Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driving approximately 70-75mph on highway with cruise control set. Car starts to make rattling sound & engine warning light goes on, car struggles to accelerate and hovers around 60mph. Upon inspection of engine oil in car, fresh oil has been burned up quickly! Added 1 quart. Drove 45mins at 70-75mph. Notice Engine light on again. Check engine oil. Had quickly burned through 1qt! Add new quart of oil. Let car rest overnight. Driving 70mph without use of cruise control. Then use cruise control. After a bit car engine sounds of rattling & struggling to accelerate. RPM gauge seen going up & down. Through rear view mirror I see lots of bluish smoke. Pull over to let engine rest. Check oil = still 3/4. Use engine dectection device. Indicates that cylinders 3 &4 misfiring. Reset car warning indicator with my detection device. …
On 6/17/2018 @ approximately 5:00 pm while driving my Santa Fe, I began to have surging power. I attempted to disengage the cruise control but could not. I would slow down only to speed right back up as if I had pushed the resume button, I had not. I attempted to shift into neutral however my geer shifter was locked into drive & I couldn't get the shifter out of drive. At times the car would start to slow down after pu mping the breaks only to have a surge of power again. As I was driving, I came up to a sharp curve & wasn't able to slow down therefore I ended up rolling the SUV & further slamming to a large hill. I was injured in this accident due to rolling my car! This happened bc I believe the cruise control got stuck & locked up my transmission!!! I also couldn't turn the key off since the car was in drive.
I had just pulled into the driveway of a house I own that I rent; I was there to meet my tenants to discuss a couple of repairs that needed to be done in the house. I was slowing the car with my foot on the brake as I approached the end of the driveway by the side door of the house. Then I heard a sudden, extremely loud engine noise that sounded like the engine revving very fast and the car suddenly accelerated. I was propelled forward about 50 feet into the back yard and crashed into some lilac bushes directly ahead of me and into the steep dirt bank behind the bushes, which stopped the car. There is no garage and the driveway ends where the lawn begins. The front end of the car is quite damaged and the vehicle is presently in the dealer's repair garage. …
On Tuesday, June 8, 2010 I was on a busy interstate highway with fast moving traffic and my car lost all power while traveling at 70 MPH. Fortunately, I was able to barely glide the sante Fe to the shoulder and stop without incident. Follow up: 3 pm visited Hyundai service center and was told that it was not a throttle problem. They are in contact with ca service to determine cause of problem. Friday, 6-11-10 after complete testing of all circuits, Hyundai declares no source of problem. Auto was picked up at 4:30 pm Hyundai assistant service manager: bob wood Hyundai case # 3982284 the specifics are: ?SUV was purchased 8/09 and currently has 5200 miles. ?cruise control was on but not engaged. ?gas tank indicator on one-half. ?with my foot on gas pedal the initial instinct was that the engine had lost all power. Opressing harder on gas pedal had no reaction. …
After coming to a full stop at an intersection, I accelerated to enter the intersection and turn right. Almost immediately as I pulled into the intersection, the car stalled as though it had died. I continued to press on the accelerator and after 3 to 4 seconds, the car lurched forward, with fuel feed working normally. I took the car to my local dealer where I bought the car for inspection. They took the car in for testing and said they could not find anything wrong. This problem persisted, with the incidents being infrequent. I reported this problem each of the next few times the problem recurred. Each time I asked if others had reported the same problem. Each time I was told there were no such complaints, and that they could not find a reason for my problem. …
On Monday, July 14, 2014, my wife rode her Santa Fe on a straight road accelerating slightly uphill when the engine stalled. On thurs. Dec. 5, 2013, I had a similar experience, which I reported to you at the time. This is the second time this has happened with this car. Again nobody touched the ignition key which has nothing hanging on it except the alarm and door lock dongle. My wife also suddenly lost power steering and power brakes, and luckily there was no other traffic, which could have caused an accident. She was able to bring the car to a safe stop and then was able to restart the engine and continue her trip. The 2010 car had a full tank of gas and has about 50000 miles on the odometer. It's AWD and has a 6 cyl. Engine. Could this be related to the ignition switch problem that has plagued so many GM cars? …
When slowing down for traffic lights, turns or merging into traffic lanes, when the brake is released and the accelerator is pushed, at random times the car hesitates and all power is lost momentarily. The vehicle seems as if it has or is in the process of stalling out. At first, it feels as if all power has been lost and that the vehicle should be steered to the side of the road. However, then the engine suddenly re-engages and the vehicle lunges forward. The engine warning light does not come on, and the engine apparently does not "die," since there is no requirement for an ignition re-start. The problem happens sporadically (about once or twice a week--but sometimes once or more in the same day). The vehicle starts well, idles well and otherwise performs in an okay fashion. The dealer cannot find anything wrong. The car did not do this for the first 20,000 or so miles. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. The vehicle was parked on a slight incline with the engine running when it began to roll backward. The front passenger side door was open while the failure occurred. The contact ran to catch the vehicle as it independently reached a stop. The front passenger side door struck the contact resulting in serious injuries. She was transported by ambulance to the emergency room for treatment treated. A police report was available. A third party investigator was sent by the manufacturer to inspect the vehicle. The investigator found no failure within the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that while driving approximately 5 to 10 MPH, the vehicle would intermittently surge forward. The vehicle was never taken to be examined for the cause of failure and was not repaired. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that he attempted to accelerate from a complete stop and there was an abnormal 4 second delay before the vehicle responded. The malfunction recurred sporadically. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis, who was unable to generate a trouble code. The dealer performed an unknown repair however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000. The consumer stated the vehicle would randomly not respond to throttle pressure when turning from a resting stop. The dealer was unable to retrieve a code description from the vehicles obdii to correct the problem. They dealer replaced the AWD module and performed an update for the vehicles accelerations response
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving from the complete stop the accelerator pedal was depressed to the floor and there was no response. After several attempts the vehicle accelerated forcefully with the sound of screeching tires. The brake was applied and the vehicle slowed down. The vehicle operated normally moments later. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times when each failure occurred. The technician stated the vehicle functioned normally and the vehicle was equipped with a Smart pedal system which was a safety feature. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000.
NHTSA investigations
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated October 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (ETC) system on certain Kia vehicles resulting in the opening of DP21-003.
Acceleration complaints in other Santa Fe years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, 8% of the model year's 260 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 24,000 miles, and 56% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.