2019 Hyundai Santa Fe: What to check before buying

Heavy oil consumption is the main pattern, often starting between 85,000 and 100,000 miles. The oil light can come on within 1,000 miles of a change, and repeated dealer repairs often fail to stop the loss. Several reports end in sudden seizure or a full engine replacement, sometimes at highway speed. Some warranty claims were denied because the owner lacked oil-change receipts. Other complaints describe misfires, knock sensor warnings, loss of power, and stalling linked to idle stop-and-go. 4 complaints involve fire, including one engine that caught fire after the car was parked.

The 8-speed automatic slips, shudders, and shifts harshly. Some cars rev without moving from a stop, and some lose power on the highway with the check engine light on, unable to go past 30 mph. Dealers have recalibrated transmissions, replaced parts, or said a full transmission is needed, and replacement torque converters can be on backorder. Other reports cover oil burning, oil pans cracking near the drain plug, and stalling at red lights. In one crash, the engine revved and the car hit a parked vehicle after idle stop-and-go engaged.

The engine shuts off at stoplights and will not restart, often after idle stop-and-go turns it off. Some failures come very early, between 1,000 and 5,014 miles, and a recall covers starter replacement and a software update. Other cars stall while driving, start poorly in cold weather, or need several tries to start even after a new battery and alternator. Driver-assist warnings light up together, and dealers find no fault codes. Headlight fuses keep blowing. One car caught fire while driving, and some owners waited months for a fire recall remedy.

Electric power steering cuts out or the wheel locks up while driving, in one case at about 2,000 miles. Fixes often mean a new steering column, and some dealers replace several parts without solving the problem. Lane keeping assist can jerk the wheel hard, fight the driver, or pull the car out of its lane while warnings flash. Blind-spot and collision system warnings come on and stay on until the car sits for hours. One crash involved the engine revving out of control while braking and steering did not respond.

White paint peels, bubbles, and lifts off in sheets, mostly on the hood, without any impact damage. Pearl White cars are named specifically, and dealers often refuse coverage because the car is past warranty. The panoramic sunroof shatters on its own, sometimes at highway speed and sometimes while parked, with a loud bang and glass falling into the cabin. Dealers have declined to cover the sunroof under warranty. A smaller complaint involves a liftgate that will not open from outside and only beeps three times.

Many of these complaints are about recall 22V056000, with owners waiting months because parts were unavailable. The automatic braking system also brakes hard with nothing ahead, at speeds up to 80 mph, and sometimes pulls the car left. Those failures show up early, at 1,656 and 7,000 miles, and dealers cannot reproduce them. Other reports describe a brake pedal that does not respond and ABS that activates at low speed and lengthens stopping distance. In one crash, the brakes failed and the vehicle filled with smoke, then caught fire.

Airbags fail to deploy in serious frontal and side crashes. Most of these complaints involve injuries, including broken ribs, a broken sternum, and concussions. The side curtain airbags sometimes inflate only partway, so the occupant's head hits the window glass. In one rental car, the airbag did not deploy after the car struck a concrete wall in snow. Another complaint says the passenger airbag shuts off when the rider sits on a back-support cushion, and Hyundai declined to change that setting.

The car accelerates on its own while creeping into a parking space. The engine revs, the brakes do not hold, and the vehicle jumps curbs and hits poles, pipes, fences, or barriers. All 4 complaints involve a crash, and one car was declared a total loss. Airbags did not deploy in several of these impacts. Dealers have not been able to duplicate the failure, and one owner reports it happening twice within 18 months.