2018 Hyundai Santa Fe problems and recalls

49% of owner complaints on the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe related to the Engine (53 of 108).

108
Complaints
2
Recalls
6
Crash reports
4
Fire reports
6
Injuries
75.5
Severity index

Severity index 75.5 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 75.5p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 28 of 122 by severity index among 2018 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 77% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2018 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

EngineEngine: 53 complaints (49.1%)53 49%Service BrakesService Brakes: 19 complaints (17.6%)19 18%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 12 complaints (11.1%)12 11%HydraulicHydraulic: 12 complaints (11.1%)12 11%Power TrainPower Train: 10 complaints (9.3%)10 9%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 9 complaints (8.3%)9 8%SteeringSteering: 8 complaints (7.4%)8 7%Air BagsAir Bags: 6 complaints (5.6%)6 6%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE5349.1%
SERVICE BRAKES1917.6%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1211.1%
HYDRAULIC1211.1%
POWER TRAIN109.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM98.3%
STEERING87.4%
AIR BAGS65.6%

Complaints filed per year

011222018: 112019: 132020: 62021: 42022: 192023: 132024: 222025: 152026: 5 (partial year)18192021222324222526
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
201811
201913
20206
20214
202219
202313
202422
202515
2026 (year to date)5
Filings in 2023 to 2025 ran 1.7x those in 2020 to 2022 (50 against 29).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
18V11800017/02/2018STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BARHyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The steering wheel assembly may break, possibly resulting in the steering wheel separating from the steering column while driving.
22V05600003/02/2022SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULEHyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Santa Fe, 2017-2018 Santa Fe Sport, 2019 Santa Fe XL, and 2014-2015 Tucson vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module could malfunction and cause an electrical short, which could result in an engine compartmen

Other Hyundai Santa Fe model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 15 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.