2017 Hyundai Santa Fe · symptom sheet
Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard
- 66owner reports
- 17,500median miles
- 0involved a crash
Newest report Sep 27, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
165 of the 968 complaints on this car are about the transmission and drivetrain. 66 of those describe transmission shudder.
Narrower sheets: Transmission hesitates when accelerating (46 reports) · Transmission jerks, lurches or bangs into gear (27 reports)
Tick what matches of 66 reports
Transmission shudder on other Santa Fe years
No other Santa Fe model year has enough reports of transmission shudder for a sheet of its own. See every Santa Fe year.
What this problem usually is
This is the biggest drivetrain group on the site: a transmission that shudders, slips, hesitates or bangs into gear. It's the everyday version of transmission trouble, where the car still drives but doesn't drive right, and it has three narrower sheets of its own for jerking, hesitation and slipping.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the transmission (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the transmission and drivetrain covers the 2017 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
NHTSA investigations into the transmission and drivetrain on the Santa Fe
Front axle shaft failure. Closed sep 20, 2013, led to recall 13V-355.
Transmission intermediate driveshaft. Closed may 10, 2011, led to recall 11V-258.
None of these investigations covers the 2017 model year.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 7,000 and 49,000 miles, from the 33 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 4 service bulletins or notices for the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
If you are servicing an applicable vehicle with the following symptoms and DTC, follow the Service Procedure on Page 4.
This TSB provides a procedure to diagnose and repair a transaxle for the following Incorrect Ratio DTC (transaxle clutch slipping more than 200 rpm in gear).
If you are servicing a vehicle with a harsh and/or delayed shift, use the GDS as shown in the Service Procedure to measure shift engagement time.
THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES INFORMATION RELATED TO THE TCU SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES THAT MAY EXPERIENCE A TRANSMISSION HESITATION OR SHIFT SHOCK WHEN ACCELERATING AT SLOW SPEEDS.
What owners wrote
“Service update 9C2. Car hesitates or slightly bucks on a cold start. No remedy to fix yet.”
Filed Sep 19, 2026
“Cold-Start Hesitation & Rough Shifting: Following the 9C2 ECU update, my vehicle is experiencing a brief period of throttle hesitation, rough shifting, or jerky transmission behavior specifically during cold-start operations.”
Filed Aug 31, 2026
“car was in shop for recall on wheel sensor ,next day the engine stopped working properly .ran really ruff and hesitated .took back to dealer and told 2 cylinders were not running correctly. i was told they would submit the Hyundai for engine replacement. Hyundai denied its under warranty or there problem ,when there is a history or engines failing in the 2017 year .class action lawsuits against them for it.”
Filed Aug 9, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 0 of 66 reports involved a crash and 1 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found
Other problems on this car
- Engine failure, knocking or rod bearing 377 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 239 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 165 reports
- Burns oil or oil level rises 161 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 59 reports
- Engine rattles or ticks 58 reports
- Engine leaks oil 45 reports
- Loses power when accelerating 26 reports