AutoUtility currently tracks 193 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 64 complaints (33.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 16 filings cite a crash, 11 cite a fire, 10 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 193 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (64 reports • 33.2% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (32), Electrical System (26)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 16 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 11 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 10 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
193
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
16
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
11
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
10
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 33.2% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

64 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 4 fire reports
#2 Problem Area 16.6% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

32 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#3 Problem Area 13.5% of complaints

Electrical System

26 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 1 fire report
#4 Problem Area 9.3% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

18 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports
#5 Problem Area 7.3% of complaints

Body & Structure

14 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 3.6% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

7 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Engine & Cooling 3.1% of complaints

Engine Stalling / Sudden Shutdown

6 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11759237
Filed: 08/24/2026

"The vehicle suffers from recurring, sudden loss of motive power and transitions into engine "limp mode" while driving in active, heavy traffic. This severe drivability defect has occurred on four separate occasions under Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P00AF00 (Turbocharger/Supercharger Boost Control..."

Incident Date: 08/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11752203
Filed: 07/22/2026

"Transmission was replaced under warranty by Hyundai in Nov 2024. Engine was replaced at 100600 miles in Nov 2025. Issues with the transmission were happening at that time but ignored by dealership as issues related to failing engine. Our mechanic confirmed in April that transmission was failing and..."

Incident Date: 04/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11749805
Filed: 07/12/2026

"COMPLAINT SUMMARY: [XXX] / ENGINE THERMAL FIRE RISK / WARRANTY DECEPTION My 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe (2.4L GDI Engine) is experiencing severe powertrain degradation under the known Theta II engine defect class-action framework. On November 7, 2025, the vehicle logged a Permanent Diagnostic Trouble..."

Incident Date: 07/08/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11742383
Filed: 06/05/2026

"On March 04, 2026, I took my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe to the local dealer for oil change service. As part of that service visit, they performed Hyundai recall 9C1 which was supposed to lower tailpipe emissions. The next morning, and ever since, my vehicle ran differently. The engine had several..."

Incident Date: 03/04/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11742308
Filed: 06/05/2026

"My 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4L (VIN: [XXX]) is experiencing a severe safety defect involving rapid engine oil starvation. The vehicle recently failed an official oil consumption test conducted by Fred Beans Hyundai of Abington, where it was documented that the engine consumed 1 quart of oil in just..."

Incident Date: 06/04/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN,ENGINE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Hyundai Santa Fe

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Hyundai Santa Fe 254 9 2 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Hyundai Santa Fe 235 6 3 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Hyundai Santa Fe 956 14 6 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Hyundai Santa Fe 108 6 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Current Page 193 16 2 Current
2020 Hyundai Santa Fe 203 13 2 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Hyundai Santa Fe 184 4 8 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 257 12 8 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 281 13 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe 172 11 7 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Hyundai Santa Fe 206 9 5 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Hyundai Santa Fe 0 0 4 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 61 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 38 0 3 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 29 4 2 1 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 12 0 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 12 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 9 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 6 5 0 5 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 6 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 0 1 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 4 0 0 1 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 4 1 1 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 3 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 1 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
TRAILER HITCHES 2 0 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
OTHER/I AM NOT SURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FIRERELATED 1 1 1 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (193). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (2)

1 OPEN 1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
OPEN Audit Query (AQ) ODI Action #AQ23002
Opened: 2023-11-17 • Currently Active

Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires

Affected Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions fo...

Active federal investigation. Official NHTSA File →
CLOSED Defect Petition (DP) ODI Action #DP22003
Opened: 2022-09-12 • Closed: 2023-12-12

Loss of Motive Power

Affected Component: ENGINE

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021. The Petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experienc...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.