SANTA FE XL

Hyundai Santa Fe XL Problems

What actually breaks on the Hyundai Santa Fe XL — 25 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 2019–2019, sorted by model year and by system, with what owners wrote in their own words.

NHTSA owner complaints · 25 reports · 18 builds · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer

Owners have filed 25 complaints on the Hyundai Santa Fe XL, covering 2019–2019. The system named most often is Engine (8 reports). Worst years by volume: 2019; cleanest: 2019. 1 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 4.4 years old when the problem happened.

What breaks on Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 25 Santa Fe XL complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.

Engine 32% 8 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road, and the contact listened for the abnormal sound. The abnormal sound was persistent. The vehicle was driven…

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Check engine light came on and then vehicle stalled took to shop and said the engine was needing to be replaced. Looked into issue and seen multiple issues with this engine and happening to a lot of Hyundai engines where vehicles need to get complete new engines

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Our vehicle had 145,000 miles and all maintenance and repairs performed at Hyundai dealerships. Joseph Airport Hyundai in Vandalia, Ohio replaced the timing chain at a cost of 3500. After replacing the timing chain our vehicle began consuming large amounts of oil (9 quarts over 5000 miles). The dealership has tried…

Electrical System 16% 4 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact stated that there were intermittent, but constant electrical failures with the vehicle. The contact stated that the doors unintendedly locked and unlocked. Additionally, the contact was unable to upload the software updates for the vehicle or connect the vehicle…

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

2019 HYUNDAI SANTA FE XL- I feel something should be done against Hyundai. I could have easily been killed by their failure in one area. Vehicle wiring harnesses. Are you aware that the wiring systems in many of their vehicles are made from Soy. Soy is a product that is made of Soy Beans and guess that rodents such as…

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Purchased vehicle 7/25/2022 at the end of October battery was dead we jumped it. Then when it got cold it would not start jumped it and started. Went bought a new battery the battery in car when we bought it was a 630cca parts store didn’t have a listing for my battery so matched it and got one with 640cca. Next…

Service Brakes 16% 4 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

I contacted my local Hyundai dealership to have this recall fixed but was told they couldn't take my car in until October 27th 2022 at Kerry Hyundai, 6149 Hopeful Church Rd, Florence, KY 41042 If it's just a fuse replacement why do I have to wait over 3 month to have it fixed. I'm a fulltime rideshare driver and now I…

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V056000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The…

2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V056000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The…

Steering 4% 1 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Pulling out of a parking lot onto a street, when engine revved uncontrolled and did not respond to braking and steering, (pulled to the right). Impact with utility pole. Fortunate that there were no injuries. Vehicle is not drivable and has not been inspected by insurance or dealer as yet. No warning lamps

Structure 4% 1 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

My sunroof exploded while I was sitting in a driveway. The glass from the sunroof flew off as drove down the road when I left as well and this is equally as dangerous. This glass is not safe. My sunroof was shut and I was in the drive way so I was not at risk but this could have played out differently. I have been…

Power Train 4% 1 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Two bolts flew out of the CCVT system, blowing a hole in the valve cover and destroying all the timing components. Because of the issue, all oil spilled from the car. The other two bolts in the system were bent as well. I was driving the vehicle when this happened and could’ve been seriously hurt. I now need a new…

Visibility 4% 1 Read
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL

The contact owns a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the panoramic sunroof fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000

Santa Fe XL years to avoid — and the clean ones

Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.

FIG.02·Hyundai Santa Fe XL complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsTop systemCrashesFires
201925Electrical System1
ROWS 1·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

The same model year, different builds

Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.

FIG.03·Hyundai Santa Fe XL complaints by production series
MeasureValue
Distinct production series18
Average complaints per series1.4
Worst single series3 complaints
Average age at failure4.4 years
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

A model average of 1.4 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.

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How we count

Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.

A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.

Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.

Frequently asked questions

What are the worst years for the Santa Fe XL?

By complaint volume, 2019 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.

Which Santa Fe XL years are the cleanest?

2019 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.

How many complaints does the Hyundai Santa Fe XL have?

25 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2019–2019. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 0 a fire.

Are these complaints verified?

No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.

Can I check complaints for one specific car?

Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.