2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY REVVED VERY QUICKLY AND LURCHED FORWARD TOWARDS THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND THE CAR STOPPED. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS ENOUGH ROOM BETWEEN MY CAR AND THE ONE IN FRONT OF ME THAT I DIDN'T HIT IT. WHEN I RESTARTED IT, IT WORKED FINE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50.
DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 1 HOUR EAST OF ASHEVILLE, NC IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. AT APPROXIMATELY 230 PM ON 8/20/2014 THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THE CAR SHUDDERED AND LOST ALL ACCELERATION. COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER MANAGED TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURNED CAR OFF. RESTARTED AND DROVE TO HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP IN ASHEVILLE, NC ABOUT 30 MILES AWAY. THEY PERFORMED A SOFTWARE UPDATE AND STATED PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED. CONTINUED DRIVING ON HIGHWAY (TRAVELING BACK TO DAYTON OH), AND WITHIN 1 HOUR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AT ABOUT 700 PM, A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER AND NO ACCELERATION, AND HAD TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, RESTART THE ENGINE, ETC. AGAIN, INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS SITUATION ON A BUSY INTERSTATE. THE SAME EXACT SITUATION HAPPENED 2 MORE TIMES ON OUR WAY HOME ON THE INTERSTATE, UNTIL WE COULD FINALLY TAKE IT TO OUR DEALER WHERE THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE CONTROL ASSEMBLY AND DID ANOTHER SOFTWARE UPDATE. THIS WAS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS, COULD EASILY HAVE RESULTED IN A VERY BAD ACCIDENT AND MERITS INVESTIGATION. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF I CAN PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. *TR
ENGINE SHUTS OFF AFTER TAKING FOOT OFF GAS, SLOWING DOWN AND THEN APPLYING GAS TO ACCELERATE. AFTER A SHORT PAUSE APROXIMATELY 15 TO 20 SECONDS, THE ENGINE WILL RESTART AND RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARS. THE ENGINE HAS THREE TIMES IN THE LAST 14 MONTHS. CAR WAS BROUGH TO DEALER AFTER FIRST TIME AND NO CODES OR ISSUES COULD BE FOUND. I WILL BRING CAR BACK TO DEALER NOW AFTER THE THIRD TIME. THIS IS LAST STALL RESULTED IN A CLOSE CALL IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. *TR
WHILE DRIVING THE ENGINE DIED SUDDENLY, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES AND IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR A REAR END COLLISION, I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO HYUNDAI DEALERSHIPS BUT THEY ARE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND SAY THAT THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. I HAVE NOTIFIED HYUNDAI OF THE PROBLEM AND THEY JUST TELL ME TO TAKE IT TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE ON THE INTERNET AND THERE SEEMS TO BE MANY HYUNDAI OWNERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE SAME YEAR AND MAKE OF VEHICLE. THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM THAT HYUNDAI IS AWARE OF. PLEASE HELP! THANK YOU *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURE WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 38,800 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 38,920.
MY ENGINE HAS STALLED AT SEVERAL OCCASIONS BEGINNING AROUND APRIL 2013. THE FIRST 2 EVENTS HAPPENED AS I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT. I PUT MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR AND NOTHING HAPPENED I HAD TO RESTART THE CAR TO GET IT MOVING AGAIN. THE CAR HAS ALSO STALLED TWICE WHILE I WAS REVERSING INTO A PARKING SPOT AND ONCE AS I WAS TURNING A CORNER I LOST CONTROL OF THE STEERING FUNCTION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. AS RECENTLY AS OCTOBER 2013 THE CAR STALLED AGAIN WHILE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT. ALL OF THESE EVENTS HAPPENED AS I WAS STOPPED OR MOVING AT A LOW (LESS THAN 10 MPH) RATE OF SPEED. *TR
9/26/13 - WHILE GOING UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF A PARKING STRUCTURE AT A SLOW SPEED, THE VEHICLE STALLED. PUT IT INTO PARK AND RESTARTED IT AND DROVE IT TO A PARKING SPOT. LATER THAT DAY WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP; THEY HAVE HAD IT FOR 4 DAYS (2 OF WHICH WERE OVER THE WEEKEND). NO CODES REGISTERED IN THE COMPUTER SYSTEM; THEY ARE WAITING TO HEAR FROM A HYUNDAI TECH. ACCORDING TO RESEARCH ONLINE, THIS IS A COMMON (AND DANGEROUS) PROBLEM WITH THE SANTA FE. PRIOR TO THIS EPISODE, ON 2 OTHER OCCASIONS (9/13/13 AND 8/3/2012), WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT 70MPG AND 50MPH RESPECTIVELY AND LOST POWER AND THE ABILITY TO KEEP OR INCREASE MY SPEED AND HAD TO PULL OVER AND GET TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, BOTH TIMES. THIS TOO APPEARS TO BE COMMON AMONG ONLINE FORUMS FOR SANTA FE'S. *TR
FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SUMMER THE ENGINE HAS JUST SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING SLOWLY DOWN HILL. THIS TIME I BARELY MISSED CAUSING AN ACCIDENT AND HITTING A PEDESTRIAN. *TR
I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE AFTER THE ENGINE HESITATED AND BUCKED FORWARD SEPT, 2012. IT HAD APPROX. 29,500 MILES. TODAY JUNE 21, 2013 WHILE PUTTING IT IN REVERSE, I HEARD A LOUD "CLUNK" AND ALSO HEARD SAME "CLUNK" WHEN I CHANGED IT FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE. ENGINE THEN PROCEEDED TO HESITATE AND BUCK ALL THE WAY HOME. IT IS GOING IN FOR SERVICE AGAIN (SECOND TIME) TOMORROW. THIS IS VERY FRUSTRATING!! *TR
WAS NEGOTIATING A LEFT SIDED CURVE ON THE DOWNHILL SIDE OF A STEEP, WINDY ROAD IN A REMOTE AREA BETWEEN OAKLAND AND MORAGA, CA WHEN I SUDDENLY LOST STEERING POWER. I WENT TO HIT THE BRAKES AND FOUND THAT MY BRAKES ALSO HAD NO POWER. I PUSHED VERY HARD ON THE BRAKES AND MANAGED TO GET THE VEHICLE TO STOP. HAD I BEEN UNABLE TO STOP, MY CAR WOULD'VE GONE DIRECTLY OVER A VERY STEEP HILLSIDE THAT BORDERS A RESERVOIR. AS IT WAS, THE REAR END OF MY CAR WAS JUTTED OUT HALFWAY ONTO THE ROADWAY AND ONLY A FEW YARDS FROM A BLIND CURVE. THIS PARTICULAR SPOT ALSO HAS NO CELL PHONE COVERAGE. AFTER PUTTING THE CAR IN PARK, I NOTED THAT MY IGNITION WAS STILL IN THE "ON" POSITION AND THAT ALL THE APPROPRIATE DASH LIGHTS WERE ON, BUT THE ENGINE SOUND WAS ABSENT AND THE TACH READ ZERO. I DID NOT NOTICE ANY ERROR MESSAGES ON MY DASH. I TURNED THE CAR OFF, THEN TURNED THE IGNITION BACK ON. THE CAR STARTED RIGHT UP WITH NO HESITATION. I HEARD NO UNUSUAL ENGINE NOISES OR EXPERIENCED ANY DIFFICULTIES WITH DRIVING THE VEHICLE. I DROVE TO THE CLOSEST SERVICE STATION APPROX. 3-4 MILES FROM THE INCIDENT LOCATION. THE MECHANIC DID A QUICK CHECK UNDER THE HOOD, FOUND NOTHING UNUSUAL AND SUGGESTED I GO DIRECTLY TO THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP. I TOOK MY CAR TO FUTURE HYUNDAI IN CONCORD, CA. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS THE NEXT DAY, THEN REPORTED THAT THEY "COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR." I EXPRESSED MY FEAR OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE BASED ON VERY RATIONAL SAFETY CONCERNS AND WHAT I FELT HAD BEEN A CLOSE CALL ON MY LIFE THE DAY PRIOR. I ALSO TOLD THE SERVICE PERSON THAT A QUICK LOOK ONLINE LEAD ME TO FIND SEVERAL STORIES SIMILAR TO MINE. I WAS TOLD I WOULD NEED TO TALK WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER THE NEXT DAY AS HE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. I THEN CALLED HYUNDAI CUSTOMER SERVICE AND REPORTED THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THIS ISSUE. I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED CASE # [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
TOOK MY CAR IN TO HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP IN CONCORD, CA ON APPROX. MARCH 17TH OF THIS YEAR FOR PREVIOUS COMPLAINTS OF ENGINE SUDDENLY SHUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING. WAS TOLD AT THAT TIME THAT NO ERROR CODES WERE RECORDED BY THE CAR'S COMPUTER AND THAT HYUNDAI MECHANICS COULD NOT FIND ANY MECHANICAL ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE. THEY THEN TALKED TO HYUNDAI ENGINEERS AND DECIDED THAT POSSIBLY THE CARS THROTTLE BODIES COULD BE A PROBLEM AND TOLD ME THEY WOULD DO A "GOOD WILL" REPLACEMENT OF THIS AUTO PART. SINCE THAT TIME, I HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR APPROXIMATELY 1K MILES WITHOUT INCIDENT, UNTIL THIS PAST SATURDAY MAY 18 2013. I WAS IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, GOING AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 5-15 MPH. I PUSHED THE BRAKE TO DO A GRADUAL SLOW, THEN WENT TO PUSH THE ACCELERATOR BUT THERE WAS NO POWER. I LOOKED DOWN TO SEE MY DASH LIGHTS WERE PRESENT, BUT NO ENGINE SOUND. I SLOWED THE CAR TO A COMPLETE STOP, TURNED THE IGNITION OFF, THEN TURNED IT ON AND THE ENGINE STARTED RIGHT UP. AGAIN, AS PREVIOUS, NO ERROR MESSAGES APPEARED ON MY DASH. THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN WITHOUT INCIDENT SO FAR 200 MILES SINCE THIS LAST INCIDENT. THE DEALERSHIP HAS ASKED ME TO BRING THE CAR IN AND ALLOW THEM TEST DRIVE THE CAR FOR A DAY HOPING THAT THIS INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WILL OCCUR FOR THEM. IT APPEARS TO BE CONNECTED TO HITTING THE BRAKES, SLOWING, THEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE. ALL TIMES THIS SO FAR THIS HAS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING ON AN INCLINE. THE VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS 35, 500 MILES. *TR
WHILE DRIVING AT SLOW SPEED 10-15 MPH AND BRAKING THE CAR COMPLETELY STALLED, ONCE WHILE TURNING LEFT AND ONCE WHILE GOING STRAIGHT. LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES AND NARROWLY AVOIDING HITTING ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND NO CODES STORED. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE SITTING AT A STOP LIGHT, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,500.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE . THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE POWER STEERING IN FAILED. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND ALL OF THE LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 20,500.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY RESTART THE VEHICLE AND CONTINUE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO HAVE THE FAILURE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,500. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 68 MPH, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO EMIT A LOUD BANGING NOISE AND CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS MANEUVERED TO THE SHOULDER AND STOPPED. A STATE TROOPER APPEARED ON THE SCENE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 673.
NEW SANTA FE, 45 DAYS OLD, SCREECHING / METAL ON METAL GRINDING SOUND. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. AT 3 MONTHS OLD, CAR ENGINE TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. NOTHING DONE TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. DO NOT TRUST CAR. *TR
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Quick Summary
The 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe has 43 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.