10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,524 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe engine problems

engine problem

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2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #55

Nov 032020

Santa Fe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

No warning lights. Had started making a small noise that morning but nothing of concern, sounded like a rock in my tire. Was driving up hill, started struggling, then lost all power, had no brakes, Parts went flying out from under car. Smoke came out from hood. Had no brakes or power. Cars behind me could have been hit by flying parts, left a trail of parts on road. I had my kids in car and if we would have been going down hill I wouldn-€™t have been able to stop. Had entire engine replaced. Hole in engine block. Piston and and valve pieces on road

- Hilo, HI, USA

problem #54

Jan 022022

Santa Fe

  • miles
My car shut down while traveling at a normal speed on a freeway and I had to pull over as it slowed down. This was unsafe on a busy highway while I waited 3 hours to be towed. The car dealer service center stated a faulty connecting rod bearing failure caused the problem and requires a new engine to be installed. There were no warning lights or sounds prior to the problem. Regular maintenance was done including an oil change and filter within the 6month recommendation. The dealership said there was no oil and the engine seized.

- Fairport Harbor, OH, USA

problem #53

Dec 302021

Santa Fe

  • miles
The engine completely failed while driving on the highway. The check engine light appeared approximately 20 minutes prior to event. Vehicle was serviced regularly, Including at a hyundai dealership in July. Per our independent mechanic the engine seized up. The engine is available upon request.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #52

Nov 112021

Santa Fe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Per the Theta Engine Recall Settlement, I had the recall work performed on my 2015 Hyundai Sante Fe on August 23, 2021. Roughly in October, the oil light faded on and off on the dashboard. I pulled into the Autozone and purchased 1 Quart of engine oil. I checked the dipstick in the parking lot and added the quart to the proper fill line of the engine dipstick. On 11/11/2021, while driving my vehicle, without any warning, the engine stopped and shut the car off in traffic. The oil light, check engine light, and service light came on then went off. I attempted 5 times to restart the engine before it would run. I took it to a Midas Auto shop where the diagnostic advised the engine failed and was damaged. I had the vehicle towed to Larry H. Miller Hyundai in Peoria, AZ 85382. The diagnostics indicated that the engine failed as was due to the fact of the Theta Class Engine Recall. The mechanic, service manager, and service advisor took notes and photographs of the valve train on the engine block. They advised the vehicle engine was damaged and needed replacement. They advised they did not find any indications of lack of maintenance. The engine was low on oil as it is apparent that the engine was more likely running hot. Hyundai Motors has denied the extended warranty claim (even though the recall updates have been completed prior to the engine failure). I have appealed within the company for the replacement of the engine but Hyundai is continuing to deny the claims. The dealership has advised other customers are being denied for the same reason just due to gaps in service records even though there are no indications of wear of the engine. Hyundai has since tried to settle the claim with me for $500 to release the company from any liability that the HMA failed to conform the vehicle to warranty in connection fo my concerns and history repair.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #51

Oct 152021

Santa Fe

  • miles
On or about October 16th 2021. After leaving a resturant I was unable to restart my car. It just would not turn over. I called a tow truck thinking It was possibly the starter. The vehicle was towed to Kia, where it was purchased. Upon inspection they(mechanics) also thought it was the starter. Being that the car is under an extended warranty, they contacted the appropriate company for the coverage. However the starter was or isn't the problem, they now believe it's the engine. Mind you I have less than 100,000 miles. I was told I would possiblly incounter a cost of $900 for them to determine what's wrong with the vehicle" At the time of me submitting this complaint, my car has been in the repair shop for 3 months. Can you imagine my rental expenses" I"ve read through several complaints of people expressing their concerns and complaints for this same or similar problem, It appears to me that Hyundai has a problem. I"m still without a vehicle.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

problem #50

Dec 012021

Santa Fe

  • miles
Shortly after getting on the freeway the car suddenly decelerated and came to a complete stop. I was able to pull onto the shoulder just in time. The engine died and would not restart. My daughter and I were in a very dangerous situation that could have been tragic. The car was towed to a mechanic that confirmed the engine had seized and a whole new motor is needed.

- Buena Park, CA, USA

problem #49

Sep 042021

Santa Fe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On September 4, 2021 at approximately 11:30pm, my vehicle suffered a catastrophic engine failure while driving on a busy freeway in Southern California. There was no warning, only an immediate power lost and inability to accelerate, followed by a flashing check engine light and a chiming alert bell. My husband was driving and he was able to make it across 3 busy traffic lanes to the emergency lane. The sudden lost of power and the inability to accelerate created a significant danger on this busy freeway, California State Route 91. I believe we could have caused a significant accident on that freeway if we had not been able to pull over to the emergency lane in time. Since this incident, I learned through my own online research, that my vehicle was included in a class-action lawsuit which was settled on June 10, 2021. I purchased my vehicle used in late January 2021, and I was never informed of the danger the Theta II GDI engine in my vehicle posed. My engine was replaced under the Lifetime Warranty provided by the Settlement Agreement, however, I am very concerned that the hazards that this vehicle posed to my family was never revealed by the dealer I purchased it from or by Hyundai in the months following my purchase. I hope something can be done to warn other used car buyers at the time they purchase a vehicle involved in this this Class-Action Settlement of the dangers the engine poses.

- Redlands, CA, USA

problem #48

Oct 092021

Santa Fe

  • miles
I do not know to the best of my knowledge but I do know at 80,000 miles my mechanic did a full plus and coil pack change and I-€™m not due for an oil change for 2000 miles but for some reason my 3rd cylinder is failing and they can-€™t figure it out so I-€™m having it taken back to the dealership.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #47

Sep 152021

Santa Fe

  • miles
While driving home from work on a busy highway, the vehicle engine stopped without a warning. No noises no warning lights nothing. I am fortunate that I was in traffic and no one was behind me driving the normal 50 mph speed limit or I would have been severely injured. I was able to pull the car to the side of the road. The car would not turn over when pressing the ignition switch. The car was towed to a local repair shop and they thought it to be the starter, so that was replaced. They got the car to start, but it only ran with a very loud noise coming from the engine for approximately 20 minutes. The car no longer will turn over. It has now been towed again to a local Hyundai dealership and is awaiting a diagnosis. The local repair shop called again today letting us know that they just had another Hyundai Santa Fe in for the exact same issue and they have taken that car as well to the local dealership. There was no warning light, there were no loud noises from the engine, no smoke, nothing, it just stopped while I was driving it. I have had no issues with this vehicle, we have owned it for approximately 3 years and it has just over 100,000 miles on it. Doing research it appears that many others who own a 2015 Santa Fe are reporting the same problems. I will continue to research and escalate a consumer investigation into this issue.

- Gibsonia, PA, USA

problem #46

Oct 112021

Santa Fe

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would hesitate and jerk upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. Recently, the contact stated that the vehicle would shut off without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle would immediately restart after failure. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

problem #45

Sep 162021

Santa Fe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car stalled and reduced speed immediately from 30 mph to about 5 mph or less. it did not accelerate i had to pull over and tow to dealership. Car has a knocking noise also. this is two signs of the engine bearing and/or connecting rod bearing wear in the santa fes. Hyundai refused my claim to replace engine because the dealership could not replicate the problem. the car turned on again and drove fine according to the dealership. I do not feel safe driving the car, THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE THE CAR LIKE THIS, THE CAR COULD STALL IN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH AND COULD CAUSE A CRASH HARMING MYSELF AND OTHERS. ACCORDING TO HYUNDAI WEBSITE IF CONTINUING TO DRIVE THE CAR IT COULD ALSO CAUSE A FIRE DUE TO MORE DAMAGE TO THE CONNECTING ROD. HYUNDAI NEEDS TO RECALL ALL 2015 SANTA FE VEHICLES AND REPLACE ENGINE. MY ENGINE WAS ALREADY REPLACED IN 2020 AND NOW IS HAVING PROBLEMS AGAIN.

- Brandon, FL, USA

problem #44

May 222021

Santa Fe

  • miles
2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate 3.3L Vin F 114,441 miles No prior mechanical issues, pulled out on busy highway and pushed the gas pedal to merge into traffic. Upon pushing the gas pedal the car revved high rpms but would only go 5 mph. I was afraid I was going to get rear ended so quickly pulled off the road. Pulled off the road and restarted the car, the check engine light came on and the engine was shuddering and shaking. Put car in drive and there was no power took about 300 feet to get vehicle up to 30mph. Upon driving further had smell of exhaust fumes. Took the vehicle to the Courtesy Hyundai in Tampa and awaited the diagnosis on 5/22. Initial codes P0018, P2A03, and P0088 misfires on cylinders 2,4,6. Dealer said the CVVT Timing chain and tensioners were bad. I asked if I paid the $3800 if it would remedy the concerns. They told me only way to guarantee would be to put a used motor in the car. Compression was good in the engine. Service person said for $1500 more an engine was the best bet. We agreed told them to replace at $5400. Over the next few weeks we were told the engine was on order to later find out they had never ordered the engine. This happened twice, finally they said I would have to source the engine. After numerous lies, the service tech we learned was fired. The new engine quote came back at $8700. We had two separate cases with Hyundai USA the last being #18440449. I find it odd that the dealership had 50-60 Hyundai Sports awaiting replacement engines from Hyundai, yet they could never tell me what was wrong with my vehicle. Service tech of 23 years couldn't identify the issue. We removed the vehicle from the dealership on 7/31 wasting 10 weeks for no help from Hyundai. I believe Hyundai is having the same issue with the 3.3L as they are with the 2.4L Sport models.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #43

Aug 122021

Santa Fe

  • miles
On August 12th 2021, I was driving the engine started making a knocking/tapping sound. As I accelerated it sounded like something broke off, bounced around then shot out the bottom of my vehicle. My vehicle then started to smoke and leak oil all over the road. I pulled over and turned the engine off. We found the part that flew out of the engine, it was the connector rod. It had snapped off into two pieces and shot through the oil pan after passing through the engine causing irreparable damage. There were no warning signs, no check engine or oil lights, nothing. This happened out of the blue. Our safety as well as the safety of others were put at risk not only when the part flew out of the car and could have hit another vehicle, but it almost caught fire and it could have caused an accident had we nowhere to pull off the road, as traffic was heavy that day. This vehicle has been at the Hyundai dealership since August 13th 2021. It has been inspected and determined it in deed needs a new engine, the cause was connector rod failure.

- Sykesville, MD, USA

problem #42

Sep 082021

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • miles
Owner of Colonial Hyundai-Genesis 4423 W. Lincoln Hwy. Downingtown, PA 19335 John Ashdale Jo Miller/Service Advisor August 27, 2021 Lester Glenn Auto Group 386 NJ-Route 37 Toms River, NJ 08753 Sean Savage (Service Manager) September 8, 2021 cc: TASHA National Consumer Affairs Hyundai Motor America Case # [XXX] Hyundai Corporate.or headquarter office 10550 Talbert Avenue Fountain Valley CA 92708 Fax: 714-965-5000 Subject: Engine Replacement Simply that I did sent to explain nhtsa email explain all. We are deaf we don-€™t t have any accommodation like hearing drivers features such as biggest luxury same vehicle we have Sante FE 2015 Nd Kona 2020 free handset on steering wheel and blue link and also mirror on star on due to communication purpose. We are in risk for no accommodation for safety needs. Where is our emergency roadside accommodation none. So free handset for on steerling wheel is purpose what avoid the police ticket. All for first class an accommodation for hearing drivers not for us that is really called unequal system On August 27, 2021.mechanic Brian Puckett 941 has replacement engine and he stated was done to go without no employer check his job. My husband was driving on way home feel so much different we thought he was completed done. Lester Glenn on 9/8/21 show facts you will see the documents. Disqualification mechanic in PA we took our risk without no accommodation if happened to break down. Main thing happened broken down no accommodation which mean this disqualification mechanic did made errors on Lester Glenn Auto Group documents. On that date of service again on 9/8/2021 remember we don-€™t have any. Accommodation for our deaf or hard of hearing if happened Look into this messy. My husband was driving on way home I followed him from picked up Sante fe have features we can-€™t use it hearing drivers get pig luxury on their hand. Something wrong later explained PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUA

- Toms River,, NJ, USA

problem #41

Jul 152021

Santa Fe

  • miles
I was driving on the highway with my 3 children (I am 9 months pregnant) when we heard a loud pop from the engine, the car gave a sudden jolt and then a loud ticking sound started. The car had a hard time accelerating as I tried to pull over to a safe location. I felt my life and my family's life was in danger. The car was taken first to a mechanic where I was informed that they had several cases with the same issue from the same vehicles recently and recommended us tow it immediately to a Hyundai dealership as it was a recall issue and it was not safe to drive. We towed it to a Hyundai dealership and they informed us that it was a rod barring failure. They informed us that there was indeed an open recall for this particular issue however it was on the Santa fe 2.4 liter models and not our 3.3 liter model. They did tell us that they tried to contact Hyundai consumer affairs since it is the same issue but that Hyundai refused to extend the recall to us. I called consumer affairs directly after and explained my concerns and situation and was told there was nothing they could do about it since there was no recall on my 3.3 liter vehicle. I was given an estimate of $9-10K as a quote to fix the issue. There were no warning lights, no prior symptoms to the failure, this simply happened unexpectedly and put my family at risk.

- Moreno Valley, CA, USA

problem #40

Apr 172021

Santa Fe

  • miles
My car engine caught fire on 04/18/2021 and totaled my car. I just received a recall notice from Hyundai for this issue via the USPS yesterday 06/29/2021. I had only 60,000 miles and expected to own this car another 3-5 years. I am out a new car payment and this could have burned my condo down as I was 2 blocks away from it driving home and routinely park in my garage.

- Schaumburg, IL, USA

problem #39

Jan 012021

Santa Fe 4-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle stalled and the two catalytic converters became inoperable. Additionally, the blue link screen failed to load and link the features. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed two catalytic converters that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 115,000.

- Waleska, GA, USA

problem #38

Jun 022021

Santa Fe

  • miles
I was getting on the expressway and everything just seemed like it was on safety mode. My car gurgled, it wouldn't switch gears, the engine light kept flashing. I thought it was a transmission issue until I got it to a Firestone. They said the cylinder is missing on 2,4,6. And that there was a timing chain issue. The dealership says it sounds more like coils.... I'm experiencing all the same issues I'm reading about here. No warning, smelling something burning although no fire. The rpm kept going up at I'm giving gas but not the speed. It has 80,000. Why are only the sports models covered when there are so many cases of other models?

- Nesbit, MS, USA

problem #37

Apr 262021

Santa Fe

  • 130,000 miles
Engine light came on, engine started to make a rattling sound. The sound got worse when accelerating especially if I was attempting to go up a hill.I tried to make it to a mechanic, but the engine died on the way while attempting to make it up a big hill and would not restart. I had it towed to a shop, they said there was no oil in the car despite the fact that we always had our oil changed regularly. There was no sign of a leak. They had to put three quarts in it just for anything to show on the dipstick. The shop that I took it to did not do engine repair and recommended that I had it taken some place to have the engine rebuilt. Their theory was is that something blew and that the oil was being burned up. It happened so fast. One day I had a dependable care that I loved. The next it needed it's engine replaced. However, I knew I could not afford to pay for an engine to be rebuilt or replaced. So, I had to just have my car towed home.

- Chandler, TX, USA

problem #36

Apr 202021

Santa Fe

  • 0 miles
Mechanic shop customer presents with complaint of oil leak and no serpentine belt. Iinitial diagnosis. Camshaft seal and serpentine belt upon opening up found extensive damage to timing and heads. Damage to camshaft, rocker arms appear to be burnt from no lubricant. Appears to be blunt force trauma that caused broken parts. Unless we open up the engine there is no way to determine the extent of damage to the internal engine parts. The recalls demonstrate over 129,000 engines recalled for Hyundai and this appears to be caused by engine defects. Pics crankshaft seal inside engine piece of serpentine belt inside engine rocker arm bearing damage rocker arm serpentine damage email more pics

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

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