Skip to content
KLUNK
KLUNK

2022 Hyundai Santa fe

The Verdict

54 Proceed with Caution

The 2022 Hyundai Santa fe has 201 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are engine (72 complaints) and body (60 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 54/100, it earns a "Proceed with Caution" rating. If you're shopping for a Hyundai Santa fe, consider the 2006 model year which has 47% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2006 has 47% fewer complaints

View the 2006 Hyundai Santa fe dashboard →

54

Klunk Score: Proceed with Caution

About average for complaint volume. Research the specific issues before buying.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

Recalls 1

Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.

22V197000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compa...

Risk

An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the turbocharger oil supply pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai...

Reported Apr 10, 2026

Get notified if a recall hits this car.

We email you when NHTSA issues a new recall on the 2022 Hyundai Santa fe. No spam, no marketing.

Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
20011047275022
20029417163113
200313441554434
200412239487618
2005702975366
2006281739175
20072117515421921
200888219332314
200972405417716
20106172860104
2011501729778
201253173823610
2013191493629927
201410148392949
20153921251646
201638141515910
2017111474168980
2018201611574
2019789207917
202081427969
2021605234138
2022604207245
20238522264533
20246611231739
2025862191912

By Category

Engine
72
Body
60
Transmission
45
Electrical
20
Brakes
4

By Severity

1
105
2
84
3
2
4
10

Worst Problems

Complaints

Body 2

Following a paid Bluelink subscription renewal on my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe, a server-side software malfunction has permanently locked out my factory Digital Key access. The vehicle's physical hardware has been reset, but Hyundai's backend servers refuse to clear the token, permanently disabling a primary vehicle access feature. Hyundai corporate support admits a database desynchronization but has left the ticket unresolved, stranding the owner without promised vehicle access utilities.

11d ago
Engine 4

My fiancée’s Hyundai Santa Fe has been taken in for service multiple times due to a serious and recurring safety issue. The vehicle suddenly begins malfunctioning while being driven: all of the lights on the dashboard start flashing, multiple warning lights come on, the vehicle shuts off, and both the steering and accelerator become disabled until the vehicle can be restarted. This has occurred twice while driving on the interstate at speeds of 70+ mph, creating an extremely dangerous situation. Unfortunately, the issue occurred again today and resulted in my fiancée driving into a ditch when the steering locked up while she was making a right turn. Thankfully, she was not injured and was able to restart the vehicle and safely get out of the ditch. The vehicle has been brought in for service multiple times by different hyundai dealerships in an attempt to identify and repair the issue. However, each time, the dealership has stated that they cannot replicate the problem and that they cannot find anything wrong with the vehicle. We have video evidence documenting the vehicle malfunctioning and have provided the vehicle for inspection after these incidents. The battery was also recently replaced as a possible solution to the problem, but the exact same issue occurred again today despite the replacement. At this point, we do not feel that this vehicle is safe to drive. The fact that the vehicle has repeatedly lost steering and acceleration while being driven at highway speeds, and has now caused my fiancée to leave the roadway, makes this an extremely serious safety concern. We are requesting that this issue be thoroughly investigated and resolved before the vehicle is considered safe to operate again.

21d ago
Body 3

On May 31, 2025, I suffered a severe facial injury causing trigeminal neuralgia and concussion when the Smart Power Liftgate on my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT failed to stop or reverse upon encountering obstruction. While unloading the trunk, I went to close the liftgate, lost my balance falling forward prior to it beginning to close. It struck my face and upper body with full mechanical force, failing to trigger the automatic safety reverse/anti-pinch strip sensors. The component suffered a total safety failure, bypassing the safety mechanisms intended to prevent bodily entrapment and crushing injuries. I was forced to seek emergency medical treatment. Official Emergency Room medical records from May 2025 explicitly document the facial injuries sustained directly from this automotive component failure. The vehicle remains dangerous as the anti-pinch sensors failed to operate as legally and mechanically mandated. There have been multiple incidents where the liftgate has failed to stop with coming into contact with pressure of even my toddler briefly or our dogs, but I was not aware this vehicle was equipped with this safety feature to begin with.

1mo ago
Body 2

Vehicle on initial start up shows no issue. Driving for a short distance or stationary for a short time. Vehicle instrument panel will show a fault of Forward safety system. Errors on Lane keeping assist, High beam assist, and Driver attention warning. Smart camera module will be hot to the touch causing failure of Front view camera and Front Radar Module.

1mo ago
Transmission 1

On June 20 2026 at 2:07pm Central Time there was a check engine light displayed on the dash of my vehicle 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy, while it was parked in the garage of my home and was just powered up. I had then performed the vehicle diagnostics test (pictures attached) that showed that there was an issue with the 'Transmission Control System' with detail that a full system check is recommended and to schedule an appointment with a dealer. I had later proceeded to contact local dealer 'Huffines Hyundai McKinney' for service as I was due for an oil change anyway. As I was driving the vehicle from my home which was about 13 miles away from the dealership, I noticed that the vehicle had great trouble shifting from 1st gear to higher gears, that the speed would be 20mph or lower no matter how much the accelerator was pushed and I had to drive very carefully in traffic due to the low speeds. I was told at the dealership by 3pm that day that there were no active recalls on my vehicle, that the transmission related recall that was showing up on google search for that DCT code wasn't specific enough to my vehicle and to book an appointment for vehicle diagnostics and transmission repair/replacement at full cost to myself. The multi-point inspection report after oil change showed nothing about the check engine light issue or that the issue was even diagnosed by the dealership. From that day until today Aug 29 2026, I've noticed that the vehicle still has trouble shifting from the 1st gear, that the vehicle drives normally when increased time is allowed between power up and start of drive (~2min of engine running idle) and that the check engine light reappears after a trip of quick power up and drive. There was atleast one instance where I had to pullover onto the shoulder to avoid high speed traffic while driving in the right lane.

1mo ago
Engine 1

At approximately 67,000 miles, the vehicle experienced a sudden vibration when accelerate and decelerate. Engine light was on and vehicle had a hard time to maintain speed above 40mph. Cars were honking behind us due to the lack of speed on road. It happen all of a sudden and cause me and my wife panic at first. The car was took to the closest dealer ([XXX] Hyundai [XXX]) and they found the problem was due to an internally leaking fuel injector, requiring a complete out-of-pocket replacement. This is a known, widespread manufacturing defect directly addressed by Hyundai Technical Service Bulletin TSB #25-FL-001H (which supersedes 23-FL-002H-1). The bulletin explicitly states that 2021–2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.5L GDI engines suffer from premature internal fuel injector failure caused by internal filter breakage, forcing owners to pay out of pocket for a design flaw acknowledged internally by the manufacturer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

1mo ago
Engine 1

Symptoms are those described in Hyundai recall 236 (delayed shifting,hesitation, stalling). Vehicle has had multiple TSP services at Hyundai but symptoms persist intermittently. Software updates do not fix issue. Hyundai dealer has no other remedies.

2mo ago
Engine 1

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked or hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after two separate warranty repairs of the fuel injector, the failure persisted. In addition, the contact stated that the rear-view camera intermittently displayed a distorted or blank image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V879000 (Back Over Prevention); and was informed by the dealer that the vehicle was not covered under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was issued a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

2mo ago
Transmission 2

While accelerating, the 8-speed transmission sporadically hangs in 1st gear and will not change to 2nd. The motor revs to about 4000 rpm and will only travel at about 15 mph. This causes a safety hazard when attempting to enter fast moving traffic. After several attempts, the Dealer has said that they cannot duplicate this issue in their shop and has not made necessary warranty repairs to fix this vehicle. Hyundai assigned a case manager who says that since the diagnostic did not pull any codes and they could not replicate the problem, they would not make any repairs. There is about 5000 miles left on the factory warranty.

2mo ago
Electrical 1

The horn has now stopped working in my vehicle twice. It was replaced 01/27/2023, and is now non-functional again. I believe this to be a safety issue as I have no way to warn other drivers or pedestrians of my presence, if necessary. One example of this, was that a vehicle was proceeding into my lane on the interstate yesterday afternoon and I had to avoid them hitting my vehicle by driving onto the shoulder of the road, as I could not use my horn to let them know they were coming into my lane while I was on the side of them.

2mo ago
Engine 1

2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid, confirming the exact symptom “the gasoline engine continues running after the vehicle is switched off.” the vehicle is on and your burn fuel and if the fuel tank is full then some major issue may occur.

2mo ago
Transmission 2

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while pulling out of the driveway and approaching a stop sign, the message "Check Transmission Oil Immediately" was momentarily displayed. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be diagnosed unless the message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving approximately 35 MPH the following day, and the engine power was reduced. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The driver contacted Bluelink and was advised to pull over safely. Bluelink and the dealer advised the driver to tow the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (POWER TRAIN); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered to cover half the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 74,900.

3mo ago
Electrical 1

This email serves as a formal dispute of the warranty denial issued by [Lester Glenn Hyundai Toms River NJ] regarding the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) passenger airbag sensor in my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe.The dealership has refused coverage, attributing the failure to "water damage." I strongly dispute this finding and am formally requesting a Corporate Goodwill Repair Exception or a tier-two engineering review of my vehicle due to the safety-critical nature of this component.

3mo ago
Electrical 1

I did a navigation update as requested by the infotainment system on the Hyundai. After the update, the air conditioner would not turn on when the ac button was depressed . I took the vehicle to my local Hyundai dealer and they found the ac blower and ac button working intermittently. After further inspection, the mechanic found the multi fuses that sit on the PCB bloc had one burnt fuse that did not blow and was still hot and the PCB block had melted around where the fuse connected to it. ( Hyundai stated that they required the damaged PCB fuse, the PCB block and the harness). I'm concerned that the electrical short discovered by the Hyundai mechanic could have progress and burnt my car or my house since I keep my car in the garage. The Mechanic working for the Hyundai dealer found the burnt fuses and PCB block and kept them after replacing them with new parts. The ac was working fine until I did the navigation update and there were no warnings whatsoever.

3mo ago
Electrical 1

The airbag sensor is on in the car. When I told the dealership they stated that the sensor is not covered under the warranty even though it was over by a fe hundred miles. None of the airbags will deploy if there is an accident. I don't see why a safety issue is not covered by the warranty. For the dealership to fix it, it is going to be over $800.

3mo ago
Engine 1

While driving, my vehicle displayed “Shifter System Malfunction! Service Immediately.” Immediately after, I was unable to shift the vehicle from Drive into Park, Reverse, or Neutral. The only way to park the vehicle was to turn the engine off while it was still in Drive, restart it, and then shift into Park. This is an extreme safety hazard. A driver who cannot change gears can lose control of the situation during an emergency, be unable to safely park, reverse, or place the vehicle in neutral if needed. Having to shut the engine off while the transmission is still in Drive is unsafe and not how the vehicle is intended to operate. This issue first occurred around 45,000 miles while the vehicle was under warranty, but it temporarily resolved on its own. It has now returned in June 2026 at approximately 65,500 miles, after the warranty expired, and is happening repeatedly. After researching online, I found many Hyundai owners reporting the same “Shifter System Malfunction” with identical symptoms, indicating this may be a widespread defect. I request that NHTSA investigate this issue, as it poses a serious risk to driver and public safety.

3mo ago
Engine 1

Latch system for fuel tank door failure.

4mo ago
Body 2

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the automatic emergency braking system engaged while there were no objects or vehicles near the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that the pre-collision message was displayed while the vehicle was parked or was idling. The vehicle was taken to dealer on several occasions; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed that the dealer assessment was most important. The failure mileage was unknown.

4mo ago
Body 3

Child opened the back hatch (as instructed). The child then pressed the button to close the back hatch. Fingers were trapped at the bottom of the hatch, and the hatch “clamped” into position. The interior hatch release was not sufficiently intuitive for the chiller to remove the trim and slide the tab, resulting in the child being trapped for 10-15 minutes before help arrived.

4mo ago
Electrical 2

I have videos of these two incidents and others that I could not upload. While driving on the PA Turnpike at 4:25PM on 5/22/26 75 mph my accelerator pedal stopped responding, my front collision warning light, engine, EPB, and numerous other lights came on across my dashboard despite there being no contact with any object and my speed rapidly dropped. The front camera came on as if there was an object too close. I was in the middle lane. While I was trying to move to the shoulder there were tractor trailers behind me and to my right that began flashing their lights because my speed drastically dropped and was unable to safely stay with the flow of traffic in the heavy rain. While still in Drive car started changing through notices on my digital screen "Check Blind-Spot Safety system" "Check Forward Safety system" with the car crash icon, and "Check Driver Attention Warning (DAW) system." Then I began trying to press the accelerator pedal again and the car would not move at all but the tachometer was going to 2x1000rpm. When I turned the car off and turned it back on again the engine light was still on, but the accelerator pedal was responsive. About an hour later when the tow truck driver from AAA attempted to drive the car on to the flat bed the accelerator pedal was unresponsive again. This was at least the fifth time my vehicle had lost propulsion without warning. Every prior time Bowser Hyundai had different reasons for the failure, made a repair, and said it was safe to drive. Another incident occurred 4/7/2026 using cruise control at 84 mph when the car unexpectedly lost propulsion. The accelerator was again unresponsive, I was on the turnpike with two children in the vehicle. I steered towards the shoulder and the car slowed to a stop. After that incident, Bowser Hyundai replaced the transmission on the car. They notified me on June 18 that they believe they fixed the problem again but I don't feel the vehicle is safe for my family and worry it will be deadly

4mo ago

201 total

1/ 11
Report a Klunk