31 complaints reported

2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Power Train

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
31
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Aug 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle experienced hard shifting while attempting to change gears, and the vehicle hesitated, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired; however, DTC: P1C2D03 was retrieved. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer, where the same diagnostic trouble code was confirmed. The dealer diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 99,700.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Aug 2026
Feb 2026

I was about to turn into a 2 lane road and a warning came on my dash, "shifter system malfunction service immediately " my vehicle was in Drive I was unable to move my vehicle, unable to shift into any other gear. It was sudden with no warning or loss of power prior to the warning and loss of movement.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Feb 2026
Jan 2026

Vehicle has now had several incidences of completing losing all acceleration power while driving at both high and low speeds, resulting in need to turn on hazards and abruptly pull to side of road. Pushing on gas pedal does nothing and vehicle will even roll backwards if I pull over on a hill and take my foot off the brake. I have to put vehicle in park and turn off. Sometimes I have to restart the vehicle a few times before it will drive forward after putting it back into drive. The vehicle does not lose electrical power and will sometimes display the master warning light on dashboard and other times have no dashboard indicator of a problem. This is an extremely dangerous situation and my VIN is not listed under safety recall 22V-746 despite exhibiting the same behavior. I have contacted my local Hyundai dealership service in past and they recommended a transmission flush which did nothing to alleviate the issue. It is now happening frequently so we are reaching out to the local Hyundai dealer service center again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jan 2026
Jan 2026

Code P1C2D03 is popping up on my 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe after the dealership "fixed" the recall in 2023. My car is going into limp mode, failing while driving, and unsafe. Dealership and corporate won't help me. The transmission was never replaced with the recall and they are claiming they aren't relatable and can't do anything unless a recall is reopened.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jan 2025
Oct 2025

My transmission failed, even after the #236 recall in 2022. My car was recalled for Recall #236 in 2022. My car was updated and "fixed" and now in 2025 is showing the p1c2d03 code and requiring a new transmission. The same recall, without the fix.The car is in great health and never had issues until I was going 60 miles per hour on a busy highway and it reduced to 26 miles per hour during busy traffic. Causing me to almost get rear-ended multiple times and people swerving off the highway to miss me. My car was not going, even with the gas pedal down. I had no warnings, it happened out of nowhere.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Oct 2025
Oct 2025

The transmission in my 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe has failed multiple times. The first failure occurred within the first two years of owning the vehicle. The car began jerking, hesitating, and struggling to accelerate, and the check engine light came on. The dealership confirmed a transmission issue and replaced the transmission under warranty. After that replacement, the same symptoms returned, and the transmission had to be replaced a second time, again under warranty. The most recent transmission replacement was only a few weeks ago, and the same symptoms are already returning — the vehicle hesitates, jerks, and occasionally loses power when trying to accelerate. These problems create serious safety concerns, especially when merging onto highways or crossing intersections. The hesitation and loss of power make it unpredictable and unsafe to drive. I have two young children who ride in car seats, and I no longer feel confident that this vehicle is safe for my family. Hyundai service employees have acknowledged that this is a known, recurring issue with this model’s transmission design. However, no permanent fix or recall has been issued, and I have been told to continue replacing the transmission under warranty until the coverage runs out. This approach does not address the underlying safety defect. The issue has been confirmed by Hyundai dealerships multiple times. The check engine light has come on before each failure. I am reporting this because repeated transmission failures that cause hesitation and power loss are a clear safety risk, and Hyundai has not provided a lasting solution.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2022
May 2025

This vehicle has two instances of transmission disengagement. One at highway speed and the other while driving in a residential area. In both cases the vehicle suddenly started to slow down, and the rpms went up to 4-5 thousand. I was able to stop the car and turn it off and after a few minutes restarted the car and completed the journeys without any further issues. I have contacted the dealer and will be taking the car in for a diagnosis. I did not notice any warning lamps or other symptoms before each occurance.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Oct 2025
Jan 2025

Upon starting the vehicle and placing in drive, it drove like it was stuck in a low gear. A few seconds later the vehicle stopped moving while in drive and would not respond to drive or reverse despite turning off the ignition and restarting. I was stranded in an intersection and the car would not move. It had to be towed to the dealer.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Feb 2025
Jun 2024

I was driving on the freeway and the transmission suddenly went out, causing me to quickly lose speed. The car was on, my foot was on the gas, but I wasn't moving forward. I maneuvered to the side of the road as best I could, with a semi on my tail and almost rear-ending me. I put the car in park, then in reverse and again in drive, put my foot on the gas, and still no movement. I turned the car off, and back on, and it worked fine. I had the car towed to the dealership where they stated they could not recreate the incident, and that no codes had been alerted. At my request, they also checked to make sure the system that records codes was working and I was told it was fine. The dealership couldn't help me. I am fearful of driving this vehicle, especially on the freeway as this could happen again at any time, putting myself and others in danger.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jun 2024
Dec 2023

The contact owned a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated received notification of Hyundai Recall Campaign Number: 236, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the 8-speed dual clutch transmissions (DCT) TCU software update was performed. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle shut off temporarily and almost came to a complete stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was stated that he continued driving the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and scheduled an appointment for a diagnostic test; however, the contact decided to trade the vehicle due to safety concerns. The vehicle was traded for another vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,600.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Dec 2023
Sep 2023

The contact owns 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) and linked the recall to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under the recall or warranty. A case was filed, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2023
Aug 2023

Once again on 7/18/2023 (P1C2D03) and 8/15/2023 (P1C2E92) DTC for TCU issues VERY DANGEROUS condition, fails to accelerate from stops at signs and traffic lights, then nearly stalls in traffic lane bogging down, and cuts out decelerating when accelerator pushed to floor, risking being rear-ended by following cars. By the time car is ready to take to dealer for analysis the fault has corrected and there is no active code for diagnosis – been repaired twice but continuing TCU codes. SEEMS to be same issue as Recall 236, don't believe the fix is effective

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Aug 2023
Jul 2023

24 Jan 2023 I had this Santa Fe repaired at the dealership for Recall #236, oil pump transmission code DTC P1C2E92. They claimed the software update fixed the issue. On 27 May 2023 the same code was transmitted and the vehicle entered a safety mode preventing driving it. Hyundai towed the vehicle to a Dealership in Florida (Hampton Hyundai, Fort Walton Beach). They did the same corrective action - the transmission "relearned" the software. Hyundai USA claims it "could" be for a different issue. I sounds to me like their recall repair did not correct the issue. Having a vehicle shut down with 20 seconds to pull over every 4 months does not seem like an effective recall correction.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2023
Jul 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2023
May 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. Parts distribution disconnect.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jan 2022
Apr 2023

Transmission goes out of gear while driving. It was taken to Hyundai for inspection 5 times. Goes out of gear when driving. Making a turn at a light, the car stopped in the intersection, I could have been hit by another car. Car was taken in for a transmission recall on 02/07/2023, ever since they reset the transmission, the car goes out of gear again. It didn’t happen before recall and computer reset. The car has been back to the Hyundai dealer on at least 5 times and has been there for a full week now. They still have the car. The dealership said they can’t reproduce the problem. No warning lights when taken for recall, however, transmission warning light came on the last 2 times taken to the dealership.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: May 2023
Feb 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Feb 2022
Feb 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was stalling with the transmission, check engine, and other unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer on two occasions; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was then taken back to the dealer, where it remained awaiting parts for the repair. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,483.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Feb 2022
Jan 2023

This happened on 18th January 2023, a day after I received a transmission related recall notice (Recall 236) from Hyundai. My car did not move when I put the transmission in "Drive". I restarted the car and then drove the car a short distance when the car stopped moving again. Then, there was a few seconds of mobility in which I managed to park the car in a parking spot. By this time, the "check engine" light switched on. I had the car towed to the dealership. The tow truck driver also tried to drive the vehicle, but at this point in time, the car just did not move in "Drive". The dealership inspected the car the next day and informed me that the transmission would need to be replaced and they had placed an order for the same, but the part won't come in before February. My car is currently parked at the dealership parking lot, and we are waiting on the replacement transmission to arrive from Hyundai. The transmission on this vehicle has always been jerky from the beginning, especially at lower gears. The car shudders when the transmission is shifted from Park to Drive. I read in online forums that this was because of the design of the transmission, so did not report. But this sudden breakdown of the transmission has gotten me worried.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jan 2023
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jun 2022
Jan 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH with the Adaptive Cruise Control mode activated, the contact heard three beeping sounds, and the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving. The contact stated that the vehicle made the beeping sound again while driving 50-55 MPH however, the vehicle had not lost motive power. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was safe to drive because there was no warning light illuminated. The contact continued driving. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the transmission was flushed; however, the failure reoccurred 2 weeks later while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the transmission fluid was refilled; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) for which the VIN was included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Sep 2014
Jan 2023

On October 10, 2022, while driving home from the hospital, my car unexpectedly entered limited driving mode (max 15 mph) for 10-15 seconds in the middle of the road and then died totally. Later, I discovered that it was due to a recall that was initiated on October 6th, Manufacturer Recall Number 236 & NHTSA Recall Number 22V746000, for which Hyundai did not give me a notice letter until December 8th, 2022. My automobile has been parked at the dealership since October 10, 2022, with no indication of when the transmission will be available to repair it. The Hyundai dealership diagnosed my car with the P1C2D03 diagnostic code and ordered a new transmission to replace it on or around 10/13/2022, but they haven't received it from Hyundai yet. I've followed up with both the dealership and the Hyundai incident case manager numerous times, but nothing has changed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Oct 2022
Dec 2022

The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V746000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jun 2022
Dec 2022

Vehicle warning alarm activated, car went into limp mode for about 20 seconds, and then lost all drive. Warning message for Transmission Control Unit problem. Several previous temporary failures with no stored codes over past two or three months, one previously reported to NHTSA. Drive would not engage even after multiple restart attempts. The short amount of time and reduced speed could cause a serious accident. Very fortunate that I knew what I was happening and reacted quickly to get vehicle to side of highway. Dealer service has confirmed problem. Awaiting new transmission.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Nov 2022
Oct 2022

The issue first came up in June 2022. When driving the vehicle and coming to a stop the vehicle lost power and would not drive at all. After a few seconds the check engine light came on. After multiple attempts to shift into gear and restart the vehicle the vehicle did have power but for only about 10 miles before doing it again. We ended up having the vehicle towed to the Hyundai dealership. They told us it was a transmission electric oil pump going out (which is now recalled). They replaced the pump but immediately after getting the vehicle and driving down the road less than a couple of miles, the vehicle lost power again and did the exact same thing. The dealership towed the vehicle back and this time said they will need to replace the whole transmission assembly. After waiting over 3 months they finally replaced it. We got the vehicle back and currently is able to drive. However, the transmission shifts hard and there have been times where the transmission lags for a long time before shifting into gear to make the vehicle move. When it does finally go into gear the vehicle will take off real hard and quick. I do not feel safe in this vehicle. Considering how the vehicle lags and takes off real hard at times, I feel this is putting me at risk for a wreck. This is absolutely unacceptable for a vehicle this new and so few miles. Unfortunately, I do not feel Hyundai will back up their poor product and give a fair refund. We have received a recall notice for the oil pump but they have no solution. This recall does not take into account how poorly the transmission now shifts after being replaced.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, Manufacturer: Hyundai Motor America
Incident: Jun 2022

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe has 31 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.