2025 Hyundai Santa Fe — Known Issues & Recalls

Both front tires on your 2025 Santa Fe failed unexpectedly during highway driving. The driver's side tire developed a bubble and was replaced, but the passenger side tire blew out without warning on the return trip, forcing you to pull over in a dangerous location with heavy traffic. The tire failure gave no advance warning signs before it happened. A tire replacement should resolve the issue, though you may want to have all tires inspected for manufacturing defects or premature wear.

You experienced two tire failures during the same trip. After replacing your driver's side front tire, your passenger's side front tire blew out on a highway entrance ramp in heavy traffic, which was particularly dangerous given the narrow space between your lane and the guardrail. The second tire had to be replaced the next day.

Your tire has developed a bubble on the sidewall at just 3,320 miles, even though you haven't hit anything. The tire manufacturer suggests this could happen from hitting a pothole, though you don't recall doing so. This is a safety concern because a bulging tire sidewall can fail suddenly while driving, and the tire will need to be replaced.

You've noticed bulges (bubbles) forming on the sidewalls of both front tires on your 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid — the first appeared around 7,000 miles and the second around 11,500 miles. These bubbles are a safety concern because a damaged sidewall can fail while driving. You had to replace both tires at your own expense and inconvenience. The fix will involve replacing the affected tires with new ones that meet the 255/45/R20 size specification.

Your second row power seats can move forward even when a child car seat is properly installed using the LATCH system, potentially crushing the child inside. The power seat buttons at the base of the seats are easy to accidentally press when getting in or out of the vehicle, especially if you're not wearing a seatbelt, causing the seat to move unexpectedly. This has happened multiple times since you bought the car, creating a serious safety hazard for child passengers.

Your second row seat's folding button was accidentally pressed while your child was seated, and the seat continued to fold with your child still in it, creating a potential pinching or crushing hazard. Your child was distressed during the incident. You're concerned the button may be too easy to accidentally trigger during normal entry and exit, and that the seat should stop moving when a child is present.

Your second-row seats unexpectedly close on child safety seats when you press the button on the rear of the vehicle, whether the car is running or off. Once the button is pressed, the seats won't stop closing until you press the button again to stop them. This happened several times starting around 15,000 miles. The issue likely involves the seat's motorized closing mechanism or its control switch needing adjustment or replacement.

Your 2025 Santa Fe has two persistent problems since purchase: outside air leaks into the cabin through the center dash vents even when the fan is off, and the recirculation feature automatically disengages after a few minutes. Additionally, you're experiencing an intermittent screeching or scratching noise from the dashboard and steering column area that started in October 2025. Despite three service visits at two different dealerships with attempted repairs, both issues continue to occur. Fixing these issues will likely require a technician to inspect the HVAC recirculation valve and door mechanisms, as well as diagnose and repair whatever component in the dash or steering column is causing the noise.

While driving on a highway, your sunroof suddenly shattered with a loud noise, causing glass particles to fall into the cabin. The glass broke without any apparent impact or external cause. The repair will likely involve removing the damaged sunroof panel and installing a replacement.

Your car's original Pirelli Scorpion MS tires experienced unexpected sidewall failures within the first 8,000 miles—one blowout at 3,000 miles and two bulges (bubbles) appearing between 6,000–8,000 miles—despite no impact damage or misuse. These failures pose a serious safety risk, and you had to replace all four tires at your own expense. The dealership saw one of these bulges during service but didn't alert you, raising concerns this may be a defect affecting 2025 Santa Fe models with these original tires. A repair would involve replacing the affected tires and investigating whether there's a manufacturing defect with the factory-installed Pirelli tires.

Your Santa Fe's gas engine isn't engaging to help the electric motor, causing dangerous acceleration problems. When you accelerate from a stop, the vehicle only reaches a few miles per hour instead of normal speed, making it hazardous to cross busy intersections. Turning the vehicle off and back on sometimes temporarily fixes it, but you're getting repeated warning messages about the engine management system. The dealer suspects this may be related to a recent ECU software update performed during routine service and is working with Hyundai technical support to diagnose and repair the issue.

Your car's audio system has completely stopped working — no sounds come through at all, including turn signals, collision warnings, GPS directions, radio, or hands-free phone calls. All warning alerts that should produce sound are now completely silent. The Hyundai service department indicated they haven't encountered this issue before.

Your vehicle suddenly lost power while driving, with transmission and ABS warning lights appearing together. The transmission wouldn't shift properly, skipped gears, and smoke came from under the vehicle near the transmission area, accompanied by a strong burning oil or rubber smell—creating a serious safety risk and potential fire hazard. This problem has been intermittent since you bought the car and continued even after the dealer attempted a repair. The issue likely involves the transmission's internal components, electrical connections, and the brake system's electronic controls that need proper diagnosis and repair.

Your 2025 Santa Fe was hit head-on at approximately 40 mph on the driver's side while waiting to turn left. Despite the severe impact that caused significant damage to the front and entire driver side, neither the side curtain airbags nor the front airbags deployed. The driver sustained a head abrasion and concussion, with ongoing headaches and dizziness that haven't resolved since the crash. This suggests a possible failure in the airbag sensors or side-impact detection system, which may require diagnostic testing of the airbag control module and impact sensors.

Your forward collision avoidance and lane departure warning systems are giving incorrect alerts even after the shop recalibrated the radar six times following bumper and camera replacement. You're experiencing false warnings when vehicles are only on one side, warnings on the wrong side, and false alerts during highway driving or parking with no vehicle present. The dealership reviewed your videos but didn't perform a physical inspection or test drive to diagnose the issue. Fixing this will likely require recalibration of the camera and radar sensors, or replacement of the camera or radar unit itself.

Your dashboard display goes completely black when you start the car or begin driving, though you can still hear audio. The screen flickers while driving before going dark again. This is a safety concern since you can't see important driving information. The fix will likely involve checking the dashboard display connection, power supply, or replacing the display unit itself.

Your Santa Fe's driver attention camera shuts off cruise control if it can't detect your eyes—for example, when you wear sunglasses—causing the car to suddenly slow down and alarm at highway speeds without warning. The car also randomly alerts you to "take a break" or warns about drifting toward the center line, even when you haven't actually crossed it, and there's no way to disable either feature. These unpredictable alerts create dangerous driver distraction rather than improving safety. Hyundai may need to release a software update that allows you to turn off or recalibrate these driver-monitoring features.

Your 2025 Santa Fe was recalled for a rearview camera safety issue, and you scheduled a repair appointment at your dealership. However, after waiting an hour, you were told the dealership didn't have the part in stock and would contact you when it arrived — but three weeks later, you haven't heard back. You're concerned the dealership is deprioritizing the recall repair because it's not a paid service.

Your new 2025 Santa Fe's tires lost pressure (dropping from 36 psi to 32 psi within days) and caused the vehicle to vibrate. When you took it to Costco for inspection, the tire sidewalls failed during the repair process, requiring a complete set of replacement tires at a cost of $1,350. The Costco staff indicated the factory-installed Pirelli tires are known to have vibration issues at high speeds and can develop bulges with premature deterioration. Both Hyundai's dealer and consumer affairs declined to address the issue, citing that you didn't purchase a tire warranty or protection plan. A tire replacement or full tire warranty coverage may be needed to protect against future defects.

Your side view camera, which displays the blind spot area on your dashboard screen, occasionally shows only a green screen instead of the actual camera image. This means you may lose visibility of the blind spot when trying to change lanes or back up. The camera system may need to be recalibrated or replaced to restore proper operation.