2011 Hyundai Santa Fe Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls and 181 owner complaints for the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe.

Recalled components: exterior lighting and brakes. Most-described problem: stalling or shutting off (36 complaints, 20%). Most-reported area: engine (64 complaints, 35%; median mileage when it happened: 47,500).

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

Year to avoid

2 safety recalls for the 2011 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 2 investigations that name the 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe; both are 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 181 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 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

• Stalling or shutting off36 · 20%
  Median 32,500 miles at failure, from 28 reports with mileage
• Smoke or a burning smell16 · 9%
• Hesitation or slow acceleration13 · 7%
• Check engine light12 · 7%
• Loss of power or limp mode11 · 6%
• Engine failure or replacement11 · 6%
• Power steering problems or locked steering11 · 6%
• Suspension parts (struts, ball joints, control arms)9 · 5%

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

• Engine64 · 35%
  Median 47,500 miles at failure, from 50 reports with mileage
• Electrical system25 · 14%
  Median 80,000 miles at failure, from 22 reports with mileage
• Speed control24 · 13%
  Median 26,000 miles at failure, from 21 reports with mileage
• Brakes22 · 12%
  Median 44,300 miles at failure, from 20 reports with mileage
• Powertrain21 · 12%
  Median 22,700 miles at failure, from 16 reports with mileage
• Steering20 · 11%
  Median 44,000 miles at failure, from 16 reports with mileage
• Suspension16 · 9%
• Unknown or other7 · 4%

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 2011 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 2011 drew 54.

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.

2011 Santa Fe MPG

Questions