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2012 Hyundai Santa FE Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 353 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Hyundai Santa FE, most often about the engine (66% of complaints, typically around 89,000 miles). It is 7th of 26 Santa FE model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2012 Hyundai Santa FE problems
Engine
234 complaints · 66%Half of these problems showed up before 89,000 miles.
During the past 6 months, our vehicle has stalled three times. The most recent incident occurred while we were exiting the freeway. The vehicle just stalled and we almost lost total control of the car ( very scary). The following day, we took the car to the local Hyundai dealer and their service department replaced…
Thankfully I was not on the highway... Was traveling about 40mph and the check engine light came on. So I did what appears everyone else has done - pulled over shut the car off for a few minutes was able to restart the car with power to the accelerator (light was still on). Made it to work - called the dealership to…
Electrical
43 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 55,500 miles. Parts named most often: starter assembly, wiring, 12v/24v/48v battery, instrument panel.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the vehicle stalled with no warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Santa FE. While attempting to start the vehicle, it caught on fire. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to chapman scottsdale Hyundai (6601 e mcdowell rd #3, scottsdale, az 85257, ([phone]) where it was diagnosed that the…
Speed control
40 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 16,000 miles.
This is the third time this has happened but by far, the most significant. This incident occurred 9/8/13 - driving down nys interstate and was passing another vehicle when the car began to lose power. I was traveling at 70 MPH and before I knew it was down to 35. I immediately pulled over onto the median, turned the…
My 2012 Hyundai Santa FE has lost power twice while driving. The first time this occurred was on april 11, 2013. It happened again on march 1, 2014. Both times the vehicle shut off while driving at a slow speed. The first time was on a roadway, the second time was in a parking lot. I have read of similar experiences…
Brakes
28 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 25,000 miles.
On two separate occasions, my 2012 Hyundai Santa FE stalled, for no apparent reason, causing loss of steering, wheel control, and brakes. On the first occasion, I was driving through a mall parking lot. While making a left turn and attempting to drive down a row of parking spots, my car stalled and I was unable to…
After performing a brake inspection I notice deep grooves within the rear brake rotors. This is not only premature brake wear but this is due to the rear brake calipers locking up.
Transmission
24 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 22,000 miles.
This is my latest issue with my 2012 Santa FE (the previous being a bad transfer case which made it sputter, a bad 4WD coupling assembly which made it clunk while turning & a bad transmission range shaft which caused it to not start occasionally)...it now just turns off while driving. Happened twice in the past few…
Highway driving at 55mph, complete and total loss of drive train and engine power, check engine light illuminates. No throttle capability. Engine reduces to idling speed, but transmission stays engaged. Vehicle slows down and driver pulls off road. All electronics appear to work. Gas pedal has no interaction with…
Other or unspecified
16 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles.
There have been numerous incidents that have occurred over the past few months. Is intermittent - can happen 2 days in a row or weeks apart. Symptoms when moving forward at a low rate of speed (stop and go traffic on expressway) stop to 10 miles per hour ... Every now and then hear a "clunk" sound from the rear of the…
I have been having continuous issues with a loud "clunk" when my car is placed in reverse, turning, shifting gears. It's intermittent, but loud and hard enough that it feels as though the vehicle has been hit. The car does not kick off any codes, however a number of other Santa FE owners have has the same issue and…
Steering
16 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 44,500 miles.
When making a right hand turn at slow speed the cars stalls out. Today 7/16 is the 3rd time this has happened. The same event happened twice in the same week about 6 months ago then not again. This sounds too similar to the problems w/ gm cars.
Please investigate the Hyundai line of cars. I was driving this car that I owned. I had just driven 140 miles, and I was on city streets making my way to the inlaws. I stopped at a stop sign and as I accelerated and proceeded to make a right turn on to another city street, the engine completely died. I noticed it when…
Suspension
14 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 99,500 miles.
I was driving home on a rural street and heard a long clanking sound and then starting to smell rubber. I drove about 1.5 miles like this and when I got home, the strut/coil spring on the right front was broken off and scraping my tire on the inside. Had I been on the beltway, my tire could have blown and a major…
Loud clanking noise on right front side. Strut is broken. Popping cover off under hood. Lot of movement. I read there are a lot of issues with right front suspension on 2012 Santa FE. If this is true where is the recall. Parts are very expensive
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 Hyundai Santa FE recalls
Engine
Risk: A damaged engine can increase the risk of a fire or it can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine. If bearing damage is found, the engine will be replaced. Dealers will also install a software update containing a new knock sensor detection system (ksds). Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began march 31, 2021. Owners may contact hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 198.
Full defect summary
Hyundai motor america (hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 veloster, 2012 santa fe, 2011-2013 sonata hybrid, and 2016 sonata hybrid vehicles. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely, which over time can result in engine damage.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Loss of motive power
Summary
The national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated july 13, 2022, petitioning the agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain hyundai motor america, inc. And kia america, inc. Vehicles spanning model years (my) 2005-2021. The petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experiencing rapid loss of engine oil due to oil drain plug back outs, resulting in loss of motive power and/or catastrophic engine damage. Additional complaints were provided which alleged that the oil drain pans lack sufficient structural integrity and are
Engine fires
Summary
On march 29, 2019, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened two preliminary evaluations (pe19-003 on hyundai and pe19-004 on kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year hyundai and kia vehicles.â during the pe investigations, hyundai and kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, including those due to engine failures involving various engine types.â the remedies for the engine failure recalls typically involve engine inspection (to detect existing damage), and if necessary, engine replacement.â additionally, both manufacturers have been installing an engine control software modif
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated october 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (etc) system on certain kia vehicles resulting in the opening of dp21-003. Accordingly, model year (my) 2005-2016 kia optima/k5, my 2006-2015 kia sorento, my 2007-2016 hyundai elantra, my 2007-2016 hyundai santa fe, my 2006-2015 hyundai sonatas are all part of the subject population. The petition was originally filed as a vehicle owner questionnaire that can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under reference (odi) number 11439675.on november 12, 2021, odi opened defec
Non-crash vehicle fires
Summary
During this preliminary evaluation (pe), the office of defects investigation (odi) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (my) 2011-2014 hyundai sonata and santa fe vehicles equipped with theta II and lambda II engines (approximately 1.3 million vehicles). Odi also reviewed field data of other hyundai vehicles equipped with theta II, gamma, nu and lambda engines (approximately 4.8 million). As a result of this pe, hyundai has issued NHTSA recalls 20v-746 and 21v-727 to address potential engine failures and fires in certain hyundai vehicles
Non-crash vehicle fires
Summary
In a letter dated june 11, 2018, the center for auto safety (cas) petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (my) 2011-2014 kia optima and sorento, and hyundai sonata and santa fe vehicles. In a letter dated july 24, 2018, cas requested that my 2010-2015 kia soul vehicles be added to the petition. Cas stated that there is a higher number of complaints to NHTSA regarding non-crash fires on these vehicles compared to other similar vehicles. The office of defects investigation (odi) had already opened recall queries (rq17-003 and rq17-004) on all kia and hyundai vehicles equipped
Scope and timeliness
Summary
Nhtsa opened recall query (rq) 17-004 to investigate the timeliness and scope of hyundai?s theta II gdi engine recalls (recall nos. 15v-568 and 17v-226), and hyundai?s compliance with reporting requirements. On november 23, 2020, the agency entered into a consent order with hyundai to administratively resolve NHTSA?s assertions of violations of law in connection with rq17-004. Nhtsa?s assertions included that hyundai may be liable for civil penalties on multiple grounds, including the untimeliness of recall nos. 15v-568 and 17v-226, inaccuracies in hyundai?s recall reports, and that a required report describing potential safety-related issues contained certain inaccuracies or omissions.under
Questions about the 2012 Hyundai Santa FE
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Hyundai Santa FE?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (234 complaints, typically around 89,000 miles); electrical (43 complaints, typically around 55,500 miles); speed control (40 complaints, typically around 16,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Hyundai Santa FE have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from December 1, 2020 (engine). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the Hyundai Santa FE?
- It is 7th of 26 Santa FE model years by number of complaints, with 353 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.