2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
35 NHTSA owner complaints · 1 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Owner complaints: 35 filed with NHTSA
Complaints per year on the road: 17.5
What owners say
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
Contact owns 2024 Honda Santa Cruz. The contact stated while driving 45 mph on the highway vehicle wasn't responding while accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated there was no warning lights on vehicle before incident happen and that contact had to turn off and on the vehicle to make it function. correctly. The contact was able to contact dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The cont…
On [XXX], while I was travelling South on [XXX] in Washington, while towing. My Emergency Brake/Forward Collision Avoidance system activated. Very briefly but enough to give me a shock. There was no reason for this to be activated, traffic was moving along, no one was closely in front of me, fortunately no one was right behind me. I discovered upon returning home that there was just issued a recall for this reason…
My issue is that the lane keeping system was much too sensitive. I would be riding at highway speeds and the car would pull suddenly to the right or left. This was an intermittent problem but when I took it in wanting an adjustment to the system to make it less sensitive, I was told that they were unable to address the system-not allowed to make any adjustments, which I found to be strange. I asked to speak to the se…
Recalls: 1 campaigns (1 severe)
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 24V412000 | Steering:Electric Power Assist System | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024 Tucson and Santa Cruz vehicles. The circuit board in the motor-driven power steering assembly may short circuit, resulting in a loss of power steering assist. |
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 Train11 complaints · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair (7.0 h labour + parts)$1,290–$4,040
- Engine6 complaints · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair (6.0 h labour + parts)$1,040–$2,220
- Vehicle Speed Control5 complaints · typical job: Throttle body, pedal sensor or cruise module replacement (2.5 h labour + parts)$520–$1,150
- Fuel/Propulsion System4 complaints · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement (3.5 h labour + parts)$680–$1,620
- Unknown Or Other4 complaints · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair (2.0 h labour + parts)$360–$940
- Service Brakes3 complaints · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles (3.0 h labour + parts)$580–$1,140
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 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz?
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Power Train (11 complaints in our indexed sample).
Is the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz a good used car to buy?
Our data verdict is BUY with a reliability score of 85/100, computed from 35 NHTSA complaints and 1 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
How much does it cost to fix the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz's most common problem?
11 of the NHTSA complaints filed against the 2024 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 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz cost to run per year?
About $4,082 a year in fuel or energy plus the maintenance band — roughly $20,412 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 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz have recalls?
Yes — NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign(s) for the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz, 1 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 05/06/2024. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Compare with
Other pickups of about the same age.
What will a 2024 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.
Thin evidence — 35 complaints, 1 recalls on record
- 35 NHTSA complaints on record (17.5/yr of exposure) — better than a typical year of this model (21.8/yr)
- 1 recall campaigns, 1 touching safety-critical systems
- Thin complaint record — this score is held close to the model's own average rather than read as evidence of quality