2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz problems

“Hyundai Santa Cruz with transmission problems. 5 attempts to repair and manufacture failed to. Last time, vehicle had a sudden transmission failure while driving. Car stop responding to acceleration and transmission was not switching gears, that could had cause loss of control, especially in high-speed or high-traffic situations. Luckily it was very early in the morning, not much traffic and before (0.3 miles) from taking a high-speed interstate. Vehicle is not safe to drive and according to a research I made, other vehicles of same brand, model and year are facing same issues.”

“driving/pulling on interstate speed only went to 20 miles per hour, no more. Pulled off and turned truck off, waited and restarted. all fine. No warning was given. Short time later engine light came on. Called and got appointment at dealers.”

“The push-to-open fuel filler door repeatedly failed to release, preventing refueling. The door locks through an electronic actuator tied to the central locking system, and there is no interior lever or owner-accessible manual override. Beginning in August 2026, the door intermittently failed to open when pushed with the vehicle off and all doors unlocked. Cycling lock/unlock on the key fob while pressing the door sometimes freed it after several minutes; other times it would not open at all. No warning lamps or messages preceded the failures. A door that will not release means the vehicle cannot be refueled, which can strand the driver or cause a loss of motive power in traffic. Owners of other 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles report the same failure online, including at least one tow after an owner could not refuel. An authorized Hyundai dealer inspected the vehicle twice. On 08/29/2026 (24,410 miles) the dealer could not reproduce the concern and lubricated the latch pins. The failure returned within days. On 09/09/2026 (24,520 miles) the dealer confirmed the concern, found the electronic release motor had failed and the door housing assembly seized, and…”

“Sudden Unintended Acceleration: Coming to a stop in a driveway and planning to put vehicle in to reverse, the Santa Cruz suddenly accelerated and kept accelerating ... it would not stop moving, brakes were applied continuously and forcefully, but with no effect. Vehicle crashed through shrubbery and small trees into neighbor's yard, over a retaining wall and finally crashing into neighbors parked classic car, only stopping after it nose-dived downward. We live in Rapid City, this event happened at our daughter's residence in Black Hawk, South Dakota.”

“While driving on the highway at a speed of approx 35 mph, no traffic in front of me, I got an audile warning and the car started slowing down, and the message on the dash said EMERGENCY BRAKING, this has happened twice in the last month.”

“On [XXX], I went out to start my 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz (SC) to leave work to go home. It was difficult to start, however, it started. As I entered [XXX] , i was nearly rear ended by another car, because my SC lost all acceleration. I turned on my hazards for SAFETY and then began to try to accelerate again and was only able to get up to 45 MPH and then was turning 4,000 RPM. I limped my SC home where I had it towed to a local Hyundai dealer as it has roughly 38,000 miles. The dealership had it for 3 days, but couldn't duplicate the issue, so no repairs were done. The Hyundai Santa Cruz has KNOWN transmission issues and the fact I was nearly rear ended could've caused a nasty wreck, resulting in more damage or even a fatality. I reported the issue to Hyundai customer service on the 11th of September (Case #[XXX]). However, in the response from Hyundai, basically saying they "experiencing a high e-mail volume" and responses may be delayed. As of 9/13/2025, I have not received a call or email from Hyundai's customer service.”