2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Complaint #1975207
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE filed March 14, 2024
NHTSA complaint #1975207 (ODI reference 11577319) concerns a 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE and was filed on March 14, 2024. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 27, 2024. The vehicle had 16,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Florida based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as air bags: air bag/restraint 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: 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 air bags: air bag/restraint 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 2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated while driving at various speeds with an occupant in the passengerâs side front seat, the air bag light off message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that a software update was needed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. After driving the vehicle, the air bag off light message was displayed. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that an unknown module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The dealer informed the contact to remove the cushion. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Coconut Creek Hyundai. Coconut Creek Hyundai Service informed the contact that the system failed to recognize the occupant due to a cushion in the seat. The dealer informed the contact to replace the cushion with another cushion. The manufacturer was contacted, and opened a case, but no assistance was provided
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1975207 |
| ODI Number | 11577319 |
| Date Filed | March 14, 2024 |
| Failure Date | January 27, 2024 |
| VIN | 5NMS24AJXMH |
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.