Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On January 20, 2023 I was on my way home from work and was stopped at a traffic light. The light turned green. As I tried to accelerate forward the engine light started blinking and the vehicle moved slow and lost a lot of power and a knocking sound began. As I tried to accelerate more the knocking sound became louder. I found an engine issue after entering my vin# on the Hyundai site. It was found that for the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport there was an engine issue. I have attached this issue pertaining to my vin#. I printed this information and took these to my nearest Hyundai dealer, who stated to me that these were not official recall papers and they can't use them. I am the 3rd owner of this vehicle so I never would have received an official recall paper. I proceeded to email consumer affairs at Hyundai and sent these same attachments showing the vehicle issue with my vin#. …
I was driving the vehicle on the left lane of the freeway and the acceleration suddenly gave out. The car began to slow even when I pushed on the gas. Heat gage was fine and no lights went on. I quickly got over 4 lanes of traffic to the next exit and was able to pull over to the side of the road. White smoke began to billow out of the hood on the offramp and all the emergency light indicators came on at once. I turned the car off and the smoke turned black. I popped the hood and flames leapt out from under the hood. I jump out of the car and ran, leaving everything behind. I got safety away from the car and called 911. All of this happened within 2 minutes of losing acceleration. I typically have my two children in car seats in the car for school drop off and, [redacted] , they weren't with me. The fire overtook the front quickly and spread to the main cabin. …
I was driving on a highway going 65mph when my engine suddenly, and without warning, failed. My foot was on the gas pedal when it suddenly went to the floor, but my car stopped accelerating. My check engine light began blinking as well. I was in the far left lane and, without the ability to accelerate, had to merge over through 3 lanes of highway traffic in order to safely pull my car over on the side of the highway. This put not only my own safety at risk, but also that of every car around me while I tried to maneuver my car safely to the side of the highway without the ability to accelerate. There were no signs or lights illuminated prior to the incident that would of given me any warning to the impending failure. My car was towed to the closest mechanic then towed to my local Hyundai dealership. …
The ABS sensor failed on my vehicle, causing it to no longer accelerate past 20 mph on the highway. This put my safety at risk, as well as my passengers and others on the road because it happened suddenly while I was on the highway. My car could no longer accelerate suddenly while all cars around me were traveling at high speeds. The ABS light came on my dash, as well as the traction control and incline warning. I can no longer drive my vehicle so it has not been inspected yet.
When the cruise control shuts down, the tachometer cuts out and the vehicle seems to go into limp mode. Brightening or dimming the headlights causes an intermittent bright flash to the interior lights. This could be potentially dangerous seeing as you have no acceleration, which could cause very extensive damage to person and property. The intermittent bright flash could be a result of an unregulated power surge, which could cause damage to person and property.
While driving abs light, stability control light, and hill decent light came on. ABS and stability control are important safety features to prevent loss off control and potential collisions. Seems to be a common problem for hyundai.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. While attempting to park the vehicle with the brake pedal depressed, it accelerated independently. As a result, the contact crashed into the driver side of another vehicle and then into a snow bank. The air bags did not deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000.
On September 20th 2018 after having the car a week, the car made a noise would not start all the dashboard lights were blinking on and off then never came on again. The car was taken to the dealer for them to say it was a battery, which they never gave a service receipt for no matter how many times I asked. Then again on August 7 2019 my engine light came on and car stop while driving on the expressway with my kids in the car. Thankfully we were able to get off the expressway which was a very scary situation. After about 30 min that did restart but would not accelerate of 60 MPH. As we coasted the remainder of our trip. Then again on October 7 the light came on again after receiving an oil change and tune up. This time smoking and stalling and never coming back on again. The brake would be pressed when the push to start betton never went to the on position.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving at 40 MPH, the contact attempted to disengage the cruise control but the vehicle accelerated independently. In addition, the contact stated that while attempting to set a speed, the cruise control independently deactivated. The contact stated that when the cruise control feature was engaged, the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was taken to multiple dealers who were unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000. Updated 7/28/15 updated 10/11/2017
El problema de mi Santa Fe es el siguiente,aranque no sube su nivel de acelerar y se queda baga no quiere acelerar,en ocasiones esta corriendo y luego baja la velocidad y si movimientos esta muy lento,,si vas a entrar a una intersection tienes que tener sumamente el control que no venga ningun vehiculo por que ella no quiere correr lo suficiente se ahoga en el arranque y aparte en una subida no quiere correr ella baja velocidad y se ahoga sube la revolution mas de 5,000 y no corre esto me sucede desde que la compre desde la misma semana y aparte ella no tiene bien sus dirreccion siempre corre muy inestable... ..
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 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, 3% of the model year's 605 complaints. The component named most often is cruise control (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, though it has 3 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 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 14,000 miles, and 64% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 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.