2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

THE FUEL GAUGE HAS BECOME ERRATIC. IT GOES TO EMPTY EVEN WHEN FULL. WILL SOMETIMES POP BACK TO PARTIALLY FULL. HAS CAUSED ME TO RUN OUT OF GAS WHEN ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I THOUGHT I HAD ENOUGH FUEL LEFT. I HAVE FOUND NEARLY 200 SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON LINE. PROBLEM STARTED AT ABOUT 60,000 MILES AND IS ONGOING.

FUEL GAUGE PROBLEMS. THE FUEL GAUGE GOES UP AND DOWN SPORADICALLY REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH GAS IS IN THE TANK. YOU CAN'T DETERMINE HOW MUCH GAS IS LEFT WHICH HAS POSED A SAFETY ISSUE LEAVING ME STRANDED IN AN UNSAFE AREA.

A FEW DAYS AGO AFTER STARTING THE IGNITION ON THE COMPUTER PERFORMED ITS NORMAL CHECK, HOWEVER, THE AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINED CONTINUOUSLY ON. THIS CONTINUES TO STAY ON EACH TIME I TURN ON THE CAR. THE AIRBAG LIGHT DOES NOT BLINK, IT REMAINS CONSTANTLY ON. PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT WORKS ACCORDING TO THE LIGHT ABOVE THE RADIO; IT INDICATES "OFF" WHEN NO ONE IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE LIGHT TURNS OFF WHEN SOMEONE SITS DOWN. THE HORN DOES WORK, HOWEVER THE BUTTONS ON THE STEERING WHEEL DO NOT WORK. THE BUTTONS ON THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO NOT WORK PRIOR TO THE AIRBAG LIGHT COMING ON. THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE CLOCK SPRING CONTACT ASSEMBLY UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V472000. THIS RECALL ONLY INCLUDES SANTA FE'S MANUFACTURED UP TO MARCH 20TH, 2008. MY SANTA FE WAS MANUFACTURED AFTER ON APRIL 24TH, 2008. REQUESTING INVESTIGATION TO EXTEND THIS RECALL DUE TO THERE ARE MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS MALFUNCTION ON THE CLOCK SPRING FOR THE SANTA FE ON VEHICLES MADE AFTER THE DATE OF MARCH 20TH, 2008. MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ARE FOUND ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE WITH THIS SAME MALFUNCTION FOR VEHICLES AFTER THE DATE OF THE RECALL.

THERE HAVE BEEN 3 INSTANCES WHERE AFTER TURNING ON MY VEHICLE, THE POWER IS THROTTLED AND I CAN ONLY DRIVE A COUPLE MILES PER HOUR. I RAN A DIAGNOSTIC SCAN, AND OBTAINED THE CODES P2106, P1295,AND P2135. I SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND THIS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM. THERE APPEARS TO BE A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN OUT FOR THIS ISSUE (TSB 09-FL003-2). IF THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE, SHOULD THERE BE A RECALL? THANK YOU.

A WEEK AGO, THE RED LAMP ON MY DASHBOARD FOR AIR BAG BEGAN TO STAY LIT, WHILE DRIVING, PARKED, ANYTIME THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING. THEN A FEW DAYS AGO, WHILE MY 275 LB SON WAS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, THE PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT STAYED LIT, SAYING OFF, INDICATING IT WAS NOT WORKING, DESPITE HAVING A PASSENGER IN THE SEAT. BOTH OF THESE HAVE HAD RECALLS, (12V354000) AND 11V472000, BUT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION TO HAVE SERVICED. ONE I SUSPECT IS BECAUSE MY VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED MARCH 27TH, AND THE RECALLED INCLUDES DATES THOUGH MARCH 21 (2008) BUT IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM, SO MY VEHICLE SHOULD BE REPAIRED WITHOUT COST TO ME. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN FOR BOTH DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS IN THIS VEHICLE. I ALSO HAVE A SPECIAL NEEDS SON, WHO CANNOT COMPREHEND SAFETY ISSUES....

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT CALLED A LOCAL DEALER (PLAZA HYUNDAI LOCATED AT 2740 NOSTRAND AVE STE A BROOKLYN, NY 11210) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND OPENED CASE NUMBER: 10473827. NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000. ...UPDATED 10/19/17 *BF

I ACTUALLY HAVE 2 ISSUES OCCURRING. ONE OF THESE WAS DEEMED TO HAVE BEEN FIXED BY A PREVIOUS RECALL (CAMPAIGN 105/110 - FIXED /CLOSED JUN 23, 2014). HOWEVER, MY ESC OFF LIGHT AND ABS LIGHT ARE AGAIN LIGHTING UP. I HAVE (LUCKILY) NOT YET HAD LOSS OF ENGINE POWER OR CONTROL. THE SECOND ISSUE IS IN REGARDS TO CAMPAIGN 936. I'VE HAD THE FRONT ENGINE VALVE GASKET COVER FIXED, ALONG WITH MY ALTERNATOR REPLACED (AFTER MY HUSBAND AND I DID IT OURSELVES AFTER LOSING ALL POWER ON CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE MIDDLE OF ROAD BEFORE BARELY COASTING INTO A NEARBY PARKING LOT WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO SORT OF PARK OUT OF THE WAY). WE CHANGED MY OIL THIS WEEKEND, HAVE HAD NO OTHER WORK DONE ON THE CAR SINCE (EXCEPT OIL CHANGES) AND MY HUSBAND NOTICED THAT THE ALTERNATOR IS AGAIN COVERED IN OIL. BETWEEN THE 2 ISSUES, IT IS MOST LIKELY A MATTER OF DAYS (IF I'M LUCKY) BEFORE MY CAR LOSES POWER IN SOME FORM AND I AM POTENTIALLY IN A WRECK WITH MY FAMILY IN THE CAR. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THE DEALERSHIP WANTS TO "RE-FIX" THE FIRST 2 CAMPAIGNS THAT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN FIXED, BUT FOR JUST THE VALVE GASKET WORK, IT WOULD BE AT LEAST $500, NOT INCLUDING THE ALTERNATOR THAT WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED WHEN THE CAR DOES GO OUT. APPARENTLY THE GASKET THAT IS LEAKING THIS TIME ISN'T THE FRONT ONE, IT IS THE REAR ONE. MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THIS ARE THAT IF THE FRONT ONE IS FAULTY, THEN IT'S NOT A STRETCH TO GET TO THE REAR ONE BEING FAULTY. MY HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP EVEN WARNED ME WHEN REPLACING THE FRONT ONE THAT MY REAR ONE WOULD MOST LIKELY NEED TO BE DONE TOO (FOR $500+). IF THE DEALERSHIPS KNOW, IT MAKES ME WONDER WHY THE RECALL DIDN'T INCLUDE BOTH VALVE COVER GASKETS OR A NEW ONE HASN'T BEEN ISSUED FOR THE REAR ONE. HOPEFULLY, BOTH OF THESE ISSUES CAN BE RE-ADDRESSED. THE DATE BELOW IS OF FIRST WARNING LIGHTS. THE LIGHTS COME ON FROM PARK OR WHILE DRIVING.

THE FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT ACCURATELY READ THE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE TANK. IT CONSTANTLY MOVES FROM EMPTY TO FULL. THE PROBLEM IS KNOWN TO BE A FAULTY FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. HYUNDAI SHOULD OWN UP TO THIS PROBLEM AND RECALL AFFECTED VEHICLES. NHTSA WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE NO ONES GOTTEN KILLED YET DUE TO THIS ISSUE.

OVER THE LAST YEAR, OUR HYUNDAI SANTA FE HAS DEVELOPED A VERY TROUBLING STALLING PROBLEM THAT HAS ONLY INCREASED IN FREQUENCY. THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER WHILE DRIVING REGARDLESS OF SPEED, OFTEN SEVERAL TIMES IN THE SAME TRIP REGARDLESS OF DISTANCE TRAVELED. IT STALLS ON LOCAL, LOW-SPEED ROADS AS WELL AS FREEWAY DRIVING. WHEN IT STALLS, ALL STEERING IS LOST. THIS IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AMONG HYUNDAI CUSTOMERS AND DEALERSHIPS AND YET I AM NOT ABLE TO LOCATE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT A RECALL TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY HYUNDAI. I DID CONTACT THEM. TODAY, I RECEIVED A RESPONSE INDICATING THAT HYUNDAI HAS NO EXPLANATION FOR THE ISSUE AND WILL OFFER NO ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR IT. THEIR ONLY SUGGESTION WAS THAT I CONTACT A LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. AS I INDICATED, THIS IS A PROBLEM KNOWN TO HYUNDAI, SOME OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND DEALERSHIPS. SINCE NHTSA IS THE AGENCY OVERSEEING ISSUES OF THIS TYPE, I WOULD RESPECTFULLY REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS STALLING ISSUE BEFORE SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENS.

TAKATA RECALL. OVER 200 COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED WITH HYUNDAI DEALERSHIPS ON THIS DEFECT. FUEL LEVEL SENSORS FAIL AFTER WARRANTY, USUALLY AROURND 80,000 MILLES. FUEL GAUGE LEVELS DROP TO ZERO AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. EVEN WITH FULL TANK.VEHICLE FAILS INSPECTION AND DEALER CORRECTION IS UP TO $800. SOME VEHICLES HAVE RUN OUT OF FUEL ON THE HIWAY. DEALERS HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED FLAW ENDEMIC TO THIS MODEL.