all vehicles · every Santa Fe year · method

Hyundai Santa Fe 2018

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.55 per 1,000

better than this nameplate’s own median · from 69 complaints filed in the first three years, of 430 ever. 95% lower bound 0.42.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	1.00	71
2009	0.54	41
2010	1.20	94
2011	0.71	54
2012	1.42	103
2013	1.93	154
2014	0.73	72
2015	0.30	34
2016	0.26	32
2017	1.97	260
2018	0.55	69
2019	0.59	72
2020	0.47	54
2021	1.07	114
2022	1.35	156
2023	1.83	230

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 252 complaints

consumption	70	28%
oil consumption	66	26%
consuming	28	11%
quarts	27	11%
consumption test	26	10%
excessive oil	25	10%

Service Brakes 68 complaints

part recall	44	64%
however part	44	64%
exceeded reasonable	42	61%
reasonable amount	42	61%
exceeded	42	61%
distribution disconnect	38	55%

Unknown Or Other 50 complaints

oil

23%

When it breaks

45% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 41,000 miles, from 131 complaints that recorded one).

No clear early or late pattern.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 0 of which list a recall campaign.

Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

11045542 · 11052864 · 11065540 · 11067331 · 11079904 · 11083897

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.