to schedule an appointment for inspection. I took the vehicle for inspection 1/22/2026, after about a week I was told that the vehicle had been inspected there was nothing they could do. I’m confused as to how the inspection went since there was no glass present in order to check the opening and closing of the car rack. Plus the plastic that the Collision Center placed on it was barely removed. So I picked the vehicle up 1/30/2026. and it’s been sitting in my driveway covered every since. The vehicle has been inspected by a Collision Center, and the Dealership without any success. There were no warning lights of any indication of trouble on the dashboard at any given time, not even when the explosion occurred. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Thank you
While driving, the engine catastrophically failed without warning, causing an immediate loss of power-assisted braking and steering. The failure occurred while traveling downhill. I was unable to slow or control the vehicle properly and was forced to proceed through a school bus’s flashing lights to avoid a potentially catastrophic collision, resulting in a traffic citation. My son was in the vehicle at the time. A sudden loss of engine power, braking assist, and steering assist while driving presents a serious safety defect. Vehicle was towed to Fred Beans Hyundai in Doylestown where it has been confirmed engine failure. This failure happened immediately and without warning.
Excessive oil burn off. Oil is getting into the cylinder, causing scorching. This causing engine failure.
Oil drain plug seal leaking, can’t tighten the bolt with the required torque setting to keep it from leaking.
After 110,000, the engine started using oil and it began to knock. According to the history of these engines, it will lead to engine failure. They have a record of being a lemon engine and there is not a engine of this type that this does not happen. The engine needs to recalled and replaced, They are the Theda II GDI series of 2.0L and 2.4L four-cylinder engines from Hyundai/Kia.
I have a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe, 2.0T. I recently experienced the following issues; gasoline fumes coming into the car at low speeds, difficulty starting the car when it is cold and hesitation when trying to accelerate quickly. The check engine light came on and the dealer diagnosed a faulty fuel pump and high pressure hoses......on a car with only 49100 miles! The repair cars are estimated at over $1800. This is totally unacceptable and there should be a manufacturer issued recall on the car where Hyundai covers the cost of the repairs.
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