Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.
Fuel economy
17–20 mpgcombined; city 15–18, highway 21–25; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$16,240–$19,110U.S. average; Ohio $14,510–$17,070 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
Owners have filed 106 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Santa Fe. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.
Complaints by part of the car
Part
Complaints
Crashes
Fires
Injuries
Air bags
28
4
0
5
Vehicle speed control
20
4
1
0
Suspension
13
1
0
2
Service brakes
12
1
0
0
Electrical system
10
1
1
1
Exterior lighting
9
0
0
0
Engine and engine cooling
5
1
0
0
Fuel system, gasoline
5
0
0
0
Power train
5
0
0
0
Seat belts
5
0
0
0
Service brakes, hydraulic
5
2
0
1
Steering
4
0
0
0
10 more parts
Engine
3
1
1
0
Fuel/propulsion system
3
0
0
0
Structure
3
1
0
1
Equipment
2
0
1
1
Unknown or other
2
0
0
0
Visibility
2
0
0
0
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
0
0
0
Fuel system, other
1
0
0
0
Seats
1
0
0
0
Tires
1
0
0
0
Complaints by model year
Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.
NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2006 Santa Fe over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.
Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model Year 2001-2006 Santa Fe vehicles manufactured from March 31, 2000, through February 15, 2006, that are registered and operated, or which were originally sold and registered, in the following 20 “salt belt" states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The affected vehicles may experience front coil spring corrosion from road salt, causing the coil spring to fracture and make contact with the tire.
Risk: If the front coil spring fractures due to corrosion it could cause the coil spring to make contact with the tire, possibly puncturing the tire and increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the coil spring, free of charge. The recall began on October 24, 2014. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 124.
Carmakers sent NHTSA 50 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2006 Santa Fe, the latest on Oct 8, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.
The parts they mention most: equipment (11), engine and engine cooling (10), power train (10), electrical system (6), equipment adaptive/mobility (5).
NHTSA hasn't opened a defect investigation that covers this model year.
Maintenance
Oil
The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2006 Santa Fe.
See used 2006 Hyundai Santa Fes for sale on: Autotrader · CarMax
These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.
Specs
EPA class: sport utility vehicle. Each version EPA tested:
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Version
Engine
Transmission
Fuel
City / hwy / comb
Santa Fe Front-Wheel Drive
2.4 L, 4 cyl
Automatic 4-spd
Regular Gasoline
18 / 24 / 20
Santa Fe Front-Wheel Drive
2.4 L, 4 cyl
Manual 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
18 / 25 / 20
Santa Fe Front-Wheel Drive
2.7 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 4-spd
Regular Gasoline
17 / 23 / 19
Santa Fe Front-Wheel Drive
3.5 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
16 / 22 / 18
Santa Fe 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
2.7 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 4-spd
Regular Gasoline
16 / 21 / 18
Santa Fe 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive
3.5 L, 6 cyl
Automatic 5-spd
Regular Gasoline
15 / 21 / 17
Sources and dates
U.S. EPA fuel economy data, file of Sep 29, 2026
NHTSA owner complaints, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA recalls, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA manufacturer communications, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA defect investigations, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, file of Aug 7, 2026
U.S. Energy Information Administration, file of Oct 12, 2026
Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data