2021 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid Engine Problems
- Complaints
- 8about this part
- Share
- 40%of 20 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 28,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the engine of the 2021 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid, 40% of the 20 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 28,000 miles.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Whenever the weather gets above 80 degrees outside my car put a notice to refill inverter coolant, when everything is filled max line. I’ve mentioned it twice to the Hyundai service and both times the employee told me not to worry about it and it is a sensor issue. That is unacceptable, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada where temperatures on average in summer are 90+. That’s a big risk an unnecessary danger to have my car engine over heat and stop in the middle of no where and potentially leave me stranded or worse cause an accident or fire. …”
NHTSA complaint #11516429, filed 2023-04“From what I have been told there is no recall on this issue. Purchased a Hyundai Sante Fe Hybrid 2021 brand new in 2021. I live in La Quinta California summers are especially hot. Temps can be anywhere from 105 to 120 . Only had the car for 6months when in light came on saying Inverter needs coolant this has been a problem for the past 2yrs. Checked with Hyundai Service department my coolant is fine air conditioning works well. This not a safety issue but should be fixed and Hyundai is doing nothing about it. Many complaints have been ignored.”
NHTSA complaint #11521248, filed 2023-05“While driving 80 mph down the highway my brand new vehicle shut off completely, the entire car lost power. In another instance I was going around a roundabout and my acceleration completely went out, my son was in the back seat and another car had to jump the curb to avoid crashing into us. I met a woman in the dealership who has been waiting over a year for her recalled tow hitch to be fixed. When it rains or snows the forward safety systems shut off and the alert repeats extremely distracting on your dash, like sounds, red flashing lights, over and over again. …”
NHTSA complaint #11529228, filed 2023-06“While I was traveling 70-75 mph the vehicle had a sudden loss of engine and battery output performance and I began losing speed. There was a very rapid decrease in speed, and no warning chime activated per manual. “Check Hybrid System. Stop Safely, triangle warning displayed.” The vehicle would not accelerate despite pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor and had to be coasted off the interstate through three lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder. No fault indications were present in the Bluelink app despite warnings present on the dash. …”
NHTSA complaint #11477826, filed 2022-08“While driving on the highway, when I pushed on gas pedal the car would not accelerate, I was uncertain if I was losing power of the vehicle, luckily it maintained the current speed and did not decelerate,but I was unsure at the moment if I was losing complete power, because it wasn't responding, it felt like the car was going to stall similar to when you run out of fuel. This occured for around 20 seconds, i would guess, long enough to notice that the car was not responding and continued to not respond,and to be concerned from a safety perspective. …”
NHTSA complaint #11487859, filed 2022-10Related service bulletins
- 11038465Oct 9, 2026Certain Santa Fe Hybrid (TM HEV), Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid (TM PHEV), Tucson Hybrid (NX4 HEV), andTucson Plug-in Hybrid (NX4 PHEV) vehicles may experience intake air line freezing…
- 11038458Oct 8, 2026Some vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. This bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning procedure…
- 11038433Oct 8, 2026Certain Santa Fe Hybrid (TM HEV), Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid (TM PHEV), Tucson Hybrid (NX4 HEV), and Tucson Plug-in Hybrid (NX4 PHEV) vehicles may experience intake air line…
- 11038432Oct 8, 2026Certain Santa Fe Hybrid (TM HEV), Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid (TM PHEV), Tucson Hybrid (NX4 HEV), and Tucson Plug-in Hybrid (NX4 PHEV) vehicles may experience intake air line…
- 11038456Oct 7, 2026Certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. This bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures…
- 11023405Sep 23, 2025Certain Santa Fe Hybrid (TM HEV) and Tucson Hybrid (NX4 HEV) vehicles may exhibit a restricted coolant flow condition, which may be accompanied by a warning message (e.g…
- 11019684Jun 19, 2025Certain 2020-2022MY Tucson Hybrid and Santa Fe Hybrid vehicles equipped with the 1.6T-GDI Gamma II HEV engine may experience an engine oil leak originating from the Continuous…
Engine: other model years
Other parts of the 2021 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid
7 complaintsOther or unknown
5 complaintsFuel system
4 complaintsElectrical system
3 complaintsSeat belts
2 complaintsAir bags
1 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
1 complaintsEngine cooling
1 complaintsForward collision avoidance
1 complaintsLane departure
1 complaintsSeats
1 complaintsTires
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2021 Hyundai Santa FE Hybrid
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.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology