2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
Complaints about this year name steering far more often than the other years of this generation — 15% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 4.6%.
First year of a new generation. The Hyundai Santa Fe was redesigned for 2013. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 604 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 216 |
| Involving a crash | 14 |
| Involving a fire | 41 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 20.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- constantly — 6.1% of this year's complaints, against 1.3% across the other years of this generation (4.8×). Owners wrote it as: constantly, correct, wanders.
- straight — 6.1% of this year's complaints, against 1.8% across the other years of this generation (3.4×). Owners wrote it as: straight, wind, alignment.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- speeds — 7% of complaints, 3× usual
- steering wheel — 7% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS AND WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE [VIN] WAS NOT MADE AWARE…
WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL MADE AN ABNORMAL CLICKING NOISE AND SHOOK VIOLENTLY. THE CONTACT HAD TO HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL TIGHTLY TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LEGACY HYUNDAI (443 INDUSTRIAL BLVD, MCDONOUGH…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 17V358000 LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES Fixed free of charge.
- 13V355000 POWER TRAIN Fixed free of charge.
- 23V651000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Hyundai Santa Fe was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe? What happened to yours?
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