2 recalls and 79 owner complaints on record for this model year.
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The contact owns a 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space, the contact crashed into a pole; however, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries and received medical attention. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not diagnosed by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,200. The VIN was not available.
The contact owned a 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while exiting the vehicle to go into a store, he looked back and noticed the vehicle was on fire. No warning lights illuminated. The contact mentioned he noticed the fire was coming from the rear driver's side quarter panel. The contact called 911. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. A police report was not filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was taken to a savage yard, and the insurance will then have the vehicle towed to a body shop. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and they informed the contact that they would inspect the vehicle, and they also offered to buy back the vehicle. Recently, he got an email informing him that they are not going to buy back the vehicle. The failure mileage was 18,000.
The system that failed was electrical near or in the Tow Hitch which caused the vehicle fire. Vehicle is available for inspection at Auto Body Evolution Essex MD. The car caught fire in the back of the vehicle while parked in Owner's driveway and engine off. Neighbor pounded on Owner's door at 6:50 am. yelling for the residents to open the door that their vehicle was on fire in their driveway. Fire was dangerously close to the gas cap; parked vehicle was close to the owner's house, two boats in the driveway, and neighbor's house. After the incident, owner googled for any issues with Santa Cruz's. It was then and only then we learned that this vehicle had a fire recall on the Tow Hitch. We NEVER received a recall notice. In fact, we had this vehicle at the dealership approximately 6 weeks ago for another recall issue, thermostat, and the dealership NEVER checked for any additional recalls. Police and Fire Department were called to the scene by using 911. Officer Irwin who arrived on scene, Badge #6560, Police Report #[XXX], had to use his bully stick to bust the window to use a fire extinguisher before the fire department arrived. The car would not unlock and the windows would not operate. If we had been in the vehicle when the fire erupted or any other passengers in the vehicle, we would not have been able to get out of the car due to the electrical fire effecting the operation of the window and doors if the doors were locked. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On May 1, 2023 I pulled my 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz into my garage at about 5pm and fyi It was blustery outside and had been raining & snowing all day. At about 5:15 pm I heard a loud bang followed by another. I looked out the back door and saw that the whole garage was completely engulfed in flames. My garage is attached to my home and the fire spread fast especially with 40 to 50 mile per hour winds feeding it. The only thing we could do was to get out with with our 2 dogs and nothing else. The consensus among fire professionals are that my vehicle started the fire. So here I sit with absolutely nothing!
Sudden Unintended Acceleration: Coming to a stop in a driveway and planning to put vehicle in to reverse, the Santa Cruz suddenly accelerated and kept accelerating ... it would not stop moving, brakes were applied continuously and forcefully, but with no effect. Vehicle crashed through shrubbery and small trees into neighbor's yard, over a retaining wall and finally crashing into neighbors parked classic car, only stopping after it nose-dived downward. We live in Rapid City, this event happened at our daughter's residence in Black Hawk, South Dakota.
Unknown. I have had a clunking in the rear and have come across a TSB TSB 25-SS-003H. Seems like a safety issue. Rear shocks could be defective.
The push-to-open fuel filler door repeatedly failed to release, preventing refueling. The door locks through an electronic actuator tied to the central locking system, and there is no interior lever or owner-accessible manual override. Beginning in August 2026, the door intermittently failed to open when pushed with the vehicle off and all doors unlocked. Cycling lock/unlock on the key fob while pressing the door sometimes freed it after several minutes; other times it would not open at all. No warning lamps or messages preceded the failures. A door that will not release means the vehicle cannot be refueled, which can strand the driver or cause a loss of motive power in traffic. Owners of other 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles report the same failure online, including at least one tow after an owner could not refuel. An authorized Hyundai dealer inspected the vehicle twice. On 08/29/2026 (24,410 miles) the dealer could not reproduce the concern and lubricated the latch pins. The failure returned within days. On 09/09/2026 (24,520 miles) the dealer confirmed the concern, found the electronic release motor had failed and the door housing assembly seized, and replaced the housing (part 81595-K5500) under the 5-year/60,000-mile warranty, documenting the repair with photos per Hyundai's warranty policy. The failed component remained with the dealer; both repair orders are available on request. Hyundai already addresses this failure on the related Tucson: TSB 25-BE-021H covers the same fuel filler door release actuator on 2022-2024 models, and its official repair video is titled for both the Tucson and Santa Cruz, indicating a shared component and known failure mode. No Santa Cruz bulletin or remedy has been published. I ask NHTSA to track this as a defect trend.
my 2023 Santa Cruz had 7500 miles when purchased 4/25/26. I have had issues with the screen blackening/fading which cuts of electronics; ex; safety features. This was taken in twice. Then the truck loses power. Going 55 or 75, suddenly truck drops to 20mph. Car's honk, brake & swerve not to hit us. It has been at dealers three times now for same issue. Since I've owned vehicle, it has been at dealer for 29 days tomorrow and it is still there. The truck is a death trap, always something wrong.
truck dash light would fade/blacken at which time none of safety features would work. This is an intermittent problem but seem like it has happened many times with the Santa Cruz's in general, so Hyundai was aware of problem. They don't seem to fix problems. This is a critical safety failure. No warning just happens. Had it happen to my truck about 7 times. When screen blackens, I have no safety features, can't see anything on dash, so I could get in a wreck
driving/pulling on interstate speed only went to 20 miles per hour, no more. Pulled off and turned truck off, waited and restarted. all fine. No warning was given. Short time later engine light came on. Called and got appointment at dealers.
oil leak the oil leak has be too the dealer twice for repair each time they said it was fixed it has now has happend again for the third time in less than 306 miles could cause engine failure at highway speed and engine lockup at such speed first time it was found by dealer after third oil change approx. 15000 miles second 12000 miles later and now 306 miles latter with this time the leak was larger to to the fact that it triggerd the low oil light first two times it told to me it was oil pan gasket and a small leak which at the time made sense it not show up on the dipstick i know this was da problem on other Hyundai santa cruz models in previous years0
At least two separate wiring harnesses have failed on my vehicle, affecting the tail lights. My vehicle cannot pass New York State safety inspection because of this issue. Safety of myself and other drivers is at risk, especially at night, since my vehicle is not properly illuminated. Occasionally, one tail light will go out or flicker. I had one trailer harness removed under a safety recall, but I don't recall the dealership ever replacing it. Then, a couple of years later, I got a ticket for a tail light being out. Paid the dealership to replace a (possibly second) trailer wiring harness, but they got the wrong one. When they finally got the "right" one, another (possible 3rd), much more expensive harness was found to be shorted due to corrosion, prompting me to look into trading the vehicle in instead of repairing it. All harness issues in question are related to corrosion from water infiltration. The technician working on my vehicle told me that this is a common issue with Santa Cruzes and Tucson's, but only certain vehicles have been recalled (of course, mine was not on the list). My vehicle is only 3 years old. This is all after having the dealership replace a harness under the seat that was causing an issue with the audio, including safety notifications, that started within weeks of owning the vehicle. No warning lights, messages faults, or other symptoms indicated there was an issue. Self diagnostics, as accessed via Hyundai's BlueLink app, has no record of issues since the first wiring harness issues I had when I first bought the vehicle (see below). I have already filed a separate complaint regarding the harness under the seat. This is a new complaint regarding wiring harnesses, unrelated to the first underseat harness complaint.
While driving on the highway at a speed of approx 35 mph, no traffic in front of me, I got an audile warning and the car started slowing down, and the message on the dash said EMERGENCY BRAKING, this has happened twice in the last month.
Transmission does not advance through its ranges fails to shift leaving stranded middle of intersection. Misses a whole range looses excelleration. You
Hyundai Santa Cruz with transmission problems. 5 attempts to repair and manufacture failed to. Last time, vehicle had a sudden transmission failure while driving. Car stop responding to acceleration and transmission was not switching gears, that could had cause loss of control, especially in high-speed or high-traffic situations. Luckily it was very early in the morning, not much traffic and before (0.3 miles) from taking a high-speed interstate. Vehicle is not safe to drive and according to a research I made, other vehicles of same brand, model and year are facing same issues.
Filed by owners of this model year and unverified by NHTSA — one person’s account, not an established fact.
1 recall carries a do-not-drive or park-outside warning. Check whether this vehicle was remedied before driving or storing it.
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.
Remedy: 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.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace, or secure the roof moldings, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 241.
Published by model year, not by VIN — may not apply to this vehicle, or may already have been done. Confirm with a dealer.