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2018 Hyundai Santa Fe

Gas Compact SUV

202720262025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
F
Safety Signal
46 / 100
FSafety Signal · 46 / 100
5Recalls · 2 critical
427Complaints · owner reports
5★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
24 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 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV with 10 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Santa Fe Sport FWD, is EPA-rated at 24 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 2 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 427 complaints, most often about engine. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Santa Fe Sport FWDGasFWD2.4L 4-cyl212724$2,600
Santa Fe Sport FWDGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo202823$2,700
Santa Fe Sport Ultimate FWDGasFWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo202723$2,700
Santa Fe Sport AWDGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo192622$2,850
Santa Fe Sport AWDGasAWD2.4L 4-cyl202622$2,850
Santa Fe FWDGasFWD3.3L 6-cyl182521$2,950
Santa Fe Sport Ultimate AWDGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo192421$2,950
Santa Fe AWDGasAWD3.3L 6-cyl182420$3,100
Santa Fe Ultimate FWDGasFWD3.3L 6-cyl172320$3,100
Santa Fe Ultimate AWDGasAWD3.3L 6-cyl172219$3,300

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

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Recalls (5)

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

critical
Park outside44,396 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module could malfunction and cause an electrical short, which could result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.

Risk: An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS multi-fuse, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 16, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 237. This recall is an expansion of recall 22V-056.

NHTSA campaign 22V810000 · reported Oct 27, 2022 · Hyundai Motor America

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

critical
Park outside357,348 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai 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 compartment fire.

Risk: An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the ABS multi-fuse, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 31, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 218.

NHTSA campaign 22V056000 · reported Feb 3, 2022 · Hyundai Motor America

Steering

high
41,070 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai 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.

Risk: A steering wheel separation while driving can cause a loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will check the production lot number of the steering wheel assembly, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 26, 2018. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 173.

NHTSA campaign 18V118000 · reported Feb 17, 2018 · Hyundai Motor America

Air Bags

high
1,209 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The side curtain air bags on these vehicles have a component that may detach during deployment of the inflatable curtain air bag.

Risk: If the component detaches during deployment, the curtain air bag may not inflate properly during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, if the detached component were to enter the vehicle occupant compartment, there could be an increased risk of occupant injury.

Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver and passenger side curtain air bags, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 9, 2018. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for this recall is 171.

NHTSA campaign 17V801000 · reported Dec 13, 2017 · Hyundai Motor America

Suspension

high
197 vehicles

Problem: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2018 Santa Fe Sport vehicles. The front coil springs may have been improperly manufactured and, as a result, may fracture under certain loads while driving.

Risk: If the coil spring fractures, it can puncture the tire, causing a loss of vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: All of the affected vehicles are currently unsold on dealer lots. Dealers will replace both front coil springs, free of charge prior to the vehicle's sale. The recall began November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 167.

NHTSA campaign 17V577000 · reported Sep 20, 2017 · Hyundai Motor America

NHTSA investigations

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:Control Unit/Module — Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires (open)

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions for the same or similar equipment supplied by Mando. Safety recalls included in this Audit Query (AQ) review include: Hyundai recalls 20V-520, 20V-543, 21V-161, 21V-160, 21V-303, 22V-056, 22V-810, and 23V-651. Kia recalls 16V-815, 20V-518, 20V-519, 21V

Opened Nov 17, 2023 · action AQ23002

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

427 complaints filed

13 involved a crash, 12 a fire, 13 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2017: 2 · 2018: 25 · 2019: 29 · 2020: 14 · 2021: 15 · 2022: 87 · 2023: 70 · 2024: 70 · 2025: 72 · 2026: 43

Most-cited components

  • Engine — 248
  • Unknown Or Other — 50
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic — 48
  • Fuel/Propulsion System — 33
  • Electrical System — 29
“TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE. DEALERSHIP PUT A NEW COMPUTER UPDATE ON CAR DUE TO BAD ENGINES. THE NEXT DAY 1-30-19 THE VEHICLE HAD A ERROR COME ON THE CAR PUTTING IT IN SAFE MODE NOT ALLOWING THE CAR TO MOVE OVER 67 MPH. HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. MURDOCK HYUNDIA OF LINDON. THEY DID A TEST TO DETERMINE TH…”Feb 28, 2019 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“OCCASIONALLY STALLS WHEN STOPPED & TAKE OFF & TURN RIGHT OR LEFT AT A SLOW SPEED..ONE T IME DIED COMPLETELY ABLE TO PULL OVER & RESTART ENGINE. HAPPENS ON CITY STREETS. THE DATES IT STALLED ARE 9-14-18 10-5-18 10-18-18 11-16-18 11-28-18 12-04-18”Dec 26, 2018 · Fuel/Propulsion System · NHTSA owner report
“ENGINE PROBLEM”Dec 20, 2018 · Engine · 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★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆16%
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆14%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆15%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆15%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

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

F

2021 Santa Fe

8 recalls · 185 complaints

C

2020 Santa Fe

2 recalls · 207 complaints

D

2019 Santa Fe

3 recalls · 221 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 38687, 38665, 38688, 38666, 38692, 38744, 38708, 38748, 38745, 38749). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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