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.
On March 4, 2020, heading home at night on a curvy mountain road my car (2006 Hyundai Santa Fe) suddenly jerked, started to accelerate to over 80 miles hour. At the same time half of the panel light behind part of the RPM's and half behind the mph went out; the rest of the panel was still lit up; I was heading down the curvy road accelerating heading quickly towards an 18 wheeler when I tried to brake, my brake pedal would not move and my car kept accelerating (I was not stepping on the gas pedal). I quickly dropped my car into low gear and maneuvered around the 18-wheeler and trying the brakes, the emergency brakes, and as quickly as it started up, it stopped, and my car started to drive normal (except the panel lights). On my way home (March 5th), it happened again while driving down the curvy mountain road at night! as I begin descending the curvy road (driving 40mph in the right lane), my car suddenly began accelerating again up to 90mph! there were not as many people on the road, so I was able to maneuver it by dropping down into low gear and as I began ascending the mountain road, the unintended acceleration stopped, and the car drove normal. Each incident lasted about 5 minutes. On March 6, 2020, I took my car to the mechanic and ran a diagnostic and did not find a cause. He told me to call the Hyundai dealership to see if there were any recalls. The dealership informed me to contact Hyundai headquarters, which I did. I reported my issue and made a claim on March 6, 2020. I was told to take my car to capital Hyundai dealership and Hyundai headquarters would send a forensic engineer out to investigate the issue. They told me to not drive my car and have it towed. I received a call from Hyundai headquarters informing me the dealership ran a diagnostic on my car and did not find anything wrong and could not duplicate the unintended acceleration.
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe. When the contact shifted the gear in reverse, the vehicle accelerated backwards on its own. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a brick wall. The driver then shifted into the drive position and the failure recurred. As a result, the vehicle drove forward through the neighbor's fence before crashing into a parked vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The driver stated that the brakes were inoperable during the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 155,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while the brake lights failed to illuminate when the brake pedal was depressed. In addition, the contact stated that the brake lights would remain illuminated after the brake pedal was released. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA recall campaign number: 09V122000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The failure mileage was 113,000.
On or about July 1st 2015 I was about to change the brake pads on my Hyundai Santa Fe. Upon removal of the tire I notice that the brake backing plate was rusted through and was hanging by a sliver of rusty metal. This auto uses a miniature drum brake affair on the rear wheels to actuate the parking brake. In my opinion, if the center of the backing plate rusts away and causes the brake shoe retaining pins to come out the brake shoe could contact the metal drum area which would cause the auto to have it's parking brake engage without warning, locking up the rear drive wheels, which could result in an serious accident. This auto was into the dealer for an oil change in June of 2015 and at that time the service writer informed me that the brake pads needed changing but no mention was made of the rusted out backing plate even though it was obvious that it needed replacement. I also believe that a backing plate should not rust through in less than 10 years. I base this on the fact that I worked for a service garage for over 10 years and have done the work on my own vehicles for over 40 years and in my experience backing plates should not rust to the point of perforation in less than 10 years.
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving 7 mph, the brakes failed to respond without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
- Castle Creek, NY, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the brake lights failed to engage while the brake pedal was depressed. The manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not included in the manufacturer's stop lamp switch replacement recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage were 78,485.
While driving and applying the brakes the ABS engaged on the right front wheel, now the same thing has happened on the left front wheel, both times it involved a sensor ring that had cracked in half and the brakes on that particular wheel failed to hold.
I bought this vehicle used in 2012 and experienced my first incident with the brakes approx. 5 mos later. Whenever I have to stop in a hurry at various speeds, the brakes do not engage. Vehicle slides, does not stop. I came close to having several accidents and was fortunate enough to drive the vehicle into next lane to avoid hitting car in front of me or going through a red light. This is very scary and I can't believe Hyundai has not recalled vehicles with similar problems. Brakes work fine if you have plenty of time to stop, but if you have to make a sudden stop and step on the brakes, they will not engage even if you pump them. Vehicle just slows down on its own. I would like Hyundai to explain the reason for this mal-function of the braking system in the Santa Fe models. This is very dangerous, people are going to be injured or die because they cannot stop their vehicle suddenly at average to high speeds when traveling.
I have had problems with the brakes since I bought the car in September 2012. Had to bring the car back to the dealership twice. They finally got the brakes to feel ok in normal driving conditions, but every time it snows, snow and ice get stuck in my brakes and I can not stop. I almost crashed 4 times on my way to work this morning, and has happened every time it snows. They will not fix without a charge because it's past the warranty.
Driving back home from work and driver behind notified me that brake lights don't work. I checked all fuses, bulbs and seems okay. I found that the brake light switch is defective. I saw recall on 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe but not 2006. Will the dealer will replace my defective brake light switch?
The contact owns a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving approximately 65 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and the rear end of the vehicle began to fish-tail uncontrollably. The contact was able to regain control and resumed driving. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated the failure was related to the ABS ring, which was a common defect issue. The vehicle was repaired under the service warranty. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Scotts Valley, CA, USA