Hyundai Santa Fe vs Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: which is more reliable?
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe on the federal record, 77/100 against 67/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Santa Fe
- 11 model years scored
- 3,748 owner complaints on record
- about 62 complaints per year on the road
- 39 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (90/100) · worst 2025 (35/100)
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
- 4 model years scored
- 1,116 owner complaints on record
- about 38 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2018 (47/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Santa Fe against Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Hyundai Santa Fe
- Engine — 1,901 complaints
- Power Train — 493 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 407 complaints
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
- Electrical System — 385 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 296 complaints
- Engine — 177 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Santa Fe's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk's in Electrical System. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Hyundai Santa Fe — avoid: 2017, 2025.
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk — avoid: 2018.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk at about $31,600 — the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is roughly $9,200 less, and they return 23.0 against 13.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk scores 77/100 against the Hyundai Santa Fe's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe: 2017, 2025. Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: 2018. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe is Engine (1,901 complaints); on the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk it is Electrical System (385).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk at about $31,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.