Problems · by component

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe exterior lighting problems

43 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe cite exterior lighting, 6% of all 684 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 2 recalls on this component.

Complaints
43
6% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the exterior lighting

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while coming to a stop, the contact was informed by another driver that while coming to a stop the brake lights were inoperable. The contact was informed that the brake lights failed to function properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake light switch had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 158,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 20, 2024Exterior lightingODI 11631811
“The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds with the cruise control activated, the cruise control failed to disengage when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact pulled over, placed the vehicle in neutral, and restarted the vehicle for the cruise control to disengage. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The brake pedal was depressed, but the brake lights failed to illuminate. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V122000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The failure mileage was 82,500. Parts distribution disconnect.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 12, 2024Exterior lighting, Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11614166
“The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH with adaptive cruise control mode, the electronic stability control warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle hesitated to respond when depressing the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal. Additionally, the adaptive cruise control mode was no longer operable. The contact stated that she noticed that the adaptive cruise control mode stopped functioning when the electronic stability control warning light was illuminated. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. They associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V122000 (Exterior Lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000. The contact stated that they purchased the part necessary for repairs and had a mechanic replace it.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 13, 2022Exterior lightingODI 11489106
“The contact owns a 2007 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that while at a stoplight, he was informed that the brake lights were inoperable. The contact stated that the ESC warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 131,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 28, 2022Exterior lightingODI 11458659
“IT STARTED OFF AS WHAT SEEMED LIKE JUST THE BULBS BURNING OUT IN ANY WHICH LIGHT. THEN MY PASSENGER WINDOW STOPPED WORKING THEN STARTED WORKING. THE LIGHTS STILL WERE HAVING ISSUES. IT TOOK A BIT FOR ME TO REALIZE THAT THERE IS A SHORT OR SOMETHING IN THE CAR. THE LIGHTS GO OUT THEN COME BACK ON THEN SWITCH WHICH ONE IS OUT. THE WORST TIME WAS WHEN IT WENT IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND CAME BACK OUT WITH NO LIGHTS WORKING. I CONTACTED THE COMPANY TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO FOUL PLAY AND THEY CHECKED THEIR CAMERA. I'VE HAD THE LIGHTS LOOKED AT MULTIPLE TIMES BY MULTIPLE DIFFERENT COMPANIES. IT NEVER FIXES THE PROBLEM PERMANENTLY. A FEW WEEKS AGO THE BACK RIGHT PASSENGER LOCK STOPPED WORKING THEN THE NEXT WEEK THE FRONT PASSENGER WINDOW AGAIN. THEN YESTERDAY THE LOCK STARTED TO WORK AND TODAY IT DOESN'T AGAIN. AND SPEEDOMETER IS OFF. HARD TO SAY BY HOW MUCH. DEPENDS ON WHICH SPEED READER I GO BY.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 21, 2020Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Vehicle speed controlODI 11340624
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURN SIGNAL INDICATORS AND THE CRUISE CONTROL FEATURE WOULD NOT OPERATE WHEN NEEDED. IN ADDITION, THE ECM WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED WHEN THE FAILURES OCCURRED. ALSO, WHEN THE CONTACT REPLACED THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TURN SIGNAL BULB, THE REAR DRIVER SIDE BULB ALSO FAILED TO OPERATE. FURTHERMORE, THE CONTACT STATED THAT BOTH BRAKE LIGHTS BEGAN TO FAIL AFTER THE BULBS WERE REPLACED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ECM FAILED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V113000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, EXTERIOR LIGHTING), WHICH LISTED THE SAME FAILURES SHE WAS EXPERIENCING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 185,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 24, 2019Electrical system, Exterior lightingODI 11270656

Showing 6 of 43 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Related recalls

2 recalls on this component

Exterior lighting: switch

Free remedy

Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.

Exterior lightingReported Apr 1, 2013NHTSA 13V113000

Exterior lighting: switch

Free remedy

HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 532,633 MY 2006-2007 ACCENT, ENTOURAGE, SONATA, MY 2007 AZERA, ELANTRA AND SANTA FE, MY 2005-2007 TUCSON AND MY 2007-2008 VERACRUZ VEHICLES. THE STOP LAMP SWITCH IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES MAY MALFUNCTION. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. A STOP LAMP SWITCH MALFUNCTION MAY ALSO AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE BRAKE-TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK FEATURE SO THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE SHIFTED OUT OF THE PARK POSITION. IT MAY ALSO CAUSE THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) MALFUNCTION LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, AND IT MAY NOT DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED.

Exterior lightingReported Apr 15, 2009NHTSA 09V122000
Data from NHTSA Recalls API · synced Oct 27, 2026

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