10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,302 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.

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #59

Jun 172023

Santa Cruz

  • miles

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

Waiting to turn at a busy intersection then proceeded to press the accelerator the vehicle lossed power and had shut off. I Shifted gear to park to start engine and it would not go faster than 10mph. Vehicles behind nearly wrecked into me and were honking their horns. It had died again then started back up. I was able to drive home before it died again. Vehicle towed to dealership. Was told they are booked until next week and no available loaner cars.

- Moore, OK, USA

problem #58

Jun 012023

Santa Cruz

  • 20,000 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle was in smart drive mode and then inadvertently shifted to another mode, but the RPM failed to increase above 1,500 RPM. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that he veered off the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that on a separate occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and inadvertently decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact was able to navigate the vehicle safely to his residence. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure 20,000.

- Hot Springs Village, AR, USA

problem #57

Apr 142023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Loss of power while driving. All error lights on the dashboard came on and the car lost all power. Car had to be put in park and restarted to restore power. After restart the check engine light stayed on with code PO65312. This has happened 4 times in the last 6 months with 3 trips to the dealer for repair.

- Kennett Square, PA, USA

problem #56

Apr 132023

Santa Cruz

  • miles

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

Driving on interstate vehicle suddenly decelerated-?? pressing the gas pedal on rev-??d the rpm-??s up no acceleration-??had to pull over and park..engine light did come on this time ( second time this has happened although the first time power train reengaged after some seconds passed..I did report that incident as well) First time took to dealership was told nothing wrong cannot duplicate-?? this time wife was with and was able to record ok phone what was happening Had it towed to dealership

- Lillian, AL, USA

problem #55

Mar 222023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Power train/transmission Driving on an interstate at speed, heavy traffic, vehicle suddenly decelerated no matter how much I pushed gas pedal. This lasted for 5-8 seconds before vehicle re-engaged. Lot of vehicles behind me nearly rear ended myself and each other Returning vehicle to dealership on Thursday, March 30th even though told dealership had no appointments available for weeks. No warning before during or afterwards

- Lillian, AL, USA

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problem #54

Nov 122022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
I was accelerating onto the interstate in a busy high speed area and suddenly there was no communication to my transmission. I went from 58 miles an hour to 20mph is a matter of seconds barely avoiding causing a several car pile up. I had vehicle towed to 2 different dealer service departments to no avail. I was told that there was no code and the problem could not be duplicated. However there is a recall for a similar issue. I was told my vin number didn't fall within that recall. The vehicle has been in the shop for several issues in the 6 short months I've owned it most appear to be related to electrical issues. I've made several attempts to resolve the issue through Hyundai with no resolution.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #53

Mar 032023

Santa Cruz

  • miles

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

Vehicle suffered a loss of power while accelerating from a stop. Would not go faster than 30 MPH. Since I was entering a freeway I was lucky that the traffic was light. I was able to pull to the shoulder and after turning off the vehicle and restarting, it performed normally again. There were no warnings on the dash and I will be contacting the dealer ASAP.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #52

Feb 132023

Santa Cruz

  • 25,000 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle independently started to decelerate. The contact stated that unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to enter a parking lot before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a seized engine. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

- North Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #51

Nov 092022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
I was driving on the 394 in Minneapolis and my car had a massive loss of power, dropping my speed from 65 to 35 in seconds, as if i was braking (which I wasn't). The engine light began flashing and I was unable to accelerate beyond the speed it had reduced me to. I was able to limp off the freeway and into a parking lot where it kind of fixed itself after 10 minutes. I took it to a local dealership who said the engine had lost 2 cylinders suddenly. The cylinders were not replaced and no additional work was done to the engine (I don't know why). It has since continued to stutter at lower speeds and occasionally lags when accelerating. Hyundai refuses to do anything about it.

- Springfield, OR, USA

problem #50

Jan 232023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Car was driven 600 miles without issue on Sunday. Car was started Tuesday morning (outside temp 13F), driven a short distance, no issue, idled about 5 minutes, put in gear and attempted to drive. There was a severe lack of power, transmission was reluctant to shift, had to manually shift at 3500rpm. Was eventually able to reach 55mph in gear 5, upshift go gear 6 resulted in loss of speed. There was no response from accelerator. Pulled off highway, stopped engine, restarted, no change, still no power, transmission still would not shift. Drove about 5 miles to nearest exit, called for tow truck. Car was idling for about 45 minutes while waiting for tow. Eventually shut down engine, restarted car, miraculously it worked normally. Lack of transmission shift and engine power was not accompanied by any dash lights, warnings or notifications. The car simply decided it did not want to go, 5000 miles on odometer.

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #49

Jan 172023

Santa Cruz 4-cyl

  • miles

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

I attempted to get this recall Hyundai campaign 236 DCT reprogram fixed at Porter Hyundai in Newark DE and Durst Hyundai in Durham NC. Neither dealer could schedule for 2 or more months from now (Jan 17 2023) until March 16 2023. This is two months at least and I do a lot of freeway driving. Losing power would be catastrophic. The NHTSA notice says to file a complaint if this is not covered in a timely manner. Two months from mail notification is not timely, especially since this is a known problem for at least a year.

- Newark, DE, USA

problem #48

Oct 292022

Santa Cruz

  • 6,553 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the transmission failure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 6,553. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Reading, PA, USA

problem #47

Jan 062023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
On three separate occasions the engine developed a misfire after driving approximately 90 miles in inclement weather. During this time period the transmission began to make hard upshiftswhile accelerating and when down shifting the transmission felt as though it would lurch or surge between gear selection. Use of paddle shifter to manually select gears would result in limited acceleration after the transmission returned to the drive mode. The transmission would not downshift on its own after the paddle shifters were used unless the floor shift select was manually placed in neutral. Then normal operation would resume.The vehicle was returned to the dealership and had the transmission software update performed. This did not resolve issues. These incidents began in October of 2022 and the vehicle was was put in for service the second week of November. It remains in their possession as of 01/06/2023.

- Canyon Lake , TX, USA

problem #46

Jan 032023

Santa Cruz

  • miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

problem #45

Nov 142022

Santa Cruz

  • 8,220 miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the transmission would not engage when shifted to reverse. The service engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while entering the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the failure was related to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 8,220.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #44

Sep 172022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
I brought in my 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz to its first oil change at one of my local Hyundai dealers. the technician right away stated they needed to perform a software update otherways they would not be able to perform the oil change, I agreed to it, after 3 and a half hours I walk up to service technician and complained it was already taking too long, when I finally got my car the car would not work properly it would stall and on stop it would rev up still does that to this moment. I have to constantly keep foot on brake pedal otherways risk hitting the car in front of me. took the car to dealer where it was purchased and after 2 hours service technician stated there was nothing they could do for me, he stated Hyundai is aware and are working on a solution, he stated the car was not safe to drive and I should just park the car, my response was I did not purchase a car to have it parked in my driveway.

- Volo, Il, IL, USA

problem #43

Dec 122022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and a case was opened. The manufacturer confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

problem #42

Dec 022022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
While driving on a local highway, vehicle lost all power and stopped. It would not restart. Vehicle was towed to the dealer, and was they found found that the HIGH PRESSURE #4 FUEL INJECTOR IS STUCK OPEN, and REPLACED #4 CYLINDER FUEL INJECTOR AS REQUIRED. They also replaced the battery. Vehicle is 11 months old. If this had happened on the interstate, I would have been rear ended and possibly killed. No warning, just stopped. Vehicle had reported loss of power on a previous occasion, but nothing could be found.

- Inverness, FL, USA

problem #41

Dec 072022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
Hyundai has failed to remedy this known transmission defect and is placing owners of the affected vehicles lives in danger. Reprogramming of the "fail-safe" driving capability does not fix the life threating issue. While driving on Interstate 89 in Vermont on December 7 every warning light on the dashboard illuminated and my 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz slowed from 65mph to 40mph. I pulled of the road and turned the ignition off. Upon restart, the Santa Cruz seemed to perform normally. I now am afraid to drive the vehicle.

- East Calais, VT, USA

problem #40

Aug 052022

Santa Cruz

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" I'm open to allow the vehicle to be inspected at anytime. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? After pulling out onto a busy highway of 60MPH speed limit from a right on red light, the car only would accelerate to 17MPH nearly causing a multi-car rear end accident. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center" The vehicle has been in service twice (going in time 3 on 12/14/22) for this issue along with other transmission issues. On the second visit the issue was identified and a fix was attempted but issues still persist. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others" As of now it's only been inspected by a Hyundai dealership, and I have a case open with Hyundai and they are waiting to see what happens at 12/14 service appointment before moving forward with any other actions. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" The transmission has been problematic since purchase. This 17mph max acceleration happened shortly after purchase and other issues have been persistent ever since. Holding gears with loss of power on interstate, rough vibrations at low speeds, holding gears to long, rough shifts, strange noises when shifting, and of course the max acceleration of 17mph / 3,000rpm and not being able to travel any faster being the worst / most dangerous.

- Louisville, OH, USA

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