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2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Recalls & Complaints

3

open safety recalls on record

Critical

288 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.23 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical22V056000 Park outside

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:Control Unit/Module

engine compartment fire while parked or driving can raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Serious17V358000

Latches/Locks/Linkages:Hood:Latch

If the hood is not securely closed or the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, raises the risk of a vehicle crash.

Remedy & full details

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the secondary latch cable, free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owner's may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-671-3059. Hyundai's number for the recall is 163.

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the secondary hood latch actuating cable may corrode and bind, causing the secondary hood latch to remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.

Serious16V145000

Seat Belts:Front:Warning Light/Devices

Without a warning to remind the front seat occupants that their seat belts are not buckled, they may forget to buckle their seat belt, increasing their risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and reroute the wires in the front seat belt buckle harnesses to their proper locations, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 27, 2016. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 141.

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured September 1, 2015 to February 12, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the wires in the front seat belt buckle harnesses may be damaged by the seat's height adjuster mechanism, resulting in a failure to provide an audible warning when front seat occupants do not fasten their seat belts. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Complaint volume

288 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

8Crashes
3Fires
10Injuries
0Deaths

Across 288 complaints. Severity Index 0.23.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Engine150 · 52%Unknown Or Other25 · 9%Power Train20 · 7%Electrical System11 · 4%Air Bags9 · 3%Service Brakes, Hydraulic9 · 3%Fuel/Propulsion System8 · 3%Service Brakes8 · 3%
  1. Engine — 150 reports
  2. Unknown Or Other — 25 reports
  3. Power Train — 20 reports
  4. Electrical System — 11 reports
  5. Air Bags — 9 reports
  6. Service Brakes, Hydraulic — 9 reports
  7. Fuel/Propulsion System — 8 reports
  8. Service Brakes — 8 reports
  9. Seat Belts — 6 reports
  10. Structure:Body — 4 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2001 (4) · 2002 (4) · 2003 (4) · 2004 (3) · 2005 (3) · 2006 (1) · 2007 (9) · 2008 (6) · 2009 (3) · 2010 (3) · 2011 (3) · 2012 (1) · 2013 (3) · 2014 (3) · 2015 (2) · 2016 · 2017 (6) · 2018 (2) · 2019 (2) · 2020 (2) · 2021 (7) · 2022 (5) · 2023 (1) · 2024 (7) · 2025 (5) · 2026 (4)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.