Problems · by component
2012 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicle speed control problems
40 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe cite vehicle speed control, 11% of all 355 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
40
11% of all complaints
Crashes
11
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the vehicle speed control
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT. STEPPED ON GAS TO MOVE AND THE ENGINE REVVED UP AND IT JUST TOOK OFF. HAD TO USE BOTH FEET ON BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP THE CAR. GOING ABOUT 1 MPH AFTER THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN. THE ENGINE ACCELERATED AND WOULDN'T STOP. NEARLY HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF US. MAY BE COMPUTER OR THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR. AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN LATER. SAME DAY. GOING STRAIGHT, UP A HILL ABOUT 2MPH AND ONCE AGAIN THE ENGINE SPED UP AND THE CAR TOOK OFF. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP.”
“MY VEHICLE IS A 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE WITH 131,000 MILES. I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY TRAVELING ABOUT 65 MPH AND LOST POWER STEERING, POWER BREAKS, AND SPEED CONTROL. MY CAR BEGAN TO SLOW AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AND WAS DIFFICULT TO STEER. FORTUNATELY I HAD ENOUGH POWER/SPEED STILL TO GET OVER INTO THE BREAKDOWN LANE. I WAS ABLE TO USE MY DIRECTIONALS AND HAZARD LIGHTS ONCE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I SHUT OFF THE CAR AND ATTEMPTED TO START IT AGAIN SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT SUCCESS. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON, AS WAS THE OIL LIGHT AND BATTERY LIGHT. THERE WAS NO DISCERNIBLE WARNING THAT WOULD HAVE INDICATED AN IMPENDING ENGINE FAILURE. I HAD ALREADY DRIVEN 75 MILES OF MY TRIP AND IT SIMPLY STOPPED RUNNING. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY! THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM IS UNKNOWN TO ME AND CURRENTLY UNKNOWN TO MY MECHANIC. I HAD TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED 50 MILES TO THE MECHANIC. GETTING IT TO A DEALER WOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN FATHER.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE INADVERTENTLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CAPITOL HYUNDAI (1050 CAPITOL EXPRESSWAY AUTO MALL, SAN JOSE, CA 95136, (408)-340-7321), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,429. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.”
“AS EARLY AS LAST SUMMER, MY 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE STARTED TO (INTERMITTENTLY) ACCELERATE WHEN I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE. FRANKLY, I THOUGHT IT WAS RELATED TO THE SANDALS I WAS WEARING. I THOUGHT I WAS OCCASIONALLY STEPPING ON THE GAS AND THE BRAKE AT THE SAME TIME (I HAVE VERY BIG FEET -- SIZE FIFTEEN). THE PROBLEM STOPPED WHEN I SWITCHED SHOES (WHICH ALSO CORRESPONDED TO THE END OF SUMMER). THE PROBLEM CAME BACK INTERMITTENTLY THIS SUMMER AND IS NOW REPEATABLE. WHEN I AM GOING DOWN A STEEP HILL AT SPEEDS OVER ABOUT 20 MPH, THE ENGINE RPM'S INCREASE WHEN I STEP ON THE BRAKE. IT DOES THAT WHILE IN GEAR AND WHILE IN NEUTRAL. OBVIOUSLY, IF THE DRIVE TRAIN IS IN GEAR, THE ENGINE "FIGHTS AGAINST" THE BRAKE; IF THE DRIVE TRAIN IS IN NEUTRAL, THE ENGINE REVS. IF THE ENGINE IS IN NEUTRAL OR IS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AFTER THE ACCELERATION STARTS, THE ENGINE RACES UNTIL I LET OFF THE BRAKE. IT HAS GONE AS HIGH AS 4-5 K RPM BEFORE I LET OFF THE BRAKE. ALL THAT'S REQUIRED TO GET THE CAR TO RETURN TO NORMAL IDLE IS THAT I PUMP THE BRAKE (LET OFF THE BRAKE ALL THE WAY -- I CAN IMMEDIATELY RE-APPLY THE BRAKE AND THE PROBLEM WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN). I HAVE IDENTIFIED A STRETCH OF ROAD…”
“ACCELERATING AWAY FROM STOP LIGHT, ACCELERATOR PEDAL DETACHED FROM FIREWALL. THE VEHICLE WAS 15-20 FT. INTO A FIVE LANE INTERSECTION. THE VEHICLE IDLED THROUGH THE INTERSECTION SAFELY INTO A PARKING LOT. FORTUNATELY THIS HAPPENED AT 0610 ON 26 JUNE 2016 WHEN TRAFFIC WAS LITE.”
“ALL EVENTS OCCURRED WHILE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY.BEGAN TO HAVE A INTERMITTENT NO START CONDITION AROUND THE THIRD WEEK OF JANUARY 2016. THETA 2.4 ENGINE #165130 WOULD NOT TURN OVER. A JUMP START WITH 2ND VEHICLE BATTERY SUPPLY AND JUMPER CABLES WERE NEEDED FOR ENGINE TO RUN.TESTED THE BATTERY VOLTAGE OUTPUT ON SANTA FE WITH ENGINE COLD 12.65 AND ENGINE RUNNING 13.96 TO 14.02 RANGE ALL STARTING AND CHARGING COMPONENTS WERE OPERATING IN NORMAL CONDITIONS AND NO CHECK ENGINE OR BATTERY INDICATORS ILLUMINATING. NO SIGNS OF ENGINE MALFUNCTION WAS EVIDENT. ON 01/29/2016 AFTER HAVING TWO MORE NO STARTS WENT AHEAD AND REPLACED THE BATTERY WITH BRAND NEW ONE. ENGINE WOULD CRANK BUT NOT START.TESTED VOLTAGE ON BATTERY, ALTERNATOR, STARTER,IGNITION AND FUEL PUMP RELAYS. HAD SPARK ON ALL COILS AND FUEL. AIR FILTER WAS NEW. FELT CONFIDENT THERE WAS NO NEED TO CHECK COMPRESSION AS THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL SIGNS PRESENT. AT CERTAIN TIMES SOME ENGINE COMPONENTS DUE WEAR OUT SO I HAD A MECHANIC INSPECT THE ENGINE AND ASKED HIM TO REPLACE THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR. ENGINE WOULD NOT TURNOVER AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS AND HE COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE. ON 01/30/2016 CONNECTED MY OBD2…”
Showing 6 of 40 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.