"How reliable is the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe?"

"Based on 390 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe has a median complaint mileage of 86000 miles. The most common issue is SUSPENSION."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe is SUSPENSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 390 total complaints filed."

2003 Hyundai Santa Fe: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 390 complaints

390

Total Complaints

86,000mi

Median Mileage

SUSPENSION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

40,091 25th Percentile

86,000 Median Mileage

126,976 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION

AIR BAGS

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STRUCTURE:BODY

STEERING

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER HAD EXTENED STOPPING. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. TS"

"CONSUMER NOTICED FLUID FROM THE VEHICLE WAS ON THE GROUND, UPON INSPECTION OF THE VEHICLE, THE DEALER STATED THE AXLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB"

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

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28