Fourth generation (TM, facelift)
2021 Hyundai Santa Fe
The most reported problem on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe is stalling, with 24 complaints, usually around 15,000 miles.
- 166owner complaints
- 7recalls
- 4involved a crash
- 20,000median miles at failure
Newest report Sep 9, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Problem sheets
No single problem on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe has enough owner reports for a sheet of its own yet. The counts below still cover every complaint on file.
Is the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe reliable?
The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe has 166 owner complaints on file with NHTSA, below the median of 216 for 2021 SUVs on this site. Of the 13 Santa Fe model years since 2014, it has the 9th most complaints. Complaint counts rise with sales as well as faults, so read what owners report below before deciding.
At a glance
- Next to the 2020 and 2022
- At 28 complaints for each year on the road, the 2021 runs close to the 2020 (30) and below the 2022 (40).
- Top problem
- No problem dominates. The largest, stalling, covers 24 of the 166 complaints (14%), and infotainment is next with 13 (one complaint can fall under more than one problem, so these overlap). A quarter of the 8 owners who gave a mileage for stalling saw it by about 13,000 miles, and half by about 15,000.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 6 of the 166 complaints (4%) report a crash, a fire or an injury, a little under the 6% typical of vehicles on this site. Counted separately (one report can carry more than one), 4 reports mention a crash, 2 mention a fire and 2 people were hurt.
- Recalls behind the top problems
- 7 recalls are on file, but no problem here has enough reports to set against them.
- When owners filed
- Filings peaked in 2022 at 43 (full calendar years only). In 2025 there were 21. So far in 2026, 31 more have come in.
When each problem shows up
Each bar covers the middle half of the mileages owners reported for that problem. A quarter saw it earlier, a quarter later. The tick is the median. Most reported: engine stalls or loses power while driving, 24 complaints.
middle half of reports, median tick. The heavier grey bars have 75 or more reports.
Behind you
Around your mileage
Ahead of you
How this compares
166 complaints is about the median for a 2021 model on this site and 1.3 times fewer than the median 2021 SUV. Among the 13 Santa Fe model years here it ranks 9th for complaints. Counts follow sales volume as much as reliability, so a truck that sells 700,000 a year draws more reports than a sedan that sells 200,000.
Service bulletins for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai filed 98 bulletins and other notices with NHTSA that list the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. 14 of them deal with a problem owners have reported on this car. 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.
Engine stalls or loses power while driving 1 bulletin · 24 complaints
Some 2021 Santa Fe Hybrid (TM HEV) vehicles may exhibit the Auto-Shut Off incorrect clock countdown displayed on the instrument cluster. If the user selects 60 minutes, the countdown clock will start at 29:59 instead of 59:59.
Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 4 bulletins · 13 complaints
This bulletin addresses a warning light ¢Refill Inverter Coolant¢ displayed on the instrument cluster, but inspection of the under hood blue coolant reservoir is found to be at normal level (not below ¢MIN¢ marking on the reservoir bottle).
Some 2021 Santa Fe (TMa) vehicles may display an error message in the instrument cluster when making a selection in the Driver Assistance Menu.
2 more on this problem
Some 2020-2021 Santa Fe (TMa) and Palisade (LX2) may intermittently experience abnormal camera image display conditions on the instrument cluster when the turn signal is turned ON or the radio screen when transmission is in Reverse.
When using Wireless CarPlay, the system may intermittently auto disconnect. When Wireless CarPlay is disconnected, a pop up message âPhone Not Responding. Please reconnect it and try againâ will appear on the radio screen.
Check engine light or misfire 8 bulletins · 8 complaints
Some Santa Fe (TMA) vehicles may have DTCs P218100, P2181F0, and/or P2181F1 (Cooling System Performance) set in the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), resulting in an illuminated Check Engine warning lamp.
Some vehicles equipped with a 2.5L GDI Theta III engine (non-Turbo) may exhibit one or more misfire DTCs due to the GDI fuel injectors leaking internally. This may be caused by internal filter breakage in the injector.
6 more on this problem
Some vehicles equipped with a 2.5L GDI Theta III engine (non-Turbo) may exhibit one or more misfire DTCs due to the GDI injectors leaking internally. This may be caused by internal filter breakage in the injector.
This bulletin provides the diagnostic procedure for the GDI injector(s) in certain 21-23MY Sonata, 21-22MY Santa Fe, certain 22MY Santa Cruz, and certain 21-23MY Tucson equipped with 2.5L GDI engines with one or more misfire DTC(s) due to internally leaking ...
If you are servicing an 8-speed vehicle with a âCheck Engineâ light on and one or more of the DTC listed, follow the service procedure and replace the related solenoid and harness.
This bulletin provides the diagnostic procedure for the GDI injector(s) in certain 21-22MY Sonata, Santa Fe, and certain 22MY Santa Cruz, and Tucson equipped with 2.5L GDI engines with one or more misfire DTC(s) due to internally leaking GDI injector(s).
If you are servicing an applicable vehicle with a âCheck Engineâ light on and one or more of the DTC listed below, follow the Service Procedure and replace the valve body internal harness and the input/output speed sensor.
If you are servicing an applicable vehicle with a âCheck Engineâ light on and one or more of the DTC listed below, follow the repair procedure and replace the related input/output speed sensor and harness.
Transmission hesitates when accelerating 1 bulletin · 7 complaints
This bulletin provides the procedure for updating the automatic transmission TCU and ECU software (Santa Fe ONLY) to improve shift quality, judder with ISG enabled and hesitation when accelerating.
Complaints filed by year
43 complaints came in 2022, 2.3 times the year before. Owners file in waves when a problem gets press or an investigation, so a spike measures attention as much as failures.
NHTSA investigations
Loss of motive power. Closed dec 12, 2023.
NHTSA summary
Recalls that include the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe
Whether your car is included depends on its VIN. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image may fail to display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 271.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is completed. Dealers will install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting May 16, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 244. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-633.
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when prompted by a transmission oil pump malfunction, which can result in a complete loss of drive power.
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the transmission, as necessary. Dealers will also update the transmission control unit software. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 10, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 236.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash.
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Dealers will remove and reinstall the front windshield panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 216.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe and Sonata vehicles equipped with 2.5L turbocharged engines. Fuel may leak at the pipe connection between the high-pressure fuel pump and fuel rail.
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten, or replace the fuel pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 207.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles equipped with 2.5-litre Turbo engines. The fuel pipe connecting the high pressure fuel pump to the fuel rail may not have been tightened properly.
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Dealers inspected and tightened the fuel pipe connection, free of charge. The affected vehicles have been repaired and therefore no owner notification letters will be sent. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 206.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles. The Occupant Detection System (ODS) module may not deactivate the air bag upon detection of a child restraint system in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ODS module, free of charge. All affected vehicles have been remedied as of May 12, 2021. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 202.
All 7 recalls on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
Guide Buying one used? How to research one car’s history before you pay
Questions
What is the most common problem on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe?
Stalling, with 24 of the 166 complaints. Owners who gave a mileage for it put the median at about 15,000 miles.
At what mileage do 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe problems start?
Of the 40 complaints that give a mileage, a quarter came by about 12,000 miles and half by about 20,000.
Is the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe better or worse than the 2020 and 2022?
Counted per year on the road, the 2021 has about as many complaints as the 2020 and fewer complaints than the 2022: 28 a year against 30 and 40.
How many 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
6 of them (4%). The typical vehicle on this site is at 6%.
Is there a recall for stalling on the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe?
No recall on file for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe is on the same system as stalling. Another recall may still cover your car, so check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.