Hyundai Motor America determined that 12,349 examples of the 2024 model year Santa Fe may roll away while in park due to a software issue. Said crossovers were assembled in the period from April 23, 2024 through July 2, 2024.
On June 18, the Hyundai Motor America Technical Review Committee opened an investigation due to an emerging trend of unintended vehicle movement reports. The safety boffins determined that transmission control unit software was the primary cause of inadvertent clutch engagement. Prior to filing the recall documentation, the automaker identified 45 unique incidents reported in the period from June 3, 2024 through June 27, 2024 in the US.
Thankfully for everyone, the recall condition hasn't been associated with any crashes or injuries. When the iffy software logic makes the dual-clutch transmission engage the clutches, the resulting damage to the parking pawl and/or transmission case leads to vehicle roll away even with the steering column-mounted shifter in the park position.
Transys Korea is the supplier of the aforementioned software calibration, with Transys Korea being a subsidiary of the Hyundai Motor Group. It was born from the merger of Hyundai Powertech and DYMOS in 2019. In addition to transmissions, Transys also produces axles, 4WD systems, and automotive seats.
The dual-clutch box in the Santa Fe is a wet-clutch design shared with the Sorento crossover and Santa Cruz pickup truck. As you might have guessed by now, the remedy comes in the form of revised software logic for the control unit.
Photo: Hyundai
Hyundai dealers are to update said module at no charge to affected customers, who are to be informed via first-class mail on or about September 9, 2024. Assembled in Alabama, the 2024 model year Santa Fe and Santa Fe Hybrid comes from the Montgomery plant in Alabama. To this effect, owners running the 17-character VIN on the automaker's recall portal should look for identification numbers beginning with 5.
The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid continues to be listed as a 2023 model on Hyundai's website, meaning that it's a previous-gen Santa Fe. Be that as it may, the larger high-voltage battery and the charging system make it pricier than the fifth-gen Santa Fe in hybrid flavor: $42,410 sans the destination and delivery fee versus $36,950.
As for the combustion-only Santa Fe, prospective customers have to shell out $33,950 at the very least for the front-drive SE. All-wheel drive is obviously available, though it results in one less mile per gallon at 23 combined versus 24 with front-wheel drive. In metric, those figures convert to 10.2 and 9.8 liters per 100 kilometers.
Rather than a 2.5-liter turbo, the hybrid uses a 1.6-liter turbo due to its 60-horsepower electric motor. Said motor produces up to 195 pound-feet (265 Nm), helping the Santa Fe Hybrid save fuel in many driving situations. The best fuel economy rating from the EPA is 36 miles per gallon (about 6.5 liters per 100 kilometers) combined.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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