Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: 6 model years scored from 1,266 NHTSA owner complaints and 22 recall campaigns. Worst year 2018, best year 2016.
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: which years to avoid
Across 6 scored model years the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport ranges from 37/100 in 2018 to 93/100 in 2016 — a 56-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Santa Fe Sport at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Engine (240 of them).
Avoid: 2017, 2018 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2017 and 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, which have 345 and 415 complaints and scores of 41 and 37. Buy a 2015 or 2016 car, which have 82 and 66 complaints and score 87 and 93; the 2013 and 2014 cars score 72 and 78 once their campaigns are closed. Engine is the top category in all six years, at 108, 93, 41, 41, 197 and 240. On the 2013 and 2014 cars that count has a campaign behind it, 17V226000, for machining errors that cause premature bearing wear, with 18V934000 covering a fuel pipe damaged during that repair. On the 2017 and 2018 cars there is no engine campaign at all: no free repair, and no way to identify an affected car by VIN. The other pattern is the ABS module: 20V520000 and 21V303000 cover 2013 to 2015 cars for brake fluid leaking inside it, and 22V056000 and 22V810000 cover the 2017 and 2018 cars for a short circuit that can cause an engine compartment fire.
Read the guide
Used Hyundai Kona, Genesis and Santa Fe Sport: what the record says — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Santa Fe Sport changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2013–2016
Mean score 82/100, about 11 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (283 complaints). 7 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2018
Mean score 39/100, about 45 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (437 complaints). The record falls 43 points against the years before it. 5 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2016 (score 93). Worst: 2018 (score 37, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 37 | AVOID | $5,295 | 415 | 4 |
| 2017 | 41 | AVOID | $5,178 | 345 | 3 |
| 2016 | 93 | BUY | $4,865 | 66 | 1 |
| 2015 | 87 | BUY | $5,021 | 82 | 3 |
| 2014 | 78 | BUY | $4,974 | 161 | 5 |
| 2013 | 72 | BUY | $5,048 | 197 | 6 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Santa Fe Sport, through the years →
Santa Fe Sport sub-models & family
What goes wrong on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
Across every Santa Fe Sport model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Engine720 complaints across all Santa Fe Sport years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Service Brakes225 complaints across all Santa Fe Sport years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Hydraulic154 complaints across all Santa Fe Sport years · typical job: Brake master cylinder or ABS module replacement$680–$1,520
- Unknown Or Other140 complaints across all Santa Fe Sport years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Electrical System77 complaints across all Santa Fe Sport years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Power Train62 complaints across all Santa Fe Sport years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Hyundai Santa Fe Sport years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2017, 2018 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2018 is the weakest at 37/100, with its complaints concentrated in Engine.
What are the best Hyundai Santa Fe Sport years to buy?
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2016 at 93/100, on 66 complaints and 1 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Hyundai Santa Fe Sport problem?
720 of the complaints filed against the Santa Fe Sport across all its model years sit in the Engine group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04