2020 HYUNDAI SANTA FE — Complaint #2151991
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about TRAILER HITCHES filed November 25, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2151991 (ODI reference 11701574) concerns a 2020 HYUNDAI SANTA FE and was filed on November 25, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 6, 2025. The vehicle had 94,400 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Minnesota based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as trailer hitches, 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: yes, 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 trailer hitches 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 2020 HYUNDAI SANTA FE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owned a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH onto the ramp, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle stalled and shut off, and the contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact was calling for Roadside Assistance and noticed white smoke coming from under the hood. The stated that the smoke then turned dark brown and then black, and then flames appeared under the hood. The contact grabbed several things of value and exited the vehicle and started running. The vehicle was engulfed in flames, and the EDR was destroyed. The contact sustained minor scratches after falling while running away from the vehicle. No medical attention was sought. The Police and Fire Department were called to the scene. The contact stated that a Police report was not filed due to the incident not being related to a crash. The vehicle was towed to a t
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2151991 |
| ODI Number | 11701574 |
| Date Filed | November 25, 2025 |
| Failure Date | November 6, 2025 |
| VIN | 5NMS5CAA5LH |
Similar TRAILER HITCHES Complaints for 2020 HYUNDAI SANTA FE
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.