Hello, I’ve been reading some posts on this forum and I already have autism, so some of the things I’ve seen are making me worried. I have a 2023 Santa Fe with 20k miles.
For example, I read that you should avoid ‘stop and go’ driving and that you need to be very careful with the car, but I’m not a mechanic and car services are expensive. I also read that after a certain number of miles, the transmission could fail, and that Hyundais are ticking time bombs that will leave you stranded. I saw that many of them don’t last past 100k miles, even with lots of service, and the ones that do make it are the lucky ones.
Now I’m worried about how long my Santa Fe will last.
I had a 2012 Tucson with over 100k miles and never had an issue until it got totaled in an accident. It kept my kid and his friends safe. I also had two Genesis Coupes, each over 100k miles. The only issue I had was the slave cylinder on the 6-speed, but Hyundai fixed it. My wife has a 2021 Santa Fe hybrid and no issues, and my son’s 2019 Tucson with 30k miles has been fine too. We’ve had great luck with Hyundais. I also have a 2019 Kia with 90k miles and no problems.
It seems like you’re focusing only on the negative stuff. You can find complaints about any vehicle online. If you look at official reports like Consumer Reports, you’ll see that Hyundai isn’t the most reliable brand, but they’re not bad either. Honda and Toyota are more reliable, but when I compared them to Hyundai before I bought my Santa Fe, I couldn’t deal with how boring and outdated they felt, especially in terms of comfort and features.
Hyundai is a brand that pushes new tech, so it might have more issues, but it also brings a lot of value. If your main concern is reliability, a Toyota might be safer, but it won’t be as exciting or techy. Since you’ve already got the 2023 Santa Fe, don’t stress too much. If something breaks, it’ll probably cost less to fix it than to buy a new car.
The brands offering more features and better value tend to be less reliable because they’re taking more risks. But I’d never want to drive a Toyota with outdated tech as a daily driver unless I was really trying to save money or just didn’t care about comfort.
I’ve had a 2016 Sonata Limited (36k miles, sold when I moved), a 2019 Sonata 2.0t Limited (50k miles), a 2019 Santa Fe 2.0t Ultimate (90k miles), and just traded the Santa Fe for a 2025 hybrid Calligraphy (500 miles). I haven’t had any real issues with any of them. The only issue I had with the new one was a warning light, but it went away on its own and I think it was just a software glitch. Overall, Hyundai cars are reliable and packed with features. The warranties are great too, and the dealerships are good about honoring them. They even replaced a minor trim piece on my 2019 Santa Fe for free without any hassle.
Of course, some people will have issues, but that happens with any brand. Most dealers will work with you to make it right if something goes wrong.
Don’t stress about it. People who have problems tend to complain, but most people don’t bother sharing when everything’s fine. There are a lot of people who bash Hyundai without ever owning one, just because they’ve heard others talk negatively about it. If your car’s working well, don’t worry about all the negative noise.
If most of your driving is city driving, follow the severe service schedule. I have a 2024 Tucson, and I change the oil every 4,000 miles, use tier 1 gas, and follow the severe service schedule since I mostly drive in the city.