2010 Hyundai Santa Fe Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls and 259 owner complaints for the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe.

Recalled components: exterior lighting and powertrain. Most-described problem: jerking, lurching or harsh shifting (43 complaints, 17%). Most-reported area: powertrain (109 complaints, 42%; median mileage when it happened: 10,500).

Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026

Year to avoid

2 safety recalls for the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe

Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA also lists 1 equipment recall for parts sold for this vehicle, not the vehicle itself: Equipment (CURT MFG. INC., 11E-040).

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA has opened 1 investigation that names the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe; it is closed. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.

A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA's first step, to gather information and decide whether to look further. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.

What owners report

Owners have filed 259 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Santa Fe. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

• Jerking, lurching or harsh shifting43 · 17%
  Median 5,600 miles at failure, from 37 reports with mileage
• Stalling or shutting off41 · 16%
  Median 48,900 miles at failure, from 39 reports with mileage
• Hesitation or slow acceleration21 · 8%
  Median 20,800 miles at failure, from 19 reports with mileage
• Loss of power or limp mode18 · 7%
• Transmission failure or replacement18 · 7%
  Median 31,000 miles at failure, from 17 reports with mileage
• Unintended acceleration or surging11 · 4%
• Check engine light10 · 4%
• Transmission slipping10 · 4%

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

• Powertrain109 · 42%
  Most named: automatic transmission (44) · Median 10,500 miles at failure, from 94 reports with mileage
• Engine37 · 14%
  Median 90,300 miles at failure, from 29 reports with mileage
• Electrical system28 · 11%
  Median 60,600 miles at failure, from 23 reports with mileage
• Speed control21 · 8%
  Median 22,400 miles at failure, from 18 reports with mileage
• Suspension14 · 5%
• Body structure11 · 4%
  Most named: body (8)
• Brakes10 · 4%
• Unknown or other23 · 9%
  Median 58,000 miles at failure, from 15 reports with mileage

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Hyundai Santa Fe recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2010 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2017 Santa Fe drew the most (260) and the 2010 drew 94.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

2010 Santa Fe MPG

Questions