2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz Reliability Report

Unexpected braking at speed is the common thread. The automatic emergency braking system activates on the freeway at 60 to 70 mph with nothing ahead, slowing the truck briefly before releasing. In another case the electric parking brake engages at 70 mph and later at 25 mph, nearly causing crashes; the dealer replaced the parking brake cables and rear calipers but faced a month-plus wait for parts. Restarting clears the fault, and dealers often cannot reproduce it. One report starts at 1,000 miles.

None of these complaints describe a hitch failure. All three come from owners who received a trailer hitch recall notice and could not get the repair because parts were not available. Dealers confirmed the shortage, and owners say the wait has gone on too long. The pattern is a parts distribution delay rather than a reported breakdown, though fire reports filed under other components mention the tow hitch area.

Condensation builds up inside the taillights, and replacement units can fog again, leading to repeat dealer visits and worry that brake or turn signals could fail. Headlight complaints focus on the low-mounted front lamps. Owners describe a dark spot covering the left lane and halogen bulbs on lower trims that are dim and project unusually low at night. One owner says the dealer called the headlight pattern a manufacturer issue that cannot be resolved.

A fire starts at the rear driver's side quarter panel of a parked truck with no warning lights beforehand, and the fire department had to put it out. The other report describes the tailgate opening on its own at low speed, once in a parking lot and once while pulling out of a driveway, twice within 3 months of ownership. Both tailgate incidents happened with the bed empty.

Two different problems appear. In one crash, the truck hit a pole while parking at 1,200 miles, the air bags did not deploy, and the driver was injured. Separately, the air bag warning light comes on and off at random. A dealer cleaned and reconnected a sensor switch, but the light returned within a block, and the dealer then planned to replace an air bag component.

Power loss under acceleration shows up here too. The truck struggles to reach 40 mph and then fades when asked to speed up, forcing the driver to pull over and let traffic pass. This matches the loss-of-power pattern reported under the power train. The other complaint concerns fuel economy, with one owner reporting 10 mpg, well below the advertised figure.

Rain-sensing wipers hunt between speeds in steady rain, sometimes dropping to a slow interval that leaves the windshield too wet to see through. Washer nozzles spray at the very bottom of the windshield, worse at highway speed, so the wipers cannot clear road salt or grime. One dealer said the nozzles are not adjustable after first claiming to have adjusted them. Night driving is reported as the hardest.