2020 Hyundai Santa FE problems & reliability
209 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Hyundai Santa FE, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
12 complaints report injuries (15 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2020 Hyundai Santa FE vehicles were involved in 51 fatal crashes with 17 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine → | 76 | 36% |
| Unknown / Other | 41 | 20% |
| Power Train → | 26 | 12% |
| Electrical System → | 25 | 12% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance → | 14 | 7% |
| Visibility → | 14 | 7% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 12 | 6% |
| Lane Departure | 8 | 4% |
| Service Brakes | 8 | 4% |
| Structure | 8 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 26 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 40 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 22,026 miles (middle 50% between 4,069 and 61,500 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I drove my car from for about an hour to my destination. I get to my destination and park and the car starts smoking lightly from under the hood and then increases. I was still sitting in the car when I was told my car was on fire. It went from a little smoke to a full blown fire in a couple of minutes. I got out the…”
Unknown / Other · filed Sep 12, 2026
“At approximately 122,000 miles, my 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe experienced a serious engine malfunction while I was driving on the highway. The check engine light suddenly illuminated and the vehicle began thrusting/jerking forward unexpectedly. We immediately took action to exit the highway and were able to get off the…”
Engine · filed Sep 10, 2026
“My car has the 2.0 T GDI theta 2 motor and it went into limp mode and after scanning the codes it’s the p1326 code. The vin doesn’t show to be apart of the class action lawsuit but it’s the same motor”
Engine · filed Sep 8, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Loss of Motive Power
Defect Petition DP22003 · opened Sep 12, 2022 · closed Dec 12, 2023
Technical service bulletins
110 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2020 Hyundai Santa FE. The 10 most recent:
Certain Santa Fe (TMA), Santa Fe Sport (AN), Sonata (LFA), and Tucson (TL) vehicles equipped with Theta II engines may exhibit elevated engine-out emissions. The California Air Resources Board has determined that these…
26-01-013H-2 DN · Service Campaign · issued May 21, 2026
Certain Santa Fe (TMA), Santa Fe Sport (AN), Sonata (LFA), and Tucson (TL) vehicles equipped with Theta II engines may exhibit elevated engine-out emissions. This bulletin provides instructions for updating the Engine…
26-01-013H-2 TSB · Service Campaign · issued May 21, 2026
Following completion of Service Campaign 9C2 (Theta II Emissions Improvement), certain vehicles may exhibit a brief hesitation or rough shifting condition during cold start operation. If present, this condition is…
9C2 060518 · Service Campaign · issued May 19, 2026
Following completion of Service Campaign 9C2 (Theta II Emissions Improvement), certain vehicles may exhibit a brief hesitation or rough shifting condition during cold start operation. If present, this condition is…
9C2 DCS 260518 · Service Campaign · issued May 19, 2026
Certain 2019 – 2020 model year Santa Fe, 2017 – 2018 model year Santa Fe Sport, 2015 – 2019 model year Sonata, and 2018 – 2021 model year Tucson vehicles may exhibit elevated engine-out emissions. Hyundai is conducting…
9C2 OL · Service Campaign · issued Apr 14, 2026
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co.…
DTN DL · Other · issued Apr 10, 2026
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety…
DTN DCS · Other · issued Apr 10, 2026
Hyundai Motor America is currently investigating an ongoing issue with software GDS event #1383 related to 2015MY Sonata (LFA) 2.4L vehicles. The matter is currently being investigated for a resolution as soon as…
9C2 Susp DCS · Service Campaign · issued Mar 30, 2026
Hyundai Motor America is currently investigating an ongoing issue with software GDS event #1383 related to 2015MY Sonata (LFA) 2.4L vehicles. The matter is currently being investigated for a resolution as soon as…
9C2 Susp DN · Service Campaign · issued Mar 30, 2026
Certain Santa Fe (TMA), Santa Fe Sport (AN), Sonata (LFA), and Tucson (TL) vehicles equipped with Theta II engines may exhibit elevated engine-out emissions. Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 26-01-013H-1 provides…
26-01-013H-1 DCS · Service Campaign · issued Mar 6, 2026
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2020 Hyundai Santa FE has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2020 Hyundai Santa FE?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 22,026 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.