2020 Hyundai Santa Fe: jerking or lurching

Filed Oct 25, 2026 · Engine · CA

Hyundai Dealership, Pedder Hyundai of Poway, applied recall 9C2 to 2020 Santa Fe on 10/20/2026. Vehicle idle is now rough at startup and gas pedal angle no longer is reliable for controlling vehicle speed. Engine surges and jerks during initial operation on residential street due to software change. The vehicle did not operate in this manner for the last six years. I never felt like I had erratic engine control due to gas pedal response. I would like this recall removed and the original software re-applied, or my car bought back by Hyundai.

Filed Sep 10, 2026 · Engine · IL

At approximately 122,000 miles, my 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe experienced a serious engine malfunction while I was driving on the highway. The check engine light suddenly illuminated and the vehicle began thrusting/jerking forward unexpectedly. We immediately took action to exit the highway and were able to get off the highway, but the engine died before we could fully stop the vehicle. This created a serious safety risk because the unexpected jerking and subsequent loss of engine power occurred while traveling at highway speeds and could have resulted in loss of control or a collision. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic. After inspecting it, the mechanic stated that the engine needed to be replaced and recommended taking it to a Hyundai dealership because of the continuing issues associated with the Theta II engine. The vehicle was then towed to the Hyundai dealership. The Hyundai dealership inspected the vehicle and determined that cylinders 2 and 4 were not firing and recommended replacing the valve shaft. We requested a complete engine replacement. Hyundai initially offered a 50/50 split of the repair cost, but after we requested an engine replacement, Hyundai declined and instead offered a 70/30 cost split. There was also a previous documented concern regarding increased oil consumption, as noted in an earlier oil-consumption report. The vehicle has been inspected by both an independent mechanic and a Hyundai dealership. The vehicle and engine components are available for inspection upon request. No police or insurance inspection was performed, to my knowledge.

Filed Jul 8, 2026 · Engine · 84,000 miles · FL

The contact's daughter owns a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received a notification for an unknown emissions recall. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained for three weeks, and an ECU software update was completed. The vehicle was then driven to the contact's residence. Upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle jerked and chugged while driving. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.

Filed Jun 14, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · VA

Vehicle experiences severe, intermittent, un-commanded steering inputs from the Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) system at highway speeds (55-70 MPH). The steering wheel violently jerks toward adjacent traffic lanes/shoulders without operator input, lane drift, or warning, requiring immediate high-force manual intervention to overpower mechanical torque and prevent a collision or roadway departure. Chronology of manufacturer notice: - Oct 2024: Initial consumer dispute logs flagged steering safety concerns and unresolved campaign items. - Dec 2024: Opened Corporate Case 24164934, formally alerting consumer affairs to dangerous steering wheel jerking. - Jan 2025: Presented to an authorized dealer; an OTA software update was deployed, but intermittent tracking failures persisted, including failure to recognize lanes at night. - June 2026: Under Case 42680760, the system failed acutely on the interstate, jerking the vehicle out of painted lanes. The malfunction originates in the LKA steering control module and camera hardware, which are intact and available for inspection. Dealerships have not replicated the defect during brief diagnostic windows due to its intermittent nature. The manufacturer has deflected these notifications and refused a forensic diagnostic sweep or mechanical remediation. Instead, case managers attempted to close the file by offering partial financial goodwill for an unrelated cosmetic paint delamination defect on the same vehicle. No warning lamps or error messages precede these events; the system executes aggressive mechanical intervention with zero notice. This system error bypasses driver override thresholds, conflicting with vehicle crash avoidance frameworks. Because the computer fails to log diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) during these steering drops, the manufacturer exploits this data vacuum to deny structural remediation, creating severe multi-vehicle side-impact and rollover risks.

Filed May 23, 2026 · Fuel system · TN

I took my vehicle in to the dealership on April 24, 2026 for a software update after receiving notice in the mail. The update changed my auto stop/start so that it is on whenever the vehicle is started. When removing my foot from the brake the car surges forward without me touching the gas peddle. I took my Hyandai back in to the dealership on May 4, 2026, and was told that the auto stop/start was supposed to now be staying on as that was in the software update. They said they could not duplicate the surging of the vehicle. It has surged strong enough to move forward, while stopped at an intersection, that it put me out two to three feet. I felt it necessary to put it in reverse and back up it was out so far. This will absolutely put others at risk as I drive and work in a downtown area with lots of crosswalks with lots of people crossing, and should vehicles be stopped in front of me, it could hit them. I can turn it off, but in the beginning it seemed to be turning itself back on. Additionally, I am not used to always turning it off because I never had to before and I don't always remember. This week, something new: When pulling off after starting the car, even if I remember to turn off the start/stop, the car is jerking forward when I depress the gas. It's like it is getting surges of gas, or like the peddle is being pushed to the floor, let off, pushed to the floor, let off, etc. I am so incredibly scared now to just drive the vehicle I've loved for over five years now. My vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance or any others. I did not know this was an option. I would love to get more information about how to go about this. There are no warnings of any kind when this occurs, which is every single time I get in it. Please, someone, tell me what I can do further. Continue taking it back to the dealership? Ride with them next time? I just am at a loss and incredibly scared. I am a woman in my 60s.

Filed Sep 21, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · DC

Maintenance has been maintained on this SUV. SUV has about 20,000 miles. While at a complete stop at stop light, the SUV jerked a few times and when attempting to drive the accelerator pedal the SUV would not respond. I then put in park then back in drive slow acceleration, was able to pull over. After turning SUV off and waiting a few minutes , turned SUV back on engine light is on. Home is 10min. away, engine light is on and acceleration sucks. By time I park the engine light is off. Wait 2 hrs. drive around the block no light acceleration is off. Dealership is not helpful no engine lights can 0914not tell what is wrong with SUV. Its has been a week no engine light but acceleration still fill off.

Filed Sep 10, 2024 · Engine · VA

Knock sensor failed while it was raining and at highway speed and caused the vehicle to slow and jerk. After further investigation this has been a recall issue for several years , but Hyundai still has a problem with their Knock sensor and no recall on the 2020 Santa Fe

Filed Mar 19, 2021 · Transmission · 2,777 miles · OK

There are three issues: 1.) in sport mode, the transmission will sometimes get stuck/hung in gear (maybe gear 3 or gear4) and will not shift into the next gear, even when increasing speed. 2.) also in sport mode, after driving for about 10 or 15 minutes the transmission will often slip into gear 5, after revving high and can be heard revving, but it is not reflected on the tachometer, and then when the gear catches it is a violet jerk forward. 3.) lastly, in any more, but most pronounced in "smart mode" after taking out from a complete stop, and especially after the engine goes into auto shut off mode, the transmission will stutter at about 3 - 5 MPH and feels as if power has been lost for a few seconds. This is most terrifying when making a left turn into traffic, as you never know if it will happen or not.

Filed Nov 12, 2020 · Driver assistance · 500 miles · FL

Hyundai 2020 santa fe limited blind spot collision-avoidance assist (bca) system when set in active mode and under these conditions its activation is extremely dangerous: in three (3) or more lanes of traffic. In neither of the outer lanes. Passing a truck in the lane on the immediate right. Vehicle(s) in the lane on the immediate left. Vehicle(s) in the lane on the immediate right. At speeds of 50 ' 70+ MPH. When the santa fe approaches the front end of the truck, the bow wave of air from the truck pushes the santa fe towards the left lane line activating the bca, which violently jerks the santa fe to the right. When this occurs and the santa fe is moved violently toward the right line lane, the bsa detects the truck (or other vehicles) in the right hand lane, and violently jerks the santa fe toward the left hand lane. Upon doing so the santa fe bsa again detects vehicles in the left hand lane and again immediately jerks the santa fe toward the right hand lane. This action continually occurs until the driver forcibly regains control of the steering wheel, and/or depresses the brake. This repeated violent jerking the santa fe back and forth across the lane it's in has very nearly caused an accident in at least two (2) occasions (oct 27 & 28, 2020) until we found that the bca could be deactivated and set to warning only. This violent action of the bca should be removed from the santa fe vehicle to prevent accidents.