Hyundai Santa Fe vs Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: which is more reliable?
The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is clearly ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe on the federal record: 80/100 against 67/100 across every model year we score.
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 Wrangler Unlimited
- 6 model years scored
- 3,516 owner complaints on record
- about 56 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (90/100) · worst 2020 (58/100)
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 Wrangler Unlimited
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 Wrangler Unlimited
- Engine — 875 complaints
- Power Train — 747 complaints
- Electrical System — 629 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Hyundai Santa Fe — avoid: 2017, 2025.
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017.
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 Wrangler Unlimited at about $28,800 — the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is roughly $12,000 less, and they return 23.0 against 20.0 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 Wrangler Unlimited more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited scores 80/100 against the Hyundai Santa Fe's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited carries about 56 complaints per year on the road against 62 for the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe: 2017, 2025. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: no year scores below 45. 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 Wrangler Unlimited?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe is Engine (1,901 complaints); on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited it is Engine (875).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited at about $28,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.