VehicleVerdict

2003 Hyundai Santa Fe transmission problems

The 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe has 36 transmission complaints filed with NHTSA — 9% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

36

Transmission complaints

9%

Share of year

0

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Transmission complaints by year

Santa Fe transmission complaints by model year150 complaints2001: 24 complaints2002: 14 complaints2003: 36 complaints2004: 21 complaints2005: 11 complaints2006: 5 complaints2007: 31 complaints2008: 24 complaints2009: 24 complaints2010: 110 complaints2011: 21 complaints2012: 24 complaints2013: 52 complaints2014: 36 complaints2015: 22 complaints2016: 20 complaints2017: 150 complaints2018: 10 complaints2019: 29 complaints2020: 22 complaints2021: 50 complaints2022: 53 complaints2023: 41 complaints2024: 36 complaints2025: 15 complaints2026: 2 complaints
Santa Fe transmission complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“THR CRUISE CONTROL ACCELERATES THE CAR FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION JERKS WHEN SHIFTING DISLODGING ALL PASSANGERS. THE ACCELERATER TAKES A FEW MOMENTS TO GET THE CAR GOING. THE PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND THE CRUISE CONTROL HAPPEN AT ALL SPEEDS, WEATHER CONDITIONS AND…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Transmission · April 1, 2003

Common questions

How many transmission complaints does the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe have?

NHTSA has 36 complaints about the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe transmission — 9% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.