"How reliable is the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe?"

"Based on 718 NHTSA complaints, the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe has a median complaint mileage of 75000 miles. The most common issue is Fuel/Propulsion System."

"What are common problems with the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe is Fuel/Propulsion System, accounting for a significant portion of the 718 total complaints filed."

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 718 complaints

718

Total Complaints

75,000mi

Median Mileage

Fuel/Propulsion System

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

52,000 25th Percentile

75,000 Median Mileage

101,356 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Fuel/Propulsion System

215

Electrical System

Engine

Fuel System, Gasoline

Vehicle Speed Control

Air Bags

Power Train

Frontal

Unknown Or Other

Electronic Stability Control (Esc)

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE - PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR MALFUNCTION WITH AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ON @ 250 MILES - LESS THAN 24 HRS AFTER PURCHASE. DEALER CLEARED CODE - PROBLEM RECURRED LATER SAME EVENING - NOW PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. SEEMS AS IF THE 2007 MODEL ISSUE HAS CARRIED OVER TO THE 208 MODEL. ..."

"MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE LIMITED HAS A VIBRATION BETWEEN 40 - 60 MPH AND HYUNDAI HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM. I HAVE BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER 4 TIMES. THEY HAVE ELIMINATED THE TIRES AS BEING INVOLVED WITH THE PROBLEM. TIRES AND WHEELS HAVE BEEN REBALANCED A NUMBER OF TIMES INCLUDING PUTT..."

"I PURCHASED A 2008 -AWD -HYUNDAI SANTA FE IN APRIL 2008... THE PROBLEM IS WITH MY "TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM (TPMS) "... SINCE THE VERY FIRST DAY OF OWNERSHIP THE "TPMS" MALFUNCTION LIGHT GOES ON.. INFACT THE FIRST DAY THE DEALERSHIP RE-SET THE '"TPMS" TWICE... I NOW HAVE ABOUT 500 MILES ON ..."

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Fuel/Propulsion System 215 complaints

25th: 64,000 mi Median: 80,100 mi 75th: 102,000 mi

Electrical System 70 complaints

25th: 61,275 mi Median: 82,500 mi 75th: 115,250 mi

Engine 60 complaints

25th: 65,000 mi Median: 88,000 mi 75th: 115,000 mi

Fuel System, Gasoline 57 complaints

25th: 55,800 mi Median: 72,000 mi 75th: 81,794 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 50 complaints

25th: 25,000 mi Median: 51,000 mi 75th: 80,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 63 FL: 61 PA: 52 TX: 49 IL: 44 CA: 41 NJ: 30 OH: 29 NC: 27 MA: 20

Who Files Complaints?

1.3%

Original Owners

98.7%

Second+ Owners

Hyundai Santa Fe — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2001	293	105,000	Suspension	7
2002	219	105,000	Suspension	10
2003	390	86,000	Suspension	36
2004	386	73,768	Suspension	40
2005	300	78,250	Air Bags	27
2006	143	65,700	Air Bags	16
2007	981	75,450	Fuel/Propulsion System	42
2009	501	77,900	Fuel/Propulsion System	44
2010	330	41,000	Power Train	14
2011	266	40,000	Engine	26
2012	472	56,500	Engine	41
2013	805	52,500	Engine	25
2014	675	60,000	Engine	27
2015	325	67,430	Engine	13
2016	283	60,000	Engine	7
2017	1182	16,000	Engine	20
2018	138	18,000	Engine	8
2019	253	9,612	Engine	20
2020	242	4,909	Engine	14
2021	224	17,250	Power Train	4
2022	259	10,500	Power Train	13
2023	272	2,689	Unknown Or Other	22
2024	133	9,500	Power Train	8
2025	119	7,250	Unknown Or Other	6

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