2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Complaint #1118405
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE filed October 8, 2014
NHTSA complaint #1118405 (ODI reference 10643369) concerns a 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE and was filed on October 8, 2014. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 30, 2012. The report was geocoded to Illinois based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as air bags:frontal:sensor/control module, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 1, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same HYUNDAI SANTA FE cohort independently describe similar air bags:frontal:sensor/control module failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE CONTACT FELL ASLEEP BEHIND THE WHEEL AND CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A NECK INJURY THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE AIR BAG SENSORS NEEDED TO BE CONNECTED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1118405 |
| ODI Number | 10643369 |
| Date Filed | October 8, 2014 |
| Failure Date | October 30, 2012 |
| VIN | KM8SC73D63U |
Similar AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE Complaints for 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE WITH DEFECTIVE AIRBAG CONTROL MODULE. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE MECHANIC HOOKED THE VEHICLE UP TO THE SCANNER THAT CAME ACROSS THAT PROBLEM. IT WILL COST ALMOST $400 DOLLARS TO HA
AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON. SCAN IT NEEDS A NEW CLOCKSPRING(AIR BAG). DEALER WON"T PAY FOR IT. 2003 HYUNDAI SANTA FE HAS 88,000KM. *TR
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.