2022 Hyundai Santa Fe: sudden loss of power

Filed May 16, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · OH

This vehicle has experienced: • Multiple roadside breakdowns • Three fuel injector system failures • 2 complete transmission failures and replacements • Loss of propulsion • Fuel and chemical odor safety risks • A cumulative total of over 60 days out of service, currently at dealer since 4-15-26. SUMMARY OF SAFETY-RELATED FAILURES AND REPAIR HISTORY Incident #1 — May 20, 2022 (Mileage In: 4,899 | Mileage Out: 4,909) Vehicle broke down roadside in an unsafe, unlit area, requiring towing. Failure attributed to fuel injector defect. Vehicle remained in repair until May 24, 2022. Incident #2 — July 19, 2022 (Mileage In: 9,316 | Mileage Out: 9,321) Vehicle emitted strong gasoline odor, creating a potential fire and safety hazard. Vehicle was not drivable and required towing. Released July 26, 2022. During a recorded phone call, Hyundai Case Manager provided a verbal assurance that this failure would not recur. Incident #3 — September 9, 2025 (Mileage In/Out: 65,232) Vehicle exhibited engine shuddering, suspected fuel injector failure, and transmission shifting defects. Dealer released vehicle without resolving the defect on September 9, 2025. Incident #4 — January 13, 2026 (Mileage In: 72,089 | Mileage Out: 72,098) Vehicle lost power and broke down, requiring towing. Dealer determined full transmission replacement was required. All four fuel injectors were replaced again, marking the third injector-related failure. Released January 23, 2026. Incident #5 — January 30, 2026 (Mileage In: 72,467 | Mileage Out: 72,487) Vehicle overheated, lost power, and emitted chemical odors, requiring towing. Dealer confirmed cooler hose failure and fluid leakage. Released February 5, 2026. Incident #6: 4-15-26 - Sent back to dealer. Dealer still has car in shop. Advising needing new transmission. Still no confirmation as of 5-16-26 if car is repairable.

Filed Mar 17, 2026 · Transmission · FL

While driving at normal roadway speeds, the vehicle experienced a sudden and unexpected loss of power during acceleration. The engine remained running, but the vehicle failed to respond appropriately to throttle input, resulting in a significant reduction in forward movement. This created a dangerous situation, particularly in traffic conditions where consistent acceleration is required. The issue appears to be related to the transmission or powertrain system, though the exact component failure is UNKNOWN at this time. This condition poses a serious safety risk, as loss of power while driving can increase the likelihood of rear-end collisions or inability to safely merge or clear intersections. The vehicle has been inspected by an authorized dealership; however, they were unable to reproduce the issue during testing and therefore did not perform a repair. Despite this, video evidence of the incident exists and clearly shows the loss of power event. There were no warning lights or messages prior to or during the incident. The failure occurred unexpectedly during normal operation. The problem has not been resolved and may occur intermittently, making it difficult to reproduce under standard inspection conditions. The vehicle remains in service and available for inspection upon request.

Filed Aug 18, 2025 · Fuel system · IA

While traveling out of state, my 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe (2.5L) experienced a sudden loss of power and rough running during acceleration to pass; check engine light came on. Independent shop pulled code P0302 (cylinder 2 misfire). Vehicle became unsafe to drive and was left at a Hyundai dealer in Indiana. I later learned Hyundai issued TSB 25-FL-001H (Jan 2025) for 2.5L GDI injector internal filter breakage that causes misfires and directs replacing all four injectors. Parts were quoted up to three weeks on backorder. This sudden power loss during highway passing presents a safety risk (inability to accelerate/merge). Vehicle is under 60,000 miles.

Filed Jun 5, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · VA

Was traveling on [XXX] near Reston, VA when the Santa Fe engine started missing and losing power and check engine light came on. Vehicle was towed to dealer and repaired on 04/26/24 Mileage was 36285. The repair order says it was fuel injector for cylinder #1. The second time the same thing happened was on [XXX] near Haymarket, VA. The date was [XXX], mileage was 36577. The engine started missing lost power and check engine light came on. Vehicle taken to dealer for repaired. They replaced injector #2. The third time was about [XXX] mileage about 51000. Was traveling near Haymarket, VA. Engine started to miss, decrease in power, check engine light came on. Vehicle was towed to dealer. Inspection of the engine revealed injector #3 was malfunctioning and they needed to replace it but could not get the injector for it from Hyundai. The vehicle has been setting at the dealer since then with no idea when it will be repaired. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 25, 2024 · Acceleration, Engine · FL

Middle of May 2024 car begins to feel like it's shifting when accelerating and stopping. Nothing found by Hyundai Service Dept. Lakeland. On apx. [XXX] while driving stepped on gas pedal and felt no power. Kept pumping the pedal & car started jerking. Managed to get to light and get in left lane to turn into plaza honking horn. Car slid to a stop at entrance. On apx. [XXX] my husband was driving home and same thing happened. Managed to slide car into our driveway. Both times the car had to be towed to dealership. Two fuel injectors have been changed and when I asked them to change other two they said warranty would not allow. Worst case scenario is if this happens on the interstate traveling at 75 miles per hour. Not only could we be killed but others. Both times there was no warning lights or any other warning. The car just started jerking and lost power. It can very well cause a car to rear end us and a multiple car chain reaction hurting or worse killing others. I am filled with anxiety every time I take the car out for errands. I also saw a similar incident reported in the Better Business Bureau here in Tampa by another person. I reported my incident to Hyundai Corporation by phone and email and asked the rep to reported it to her superiors to see if they could just please let the dealership replace my other two fuel injectors & I was told they could do nothing. The dealership has told me several times the injectors must fail before they can replace. Apparently, the cost of the injectors is more than someone's life. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed May 20, 2024 · Brakes, Engine · 17,500 miles · NJ

The contact owns a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the vehicle was difficult to steer. The brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. In addition, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was almost involved in three crashes due to the failure. The contact had to drive the vehicle onto a curb to avoid a crash on one occasion. The contact stated that during the failure, the rear hatch switch became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The dealer replaced several unknown sensors; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the failure had occurred six times. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the dealer after the first failure due to the steering failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was at the dealer and scheduled for an inspection by the manufacturer’s engineer. The failure mileage was approximately 17,500.

Filed Feb 18, 2024 · Transmission · VA

3 different times in last 3 weeks the car seems to lose power while I’m driving. It will not go above 35-40mph even though I’m trying to accelerate. No warning messages. I had to go slow with my hazards on until it eventually slowly returns to speed. Very scary on the highway.

Filed Nov 30, 2023 · Engine · CA

On 10/31 I loss power while on the freeway for the 2nd time since August. The car was assessed and fixed according to the dealership. My car threw a 2nd code which was cleared and not fixed due to not showing issues according to the dealership. I got my car back in mid November. I immediately complained that I still had a rough idle and was told my car was fine by the manager via service rep. On 11/28 my car loss power on the freeway again for the 3rd time since August. According to the codes, all my cylinders are failing one by one. This is a huge safety concern. The dealership could care less.

Filed Sep 11, 2023 · Engine · MI

I have experienced a sudden loss of power when accelerating and then sudden vehicle slowdown and engine shutdown. Twice this occured at either hiway speed or accelerating to highway speeds. In both of these cases I easily could have caused or been involved in a serious crash. The third time happened on a city street and was not as egregious. There was no forewarning this might happen...no warning lights on the dash, etc. The vehicle is currently in a dealership service department after the last occurrence , and has been for five days with no knowledge of the current status. The prior times the dealership, Kolar Hyundai in Hermantown, Mn. has only cleared the error codes stored in the computer, but not identified a cause. The three times it was in the dealership were 2/15/22, 6/28/23, and 9/5/23. The second time it had to be towed in. The car currently has 9200 miles on the odometer. I am now afraid to drive it, as I consider the problem to be dangerous to my safety, as well as other vehicles. I have contacted Hyundai Customer Care, but received no response as of today.

Filed Jul 19, 2023 · CA

While driving on highway on July 17, 2023, 2022 Sante Fe with less than 12,000 miles driven , suddenly lost power, RPM racing back and forth, and would not exceed 40 mph despite gas peddle to floor. Eventually was able to reach 60 mph, until reaching a slight incline where it dropped to 40 mph. I was seriously concerned I was going to cause an accident with several large trucks being forced to rapidly slow down behind me as lft lane was occupied by other vehicles. This is the second such incident. In October 2022, less than I month after I purchased vehicle new from dealership, vehicle suddenly lost power climbing a hill on a two-lane hiway with multiple vehicles not far behind me. I was terrified for fear of being hit from behind as this highway is curvy, heavily traveled, and bordered on one side with drops between 75-100 feet to the river below. The vehicle slowed to 30 mph despite trying to downshift/upshift pressing accelerator. There was no room to pull off road so I continued at 30 mph, trailing numerous vehicles until reaching top of hill where vehicle seemed to recover. Since I only owned vehicle for a few weeks I thought it was something I had done until I received a recall notice. Second incident above ocurred after vehicle had been serviced for recall.

Filed Jun 22, 2023 · Driver assistance, Transmission · LA

First the check engine light was on and the vehicle was vibrating really bad and making a loud sound. Took it to the Hyundai dealership which claimed to repair the issue. While on my home from the dealership ( Hyundai of Slidell), which was almost hours away, the vehicle lost power while driving. Later, multiple lights were illuminated on the dashboard including the epb, auto hold, forward collision, blind spot, check engine, and oil light. The vehicle is currently back at the dealership. Hyundai has been notified numerous times about the issue. This is a safety issue that needs to be resolved. Although there are no current recalls for this issue everything Im experiencing with my vehicle are the same issues reported in previous recalls.

Filed Apr 26, 2023 · Transmission · IL

Multiple warning lights came on . Then loss power to the transmission. First time was in July of 2022 less than 2000 miles on it . Almost an accident! Towed to dealer basically did nothing! A few months later went in for oil change they did update to transmission software . Loss power to transmission again 4/8/23 with 7500 on it . This time warning lights came on and loss power to transmission at 55 MPH !Towed to a Hyundai dealership Cleared code and said nothing they could do! Except fixed a recall on the trailer hitch harness. I know there are recalls for this 8 speed dual clutch transmission on other Hyundai vehicles ,but not on my vehicle. Recall number 22V746099 I don’t feel this vehicle is safe for my wife to drive . It’s been sitting in my garage since I got it back from dealership the last time. This recall needs to be expanded!!!