More than 12,000 new Santa Fe SUVs are under recall for a potentially damaging transmission issue.
After going on sale this spring, the new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe faces its first major recall due to a transmission software logic error. Specifically, Santa Fe models equipped with the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission are affected. Hyundai told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that up to 12,349 vehicles’ DCTs could “become damaged during normal operation due to Transmission Control Unit (TCU) software logic that could inadvertently disengage the clutches and damage the transmission case and/or allow for the vehicle to roll away while in Park.”
Two Transmission Control Units supplied for the Santa Fe by manufacturer Transys Korea are the source of this problem, which Hyundai first identified on June 18. The company’s safety office says it noticed a trend of reports indicating “unintended vehicle movement” involving 2024 Santa Fe models on June 18. It narrowed the problem down to the TCU on June 2, before deciding to formally conduct a safety recall of the impacted vehicles in the U.S. in Canada.
According to the defect report filed with the NHTSA, affected 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe models were built at its Alabama assembly plant between April 23, 2024 and July 2, 2024.
Hyundai notes there are some possible warning signs of the issue, including parking pawl noise when parked; an inability to shift into park or back into gear, unintended vehicle movement or unintended parking gear selection during operation — all emphatic signs of transmission housing damage.
What’s the fix?
All 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe owners under this recall should receive a notice by mail no later than September 9, 2024. Those notifications will instruct owners to take their vehicles to their local dealer to update the TCU software. In the event a vehicle’s dual-clutch transmission was damaged, Hyundai says it will replace the entire transmission, free of charge.
Owners shouldn’t have needed to pay for repairs out of pocket, since these vehicles should all still be under warranty. However, for those who did end up paying out-of-pocket expenses to repair the issue, the automaker is offering reimbursement under its latest plan submitted to the NHTSA in February.
More information is available on the NHTSA’s website — the recall number in the agency’s system is 24V-529. Hyundai’s recall site should also have more information, which you can attain by plugging in your VIN on their recall site or using the reference number 263.
This is the second recall to hit the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe so far this year. 18,206 vehicles are under recall because the rearview camera image may be obstructed by a trailer parking assist message.
On top of today’s Santa Fe recall, the automaker is also recalling 54,647 vehicles for potential loss of drive power due to fuel pump failure, including the Hyundai Elantra N, Kona N and Veloster N, as well as the Genesis G70.
