Is The Hyundai Santa Cruz A Reliable Truck? Here's What Consumer Reports Says

Add the Hyundai Santa Cruz to the list of nameplates that automakers are assigning to the dustbins of history. 2026 will reportedly be the last year for this compact pickup. The Santa Cruz's solitary competitor in the compact pickup segment is the Ford Maverick. While the Hyundai pickup is on its way out, Ford's entry will live on, thanks to the Maverick crushing the Santa Cruz in sales.

If the Santa Cruz is on your shopping list, you'll want to know about reliability. However, there are differences in which model years get a thumbs up from Consumer Reports (CR). Unsurprisingly, the first couple of years (the Santa Cruz debuted for the 2022 model year) are more problematic. The 2022 and 2023 editions had several recalls, including one for a faulty tow-hitch harness module that caused a fire hazard. Later versions perform much better (higher CR ratings and fewer recalls), although the 2026 Santa Cruz is still an unknown.

Of course, CR isn't the only reliability ratings game in town. J.D. Power was more favorable toward the initial Santa Cruz models. That's covered, too.

Avoiding the first year of an all-new model is one of those bits of car-buying advice that often gets cited. The 2022 Santa Cruz validates this wisdom with a below-average reliability rating from CR. That places this edition below the non-hybrid Ford Maverick for reliability and above the Maverick Hybrid. The organization raised red flags about the Santa Cruz's transmission as a particularly bad trouble area. Owners also reported problems with the climate control system, but to a lesser extent. CR's data show that the 2023 Santa Cruz is essentially a cut-and-paste copy of the 2022 model, with the addition of engine cooling issues.

The 2024 model year is a turn for the better with the Santa Cruz. It jumps into the good reliability category, and CR ranked it the top small truck, ahead of the Maverick and Maverick Hybrid. CR flagged build quality and body hardware as trouble spots, but not to the extent of the problems in previous years. For 2025, Santa Cruz reliability remains in the good range but drops closer to average. However, the Maverick Hybrid earns the top reliability spot among this small-truck trio for 2025 (the Santa Cruz and non-hybrid Maverick tie for second). Trouble spots for the 2025 Santa Cruz are minimal and center around electrical accessories, noises, and leaks.

For 2026, CR uses its Predicted Reliability formula, which the organization says combines survey data and expert knowledge. In short, it's an educated guess about the final year of the Santa Cruz, which will eventually be replaced by a midsize body-on-frame truck that Hyundai is designing for the U.S.

J.D. Power adds a different perspective to Santa Cruz reliability than CR. While both operations use owner surveys, CR relies on data from the past 12 months across vehicles of varying ages. In contrast, J.D. Power measures problems at a fixed point in ownership, typically the first 3 years.

Under J.D. Power's process, the Santa Cruz's worst edition is from 2022. However, here, this model year earns an average "Quality and Reliability" rating. J.D. Power doesn't publish specific reliability-related problems, only owners' likes and dislikes. So, a complete picture isn't available. For 2023, the Santa Cruz climbs to "Great" and stays at this level for the 2024 and 2025 model years. The 2026 Santa Cruz is similarly ranked, but it's unclear how much owner reliability data is behind that rating.

There's no separate J.D. Power category for the best small trucks. Its midsize classification groups vehicles such as the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger with the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick. For the 2022 model year, the Santa Cruz sat at the bottom of a field of nine pickups. In more recent years, this Hyundai has consistently ranked or tied for third among the group. Separately, the Santa Cruz is among the safest new pickups you can buy, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).