There are 12 stored owner reports matching the body & structure leading-label group for the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 12 of 12 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)THE SUBFRAME IS RUSTED THROUGH. IT WAS GARAGE KEPT AND DOESN'T EVEN HAVE 150,000 MILES ON IT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE VEERED TO THE RIGHT. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE K-FRAME WAS SEVERELY CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 69,995.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE SPARE TIRE RACK LOCATED UNDER THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SEVERE RUSTING AND CORROSION AND COULD NO LONGER SECURE THE SPARE TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.
INTERIOR DOOR HANDLES ON 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE ARE SEPARATING FROM THE CHROME PLATING EXACTLY AS IN THE RECALL FOR, NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 09V317000, DEALER WILL NOT CORRECT AS THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN OFFICIAL RECALL ANNOUNCEMENT, BUT THESE APPEAR TO BE THE SAME TYPE, STYLE, MAKE HANDLES AS THAT IN THE RECALL. HANDLES ARE SHARP AND WILL CUT PASSENGERS IF HANDLED IMPROPERLY. DICK DEAN OF BALLWIN MISSOURI (DEALER)SUGGESTED PLACEING TAPE OF THE HANDLES WHICH IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. FILING THIS FOR MY FATHER WHO OWNS THE VEHICLE. I OWNED THE SONATA IN THE RECALL AND KNOW FIRST HAND THESE ARE THE EXACT SAME HANDLES WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I ALSO OWN A 2004 SANTA FE WHERE THE PROBLEM HAS NOT STARTED TO OCCUR YET, BUT THEY TOO APPEAR TO BE THE SAME HANDLES.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WAS CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
SUB FRAME WAS REPLACED DUE TO HIDDEN ROTTING OF INTERNAL MOUNTING STRUCTURE SEPARATION OF SUSPENSION COMPONENTS, CAUSING POOR CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND TIRE WEAR IN AUG. 2013. UNDER BODY WAS EXPOSED TO CORROSIVE WATER IN JULY, 2017 ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO AND HAS TURNED THE STEEL TO " CRACKERS " RUST CONDITION AND MADE IT UNSAFE TO BE ROAD WORTHY DUE TO POSSIBLE SEPARATION OF SUB FRAME AT BODY MOUNTS.. ALL REPAIRS WHERE AT MY EXPENSE. I FOUND SOME RECALLS TO LATE ON THE COMPUTER. I`M IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING THE UNIT. I KEPT ALL RECORDS OF REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE SINCE I PURCHASED IT USED. THE POWER TRAIN IS IN GOOD RUNNING ORDER. I`M NOT TO COMPUTER SAVEY ! I HAVE A FAX MECHINE. THANK YOU.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS AN OVERPOWERING FUEL SMELL IN THE INTERIOR CABIN. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE FRAME WAS SEVERELY RUSTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL TANK AND FUEL LINES WERE RUSTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 100,350.
THE PAINT IS DETERIORATING, MY FUEL PUMP HAD TO BE REPLACED AND MY CAR WON'T START. I REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR, BATTERY, CRANKSHAFT SENSOR AND STILL WON'T START. I ALSO HAVE A BREAK LEAK THAT I'VE TRIED TO FIX A FEW TIMES
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT NOTICED RUST ON THE SUB FRAME. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT FAILED TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE CURRENT AND THE FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 85,000.
THIS VEHICLE HAS 124,350 MILES AND LOOKS TO BE IN VERY GOOD CONDITION YET HAS UNDERLYING PROBLEMS THAT HAS GONE UNDETECTED UNTIL VERY RECENTLY. ONE IS THE FRONT FRAME RAIL ATTACHMENT TO UNDERSIDE (FLOORBOARD) OF BODY ON PASSENGER SIDE WHICH IS HEAVILY RUSTED AND ONE LARGE AREA IS HOLED. ALSO THE METAL SHIELD OVER THE BOTTOM OF FUEL TANK IS NEARLY COMPLETELY RUSTED AWAY AND FELL DOWN ONTO REAR ROTATING DRIVE SHAFT. I FEEL BOTH OF THESE ISSUES SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITH THIS VEHICLE AND I ALSO FEEL BOTH COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY IF THE REMAINING STEEL ATTACHMENTS TEAR AWAY DUE TO SEVERE SECTION LOSS OF COMPONENTS. *TR
THE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLES ON MY 2003 HYUNDAI SANTE FE HAVE CHIPPING/PEELING PAINT. (THE CHROME PAINT) OPENING THE DOOR TO GET OUT THE CHROME PAINT IS SHARP LIKE A RAZOR AND CUTS MY FINGERS AND MY CHILD'S FINGERS AS IT IS HAPPENING ON ALL FOUR DOORS OF THE VEHICLE. IT GETS EMBEDDED INTO YOUR FINGER SOMEWHAT LIKE A SPLINTER BUT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE AND IS VERY PAINFUL. *TR
TWO MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING MY SANTA FE, I HAD TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER FOR WATER A WATER LEAK. THEY STATED THAT THEY REPAIRED THE LEAK BY SEALING THE TAIL LIGHTS, HOWEVER, THERE WAS WATER ON THE CARGO COVER IN ADDITION TO THE CARPET. THIS REPAIR DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE CORRECTED THE PROBLEM AS THE REAR CARGO AREA OF MY VEHICLE WAS WET AFTER IT RAINED YESTERDAY!*AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.