Last updated: 2026-10-10
Hyundai Santa Fe vs Jeep Grand Cherokee: Reliability Compared
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Slight edge to the Hyundai Santa-FE over the Jeep Grand Cherokee on reliability. Lower repair costs decide it. Both models stand well, but the Jeep carries more recalls, more shop visits, and a higher chance that a repair turns major.
How Do the Hyundai Santa Fe and Jeep Grand Cherokee Generations Compare?
Verdict
The Hyundai Santa Fe is more reliable than the Jeep Grand Cherokee, scoring 70/100 vs 66/100.
Reliability favors the Hyundai Santa-FE, but only by a slight margin. Both sit in good standing. The Santa-FE wins on cost and recalls: lower yearly repair spending, fewer shop visits, a smaller chance that a repair turns major, and 60 recalls against 97 for the Jeep. It is not a clean sweep. Owners file more complaints per car sold on the Santa-FE, and its oil-burning engine problem can end in failure if ignored. The Jeep's edge-case failures are scarier, but the Hyundai's bills are smaller.
Key Differences
- 1Hyundai Santa Fe costs $151 less per year to repair
- 2Hyundai Santa Fe has 37 fewer total recalls
- 3Hyundai Santa Fe scores 4 points higher in reliability
Category Scoreboard
Hyundai Santa Fe vs Jeep Grand Cherokee: Which Is More Reliable?
| Metric | Hyundai Santa Fe | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability Score | 70/100 | 66/100 |
| Years Tracked | 9 | 9 |
| Total Recalls | 60 | 97 |
| Complaints per 10k Sold | 8 | 6.8 |
| Annual Repair Cost | $515/yr | $666/yr |
| Repair Frequency | 0.2/yr | 0.3/yr |
| Major Repair Risk | 10% | 13% |
| Year Wins | 7 (1 tied) | 1 (1 tied) |
What Are the Common Problems With the Hyundai Santa Fe and Jeep Grand Cherokee?
Jeep complaints skew toward sudden loss of control. Owners report surging in parking spots, engines shutting off while driving, power steering cutting out, and transmissions that slip, lunge, or need replacing. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 also has camshaft and rocker arm wear. Santa-FE complaints center on heavy oil burning, with owners finding the engine quarts low and no leak, plus stalling from a stop and a failing evaporator temperature sensor that kills the air conditioning. Steering and electrical are crash-linked on the Jeep, and its engine category has two crash-linked reports. The Santa-FE lists no crash-linked steering or engine complaints, but vehicle speed control has 8 crash-linked reports, all about surging while parking.
| Component | Hyundai Santa Fe | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 0.9Very Low | 2.2Low |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1.2Low | 0.9Very Low |
| POWER TRAIN | 1.3Low | 0.7Very Low |
| ENGINE | 1.5Low | 0.4Very Low |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 0.5Very Low | 0.5Very Low |
| STEERING | 0.1Very Low | 0.6Very Low |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 0.3Very Low | 0.1Very Low |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 0.2Very Low | 0.1Very Low |
| AIR BAGS | 0.1Very Low | 0.2Very Low |
| SUSPENSION | —None | 0.2Very Low |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 0.1Very Low | —None |
| VISIBILITY | 0.1Very Low | —None |
| SEAT BELTS | 0.1Very Low | —None |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 0.1Very Low | —None |
| STRUCTURE | 0.1Very Low | —None |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 0.1Very Low | —None |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | —None | 0.1Very Low |
| SEATS | —None | 0.1Very Low |
| TIRES | —None | —None |
| BACK OVER PREVENTION | —None | —None |
| TRAILER HITCHES | —None | —None |
| LANE DEPARTURE | —None | —None |
Complaints per 10,000 units sold, aggregated across all tracked model years from NHTSA owner reports.
Which Is Cheaper to Maintain: Hyundai Santa Fe or Jeep Grand Cherokee?
How Does Hyundai Santa Fe vs Jeep Grand Cherokee Reliability Compare by Year?
| Year | Hyundai Santa Fe | Jeep Grand Cherokee | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 75/1005R / 5C | 70/1002R / 0C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
| 2025 | 75/1006R / 109C | 75/1003R / 59C | Tie |
| 2024 | 73/1009R / 109C | 66/10020R / 204C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
| 2023 | 70/1004R / 244C | 63/10022R / 363C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
| 2022 | 66/10014R / 223C | 62/10014R / 192C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
| 2021 | 69/10010R / 165C | 63/10015R / 427C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
| 2020 | 70/1002R / 165C | 72/1003R / 207C | Jeep Grand Cherokee |
| 2019 | 69/1003R / 201C | 67/1007R / 336C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
| 2018 | 63/1007R / 489C | 60/10011R / 804C | Hyundai Santa Fe |
Best years to cross-shop: The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe scored 73/100 and the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee scored 72/100 — the strongest shared model years that have been on the road for at least two years, where available.
Who Should Buy the Hyundai Santa Fe vs the Jeep Grand Cherokee?
Hyundai Santa Fe vs Jeep Grand Cherokee: Common Questions
- Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee more reliable than the Hyundai Santa-FE?
- No. The Santa-FE has a slight edge, though both stand well. It costs less to repair, needs fewer shop visits, and has fewer recalls. The Jeep's higher repair cost and 13% chance of a major repair keep it a step behind.
- Which has more recalls, the Grand Cherokee or the Santa-FE?
- The Grand Cherokee has more. Federal recall records show 97 recalls across nine model years for the Jeep and 60 for the Santa-FE. Check any specific car's VIN for open recalls before you buy, whichever model you choose.
- Which costs less to repair?
- The Santa-FE. Independent repair-cost data estimates $515 a year against $666 for the Grand Cherokee. Over five years, that is roughly $755 saved. The Santa-FE also averages 0.2 unscheduled shop visits a year, compared with 0.3 for the Jeep.
- What is the biggest problem with the Hyundai Santa-FE?
- Oil burning. Owners report the low oil light flashing and the engine several quarts low with no visible leak, often around 78,788 to 110,000 miles. If ignored, it can bring knocking, power loss, stalling at highway speed, and in some cases engine failure.
- What goes wrong most often on the Jeep Grand Cherokee?
- Electrical complaints lead, with 846 reports. These include sudden acceleration while parking, engine shutoffs, and no-start problems blamed on fuel pumps. Transmission trouble, power steering dropouts, and camshaft and rocker arm wear on the 3.6L Pentastar V6 also appear often in owner complaints.
Related Reliability Comparisons
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Decided between Hyundai Santa Fe and Jeep Grand Cherokee? Run a VIN check before you buy — uncover hidden accidents, title issues, and open recalls.
How we score the Hyundai Santa Fe and Jeep Grand Cherokee
Scores weight complaint severity at 35%, repair costs at 30%, recall impact at 20%, and the spread of complaints across systems at 15%, with complaint counts adjusted for US sales. Read the full methodology.
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