"How reliable is the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe?"

"Based on 501 NHTSA complaints, the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe has a median complaint mileage of 77900 miles. The most common issue is Fuel/Propulsion System."

"What are common problems with the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe is Fuel/Propulsion System, accounting for a significant portion of the 501 total complaints filed."

2009 Hyundai Santa Fe: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 501 complaints

501

Total Complaints

77,900mi

Median Mileage

Fuel/Propulsion System

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

41,493 25th Percentile

77,900 Median Mileage

100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Fuel/Propulsion System

108

Engine

Vehicle Speed Control

Electrical System

Service Brakes

Unknown Or Other

Air Bags

Power Train

Fuel System, Gasoline

Steering

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE LIGHT EMITTED BY THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IS SO FOCUSED AS TO CREATE A TUNNEL EFFECT. THIS NON-DIFFUSED LIGHT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ANY ILLUMINATION OTHER THAN STRAIGHT AHEAD AND NO HIGHER THAN THE LEVEL OF THE HEADLAMP. IN CONDITIONS OF TOTAL DARKNESS, IT IS AS IF YOU ARE WEARING A LONG BRIMMED CAP..."

"THE RANGE OF VISION ON THE LOW BEAMS IS SUB-STANDARD. GOING UP HILLS, THEY SEEM TO SHINE INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE HILL AS IF THEIR LONG RANGE AIM WAS DOWN, NOT UP. GOING DOWN A STEEP HILL , THEY APPEAR TO SHINE ON A HORIZONTAL PLANE - NOT DOWN ON THE ROAD. THE HIGH BEAMS ARE FINE, BUT IT'S VERY DIFFIC..."

"MY 2009 HYUNDAI SANTE FE JUST PURCHASED WITH 50 MILES ON IN 07/29/09, BLEW UP ON ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND TOTALLY BURNED THE FRONT AND ENGINE. I HAVE AN EVALUATION FROM 21ST CENTURY APPRAISERS REQUIRED BY GEICO WHOM DIAGNOSED A TOTAL LOSS. VALUESCOPE ..."

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 108 complaints

25th: 70,750 mi Median: 89,000 mi 75th: 103,892 mi

Engine 59 complaints

25th: 63,000 mi Median: 89,780 mi 75th: 116,000 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 51 complaints

25th: 18,225 mi Median: 27,001 mi 75th: 65,187 mi

Electrical System 49 complaints

25th: 48,186 mi Median: 80,000 mi 75th: 98,000 mi

Service Brakes 40 complaints

25th: 23,298 mi Median: 48,069 mi 75th: 98,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 48 CA: 34 NY: 30 PA: 29 IL: 26 NJ: 23 GA: 23 OH: 22 NC: 22 MD: 20

Who Files Complaints?

1.6%

Original Owners

98.4%

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
2008	718	75,000	Fuel/Propulsion System	32
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