Hyundai Santa Cruz Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 328 consumer complaints across the 5 model years of the Hyundai Santa Cruz (2022–2026) that have at least 5 complaints. 2022 has the most, with 186. Across all years, the part named most often is transmission and drivetrain (128 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Santa Cruz years →
All Santa Cruz model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 18 | — | Too new |
| 2025 | 22 | 3,522 | 3 | 35 | — | Too new |
| 2024 | 36 | 1,000 | 1 | 33 | Too new to compare | Too new |
| 2023 | 79 | 5,500 | 2 | 51 | Not compared (fewer than 3 comparable model years) | Too new |
| 2022 | 186 | 25,000 | 4 | 67 | Not compared (fewer than 3 comparable model years) | Stable |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Transmission and drivetrain128 31%
- Engine79 19%
- Other or unknown58 14%
- Electrical system42 10%
- Fuel system34 8.2%
- Vehicle speed control30 7.2%
- Forward collision avoidance26 6.3%
- Exterior lighting18 4.3%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2024: “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 contact stated this has been a recurring event on vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.”
NHTSA complaint #11741927, filed 2026-06, 15,000 miles2023: “The emergency brake system comes on while driving 60 - 70 miles an hour on freeway. It has happened twice. It does not happen every time I drive 60 - 70. The light comes on stating Emergency Braking and my vehicle slows down. It does not last for very long then goes away. I took it to the dealership and it did not do it for them. They kept it 3 days.”
NHTSA complaint #11648471, filed 2025-032025: “The latest software update, Oct 2026, no longer combines my FM favorites stations with my Sirius stations and now requires me to take my eyes off the road so that I can change from listing to FM to listening to Sirius. Prior I only needed to scroll all my stations using the toggle on the steering wheel allowing me to keep my eyes on the road. This requirement decreases road safety and should be reversed.”
NHTSA complaint #11771900, filed 2026-10Other Hyundai models
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About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology