Problems · NHTSA complaints

2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz problems

Owners filed 5 complaints about the 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz with NHTSA between Apr 2026 and Sep 2026. The most-cited component is lane departure (2).

Complaints
5
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Lane departure2
  2. Power train2
  3. Visibility/wiper1
  4. Steering1
  5. Vehicle speed control1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 12, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Lane departure

2 reports
“The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "You May Want to Consider Taking a Break" was displayed with an audible alert nine times during a thirteen-mile trip, causing a distraction. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the Lane Departure feature was built into the computer system and was unable to be disabled. The failure mileage was approximately 5.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 2, 2026Lane departureODI 11761596

Power train

2 reports
“I was traveling southbound on XXX from [XXX] to [XXX] While traveling in this major highway, the vehicle shunted forward and it felt like something hit us from behind. In reality, a transmission issue flared up on the dashboard along with a "Check Engine" light. Vehicle was left at the dealership. Blue Link (the automatic car system) detected this issue at 12:48 P.M. I was driving on a highway with other motorists when I had this issue. Only 3k miles! Brand new 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Thank God the person behind me was paying attention or there would have been a crash!”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 6, 2026Power trainODI 11742481

Visibility/wiper

1 report
“The windshield washer fluid dispensing nozzles do not effectively cover the windshield. Almost all of the "spray" is in a very concentrated area of the lower windshield. The fluid squirts onto the two locations on the windshield and gets wiped away by the wipers as soon as they move. The rest of the windshield gets virtually no fluid applied. This causes a significant safety hazard under many conditions. Most notably: - During light precipitation when the windshield is mostly dry, but not wet enough to actually allow the wipers to clear road dust/dirt. - During wintertime when little of no snow is falling at the time. Salt and/or sand accumulate on the windshield and dry with no way to rewet it to clear it away In these situations, and others, two different issues arise. 1) The part of the windshield that actually can get wet enough to be properly cleared is not in the main line of sight for the driver to see the road and drive safely. 2) When driving toward the sun, close to sunset, the entire windshield becomes heavily streaked, and impedes the drivers entire forward field of view. Again, the driver cannot safely operate the vehicle. Although I do not have…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 22, 2026Visibility/wiperODI 11739506

Steering

1 report
“The lake keep assist safety feature works inconsistently. Many times, the system has allowed my vehicle to cross the yellow or white lines, when it shouldn't have. Even worse, during wintertime, the vehicle gets confused as to what is road and what is not, jerking the vehicle in directions that it shouldn't be going (either off the road, or into incoming traffic). This is quite a violent jerk, so, unless the steering wheel is held steady with significant force, it could cause the vehicle to depart from the intended driving lane. Moreover, when there is snow on the road, the violent jerks can actually send the vehicle into an uncontrollably spin! This feature could be a way to make driving safer, but when you expect it to work, and it doesn't, driving can actually be more unsafe than if the system didn't exist to begin with. And when it does activate when it is not supposed to, it could actually perform actions opposite to the intended function. The previous Santa Cruz that I had (MY2023) had the same feature, but it actually worked all of the time unless there were no lines on the road. Even then, it still worked most of the time.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 22, 2026Steering, Lane departureODI 11739509

Vehicle speed control

1 report
“The contact owns a 2026 Hyundai Santa Cruz. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and merging into highway traffic, the vehicle hesitated and surged forward after depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 30, 2026Power train, Vehicle speed controlODI 11734862
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 12, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.