2023 Hyundai Santa Fe · symptom sheet
Brakes grind, pulse or wear early
- 25owner reports
- 18,756median miles
- 1involved a crash
Newest report Sep 23, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
25 of the 210 complaints on this car describe brake wear, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2023 Santa Fe.
Tick what matches of 25 reports
Brake wear on other Santa Fe years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026.
What this problem usually is
Brake reports cover a wide spread of symptoms. Grinding or squealing is common, and so is a pulsing pedal or a shake through the car when stopping. Others describe pads and rotors worn out long before they expected, a brake warning light, or a pedal that goes soft or sinks toward the floor. The most serious ones say the car didn't stop in time.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the pads and rotors (10 reports) and the ABS module (7 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the brakes covers the 2023 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
NHTSA investigations into the brakes on the Santa Fe
Hyundai and kia abs module fires. Open.
None of these investigations covers the 2023 model year.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 15,000 and 40,000 miles, from the 9 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 1 service bulletin or notice for the 2023 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.
Certain Tucson (NX4A), Santa Cruz (NXT), Santa Fe (TMA), and Santa Fe Hybrid (TMA HEV) vehicles may exhibit a brake judder condition. This bulletin describes the procedure to inspect the brakes, resurface or replace and perform a brake burnishing procedure.
What owners wrote
“My dealership has reground the rotors on my car twice. Now with less than 40,000 mileson the car the brakes need ground again. The issue with the brakes is it causes the front end of the car to shake when the brakes are applied. This could lead to loss of control on down hill stops in slippery conditions.”
Filed Jul 3, 2026 · 40,000 miles
“My vehicle activates the emergency braking system while driving. It has happened several times now, almost causing a collision. I took it to the dealership, they held it for a week and gave it back to me telling me they could not find anything wrong with it. They did not fix anything at all. It has since done it once more.”
Filed May 27, 2026
“The front rotors need machining every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. The rotors experience exceeding distortion due heating by the brake pads. When brakes are applied, there are large vibrations in the front suspension which inhibits braking. This is especially true when braking on wet pavement where stopping distances become unsafe.”
Filed Apr 18, 2026 · 15,000 miles
“While driving to work today [XXX] on or around [XXX] on [XXX] from Riverview to downtown Tampa while doing about 68 MPH, my emergency brake deployed for about 6 seconds. The whole vehicle shook. There were no other vehicles around. Quite scary. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)”
Filed Jul 29, 2025
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 1 of 25 reports involved a crash and 4 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