2015 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Engine Problems
155 NHTSA complaints on file
Engine Issues in the 2015 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
155 engine complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2015 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. Of these, 1 involved a crash, 7 involved a fire, and 0 resulted in injury.
155
Complaints
1
Crashes
7
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Engine Complaints
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.
On 08/15/2025 I started the vehicle and heard a ticking noise that lasted for 3 seconds and stopped. The same noise happened when I would start the car in the mornings. It never lasted more than 3 seconds and I wasn't too sure what the noise was. There was no engine lights that came on so I wasnt too worried about it. On 8/21/2025 my husband went to the store and when he came back the car shut off while backing into the driveway. He said it made a weird noise and just shut off. We tested the battery but it was still charged. We brought it to our mechanic and he called us 15 mins later saying he found metal shavings on the oil filter and the engine had seized. He recommended going to the dealer, which is 90 miles away. Around the 15th we had received the warranty...
015 Santa Fe Ultimate. 134,000 miles. Original owner. All maintenance done per manual. Wife on hwy 2 hrs. Started loud engine knocking noise. No warning whatsiever.Pulled off closet exit. Stalled.Restarted.Pulled into gas station. Trusted mechanic inspected. Stated not to drive. He had identical vehicle at shop,identical problem.110,000 miles. Needs new engine.Noticed on fbook Forum,"Hyundai Engine Problems". Alot of similar complaints posted. Hyundai not warranting over 100,000 miles. This could have been much worse if it had been at night,in a rural area. Shocked has not been a recall!
Time Belt problem. Check engine, yellow.
At 110K miles my Sante Fe Sport began burning increasing amounts of oil. My mechanic says he does not know why it is burning oil. Today it has 134171K miles on it. It has been burning a quart or more of oil weekly. I drive about 200 miles per week.
The engine has basically come apart. There is a timing chain issue, the engine is not recalled and it is getting where the car cannot drive. There is a constant smell of burning electrical wires. There’s also issues with the heating and air that is related to electrical.
My car burns a lot of oil. The Hyundai dealership service center ran a controlled test and validated that my car burned a quart of oil in 1000 miles. This is not normal. It turns out that there are a lot of Hyundai owners with the exact same problem. It seems there are bad piston rings.
I am filing this complaint regarding my 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, which recently suffered engine failure due to an unresolved issue related to error code P1326. The check engine light began flashing, and despite multiple visits to my local Hyundai service center (Gateway Hyundai Nissan in Fargo, ND), the problem was not properly diagnosed or repaired, resulting in catastrophic engine damage. The vehicle has a branded title, but I have confirmed that, according to Hyundai's warranty policies, recalls and campaigns are still applicable to branded vehicles. Hyundai has issued a recall for engine defects associated with error code P1326, yet the service center has refused to replace the engine under this recall. Instead, they are insisting on an out-of-pocket repair cost of $9,300.56, even though the engine failure is a result of the defect addressed in the recall. This failure occurred while I'm driving with my wife and 9-month-old...
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
Sudden loss of engine power in traffic on highway in funeral procession. My safety was put at risk on the highway. The check engine light came on intermittently the previous week. I made six trips to the Hyundai dealer in Plymouth, MA. First told the oil was low when the dipstick was normal. Oil was changed. Check engine light came on as I left the lot. Two more trips computer reset two different ways. Engine does not have normal power going up hill. Another trip to dealer EVAP hose collapsed. Light back on and off. I paid for diagnostic fee $175, oil change then told it was CVV and timing issue with $2817.89 in parts because the tech "saw" the problem. >$3000 estimate for labor. Repair started now told CVV is not the problem metal shavings in oil OCV intake and exhaust valves and needs new engine. The car had...
The 3.3 liter V6 GDI engine failed while driving at approximately 136000 miles. Heard a ticking noise start shortly after leaving home, and had hesitation and shaking upon acceleration from a stop sign, but saw no warning lamps. Went around the block back home to find out the ticking noise was under the hood. Motor oil was almost 3 quarts low, but only 2/3's of the way through the service interval. Checked for leaking, saw none dripping, but did see oil on the under of the rear differential. I then let the car run for minute or so in the garage and looked for leaks. I saw no active leaking and ticking was quieter, so I drove to a close gas station to get a little gas and test drive, still no warning lights. On the way back, about a mile from home, the engine light came on, despite the...
My 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 3.3L engine started ticking sound while driving in residential are with the speed below 25miles. Within seconds, Engine started screaming and dropped power in the middle of the road. It is a huge security and life threatening risk. I was lucky that I was driving in residential area with very slow speed, and just imagine if it happens in the middle of the freeway cruising at 65MPH. It is at 107k miles and not sure what to do at this time. Hyundai better recall there 3.3L V6 engines and help us our here. My vehicle is now dead and I have nowhere to go to get help because it a huge cost to get it fixed.
Engine has goes on out at 99000 miles has seized up .
We were on our way home from the children's hospital in Philadelphia for my daughter (4 hours away from home) and my 2015 Santa Fe with the 3.3L motor began to knock. My dad (who is very mechanically inclined) pulled over at a gas station and checked oil and other fluids. It was low, even though I just had oil changed 900 miles before and it was checked before our trip to the hospital. We bought oil and put it in. Knocking was still there but was not as loud. We got back on interstate. Few miles up the road it completely lost power, extreme knocking, no lights on in the dash or any gauges out of normal range. He checked oil and it was completely empty but there was no oil trail or anything. We coasted into a crossover and that's when he saw the connecting rod under the...
The engine is continually knocking. It has caused the powertrain system to start to fail. The interior portion of the car with electrical is malfunctioning and causing the car to lag. Many attempts have been taken to get the vehicle fixed to no avail. $1,000 just to take out the engine to diagnose the problem.
While I was driving on the highway in the left lane, smoke came from the engine, then it started coming from underneath the car. The car turned off. I was forced to stop on the left lane of the highway and exit the vehicle and walk as far away as possible. I called 911, then I noticed fire coming from the engine. This was unsafe for myself as well as other riders on the highway. Firefighters came and put out the fire. Once they left, I was left by myself waiting for the tow truck to arrive. No police officers helped to keep myself safe while waiting on the left shoulder once the highway re-opened. When asked if I needed a police report, the police officer said no because it wasn't a crash. The vehicle was inspected by my insurance company and it was deemed a total loss. There were...
During routine vehicle operation when entering an interstate highway, , the vehicle developed a loud knocking sound from engine bay along with high RPM abnormal shifting. Vehicle was stopped as soon as possible in the safety lane when it stalled and shut off. No warning lights were present during the time of failure. Vehicle was towed to home of residence.
I own a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate and without any warnings or incidents experienced engine failure. The Hyundai dealer told me I need a new engine at the cost of $23,000.00. I know you have received complaints and are investigating these engines. I was driving the car at the time and lost power.
engine replacement can be avoided you should use fuel injector cleaner every 3000 miles, sediment clogs injectors, and pistons which fuel leaks into oil pan, causing oil/fuel mixture to burn, creating overheating, which leads to oil burning, and eventually engine seizing. If you use fuel injector cleaner every 3000 miles this will prevent needing to replace motor.
My wife was driving the vehicle on Monday afternoon and everything was fine and today she started the vehicle and the engine started to sound weirdly, she called me over the phone and she popped up the hood like I told her and she put her phone near the engine gave a little gas and I heard like there was no oil in it, she turned the vehicle off like I told her to do, waited like 5 minutes For the oil to settle and the oil level was half. I'm waiting for tomorrow Wednesday the 27th of March to call any Hyundai dealer near me to see what they say about this situation.
Out of the blue, the engine started knocking badly. Immediately pulled over and checked engine oil which was extremely low. (This was odd since I regularly check oil levels and keep up with oil changes.) I happened to be very close to an oil change shop, drove over and they did an oil change. They found silver and gold metal shavings in the old oil and topped off with new oil. The knocking was muted but came back by the time I got home. I have not driven the car since. Seems to have the same fate as many other Hyundai vehicles in the current recall, but this has the 3.3l engine. I've also found there is a petition to add the 3.3l engine to the recall.
Engine with rod bearing failure occurred at 108k miles. No check engine light warning came on to notify with engine knock sound as the only indicator that there was a mechanical issue. Regular oil changes have been done on the vehicle however oil levels were low when checked on the day of engine failure (no low oil light came on). 3.3 L V6 engine is not covered under Hyundai’s KSDS Software Update (Campaign 966) and extended warranty however issue is the same as other covered models and years.
While driving down the highway the engine stopped. Towed it to a mechanic. They told me the engine seized up and that this was happening alot with Hyundai vehicles.
I have a Hyundai Santa Fé XL 3.3L 2015. I had a real danger situation with my family some months ago, when I had to pull over on a Highway after engine failure. I have this car for 11 months and all my maintenance records. Car died while I was driving putting me and my family in a danger situation. Not alerts or warnings signs. The car just died. I towed the car to a Hyundai Dealer, and after 3 weeks they reached out to me telling my engine is gone and there is no coverage/warranty/recall for that. After some research on-line I found thousands of people describing exactly the same issue. Major engine failure without any warning even with all schedule maintenance on date. I pretty confident that I am being victim of this knowing Hyundai issue and they don't care to keep people life in danger.
Oil consumtion issue. Same issue on their 4 cylinder motor. No indicator to tell you there is low oil. Engine fails. In addition, they do not manufacture the engine for replacement. I was instructed, by law they have to manufacture parts for 10 years. It is within 10 years and they haven't made parts for this motor for some time now. I request that this be investigated, as from searching the internet there are many people that have similar issues with the 3.3 liter engine. Hyundai should be force to recall them, just like they did for the 4 cylinder. In addition, their ingition system is flawed and can be easily stolen. Yet another reason why they should be forced to recall the vehicles.
Recent cold weather starts in the morning (40-50 degrees fahrenheit) have caused my car to have poor or stalled acceleration. It will occasionally not go past 20 or 40 mph while the RPMs rev high. The DTC error code would read P2565 as a pending code. An independent mechanic changed out my transmission fluid and switched out my boost pressure sensor but the problem is still there. Hyundai says that they need to replicate the problem but it does not occur when I take it to them so it's very hard to have this intermittent issue diagnosed by them. This is a very dangerous issue in my opinion if your cars engine revs high without accelerating and can potentially cause serious accidents and injury. I know I'm not the only person experiencing this issue as I've read on online forums of other car owners describing the same issue. Please issue...
Premature failure of engine that was regularly maintained. Vehicle started sounding louder than normal and stalled spontaneously while driving, stopping in the middle of an intersection. No warning lights illuminated prior to incident. Vehicle had started again when prompted to finish traveling to destination. Oil was checked at destination and was low by 1.5 quarts. Vehicle was towed to nearest Hyundai dealership. Vehicle has now been at dealership for almost 5 months. Tech stated that internals were extremely clean upon inspection but that oil port to 1 or more cylinders may have been blocked, causing burning or premature ware and failure. No metal shavings were found in oil according to tech, and engine still turned freely. Hyundai corporate has agreed to cover 90% of cost to replace motor and offer a 12 month /12,000 mile warranty.
My 2015 Santa Fe Limited with 44,000 miles developed a knocking sound coming from the engine. No lights appeared on the dashboard, no low oil pressure warning, etc. I was able to drive it to my local dealership, but the brakes were very jerky and the car shut off when I pulled into the parking lot. I was told I needed a new engine, but was denied Hyundai paying for it because the 5 years/100,000 mile warranty had expired. I called corporate and pointed out many instances of excess oil consumption, recalls, and extended warranties due to engines. I was told that my engine didn’t qualify and I would have to pay to have it fixed. I was also given a phone number for a class action lawsuit because Hyundai knows of these kinds of engine problems on my make and model.
My 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe sport with 15,643 miles is consuming a lot of oil. I am having to add engine oil on a weekly basis.
My 2015 Santa Fe has metal in oil so my engine not working it went out
The engine caught fire and the vehicle is a total loss. Acceleration became inconsistent at time of the incident while driving on the freeway. Once that was noticed, and at a speed of 50mph, I immediately heard a loud clicking noise coming from the engine. ALL warning lights also immediately went off. I noticed white smoke and pulled over on the freeway. Once parked, black smoke was emerging from the engine. I exited the vehicle to safety and within 30 seconds, flames emerged from the vehicle. The vehicle maintenance was kept current during the 7 months of ownership. There were no prior warnings of any issues before the incident occurred.
Hello, I'm not sure if this is something that you would handle or not. My husband and I have a Hyundai Santa Fe (husband-2015, Mine - 2013). We both bought the vehicles used and haven't had any major problems until about a year ago when both of our vehicles started drinking motor oil like people drink water. We don't have any signs of a leak anywhere. We had taken it to the Hyundai Dealerships and other mechanics and both say that Hyundai has been known to have this problem. Many years ago, I had a Hyundai Sonata which I bought brand new around 2003 and had it for many years. I never had this problem. After doing my research, I have seen where other people have had this problem with their Hyundai vehicles. I emailed several people about our situation, one being [XXX] , and received a response from Hailey,...
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...
2015 3.3 engine santa fe motor seized 115,000miles, no lights, no low oil indicator, no check engine light, no noise except 6minutes prior!
Engine light coded 1326 on July 28, 2023. Car engine was replaced Aug- September 20, 2023. September 27 the engine light coded 0263. October 4 the engine light coded 0263. October 5 the engine light coded 0263 October 13 the engine light coded 0263.
Driving along a highway and the motor blew. It had enough oil in it as I had checked it that morning before leaving for a family reunion.
Oil Consumption to Rod Bearings; yes can be inspected but have to pay $280 just for inspection. While driving on the freeway my car abruptly slammed in speed from 65mph to 20 causing a lot of near miss rear ending and me to pull off the freeway! No, I don't trust my local dealer due to the money making scheme they have! A mechanic I know had discovered that my vehicle has been eating the oil too quickly and upon the inspection has noted that the spark plugs, knock sensor and my rod bearings were needed to be replaced due to the oil burnout! There was no warning! The car slammed to 20 mph and my check engine light began to blink, when it did and I was able to pull over the code it read was 'P1326' which I've not had issues with since I bought the car back...
2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport all recall repairs made. Catastrophic engine failure in March 2020. Hyundai took vehicle in to replace engine, called me a liar when I gave them towing receipt. Never got an apology, took 3 years to get the $35 towing fee back. Hyundai had another recall- don't park in garage- fire could occur and they changed out fuse. During this time my dash instrument panel still worked but after recall, I could not change from Jan 1, 2000 to current date. Hyundai told me to take it up with them during the next recall. I did and they took 4 days to tell me that it was a bad sim card in the large display and it would cost me $600. Hyundai has ignored 4-5 letters to their corporate HQ in California and have provided much disservice and do not care about customers, service nor support....
Car has been dealer maintained. Driving on the highway, the engine lost a rod and engine is now dead. Car has 101k miles. Dealer said it was out of warranty and cost would be out of pocket to replace engine. Only issues before blown engine was slight engine oil consumption. Nothing significant.
We have had issues with our 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited that culminated in effectively lose of the car. The engine has a knocking, and is leaking coolant now. This started with the car sometimes sort of stuttering when you press the gas, or sometimes sudden lose of power while driving. It now sounds like a rod may. E bad, I’m no expert. Hyundai has said I need a new engine. The car which I bought new in 2015, has 116k miles on it. It has been well kept. I have older Hyundais that still have great engines at much higher mileage. I am registering this complaint, because it seems strange to loose an engine of a well maintained car at 116K miles. I know there are investigations and recalls on the smaller Santa Fe engines. But I suspect there is an issue with the larger 3.3L engine too. I’m...
Loud knocking noise in engine Had to have a tow
Vehicle has been consuming oil between oil changes. Recently the ABS, Down hill assist, and traction control lights came on. We took it to the dealer and were advised it was a wheel speed sensor in the passenger rear, but they wanted over $600 so we did not repair. Two days later all the lights went off and we had no issues. A month later I drove to Florida, checked and filled the oil with a little over one quart. On my way back the RPM shot up to close to 6K, the engine light started flashing, oil and battery light came on, and the car lost all power qnd started shuttering. There was a strong burning smell when we pulled over, that may it hard to breathe. As of writing this we were told it sounds like the engine has seized, but they are 5 months out on looking...
Warning light for catalytic converter came on and said it was knock sensor mechanic said engine problem and Hyundai is aware.
Engine major failure during driving. Engine blew with all manutance on date.
Husband was driving on interstate in Indianapolis, Indiana on 8/18/2023. Went to pass another vehicle and suddenly lost power. Was able to get pulled over on the shoulder and had car towed to repair shop. Mechanic advised motor seized up, unable to get the engine to even turn over. No warning lights, oil was only a quart low and have always maintained my vehicle. Have taken in for all recalls and regular maintenance. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but he was driving in rush hour traffic, with construction in the area. This could have been a very bad situation. Hyundai needs to do what is right and fix the issue. I now have to buy a new car and really not in a financial situation to do so!
My 2015 Santa Fe V6 AWD engine had 2 pistons seize up while driving. NO warning lights. I bought the Car with approximately 75K Miles and by 85k miles engine lights came on and engine was losing power. Local mechanic spent $2K trying to fix it but could not. Sent to Hyundai dealer where I purchased it. I spent another 2K (they covered about 3K as Hyundai would NOT cover repairs so dealer did). After month without the car, I got it back. 15k miles later (just as car turned over 100k miles) the car engine began making strange noise but no warning lights. Called AAA and thought we could make it 3 miles to repair shop but engine died in traffic. A second engine request from different Hyundai dealer was denied as "out of warrenty". No oil was leaking (and just had it changed!), no sign of issues of...
Engine threw a rod. Brought it to Kearny Mesa Hyundai here in San Diego, they submitted a claim to see if corporate would grant an engine replacement and it was denied due to it being a V6
Rod knock, engine failure. Vehicle still runs. Engine was accepted for replacement via Kearny Mesa Hyundai dealership.
On August 2, 2023 I was driving my truck and it completely shut off on me on the highway. I push the start button to turn the engine and it just keep turning like it wanted to start, but it didn't. Called the tow truck to take it to the shop, to then get a call after two days saying that they couldn't find out what was going on, because when they ran the test it didn't come back with any code. The clerk informed me that when he started my truck that next day, it cranked as if nothing was wrong. He drove it around about 15-20 minutes ,and it didn't do anything like what it had done the previous day before. I am very concerned because this could have been a bad outcome because I was in the highway on Wednesday. I need someone to further look into...
My vehicle engine seized while driving on the freeway. There was absolutely no warning. No lights for oil issue nothing flagged. I had no previous issues with my vehicle and I am concerned that I will have to pay for this myself .
Other 2015 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Problem Areas
Unknown Or Other
22 complaints
Power Train
21 complaints
Service Brakes
20 complaints
Electrical System
19 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
13 complaints
Air Bags
9 complaints
Exterior Lighting
8 complaints
Service Brakes Hydraulic
7 complaints
Structurebody
7 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control
7 complaints
Steering
6 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
4 complaints
Seat Belts
3 complaints
Visibilitywiper
3 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking
2 complaints
Suspension
2 complaints
Visibilitysunmoon Roof Assembly
2 complaints
Wheels
2 complaints
Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera
1 complaint
Electrical Systemignitionanti Theftimmobilizerproximitykeysender
1 complaint
Engine And Engine Coolingexhaust Systememission Controlcatalytic Convertor
1 complaint
Exterior Lightingheadlights
1 complaint
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkages
1 complaint
Seats
1 complaint
Service Brakes Airantilockabs Warning Light
1 complaint
Service Brakes Hydraulicantilocktraction Controlelectronic Limited Slip
1 complaint
Structurebodydoor
1 complaint
Structurebodyhatchbackliftgate
1 complaint
Structurebodyhoodhinge And Attachments
1 complaint
Tiressidewall
1 complaint