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2021 Hyundai Santa Fe

Hybrid Gas Compact SUV

202720262025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
F
Safety Signal
35 / 100
FSafety Signal · 35 / 100
8Recalls · 3 critical
185Complaints · owner reports
5★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
34 mpgFuel economy · best combined
⚠️
Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid and gas compact SUV with 6 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Santa Fe Hybrid Blue, is EPA-rated at 34 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for this model year, 3 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 185 complaints, most often about power train. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Santa Fe Hybrid BlueHybridAWD1.6L 4-cyl turbo + 270V Li-Ion363134$1,850
Santa Fe HybridHybridAWD1.6L 4-cyl turbo + 270V Li-Ion333032$1,950
Santa Fe FWDGasFWD2.5L 4-cyl252826$2,400
Santa Fe FWDGasFWD2.5L 4-cyl turbo222825$2,500
Santa Fe AWDGasAWD2.5L 4-cyl222524$2,600
Santa Fe AWDGasAWD2.5L 4-cyl turbo212824$2,600

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (8)

Back Over Prevention

high
226,118 vehiclesHybrid only

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Risk: A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.

NHTSA campaign 24V879000 · reported Nov 21, 2024 · Hyundai Motor America

Trailer Hitches

critical
Park outside584,784 vehiclesHybrid only

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.

Risk: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Fix: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is completed. Dealers will install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting May 16, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 244. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-633.

NHTSA campaign 23V181000 · reported Mar 17, 2023 · Hyundai Motor America

Seat Belts

high
14,933 vehiclesHybrid only

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2023 Genesis G80 Electric, 2021-2022 Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.

Risk: An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.

Fix: Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioners with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 14, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 238/011G. This recall is an expansion of recall numbers 22V-354 and 22V-458.

NHTSA campaign 22V816000 · reported Oct 31, 2022 · Hyundai Motor America

Power Train

high
56,148 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.

Risk: Loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.

NHTSA campaign 22V746000 · reported Oct 6, 2022 · Hyundai Motor America

Visibility

high
26,413 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash.

Risk: A windshield that detaches from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

Fix: Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.

NHTSA campaign 21V00M000 · reported Dec 28, 2021 · Hyundai Motor America

Fuel System, Gasoline

critical
15,752 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe and Sonata vehicles equipped with 2.5L turbocharged engines. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the high-pressure fuel pump and fuel rail.

Risk: A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire.

Fix: Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 207.

NHTSA campaign 21V524000 · reported Jul 9, 2021 · Hyundai Motor America

Fuel System, Gasoline

critical
2 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles equipped with 2.5-litre Turbo engines. The fuel pipe connecting the high pressure fuel pump to the fuel rail may not have been tightened properly.

Risk: An insufficiently tightened fuel pipe may leak fuel, increasing the risk of a fire.

Fix: Dealers inspected and tightened the fuel pipe connection, free of charge. The affected vehicles have been repaired and therefore no owner notification letters will be sent. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 206.

NHTSA campaign 21V308000 · reported May 3, 2021 · Hyundai Motor America

Air Bags

high
10 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles. The Occupant Detection System (ODS) module may not deactivate the air bag upon detection of a child restraint system in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Risk: In the event of a crash, deployment of the front passenger air bag, with a child in that seat, can increase the risk of injury to the child.

Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ODS module, free of charge. All affected vehicles have been remedied as of May 12, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 202.

NHTSA campaign 21V185000 · reported Mar 17, 2021 · Hyundai Motor America

NHTSA investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds (closed)

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Engine — Loss of Motive Power (closed)

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

Opened Sep 12, 2022 · closed Dec 12, 2023 · action DP22003

Owner complaints

185 complaints filed

4 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 2 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2021: 19 · 2022: 53 · 2023: 42 · 2024: 20 · 2025: 21 · 2026: 30

Most-cited components

  • Power Train — 57
  • Unknown Or Other — 46
  • Engine — 44
  • Electrical System — 32
  • Forward Collision Avoidance — 23
“Gas pedal stops working while driving down the road. Happened 3 times. Will work again after awhile. Dealership can't find what's wrong with it and so hyundai and the dealership said they can't fix it.”Feb 19, 2023 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report
“On December 28, 2022, we were driving 70 miles per hour on Route 75 in the third lane of a four-lane highway from Michigan to Tennessee. In Ohio, the vehicle lost all drive power without warning. As it decelerated, we were able to maneuver the vehicle to the breakdown lane, narrowly avoiding other vehicles around us dr…”Jan 24, 2023 · Unknown Or Other · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V816000 (Seat Belts) 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 driver's side seat belt fai…”Dec 29, 2022 · Seat Belts · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆15%
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆15%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆16%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆16%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: lane departure warning.

Other Santa Fe model years

A

2027 Santa Fe

0 recalls · 0 complaints

D

2026 Santa Fe

4 recalls · 46 complaints

F

2025 Santa Fe

5 recalls · 215 complaints

F

2024 Santa Fe

7 recalls · 176 complaints

C

2023 Santa Fe

2 recalls · 284 complaints

F

2022 Santa Fe

8 recalls · 262 complaints

C

2020 Santa Fe

2 recalls · 207 complaints

D

2019 Santa Fe

3 recalls · 221 complaints

F

2018 Santa Fe

5 recalls · 427 complaints

F

2017 Santa Fe

7 recalls · 1,307 complaints

D

2016 Santa Fe

3 recalls · 303 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 43653, 43652, 43420, 43421, 43422, 43423). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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