Their engineers noticed that although the automatic emergency braking (AEB) system successfully stopped the compact sedan and avoided striking a test dummy, the engine sometimes stalled in the process, requiring the driver to shift to Park or Neutral and restart the engine.

Consumer Reports attempted to contact Hyundai, and a representative told Consumer Reports that the company hadn’t heard of the problem, and confirmed that the Elantra shouldn’t operate that way.

The automaker replicated Consumer Reports results with its own tests and issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) to dealers so that they would know how to fix the problem on cars that had already been sold. TSBs are created by automakers and disseminated to dealers so that they have specific instructions about how to repair recurring problems.

MotorBiscuit reports that the 2019 Santa Fe has seen even more owner complaints. According to a February 2021 article where they state that The NHTSA reports 55 complaints, with 16 about the engine. Most of the issues appear to have happened soon after the models were sold, with complaints starting as early as March 2019. In fact, all but four or five of these complaints were reported within a year of the 2019 model’s launch. But there are also an additional 17 “unknown or other” complaints involving the 2019 Santa Fe’s engine/electrical systems interfering with one another, causing engines to idle inappropriately, hesitate, or cut off.

But unfortunately, nothing changed in the 2020 model’s powertrain. U.S. News says it has an “underwhelming base engine” that “generally fails to impress.”

The 2020 model features the same four-cylinder, 185-hp engine as previous years. So owner complaints might continue to mount. However, there’s also good news.

The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe boasts a brand-new powertrain. According to Hyundai, the new engine is an inline-four producing 191 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque. And higher trims boast an inline-four turbo harnessing 277 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. We hope these new engines will finally put an end to owner complaints.