Verified government source

NHTSA complaint #11710660

This page summarizes an official U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration owner complaint. Use the verification links below to confirm the record directly with NHTSA.

Vehicle

2019 HYUNDAI SANTA FE

Manufacturer

Hyundai Motor America

Components

ENGINE

Dates

Incident: 12/21/2025
Filed: 01/13/2026

Owner complaint summary

On my 2019 Sante Fe 2.0T, I started having oil consumption/engine issues after 85, 000 miles. Under warranty, I had several minor repairs made over the last year (since 87,000 miles) at the dealership. In September 2025, at 97, 500 miles, I had it into the dealership complaining of burning oil and excessive consumptions in between oil changes. They AGAIN made a few minor repairs, I signed a one-owner warranty form since it was prior to 100,000, and they said come back if I experience further issues. On December 21, at 9pm at night, I broke down on the side of the PA turnpike. My engine light came on after my car started shaking vigorously, and wouldn't accelerate beyond 30mph. Being a Sunday night, I called the dealership in the morning- I was told no appointments for 3 weeks. Took it to a mechanic- where they diagnosed engine failure- hole in intake vale and floating valve not seated. Towed to dealership where it was INITIALLY diagnosed spark plugs and engine coil. Once a mentioned I had a prior diagnosis and pictures, Hyundai did bioscope- found burnt valve and now need all new intake values and part of the engine rebuilt. Hyundai wants me to pay for repairs. I don't think I should have to pay a dime- I've been complaining for over 15,000 miles BEFORE my warranty expired. And now, at 102, 000 miles, the engines blown?? This is a known manufacturer defect with the Theta II engines, and the pistons. I would expect Hyundai at the VERY LEAST to cover the cost of the repairs. Quite frankly, they should replace my engine with a new one, since replacing valves wont solve the pistons and burning excessive oil anyways. I have all documentation of repairs at the dealerships, email correspondence sent between the dealership's service advisors and myself, as well as my routine oil changes.

This is an owner complaint filed with NHTSA (ODI #11710660). It is not automatically an official recall, investigation outcome, or manufacturer admission unless the complaint text itself describes one.

Official record ID (ODI): 11710660. This page is the human-readable source link used across afterwarranty. The raw JSON link proxies NHTSA's public API for machine verification; prefer this page when reading the complaint.