2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz

No clear pattern

43.8% of complaints about the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2023 vehicle, but with only 112 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is power train (25 complaints), typically at 1.5 yr or about 4,000 miles.

Complaints: 112
Median age at failure: 1.3 yr
Median mileage: 4,000 n=10
Crash / fire / tow: 7.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 2 1 do not drive

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

23V181000 2023-03-17 Do not drive

Trailer hitches

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.

A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.

23V038000 2023-01-31

Structure:body:roof and pillars

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Tucson and 2022-2023 Santa Cruz vehicles. The roof moldings may detach.

A detached roof molding could become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

In owners’ own words

Power train mileage not reported 2 mo in service

On 11/6/2022, while driving the vehicle, it suffered a loss of power and would not accelerate. I was in the vehicle with my wife and 2 young children who felt the vehicle shudder. I was able to drive the vehicle to my home. On 11/7/2022, upon starting the vehicle, I received an error notice from the internal diagnostics system: transmission control P087501 POWERTRAIN TCU. System advised to have vehicle serviced immediately. Vehicle was towed to nearest Hyundai dealership. Further information awaited.

Power train mileage not reported 9 mo in service

coolant temperature gauge keeps fluctuating between midpoint and cold. engine light is on. dealership has no remedy.

Power train mileage not reported 9 mo in service

As I was driving the call 4 times has turned off in the middle of the road. An error message pops up and stays to put the car in neutral and to push the start button to start it. This has nearly caused an accident because it happens when I am driving . The vehicle also threw out error code P023600 Twice and had the check engine light on. The service department has not been able to recreate the issue.

Engine mileage not reported 3 mo in service

Joined a Santa Cruz Owners blog immediately after purchase. This safety defect involves BOTH the 2022 and 2023 - ALL models. The front grill (especially the lower section) has no mesh and the openings are too big. Road debris entering this area can disable the Engine Cooling System and/or the vehicles Air Conditioning System. A protective mesh or screen has to be designed by Hyundai, to fit behind the grill, to deflect large rocks and objects that could disable the motor.

Other Santa Cruz model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Santa Cruz model years

How to read this