Selling a junk Hyundai Santa Fe
Any Santa Fe sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Hyundai Santa Fe
NHTSA has 9,714 owner complaints on file for the Hyundai Santa Fe, model years 2001 to 2022, the 48th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are engine (2,362, 24%), fuel system (927, 10%), transmission and drivetrain (821, 8%). 501 complaints involved a crash, 310 a fire, and 380 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 71,000 miles. The 2017 model year has the most complaints (1,293). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is engine, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a blown engine: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Hyundai Santa Fe by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 293 | Suspension | 7 | 5 | 4 | 105,500 |
| 2002 | 219 | Suspension | 10 | 3 | 4 | 110,000 |
| 2003 | 390 | Suspension | 36 | 7 | 4 | 95,800 |
| 2004 | 386 | Suspension | 40 | 11 | 3 | 80,125 |
| 2005 | 300 | Air bags | 27 | 0 | 3 | 85,000 |
| 2006 | 143 | Air bags | 16 | 4 | 1 | 65,700 |
| 2007 | 984 | Fuel system | 42 | 12 | 9 | 78,676 |
| 2008 | 718 | Fuel system | 32 | 11 | 6 | 77,000 |
| 2009 | 507 | Fuel system | 44 | 7 | 3 | 78,000 |
| 2010 | 334 | Transmission and drivetrain | 14 | 12 | 3 | 52,000 |
| 2011 | 268 | Engine | 26 | 10 | 3 | 44,012 |
| 2012 | 475 | Engine | 41 | 19 | 1 | 60,000 |
| 2013 | 807 | Engine | 25 | 66 | 3 | 63,701 |
| 2014 | 680 | Engine | 27 | 43 | 3 | 63,000 |
| 2015 | 332 | Engine | 13 | 17 | 2 | 70,500 |
| 2016 | 290 | Engine | 8 | 3 | 3 | 62,650 |
| 2017 | 1,293 | Engine | 20 | 41 | 6 | 21,382 |
| 2018 | 144 | Engine | 10 | 7 | 2 | 25,422 |
| 2019 | 291 | Engine | 20 | 16 | 2 | 13,600 |
| 2020 | 304 | Engine | 21 | 13 | 2 | 28,500 |
| 2021 | 242 | Transmission and drivetrain | 4 | 2 | 7 | 20,000 |
| 2022 | 314 | Transmission and drivetrain | 18 | 1 | 5 | 23,750 |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Hyundai Santa Fe recalls
NHTSA lists 39 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for air bags (6), brakes (5), equipment (3). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2021 model year, driver assistance (campaign 24V879000, Nov 2024): Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Santa Fe HEV, Elantra, Elantra HEV and 2022 Elantra N and Santa Fe PHEV vehicles. Due to a damaged printed circuit board, the rearview camera image…
- 2013 model year, brakes (campaign 23V651000, Sep 2023): Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2011-2015 Elantra, Genesis Coupe, Sonata Hybrid, 2012-2015 Accent, Azera, Veloster, 2013-2015 Elantra Coupe, Santa Fe, 2014-2015 Equus, 2010-2012 Veracruz, 2010-2013 T…
- 2019 model year, trailer hitch (campaign 23V181000, Mar 2023): Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original …
- 2021 model year, transmission and drivetrain (campaign 22V746000, Oct 2022): Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster N, 2022 Santa Cruz, Elantra N, and Kona N vehicles. The vehicle's "fail-safe" limited-mobility drive mode may be impaired, when pr…
- 2022 model year, engine and cooling (campaign 22V197000, Mar 2022): Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2022 Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment.
What a Hyundai Santa Fe is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Santa Fe on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a blown engine 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Hyundai models
- Hyundai Sonata 21,920
- Hyundai Elantra 11,650
- Hyundai Tucson 7,771
- Hyundai Accent 2,769
- Hyundai Veloster 1,784
- Hyundai Genesis 1,729
- Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 1,593
- Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 1,130
All Hyundai models · All makes · Cash for junk cars by state
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Hyundai Santa Fe worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Santa Fe gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Hyundai Santa Fe that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Hyundai Santa Fe?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Hyundai Santa Fe numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.