U.S. public vehicle records

2003 Hyundai SANTA FE problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

308 owner complaints analyzed

4 distinct recall campaigns

80,000 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2003 model year. Data snapshot: 2026-09-12 (September 12, 2026). 245 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Suspension is the most frequently named component, appearing in 45 of 308 complaints (14.6%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Braking behavior	60	19.5%
Transmission and shifting	29	9.4%
Engine operation	28	9.1%
Steering behavior	21	6.8%
Electrical and battery issues	15	4.9%
Fuel system concerns	13	4.2%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Suspension

Air Bags

Electrical System

Power Train:Automatic Transmission

Vehicle Speed Control

Structure:Body

Steering

Engine And Engine Cooling

Suspension: 45; Air Bags: 31; Electrical System: 25; Power Train:Automatic Transmission: 20; Vehicle Speed Control: 20; Structure:Body: 15; Steering: 14; Engine And Engine Cooling: 13

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 50; 25,000 to 49,999: 30; 50,000 to 74,999: 39; 75,000 to 99,999: 33; 100,000 to 149,999: 65; 150,000 and above: 28

100,000 to 149,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (65). 63 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2023

2024

2003: 26; 2004: 30; 2005: 25; 2006: 19; 2007: 14; 2008: 11; 2009: 21; 2010: 22; 2011: 22; 2012: 14; 2013: 13; 2014: 26; 2015: 25; 2016: 10; 2017: 7; 2018: 10; 2019: 6; 2020: 3; 2021: 1; 2023: 1; 2024: 2

Pattern summary

Suspension leads the component reports. Braking behavior appears in 60 complaint narratives. Transmission and shifting appears in 29 complaint narratives. Engine operation appears in 28 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 10044889 · 2003-12-02 (December 2, 2003)

WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THE CONSUMER HEARD A GRINDING NOISE WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AND THEN THE BRAKE RELEASED AFTER STOPPING AND VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ROLL. THE CONSUMER HAD TO APPLY MORE PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP THE VEHICLE. *AK *JB *NM

Owner-reported narrative. 1,458 miles reported. Look up ODI 10044889 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10047997 · 2003-11-14 (November 14, 2003)

ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS VEHICLE REVVED AND ACCELERATED WHILE AT A COMPLETE STOP BUT IDLING. CONSUMER'S FOOT WAS DEPRESSED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AT THE TIME OF THESE INCIDENTS. ON THE THIRD OCCASION IT RESULTED IN A REAR END COLLISION. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. 4,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10047997 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10023540 · 2003-06-22 (June 22, 2003)

I TOOK POSSESSION OF A BRAND-NEW HYUNDAI SANTA FE (2003 - 25 MILES ON ODOMETER) ON FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2003. SATURDAY, JUNE 21,2003 I TOOK THE CAR OUT FOR A DRIVE. DRIVING AT 35 MILES MPH THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED (BY IT SELF) OUT OF "DRIVE (D") INTO ...? (NEUTRAL, I'M GUESSING BY THE REVVING OF THE ENGINE). THE CAR ROLLED SLOWLY DUE TO ITS OWN FORWARD MOMENTUM, HOWEVER, PRESSING ON ACCELERATOR SUCCEEDING IN ONLY REVVING UP THE ENGINE - "DRIVE" REFUSED TO ENGAGE. SEVERAL ATTEMPTS WERE FUTILE. I SHUT THE CAR DOWN (AFTER LIMPING TO THE SIDE OF A…

Owner-reported narrative. 65 miles reported. Look up ODI 10023540 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10050501 · 2003-12-11 (December 11, 2003)

AT 5,980 MILES ENGINE STARTED TO CREATE ENGINE NOISE. DEALER SAID THAT THERE'S A PROBLEM ON THE VEHICLE'S CRANKSHAFT. *LA THE CONSUMER BEGAN TO HEAR NOISE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE DEALER REPLACED MANY COMPONENTS; CRANKSHAFT, TRANSMISSION, BELT TENSIONER AND PULLEY. NONE OF THOSE REPAIRS CORRECTED THE NOISE. THE CLOCK SPRING FAILED AND CAUSED THE HORN AND CRUISE CONTROL TO BE INOPERATIVE. *NM

Owner-reported narrative. 5,980 miles reported. Look up ODI 10050501 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10053756 · 2004-01-09 (January 9, 2004)

WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP VEHICLE STALLED. CONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE WITH NO PROBLEM. DEALERSHIP HAD BEEN NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. 21,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10053756 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10091589 · 2004-09-08 (September 8, 2004)

VEHICLE STALLED INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. 500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10091589 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10015003 · 2003-04-02 (April 2, 2003)

THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO LOCK ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. *JB

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10015003 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10090003 · 2004-08-30 (August 30, 2004)

CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT A RACK AND PINION STEERING PROBLEM. CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, YET PROBLEM RECURRED. VEHICLE WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, BUT DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO GIVE CONSUMER A COPY OF THE WARRANTY, YET NOTHING WAS BEING DONE TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION. *AK

Owner-reported narrative. 16,448 miles reported. Look up ODI 10090003 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10176719 · 2006-12-21 (December 21, 2006)

AT APPROXIMATELY 47,000 MILES, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. IN ADDITION, VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN OCCASIONAL JUMP IN IDLE TO 3000 RPM+ WHILE IN PARK AND DRIVE AFTER THREE MINUTES OR SO OF OPERATION. WHILE IN DRIVE, VEHICLE LUNGES DANGEROUSLY FORWARD. WHEN THIS OCCURS, IGNITION IS TURNED OFF, AND RESTART TAKES SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. AFTER RESTARTING, THE VEHICLE WILL SPUTTER AND REFUSE TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY FOR 30-60 SECONDS. VEHICLE ALSO STALLS OCCASIONALLY AFTER 3 MINUTES OR SO OF USE WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A FULL STOP. VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT …

Owner-reported narrative. 47,896 miles reported. Look up ODI 10176719 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10199900 · 2007-08-17 (August 17, 2007)

OUR 2003 SANTE FE WILL SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE WITH NO WARNING AT ALL. THE TACH DROPS TO ZERO THEN THE VEHICLE WILL RESTART AND CONTINUE GOING. THE VEHICLE ALSO BUCKS WHILE DRIVING AT TIMES AND THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT HARD WHEN PUTTING IN REVERSE AT TIMES. VEHICLE HAS BEEN SENT TO DEALERSHIP SEVERAL TIMES WITH MULTIPLE ISSUES. DEALERSHIP THINKS ITS A ELECTRICAL PROBLEM BUT STATES VEHICLE WILL HAVE TO BE TAKEN TO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP AND WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A RENTAL CAR AND THE REPAIR BILL. WE PURCHASED THE CAR IN NOVEMBER …

Owner-reported narrative. 54,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10199900 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10049849 · 2003-12-02 (December 2, 2003)

FUEL GAUGE FAILED TO READ THE CORRECT FUEL LEVEL IN THE GAS TANK. DEALERSHIP SERVICED THE VEHICLE 4 TIMES, AND REPLACED THE FUEL GAUGE ONCE IN AN ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS.*AK

Owner-reported narrative. 9 miles reported. Look up ODI 10049849 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10050441 · 2003-12-11 (December 11, 2003)

GAS TANK GAUGE IS GIVING FALSE READINGS. CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS VERY UNSAFE, NEVER KNOWS WHEN VEHICLE MAY RUN OUT OF GAS.*AK

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10050441 at NHTSA ↗