2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Power Train
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
Hard Shift occurs between gear 1 and gear 2. The hard shift lurches the entire car. It occurs on both upshift and downshift. The hard shift occurs on cold starts. The problem goes away when you turn the vehicle off and then back on. There are no check engine lights. The dealer can't replicate the problem.
Accelerated after stop sign and felt like the vehicle hit a pole. Stuck in 4th gear.
I own a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe,. Back in May of 2021, my children and I were driving home from the beach. The engine in the car began making a strange knocking sound halfway through the trip, but the engine light did not illuminate. We thankfully made it home safely. I had my local mechanic take a look at the car and he said that the knocking sound is considered the death knell of any engine. I was shocked. How could a well-maintained 5 year old car's engine need to be replaced? I called Hyundai and they advised me to bring the car to a dealership for a service manager to diagnose and call them after three days to submit a claim. For our own safety I had the car towed to the local dealership, they serviced and diagnosed as a knocking sound coming from the bearings. The engine failed during examination. I have been submitting, resubmitting, and escalating claims since. The claims manager in corporate rejected my claim because the test they perform to diagnose the engine as defective requires that the engine be running. This is obviously a circular argument created to reject claims. I have since read court documents for the class actions suits describing the issues that Hyundai so far refuses to acknowledge and address (other than through updates and recalls that don't resolve the root of the problem) regarding their manufacturing and design defects that lead to premature engine wear and damage. The manufacturing process leaves metal debris (also known as swarf) in the engines and/or poorly machined engine components resulting in metal on metal contact in the rotating assembly of the engine leading to catastrophic engine failure. Hyundai is with full knowledge of the issues (all of these problems have been reported to the NHTSA for many years now) marketing, selling and distributing under false and fraudulent pretenses their cars to the general public. This is unjust, unsafe, unlawful and fraudulent. This is not right and can no longer go on. Something must be done.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, A LOUD SNAPPING NOISE WAS HEARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO UNIVERSAL HYUNDAI (321-418-6386, LOCATED AT 12801 S ORANGE BLOSSOM TRL, ORLANDO, FL 32837) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE REMAINED AT THE DEALER'S FOR THE PAST MONTH. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE PART WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OVER TWO YEARS OLD AND WOULD NOT BE ENTITLED TO THE LEMON LAW CONSIDERATION; THEREFORE, THEY COULD NOT ASSIST. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 46,000.
TRANSFER CASE IS FAILING AT 61,000 MILE, A LOT OF NOSE AND VIBRATION. TRANSFER CASE CAN COME LOOSE OR CAUSE FAILURE TO THE DRIVE SHAFT AND MAYBE EVEN POSSIBLE COMPONENTS TO COME OFF WHILE DRIVING.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE HESITATED AND JERKED. ALSO, WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A STOP SIGN, THE VEHICLE FELT AS IF IT DOWNSHIFTED. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS NORMAL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER. THE DEALER WAS NOT CALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 70,000.
WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED,WHEN SHIFTING INTO REVERSE, THE TRANSMISSION WENT INTO DRIVE. IT WOULD NOT GO INTO REVERSE. THE ONLY WAY TO RESET IT WAS TO TURN OFF ENGINE AND RESTART THE ENGINE.
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Quick Summary
The 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe has 7 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.