Your vehicle report
2005 Hyundai Santa FE
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 216
- Received Apr 2005 to Apr 2025
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Airbag warning light stays on55 complaints · 25% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Unintended acceleration despite braking30 complaints · 14% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Coil springs break and puncture tires12 complaints · 5.6% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #14V435000Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model Year 2001-2006 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured from March 31, 2000, through February 15, 2006, that are registered and operated, or which were originally sold and registered, in the following 20 “salt belt" states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The affected vehicles may experience front coil spring corrosion from road salt, causing the coil spring to fracture and make contact with the tire.
- Recall #05V527000On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with an occupant classification system (ocs) the right front seat of the vehicle may misclassify certain small children seated on the front edge of the seat as an adult.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 18 crashes, 0 fires, 14 people injured, 2 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 17 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Airbags, belts & seats
- Airbag warning light stays on
- Airbags fail to deploy in crashes
- Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off
1 more problem
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 12 |
| 2006 | 17 |
| 2007 | 6 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 11 |
| 2011 | 9 |
| 2012 | 16 |
| 2013 | 16 |
| 2014 | 33 |
| 2015 | 17 |
| 2016 | 22 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 13 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 216 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbag warning light stays on | 55 | 25% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 30 | 14% | – | |
| Coil springs break and puncture tires | 12 | 5.6% | – | NHTSA recall #14V435000 |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 12 | 5.6% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 9 | 4.2% | – | |
| Anti-lock brakes fail or lock up | 9 | 4.2% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 7 | 3.2% | – | |
| Electronic throttle body fails and cuts power | 6 | 2.8% | – | |
| Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off | 5 | 2.3% | – | NHTSA recall #05V450000 |
| Engine stalls and loses power while driving | 5 | 2.3% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 4 | 1.8% | – | |
| Frame rusts and corrodes through | 4 | 1.8% | – | |
| Brakes make grinding or squealing noise | 4 | 1.8% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 3 | 1.4% | – | |
| Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips | 3 | 1.4% | – | |
| Brake lights fail or stay on | 3 | 1.4% | – | |
| Automatic emergency braking applies without reason | 3 | 1.4% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #14V435000July 18, 2014271,773 vehicles affected
suspension: front: springs: coil springs
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model Year 2001-2006 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured from March 31, 2000, through February 15, 2006, that are registered and operated, or which were originally sold and registered, in the following 20 “salt belt" states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The affected vehicles may experience front coil spring corrosion from road salt, causing the coil spring to fracture and make contact with the tire.
If the front coil spring fractures due to corrosion it could cause the coil spring to make contact with the tire, possibly puncturing the tire and increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the coil spring, free of charge. The recall began on October 24, 2014. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 124.
NHTSA recall #05V527000November 17, 2005134 vehicles affected
air bags: frontal
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with an occupant classification system (ocs) the right front seat of the vehicle may misclassify certain small children seated on the front edge of the seat as an adult.
The possibility of misclassification of certain small children as an adult may allow the right front airbag to deploy in a frontal collision crash or the side impact airbag to deploy in a side collision crash; severe injury or death could occur.
Remedy
Dealers will ensure that the vehicle's ocs will properly classify certain small children when seated on the front edge of the seat and will disable the right front airbags. Dealers will reprogram the vehicle's ocs electronic control unit to provide an increased margin for recognition of certain small children. The recall began on december 6, 2005. Owners may contact Hyundai of puerto rico at 1-800-981-0188.
NHTSA recall #05V450000October 4, 200512,000 vehicles affected
air bags
On certain vehicles equipped with an occupant classification system (ocs) the right front seat of the vehicle may misclassify certain small children seated on the front edge of the seat as an adult.
The possibility of misclassification of certain small children as an adult may allow the right front airbag to deploy in a frontal collision crash or the side impact airbag to deploy in a side collision crash; severe injury or death could occur.
Remedy
Dealers will ensure that the vehicle's ocs will properly classify certain small children when seated on the front edge of the seat and will disable the right front airbags. Dealers will reprogram the vehicle's ocs electronic control unit to provide an increased margin for recognition of certain small children. The recall began on december 21, 2005. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2005 Hyundai Santa FE.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN