2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
179 NHTSA owner complaints · 4 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Owner complaints: 179 filed with NHTSA
Complaints per year on the road: 44.75
What owners say
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
The cars transmission has become very jerky at low speeds. The drive train will either hesitate or rev without power for a couple seconds. The problem started at around 14k miles.
Loss of power from the engine while accelerating from a stop in heavy traffic. Car began shaking and sputtering with intermittent spurts of power, unable to exceed 10 mph on narrow bridge. Pulled over and the vehicle smelled heavily of gasoline near the engine. This issue is the Third instance of my engine sputtering and losing power. The first instance, injectors 2 & 4 were replaced. The second instance Injector 3 …
The contact owns a 2022 HYUNDAI Santa Cruz. The contact stated while driving 74 MPH, while depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle failed to respond. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road and turned the vehicle off and on and the vehicle began to work as intended. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The co…
Recalls: 4 campaigns
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 22V746000 | Power Train:Automatic Transmission | 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. |
| 23V181000 | Trailer Hitches | 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… |
| 22V197000 | Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline:Turbo/Supercharger | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment. |
| 23V038000 | Structure:Body:Roof And Pillars | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach. |
What it costs to buy — and what owning it really takes
Class-level estimates, priced as a pickup of its model year, re-priced to your country. Not a quote, not a valuation of one specific car — condition, mileage and options move it. How these are computed.
What it costs to run
EPA combined 22 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $2,800
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
What this car's problems cost to fix
Ranked by the components owners of this exact model year actually complain about. Each figure is flat-rate labour hours x the local shop rate plus a parts band — an estimate of what this kind of failure costs, not a quote, and not a prediction that this car will need it. Formula.
- Power Train89 complaints · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair (7.0 h labour + parts)$1,290–$4,040
- Engine49 complaints · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair (6.0 h labour + parts)$1,040–$2,220
- Unknown Or Other34 complaints · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair (2.0 h labour + parts)$360–$940
- Electrical System21 complaints · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement (3.0 h labour + parts)$540–$1,310
- Fuel/Propulsion System20 complaints · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement (3.5 h labour + parts)$680–$1,620
- Vehicle Speed Control17 complaints · typical job: Throttle body, pedal sensor or cruise module replacement (2.5 h labour + parts)$520–$1,150
Other Hyundai Santa Cruz years
Hyundai Santa Cruz years to avoid, and the best years to buy →
FAQ
What is the most common problem with the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz?
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Power Train (89 complaints in our indexed sample).
Is the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz a good used car to buy?
Our data verdict is CAUTION with a reliability score of 56/100, computed from 179 NHTSA complaints and 4 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
How much does it cost to fix the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz's most common problem?
89 of the NHTSA complaints filed against the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz sit in the Power Train group — more than any other component on this model year. The representative job there is transmission service or clutch-pack repair: about 7.0 hours of labour plus parts, roughly $1,290–$4,040 at a US independent shop and re-priced to your country at the top of the page. It is an estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote for this car.
What does a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz cost to run per year?
About $4,880 a year in fuel or energy plus the maintenance band — roughly $24,400 over five years, before purchase price, insurance and depreciation. Figures come from available EPA fuel-economy data and industry maintenance averages, and are re-priced to your country.
Does the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz have recalls?
Yes — NHTSA lists 4 recall campaign(s) for the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz, 0 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 06/10/2022. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Compare with
Other pickups of about the same age.
What will a 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz really cost YOU per year?
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorData sources
Complaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-10-04.
Strong evidence — 179 complaints, 4 recalls on record
- 179 NHTSA complaints on record (44.8/yr of exposure) — worse than a typical year of this model (21.8/yr)
- 4 recall campaigns, 0 touching safety-critical systems