2003 Hyundai Santa Fe problems and complaints

Owners have filed 308 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The most-reported areas: Suspension (56), Service Brakes (42), Air Bags (42).

Key takeaways

  • 308 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 26 involve a crash, 5 a fire, 20 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Suspension5618%
Service Brakes4214%
Air Bags4214%
Power Train3511%
Hydraulic3110%
Structure3010%
Electrical System289%
Vehicle Speed Control248%
Engine And Engine Cooling217%
Steering176%
Visibility176%
Wheels134%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2003 Hyundai Santa Fe 4-DR.Not ratedNot ratedNot rated3/5

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic - filed 2024-11-01

The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the ABS system activated, and there was an abnormal shuddering in the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ABS needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaire...

Steering,suspension - filed 2024-05-17

The driver's side rear trailing arm lower broke again. Was driving all of a sudden felt it start fishtailing and pulled over and thank God I didn't crash

Engine - filed 2023-03-26

Bought a set of duralast gold wrists a801116 asks since the day i put them in i had to replace parts whole charging a problem that turned out to be from the wires. Cause it was causing arcing in every one of the cylinders.

Diagnose it yourself

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

More for the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.