2019 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Complaint #1861180
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:WINDSHIELD:ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENT filed December 23, 2022
NHTSA complaint #1861180 (ODI reference 11498724) concerns a 2019 HYUNDAI SANTA FE and was filed on December 23, 2022. The owner reports the failure occurred on March 2, 2020. The report was geocoded to Pennsylvania based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:windshield:electrical heating element, 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: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. 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 visibility:defroster/defogger/hvac system:windshield:electrical heating element 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 2019 HYUNDAI SANTA FE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
â¢What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? When ambient temperature is at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, sufficient heat is not produced from the vehicles defroster to keep the windshield from icing. Also, sufficient heat is not produced to keep vehicle occupants warm. A Hyundai dealership confirmed the problem and replaced the thermostat, but the problem still persists. â¢How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Visibility through the windshield cannot be maintained. Also, the cabin temperature is insufficient for safe transport of young children. â¢Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. â¢Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? It has been inspected and confirmed by a Hyundai dealership. The problem persists and has been an issue since the vehicle was purchased in 2019. The first wint
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1861180 |
| ODI Number | 11498724 |
| Date Filed | December 23, 2022 |
| Failure Date | March 2, 2020 |
| VIN | 5NMS2CAD1KH |
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.