2020 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Unknown Or Other Problems

White pearl paint is chipping off from the vehicle by itself without any outside force. This is outbreaks over all Hyundai white pearl paint vics and they are not account for their defect. This problem eventually cause erosion on the body of the vehicle and treat safety of the drivers and people around it. This seems common issue with my research, please look close into this problem and protect driver and customer who have no power to defend their right.

2020 Sante fe with 59000 miles on it. Air stops blowing cold, I look it up and there is a TSB for the Evaporator Temperature Sensor from May of 2021. This is a safety issue because if you run the air conditioning or defroster if the sensor is bad it clicks off the compressor which can affect the fan and overheat the car. I watched it happen on my car when they ran the diagnostic trying to fix it. It came up as a bad sensor, and it clicked off the compressor. The fact that a 6 year old car with 59000 miles needs work on an air conditioner is ridiculous and in this case not safe.

My rear window suddenly shattered while I was driving. My safety was put at risk as it sounded like someone shot into my back window. The vehicle was inspected by state police.

I am writing to formally express my serious concerns regarding an ongoing safety issue with a certified used vehicle I purchased from McDonough Hyundai, [XXX] , in December 2024 and the dealership’s repeated failure to resolve the issue, even after a car accident occurred due to this malfunction. Two months after purchase, I discovered that my horn did not work when I attempted to use it. I brought the vehicle back for service and was told the issue had been resolved. However, the horn continued to malfunction. I have returned to the dealership approximately five times with the same complaint. Each time, I was told the horn works, yet it continues to fail intermittently. In June 2025, I was involved in a car accident and was unable to alert the other driver because the horn did not work. Despite the severity of the situation, no one at the dealership has taken appropriate action to identify or correct the issue. During my most recent visit, Service Manager [XXX] witnessed firsthand that the horn did not work. His technician pressed it once, and because it worked in that moment, the vehicle was returned to me without further inspection. This intermittent failure has still not been addressed. I have time-stamped video evidence showing the horn failing just two days after the last service visit. A non-working horn is a major safety hazard. The repeated dismissal of this issue is unacceptable. I expected better from a pre certified used vehicle. I would be happy to provide any information needed to resolve this issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I have a Hyundai Santa Fe 2020 had it only a year my sunroof is a panoramic and it busted out of nowhere. Nothing hit it just shattered on its own when I was going down the road. I know nothing hit it because nobody was on the road near me and I looked around and saw nothing. I was told to report it here so that’s what I’m doing.

June 2020 I purchased the car brand new 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe SE 2.5L from dealership, after the first year I started having issues with my display monitor just shutting off and my car going idle at red lights or when I’m sitting in traffic. I’ve never been in an accident and I’m not a reckless driver to my standards besides occasional potholes, the car going idle happened 3 times before I reached out to a dealership asking questions only for them to tell me, “it sounds like I’m using the start-Stop feature too much and it’s not recommended to be used often”. So I stopped using it completely. Fast forward throughout the years, it still happened about 5-10 times a year for the past few years, I’ve learned to hurry up and put it in park, give it gas, then put it in drive. Fast forward 2025, Feb I was passed due for an oil change about 300-500 miles the the oil light came on and when I check it myself the oil tank was completely empty, I assumed it was normal since I was passed due for an oil change, and a family friend told me that wasn’t normal, I follow the recommended oil change interval on my warranty paperwork 7,500 even set my car to it, after the oil change my car was fine. I took it in at 130,284 miles, fast forward June 2025, I start my car a morning for work & it’s at 135,658 miles, the oil light comes back on and I notice it’s completely empty again. 2nd time it’s happened this year, and two family friends that are licensed mechanics tell me that’s not normal especially if I’ve gotten an oil change this year & it’s seems like the engine is burning oil too quick. I took it in to get another oil change, tell them about the issue of it being empty when I’ve been this year and it doesn’t seem right, the dealership & a local quick oil change place tells me it’s due to me not bringing it in for regular maintenance. There are no lights on on my dashboard, and when I called the dealership to ask about using the lifetime powertrain warranty I have, I have to pay.

A few days ago, while driving on one of Chicago’s busiest expressways, my Hyundai 2020 Santa Fe with only 56,000 miles and a complete record of up-to-date maintenance, suddenly started smoking, smoke coming from under the front hood then caught fire without any warning. The fire consumed the entire front end of the vehicle from underneath the car to the top hood of car, to make matters worse, my seatbelt temporarily locked up during those critical moments, compounding the terror of the situation, potential risk to my life and property. I am incredibly grateful that I was able to escape unharmed, but I remain visibly shaken and traumatized by the experience. As you can imagine, this unexpected event has profoundly affected my peace of mind and trust in the safety of Hyundai vehicles. It is extremely concerning that a modern car, properly maintained according to its manufacturer's recommendations, could catch fire during regular operation, no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of any problems prior to the incident. I have always valued Hyundai’s engineering and safety standards, which is why I find this incident especially alarming. I am uncertain to what component failed the fire department stated it could have been either the brakes or electrical. As of writing this no official inspection to determine cause has been conducted however, I have reported the fire and filed an insurance claim and asked If they are able to determine how this happened to provide me with this information.

The contact owned a 2020 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that after the vehicle was unoccupied and parked in the residential carport, she was in bed for the night and four bystanders stopped outside the contact's residence. One bystander knocked on the contact's door, the second bystander ran to the back of the house to search for a rear entrance to enter the home and the third bystander grabbed the water hose and attempted to extinguish the fire but was unsuccessful. The contact mentioned the parts of the vehicle exploded. The fourth bystander called 911 and the contact evacuated from the home. The contact did not sustain injuries. The contact mentioned the bystanders did not sustain injuries either. No medical attention was sought. No police report was filed. The fire departments arrived on the scene, and the firefighters extinguished the fire. The fire consumed the vehicle in the carport and the fire spread to the house causing damage. Fire department reports were filed but no report number was available. The vehicle currently remained on the scene. The insurance company deemed the vehicle and her home totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and an inspector from Progressive Insurance in addition to an inspector from American Modern Home Insurance out to the contact's residence after careful review they could not discover a product defect responsible for the vehicle incident. The failure mileage was 61,000.

Mileage: 61,000

The vehicle seat caught fire overnight, Sept 26th, and was discovered the morning of Sept 27th 2024. The fire was contained to inside the vehicle and melted parts of the driver seat and lower part of steering wheel. The vehicle interior was covered in orange dust and had extremely toxic smell inside. Insurance 3rd party inspected and declared it a total loss. A few weeks later, a neighbor and fellow Hyundai SantaFe owner mentioned that he had heard of an issue with the Santa Fe catching fire. With this new information, I called Hyundai to alert them. Hyundai opened an investigation, but closed the claim since the 3rd party that declared it a total loss had already sold it as salvage. They also denied any recalls pertaining to my specific vehicle or knowledge that electrical fire was a potential issue for this model and year. There was a recall for a tow hitch that lead to fires....but mine did not have a tow hitch. Obvious concern is that this could be a wider issue than just 1 vehicle and lives and property of those owners and others could be at significant risk.

Back up camera glitches. Causes driver assist to take control at times when not necessary. Have has this in for service at least 4 times since purchasing vehicle in 2020. Service states repaired each time bit eventually happens again. This last time is getting more severe cause multiple electrical short in Overhead lights, Panoramic roof failure to close at times and rear hatch sometimes only partially opens. I saw recent recall for 2021 and 2022 Santa fe's, I believe this problem is what is happening with my 2020 Santa fe and the scope of the recall should be expanded.

Sunroof spontaneously exploded while driving on the highway. There were no other vehicles around and nothing visibly seen that hit the roof.

I purchased this vehicle in early 2023. I was driving on the interstate and received a TINY rock chip that immediately cracked across my entire windshield in April of 2023 resulting in my replacing the windshield. I have since received two TINY rock chips one on 11/25/23 and one on 01/03/24 resulting in immediate cracks. the rock chips are barely visible and as soon as it was heard each time, the windshield cracked considerably. The windshield is faulty and defective. I have driven the same interstate for the last 10 years and have never had this issue with any other vehicle.

The metal cable that holds the spare tire snapped off while the car was driving out of our driveway. And the tire flew off the car nearly causing it to crash.

Sitting in parked vehicle. Opened the rarely-opened panoramic sunroof. Heard unusual sound,. Looked next day and noticed a stationary glass panel forward of the sunroof had shattered all the way around but had not collapsed (yet--have tape on it to keep it intact until repairs can be made). Hyundai does not consider this to be a warranty issue. The warranty states in the "What is not covered" section: "- Action of road elements (sand, gravel, dust or road debris) which result in stone chipping of paint and glass." Dealer documented it and basically said "too bad". Since the issue being reported was NOT caused by road debris etc., This should be a warranty coverage matter. Similar instances have happened to others (entire sunroof) and has been reported. This glass should be LAMINATED--not tempered--but is not. This could be a major safety concern.

I was driving and heard a sound like an explosion. When I was able to safely pull over, I examined my 2020 Sante Fe and noticed the panel of glass right before sunroof exploded. No rock hit it, just exploded.

I was locked inside the car on 22 Dec 2022 and could not get out until somebody opened a door from the outside, inspite of the fact that the inside lock buttons by the opening handles showed red on the lock buttons. When the lock buttons were pushed in, they immediately popped right back out. If held in the opening handles still remained 'limp' and moved without engaging.the unlocking mechanism. The windows also did not respond to their controls. Thee above occurred whether the ignition was on or off. The vehicle was in "Park".The electric buttons on the door console also had no effect, including the child lock button. The key pendant also got no results even though it had allowed entry and starting only minutes before. There was no pre-warning and this had never happened previously. After a (locked) door was opened from the outside, all functions returned to normal. Outside temperature was 20° F. I did not try to open the hatchback. This is a fatally dangerous situation even though the malfunction would not likely be reproducible at the dealer service department. Meanwhile I plan to purchase a glass breaking escape tool. The Hyundai dealer had no suggestion for emergency exit.

There are many reports of Hyundais being broken into and hot wired and stolen using a usb cable. This was remedied for the 2022 year models. My car insurance nearly doubled.The company should do a recall and fix this problem. Thank you for your help. Jim https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/investigations/class-action-lawsuits-hyundai-kia-thefts/63-3e997aa9-582b-45f4-b09b-aa37b2464de0

The ignition systems in mainly 2015-2021 Hyundais with physical keys could be easily hacked using a screwdriver, pliers or the end of a USB cable, because the vehicles are not equipped with immobilizers that require the presence of a key fob. I want a recall so I won't have my car stolen like I hear about on the news about every week.

Crack windshield

The Windshield cracked without anything striking it. The windshield is being replaced at my expense. There is wind noise coming from the area below the crack where it is attached to the vehicle.

I have a 202 Hyundai Sante Fe. I was pulling into a parking garage parking spot, going about 3 miles per hours. Suddenly about 3 feet away from the wall (with my foot on the break) my SUV's engine suddenly race and propelled me forward into the wall. No warning lights or messages. No front- end auto breaking, I have reported it to Hyundai. I was injured from the air bag and the seat belt, my passenger was not injured. I am waiting for my SUV to be assessed by my insurance and my auto body company. I have read many articles about circumstances like these and am considering contacting an attorney.

This car just caught on fire in my fathers driveway at midnight last night...doesnt appear to be from engine compartment

THE DRIVERS DOOR IS NOT PROPERLY ALIGNED. WHEN YOU DRIVE IT ON THE ROAD YOU CAN HEAR A HISSING SOUND OF THE AIR PENETRATING IN THE CABIN. THE DOOR APPEARS NOT TO BE CLOSED PROPERLY, THERE IS A GAP. IF YOU LOOK AT THE ALGINMENT OF THE PASSANGERS DOOR, THE DOOR IS PROPERLY ALIGNED WITH THE REST OF THE BODY OF THE SANTA FE, BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE DRIVERS DOOR. I AM PLANNING CONTACTING HYUNDAI DIRECTLY, BECAUSE IF THEY MAINTAIN QUALITY CONTROLS, THIS CAR DID NOT PASSED THAT TEST. DURING 2021I DID NOT DRIVE THE CAR ON THE ROAD, BUT LATELY I TOOK 4 TRIPS TO SC, AND ON THE ROAD THE HIZZING SOUND IS NOTICIBLE.

This is the 2nd 2020 Santa Fe that this has occurred on as well as a 2019 Santa Fe that we formally owned within the last 2 years. The windshield does not take rock hits well. On all three vehicles a rock strike on the windshield not only left a large star impact, but the crack from the impact reaches all the way to the roof pillar. The crack is long. I believe the windshield glass is substandard and needs to be looked into closer as being a possible safety risk. Replacing the windshield and camera recalibration is expensive.

This is the 1st of two 2020 Santa Fe's that this has occurred on as well as a 2019 Santa Fe that we formally owned within the last 2 years. The windshield does not take rock hits well. On all three vehicles a rock strike on the windshield not only left a large star impact, but the crack from the impact reaches all the way to the roof pillar. The crack is long. I believe the windshield glass is substandard and needs to be looked into closer as being a possible safety risk. Replacing the windshield and camera recalibration is expensive.

While driving on the highway, the front pane of the panoramic sunroof spontaneously shattered. No contact from a foreign object was observed or heard prior to the breakage. The roof was closed, thus our family avoided any glass showering down into our cabin, but this would have been catastrophic had it happened with the roof open. This problem has happened to prior year models of the Santa Fe. Hyundai dealership has agreed to repair the broken sunroof at no cost, however, does not admit fault with the manufacture of the glass.

The Rear Occupancy alarm, a Safety Feature, goes off commanded usually at night with the vehicle locked and unoccupied. Dealer is unable to find a fix and has no way to prevent further occurrences. They recommend disabling the system, removing this system from the safety features of this vehicle.

ON 9/25/20 I FILED A VEHICLE COMPLAINT BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE HORN ON MY 2020 SANTA FE HAD TWICE WORKING, REQUIRING THE DEALER TO REPLACE PARTS. (TRACKING NUMBER 11371071.) THE HORN HAS AGAIN STOPPED WORKING AND IS BACK IN THE DEALER'S REPAIR SHOP. THE CAR CURRENTLY HAS APPROXIMATATELY 5600 MILES ON IT AND WAS PURCHASED IN 7/20.

Mileage: 5,600

MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED THIS CAR BRAND NEW, WITH ONLY 252 MILES ON IT. ON THE THIRD DAY OF OWNING IT WE WERE DRIVING AND WITHIN 5 MILES THE CAR BEGAN ALARMING WITH THE CENTER DRIVER CONSOLE INDICATING THE ENGINE WAS OVERHEATED. THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS IN THE RED ZONE. AFTER A FEW SECONDS IT DROPPED SLIGHTLY AND FLUCTUATED IN THE UPPER 2/3S OF THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REGION. WE DROVE TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHICH WAS WITHIN 10 MILES. ONCE WE WERE WITHIN HALF A MILE THE CAR ENGINE BEGAN RATTLING EVERY-TIME I TRIED TO ACCELERATE AND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE AT THIS POINT REMAINED IN THE REDLINE. IN ADDITION, DURING ALL OF THIS WE TURNED THE HEAT ON TO PULL SOME HEAT FROM THE ENGINE BUT ONLY COLD AIR WOULD BLOW. WE WERE WITHIN THE 3 DAY GRACE PERIOD OF NO QUESTIONS ASKED RETURN POLICY SO WE DECIDED TO RETURN THE CALL AS IT WAS BRAND NEW AND HAD SUCH A SERIOUS MALFUNCTION. WE HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THE DEALERSHIP AS TO WHY THE CAR MALFUNCTIONED.

Mileage: 309

BRAKE HAS BEEN STICKING LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS SO THAT I HAD TO PUMP BRAKE TO RELEASE TO START. THIS MORNING I WENT OUT TO THE DRIVEWAY AND COULD NOT GET INTO CAR WITH EITHER REMOTE OR BY USING BLUE LINK ON MY PHONE. I USED THE MANUAL KEY BUT COULD NOT RELEASE ANY OTHER DOORS OR LIFT GATE. NO LIGHTS, HAZARDS, RADIO NO NOTHING. I HAVE HAD A FEW DEAD BATTERIES AND NEVER HAD A CAR THAT DEAD OVERNIGHT. I DROVE HOME FROM WORK PREVIOUS NIGHT AND I WAS OUTSIDE AFTER DARK NEXT TO MY CAR, NO LIGHTS LEFT ON. I CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, FIRST GUY SAID HE THOUGHT THERE WAS A SHORT, PARKING BRAKE WOULD NOT RELEASE AND CAR STILL DID NOT START. A DIFFERENT TOW TRUCK HAD TO COME WITH DOLLIES AND IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. DEALER SAID IT WAS A DEAD BATTERY AT 4918 MILES! THANKFULLY I WAS AT HOME AND THE HEAT INDEX WAS NOT AT 105 DEGREES YET FOR THE DAY.

Mileage: 4,918

DATE: FRIDAY, 3 JULY 2020. MY CAR WOULD NOT UNLOCK WITH THE KEY FOB. THOUGHT THE KEY FOB WAS DEAD AND GRABBED THE SPARE TO TRY AGAIN. NO LUCK WITH THAT ONE EITHER. TRIED USING THE BLUE LINK APP TO UNLOCK. UNSUCCESSFUL AGAIN. UNLOCKED MY CAR WITH THE KEY FROM THE FOB AND GOT IN. NONE OF THE INTERIOR LIGHTS CAME ON (I KEEP THIS FEATURE ON). THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY FIRST CLUE. TRIED STARTING THE VEHICLE LIKE THE OWNER'S MANUAL SUGGESTS IF THE KEY FOB BATTERY IS WEAK. DIDN'T WORK. I TRIED TO TEST DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS THAT WOULD NORMALLY WORK IF A VEHICLE IS OFF (I.E. THE LOCK/UNLOCK BUTTONS AND HAZARD LIGHTS). NOTHING WORKED. I HAD TO CALL FOR A TOW TO MY DEALERSHIP, WHICH HAS TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND (4TH OF JULY). I WILL NOT FIND OUT THE PROBLEM UNTIL AFTER. I DID NOT LEAVE ANY LIGHTS ON OR ANY DOORS OPEN. I JUST USED MY CAR THE DAY BEFORE THIS AND THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. NO LIGHTS ON THE DASH CAME ON TO ALERT ME OF ANYTHING AND MY CAR IS ACTING DEAD. MORE DEAD THAN YOUR REGULAR NEEDING A JUMP START DEAD. THE ONLY THING I HAVE NOT TRIED IS JUMP STARTING IN FEAR OF INVALIDATING THE WARRANTY IN SOME WAY. THANKFUL MY CAR IS JUST IN MY DRIVEWAY AND I'M NOT STRANDED WITH MY KID SOMEWHERE.

Mileage: 840

SUNROOF EXPLODED WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

Mileage: 8,000

MY CAR IS SITING IN PARK, RUNNING WITH THE DRIVER'S DOOR OPEN IN MY TOWN HOUSE PARKING LOT. I GET OUT OF MY CAR TO OPEN THE PASSENGER'S BACK DOOR AS WELL AS MY TRUNK FOR HER. I THEN GET BACK INTO THE DRIVER'S SEAT. I AM WAITING ON MY FRIEND TO LOAD HER ITEMS INTO MY NEW SANTA FE FOR AN OUT OF TOWN RETREAT. SHE FINISHES LOADING ITEMS AND PROCEEDS TO GET INTO THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT SEAT. AS SHE IS GETTING INTO THE CAR, "SHE SAYS SHE NEEDS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM". I TELL HER LET'S GO NOW BEFORE WE GET STARTED ON OUR TRIP. WE WERE SUPPOSE TO BE MEETING ABOUT 10 COLLEGE STUDENTS. SO I GET OUT OF MY CAR SINCE I HAVE THE HOUSE KEYS. MY CAR IS STILL IN PARK AND RUNNING. I DO LEAVE MY DRIVER'S DOOR OPEN ABOUT A 20-25 DEGREE ANGLE. MY FRIEND WALKS AROUND THE BACK OF THE CAR. AS WE ARE WALKING TOWARD MY TOWNHOUSE, I TURN AROUND BECAUSE I HEAR A NOISE. I IMMEDIATELY SEE MY CAR NOT ROLLING BUT BACKING UP ON A SMALL INCLINE UPWARD ACROSS MY PARKING LOT. IT SEEMS TO HAVE PICKED UP SPEED AND THEN HITS THE BACK OF A PARKED CAR IN THE PARKING LOT. MY CAR HITS THE PARKED GRAY CAMRY WITH SO MUCH MOMENTUM THAT IT BUTTERFLIES MY DRIVER'S DOOR COMPLETELY OPEN AND THE CAR NEVER SLOWS DOWN. THE CAR CONTINUES MOVING WHILE THE INSIDE OF MY DRIVER'S DOOR SCRUBS THE PARKED CAMRY. AFTER MY CAR MOVES PAST THE CAMRY IT IS STILL MOVING AT AN ACCELERATED RATE. I AM YELLING AND RUNNING TO MY CAR WITH MY KEYFOB TRYING TO PUSH BUTTONS TO GET IT TO STOP. MY FRIEND IS RUNNING AND CHASING MY CAR. SHE IS ABLE TO GET TO MY CAR AND JUMP IN WHERE SHE PUSHES ON THE BRAKES VERY HARD TO MAKE THE CAR STOP. IF SHE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT MY CAR WOULD HAVE HIT A PARKED BLACK TRUCK OR WOULD HAVE JUMPED THE SIDEWALK AND RAN INTO A TOWNHOUSE BEFORE IT STOPPED. ONCE MY FRIEND GOT THE CAR TO STOP. SHE LOOKED DOWN AND IT WAS STILL IN PARK AND WAS NOT MAKING THE DINGING NOISE IT USUALLY DOES WHEN IT IS IN REVERSE.

Mileage: 1,000

THE FCA (FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE) SYSTEM DOES NO WORK AS IT SHOULD. IT DOES NOT SEE VEHICLES OR PEDESTRIANS DIRECTLY IN FRONT WHILE NOT IN CRUISE CONTROL. THE ONLY TIME THE SYSTEM ALARMS IS WHEN FOLLOWING A VEHICLE, WHICH IS IN THE SAME LANE ON CITY STREETS, AND THEN THE TARGET VEHICLE TURNS RIGHT AND CREATES NO HAZARD. THE FCA DOES NOT WORK ACCORDING TO WHAT IS MENTIONED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL, NOR DOES IT OPERATE LIKE IT IS SHOWN IN A YOUTUBE VIDEO SPONSORED BY HYUNDAI.

Mileage: 50