NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe.
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash | |
| Side Crash | |
| Rollover |
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash |
Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe and Sonata vehicles equipped with 2.5L turbocharged engines. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the high-pressure fuel pump and fuel rail.
Consequence: A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 207.
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: AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles. The Occupant Detection System (ODS) module may not deactivate the air bag upon detection of a child restraint system in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence: In the event of a crash, deployment of the front passenger air bag, with a child in that seat, can increase the risk of injury to the child.
My vehicle loses power on the highway intermittently. I had my car set on cruise control at 55 and with no other vehicle in front of me the speed decreased to 45. It frequently sputters going up hills. My car has had 4 oil leaks.
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V879000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION), but the failure occurred. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera displayed a distorted image or a black screen occasionally while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that there was no record that the vehicle had been taken to the dealer. The contact found the paperwork provided by the dealer when the recall repair was completed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for the most recent failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,667.
-shift lever in transmutation stopped working so car would go into auto shut off and then would not drive once I took my foot off the break. Would not switch gears or drive. Had to shut car off then turn back on to get it to switch gears. -safety was put at risk majorly. Car did that in 5 lanes of traffic with me and kids in car and couldn’t drive. We almost got hit. -dealership said no issues found until I took it in a second time for the same issue then they said it was the translation shift leaver. -Briggs Kia inspected it -no warnings at all -This happened MULTIPLE times. Put the most current date
The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe has 7 NHTSA recalls and 153 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.
Enter a specific VIN to get the full report — specs, recalls, safety ratings, complaints, investigations, and technical service bulletins.
| Side Crash |
| Rollover |
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ODS module, free of charge. All affected vehicles have been remedied as of May 12, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 202.
Component: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles equipped with 2.5-litre Turbo engines. The fuel pipe connecting the high pressure fuel pump to the fuel rail may not have been tightened properly.
Consequence: An insufficiently tightened fuel pipe may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Dealers inspected and tightened the fuel pipe connection, free of charge. The affected vehicles have been repaired and therefore no owner notification letters will be sent. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 206.
Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.
Consequence: Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.
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.
Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
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."
Consequence: A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
My horn stopped working. Not under warranty but I believe it is a safety issue. A replacement horn is not available and not under warranty. Online search revealed this is a common issue
When I try to open the fuel cover it wont' open. I have to lock and unlock my car, sometimes up to 10 times, to get the fuel fill door to open. This eventually is going to leave me stranded somewhere stranded. Some of my same year and model are covered under recall for this issue by when I call Hyundai my VIN is not covered. I would like it to be covered and repaired.
The dealership I bought it from (Vineland Hyundai) I have had trouble with before where they say they fix things and they don’t. Last year there was a recall for the back camera not working. I took it in and supposedly they fixed it. Well, a few months later, the camera does not work at all and the problem issues with it is exactly what the recall says. I contacted the Better Business Bureau and the dealership and even though they have it in the system as completed clearly it was not done or it would not done correctly and right now I have no back camera. They refuse to help. I seriously doubt this was done at all being I’ve had issues with service said they did things before and did not. I even asked Hyundai if I could get this done at a different dealership that is more trustworthy and they refuse to help. I’m hoping you may be able to intervene and have them actually do this recall correctly.
I was about to turn into a 2 lane road and a warning came on my dash, "shifter system malfunction service immediately " my vehicle was in Drive I was unable to move my vehicle, unable to shift into any other gear. It was sudden with no warning or loss of power prior to the warning and loss of movement.
The rearview backup camera system malfunctioned. The camera was replaced under a safety recall on my 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. Within four days of the recall repair, the camera continued to fail intermittently, displaying a blank/black screen and not providing a rearview image when the vehicle was placed in reverse. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I also have video documentation clearly showing the malfunction occurring. The failure of the rearview camera puts me and others at risk because the system is required to provide visibility behind the vehicle when reversing. When the screen goes blank, I cannot see pedestrians, children, vehicles, or objects behind me. This creates a significant risk of a backing collision, especially in parking lots and residential areas. The vehicle was brought back to the dealership four days after the recall repair because the issue continued. The dealer stated they could not duplicate the issue at the time of inspection and are requesting a diagnostic fee to continue evaluation. However, I have video evidence clearly showing the malfunction occurring after the recall repair. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership that performed the recall repair. It has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. The manufacturer has not personally inspected it beyond the dealership performing the recall repair. There were no warning lamps. The issue presents intermittently when shifting into reverse, at which time the display screen fails to show the rearview camera image. The issue first appeared prior to the recall repair and continued within four days after the recall component was replaced.
Replaced horns a couple times, after doing research, this seems to be a deeper and ongoing issues with this car ok a larger scale. Horns die out or stop completely, causing multiple replacements.
Horns stopped working entirely. Car was crossing into my lane and I attempted to honk horn and no sound. No warning lights or messages on dash. Is available for inspection. No inspections conducted currently.
Vehicle has now had several incidences of completing losing all acceleration power while driving at both high and low speeds, resulting in need to turn on hazards and abruptly pull to side of road. Pushing on gas pedal does nothing and vehicle will even roll backwards if I pull over on a hill and take my foot off the brake. I have to put vehicle in park and turn off. Sometimes I have to restart the vehicle a few times before it will drive forward after putting it back into drive. The vehicle does not lose electrical power and will sometimes display the master warning light on dashboard and other times have no dashboard indicator of a problem. This is an extremely dangerous situation and my VIN is not listed under safety recall 22V-746 despite exhibiting the same behavior. I have contacted my local Hyundai dealership service in past and they recommended a transmission flush which did nothing to alleviate the issue. It is now happening frequently so we are reaching out to the local Hyundai dealer service center again.
Code P1C2D03 is popping up on my 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe after the dealership "fixed" the recall in 2023. My car is going into limp mode, failing while driving, and unsafe. Dealership and corporate won't help me. The transmission was never replaced with the recall and they are claiming they aren't relatable and can't do anything unless a recall is reopened.
Horns assemblies are Failing repeatedly. Since ownership of the vehicle (2023 and a CPO Platinum Wrap), I have had to replace a single horn, or both horns three times with local Hyundai dealerships. mostly the right horn would fail, then the left. I am currently making efforts to have my vehicle’s horns serviced for the fourth time as they are not working. I have been to my dealership on Dec 16, 2025 & Jan 15, 2026, to have the horns repair to no avail. In December, a diagnosis was performed with no action. Yesterday, one part (horn) was not available, and I was quoted a fee of $400 to perform the task. This is extremely concerning as this is not a consumable part or fluid. This is a required vehicle safety item. There are TSB's for other models in the Hyundai line with similar failure of horns ( TSB's: 24-BE-018H & 25-BE-005H). These failures have not been covered under the Santa Fe line or the other remaining Hyundai models of similar years of production and experiencing like failures of horn assemblies as of this date.
Horn stopped working due to the same issue other Hyundai horns stopped working.
Was coming off an exit on the interstate and started slowing down. My brakes act like they didn’t want to work. Grinding and the pedal was twitching under my foot. The car stopped thankfully, but then all Linda of lights came on the my dash and will not go off. And 3 warning come up!
Showing 15 of 153 complaints