Model-year matrix

Hyundai Santa Fe
which year?

Compare every Hyundai Santa Fe model year the EPA recorded, 2001 to 2027. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Hyundai Santa Fe year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Hyundai Santa Fe?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Hyundai Santa Fe years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2017

951 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2017 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2007

683 indexed complaint reports; fuel/propulsion system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2007 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2013

605 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2013 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Hyundai Santa Fe model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2026 Hyundai Santa Fe

NHTSA complaint allegations: 32
Combined EPA economy: 21–36 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 5
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $1,700–2,950
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsforward collision avoidance 8unknown or other 7seats 5

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2027 Hyundai Santa Fe

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 21–36 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 5
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $1,700–2,950
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 2027 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2027 has 32 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2026.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Hyundai Santa Fe by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Hyundai Santa Fe model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2027	0	—	21–36	5	$1,700–2,950	Dossier →
2026	32	forward collision avoidance 8unknown or other 7seats 5	21–36	5	$1,700–2,950	Dossier →
2025	126	electrical system 27unknown or other 26forward collision avoidance 23	22–36	5	$1,700–2,800	Dossier →
2024	137	power train 38electrical system 27unknown or other 27	22–36	5	$1,700–2,800	Dossier →
2023	204	unknown or other 59power train 44forward collision avoidance 42	24–34	7	$1,800–2,550	Dossier →
2022	193	power train 55engine 52unknown or other 45	24–34	7	$1,800–2,550	Dossier →
2021	164	power train 50unknown or other 41engine 36	24–34	6	$1,800–2,550	Dossier →
2020	203	engine 71unknown or other 40electrical system 26	22–25	4	$2,450–2,800	Dossier →
2019	192	engine 66unknown or other 46power train 31	19–25	8	$2,450–3,250	Dossier →
2018	108	engine 53service brakes, hydraulic 12unknown or other 12	19–24	10	$2,550–3,250	Dossier →
2017	951	engine 633power train 157unknown or other 91	19–24	10	$2,550–3,250	Dossier →
2016	235	engine 150unknown or other 25power train 20	19–23	9	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2015	254	engine 160power train 22unknown or other 22	19–23	9	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2014	493	engine 274steering 52electrical system 49	19–23	8	$2,650–3,250	Dossier →
2013	605	engine 273steering 96unknown or other 56	20–24	6	$2,550–3,100	Dossier →
2012	353	engine 228electrical system 43vehicle speed control 40	21–23	5	$2,650–2,950	Dossier →
2011	181	engine 64electrical system 26vehicle speed control 24	21–23	5	$2,650–2,950	Dossier →
2010	258	power train 111engine 37electrical system 28	22–23	5	$2,650–2,800	Dossier →
2009	357	fuel/propulsion system 109engine 60vehicle speed control 52	19–20	6	$3,100–3,250	Dossier →
2008	541	fuel/propulsion system 215electrical system 75air bags 70	19–20	6	$3,100–3,250	Dossier →
2007	683	fuel/propulsion system 121air bags 105electrical system 97	19–21	7	$2,950–3,250	Dossier →
2006	106	air bags 28vehicle speed control 20suspension 14	17–20	6	$3,100–3,600	Dossier →
2005	216	air bags 76vehicle speed control 44suspension 22	17–20	6	$3,100–3,600	Dossier →
2004	303	suspension 71air bags 43vehicle speed control 39	17–20	6	$3,100–3,600	Dossier →
2003	308	suspension 58air bags 42power train 36	17–20	6	$3,100–3,600	Dossier →
2002	165	suspension 62structure 18steering 16	18–20	4	$3,100–3,400	Dossier →
2001	209	suspension 78electrical system 41engine and engine cooling 39	18–21	4	$2,950–3,400	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.