2021 Hyundai Santa Fe: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
164 NHTSA owner complaints · 7 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Reviewed by the MotorJury data desk · 2 sources · Last updated 2026-08-20
164 NHTSA owner complaints · 7 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Complaints per year on the road: 32.8
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
My rear back up camera intermitting stops working. I can shift into reverse sometimes and the camera does not come on at all, other times the screen blinks and other times the screen has green lines and glitchy lines. The camera will also come on while I'm DRIVING forward
When i select (R) reverse my camera does not come on. It started as just a flashing screen, but does not come on. It has come on momentarily while I am (D)driving. it has flashed a green screen before.
The windshield wipers intermittently stop working. This has been occurring for 2 years and the 5dealership cannot find an issue because they always work when the car is in for service. They also now want to charge a diagnostic fee each time it's in since the car is no longer under warranty
What the community is saying right now.
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 21V308000 | Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Hoses, Li | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles equipped with 2.5-litre Turbo engines. The fuel pipe connecting… |
| 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… |
| 21V524000 | Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Hoses, Li | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe and Sonata vehicles equipped with 2.5L turbocharged engines. Fuel m… |
| 21V185000 | Air Bags: Air Bag/Restraint Control Modu | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Santa Fe vehicles. The Occupant Detection System (ODS) module may not deactivate … |
| 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 Cr… |
| 24V879000 | Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Ca | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe … |
| 21V00M000 | Visibility:Windshield | Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Santa Fe, 2021 Sonata, and Elantra vehicles. During manufacturing, the winds… |
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Power Train (50 complaints in our indexed sample).
Our data verdict is AVOID with a reliability score of 24/100, computed from 164 NHTSA complaints and 7 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
Yes — NHTSA lists 7 recall campaign(s) for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe, 3 of them touching fire, crash or stall risk, the most recent recorded 03/05/2021. Check this car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy.
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorComplaints & 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: 2026-08-20.