2015 Hyundai Santa Fe: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Feb 20, 2026 · Engine · AL

I purchased this vehicle one year ago from a used car dealership with 148,000 miles on it. Within a few months it was throwing crankshaft position, sensor codes, camshaft codes, and burning oil. I cannot bring my RPMs above two without my check engine light coming on and blinking. My car will go into limp mode. Hyundai does not have my car included in the engine recall they only have the sport Santa Fe included. They released an extended warranty for 150,000 miles but by the time that was put into place my car was at 151,000 miles so it was not eligible.

Filed Aug 25, 2024 · Engine · SC

Car was burning lots of engine oil and lost power, dealer said nothing was wrong with it. months later when to limp mode, lacks of power in the highway, dealer said it lost compression on 2 cylinders and that I need a new engine. I ask them if the vehicle has a recall and they said no, all my research said that this type of engine has a recall for me they are looking for any loophole in order not to replace the engine

Filed Oct 25, 2023 · Engine · MA

On October 7, while driving on the interstate, the engine started rattling, then stopped completely, causing me to drift across lanes to get to the shoulder. Upon restarting the car, the check engine light was flashing and the car was in limp mode. After bringing it to a shop, they diagnosed the P1326 engine code, where I was instructed to drive the car on the back roads to the nearest dealership, 50 miles away. The dealership confirmed that the engine needs to be replaced. One month prior to this incident, a P0420 code appeared (catalytic converter needs to be replaced). I had not yet replaced it, since the part is on backorder. My go-to auto shop is still waiting for the catalytic converter to come in. The car currently has about 137,000 miles on it, and has been serviced and inspected regularly. If the engine needs to be inspected, the car is currently awaiting a new engine at the dealer. It will take several months for the dealer to replace the engine, so the car should be available. My safety and the general public's safety was put at risk when my car became difficult to control when the engine stopped unexpectedly while driving at highway speeds on the interstate.

Filed Jul 9, 2023 · Acceleration, Electrical · WA

Engine suddenly went into limp mode and jerked steering while on the highway (engine light happened AFTER). We started about 60mph, then vehicle slowed to about 30mph in a few seconds. Almost crashed into a semi-truck trying to get my car under control, then almost caused a pileup collision behind a slow-moving traffic control vehicle. Limped into town. Engine was rattling. Found the engine to be very hot under the hood. Found oil dripping underneath (research says certain Hyundai Santa Fe were recalled for this issue). Oil was low, even though I had it topped off less than a week before. It seems this may be related to large oil use resulting in engine overheat. Mechanic later disclosed to me there was oil buildup underneath and in the engine. Towed into another city to get available mechanic. Found error code P1326. Mechanic took a couple days to determine it was NOT caused by faulty sensor. (attached invoice) Towed to another city where I could have it taken into the lot (there is a long backload of cases at Hyundai). I saw about a dozen of the exact same model as my car in the service lot waiting repair (and many similar models). Told by dealership it would take 2 months to repair and there would be a diagnosis fee. This shouldn't have happened to my car. It was relatively new and low miles for an engine failure. The result was an expensive series of expenses and extremely dangerous series of near-collisions. It has been difficult to contact and navigate Hyundai corporate for help with this. They seem to have a lot of backlogs of these problems related to my model. I get put on hold for long periods. I was assigned case number and case manager who hasn't contacted me yet. I am still without a car as of today.

Filed Nov 17, 2022 · Engine · NC

My engine blew after owning it for 16 months. I couldn’t find all of my oil change receipts so my warranty denied it. So I started digging and found there’s so many other people with 2015 Santa Fe’s with blown engines. I took care of my car and have never had any issues with my cars before. I started speaking to others who have the same issues as me. The 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe sport engine was recalled. i was driving to a repair shop with rhe only indication of an issue was an off engine noise then all of a sudden my engine blew and went into limp mode. At some point the amount of people I have seen with a blown engine should be an indication that’s it’s the engine not the driver.

Filed Nov 9, 2022 · Engine · OH

I was driving on highway and my car lost power and went into limp mode and check engine light started blinking on and off. I was driving about 60 to 65 miles a hour and it went to 25 mph with no warning. We have taken care of our car with regular oil changes at every 3,000 to 3,500 miles. We checked oil and it was 3 quarts low for the second time in between oil changes with NO WARNING LIGHTS coming on but that was a month ago. I was told that losing oil is common for these motors by Valvoline instant oil change and a private mechanic. I'm not sure what to do and after reading about all these other motors doing same thing I'm really scared and we are not financially able to fix this and we have a payment on it for 2 more years. It seems like all these motors are having same issue around same milage. I am not sure why something isn't being done to help us.

Filed Jul 25, 2018 · Engine, Transmission · 67,430 miles · WA

Hit accelerator and won't shift into gear, loud revs and then hear a bang and the car jumps as it finally shifts into gear. This has happened randomly throughout the life of my car at random, I didn't think much of it, then last week, I start to lose power, and same thing, it happens multiple times on the same drive. Never once when this happens did I get a check engine light. Then it got scary as while on the freeway the vehicle would downshift when traveling at a high rate of speed on its own while in drive. Still no check engine light car finally gets back to correct gear ratio for the speed. Finally the check engine light comes on. Now the car won't shift out of 4th gear, no 1st or second gear.