2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

FUEL SENSORS FAILED CAUSING FUEL LEVEL TO READ EMPTY EVEN WITH A FULL TANK. ALSO TRIGGERED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. HYUNDAI IS WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT REFUSES TO ASSIST. *TR

CAR STALLED ON HIGHWAY OUT OF GAS. GAS GAUGE SHOWED HALF TANK. DANGEROUS SITUATION, STUCK IN MIDDLE LANE OF BUSY HIGHWAY, TRAFFIC PASSING ON BOTH SIDES ABOUT 65 MILES PER HOUR. *TR

AS I CAME TO A STOP, I NOTICED THAT MY FUEL GAUGE WAS FLUTTERING UP AND DOWN. THEN MY FUEL LIGHT CAME ON AND I KNEW THAT I HAD JUST FILLED THE TANK THE DAY BEFORE, SO I HAD PLENTY OF GAS. SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN VERY ERRATIC, BUT MOSTLY SHOWING THAT I'M ON EMPTY. THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP TRACK IS ON MY TRIP METER BUT THAT CAN BE A LITTLE WORRISOME--I'M ALWAYS WORRIED THAT I AM MISCALCULATION. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON NOW TOO. *TR

FUEL GAUGE IS FREAKING OUT. THE GAUGE IS FLUCTUATING ERRATICALLY AND THE FUEL RANGE IS IMPACTED AS WELL. A BIG CONCERN WHEN YOU HAVE A WIFE A CHILDREN THAT ARE TRAVELING IN THE CAR AND YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR FUEL SITUATION. PLEASE RECALL THIS ITEM IMMEDIATELY. *TR

THE FUEL GAUGE NO LONGER WORKS. THE FUEL GAUGE ALWAYS READS EMPTY NO MATTER HOW MUCH GAS THERE IS IN THE FUEL TANK. ALSO, PERIODICALLY THE FUEL TANK WILL NOT FILL TO CAPACITY. THE TANK TAKES ANYWHERE BETWEEN 16-19 GALLONS OF GAS AND PERIODICALLY THE PUMP WILL SHUT OFF AS IF THE TANK IS FULL WHEN THERE IS ONLY 10 GALLONS (MORE OR LESS) OF GAS. THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM NOW THAT THE FUEL GAUGE NO LONGER WORKS. OF COURSE THE MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED.

THE GAS GAUGE HAS NOT BEEN WORKING FOR OVER 2 YEARS AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON MOST OF THE TIME BUT WILL GO OFF INTERMITTENTLY. WE TRACK GAS USAGE WITH THE TRIP ODOMETER (20 MILES PER GALLON X 17 GAL TANK=340 MILES DRIVEN) BUT FILL UP AROUND 275 MILES DRIVEN. BUT THIS IS NOT A RELIABLE WAY TO TRACK FUEL AND IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN-WE RAN OUT OF GAS-UNFORTUNATELY ON THE TOLLWAY. NOW WE WANT TO FIX IT. WE HAVE HAD ESTIMATES RANGING FROM $400-$800 TO FIX THE PROBLEM BUT THINK THAT THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART THAT HYUNDAI HAS INSTALLED IN THEIR VEHICLES. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR SAFETY REASONS. THE CAR IS ONLY 6 YEARS OLD. WE TAKE CARE OF OUR CARS-REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND PARKED IN A GARAGE. (ALSO HAD TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE SENSOR AFTER 2 YEARS AND BOTH HVAC MODE DOOR ACTUATORS AFTER 4 YEARS. THE WINDOW WASHER FLUID RECENTLY STOPPED WORKING).

FUEL LEVEL GAUGE BECOMES ERRATIC AND DOES NOT INDICATE CORRECT FUEL LEVEL IN GAS TANK. RECENTLY "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" CAME ON AND DIAGNOSIS BY MECHANIC WAS "FUEL LEVEL SENSOR A, CIRCUIT INTERMITTENT". THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND SHOULD NOT OCCUR ON A VEHICLE AT THIS STAGE. I HAVE NOW BECOME AWARE THAT THIS IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON DEFECT IN THE HYUNDAI SANTA FE LINE OF VEHICLES. THIS DEFECT CAN CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IF A DRIVER WERE TO UNKNOWINGLY RUN OUT OF FUEL WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE. I BELIEVE THAT A RECALL TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PART(S) WOULD BE JUSTIFIED. I AM HOPING THAT YOUR AGENCY WILL LOOK INTO THIS MATTER AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE STEPS. THANK YOU. *TR

FUEL GAUGE (FUEL LEVEL SENSOR) IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRES. WHETHER EMPTY OR FULL, FUEL GAUGE IS CONSTANTLY FLUCTUATED UP AND DOWN.AND RANGE MILEAGE KEEPS CHANGING. *TR

FUEL SENSOR PROBLEM. GAS TANK DOES NOT REGISTER FULL AND SOMETIMES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON BECAUSE OF A FUEL SENSOR PROBLEM. HAD A HALF A TANK OF GAS TODAY; FILLED IT UP AND FOR 15 MILES (AT LEAST) AFTER THAT IT READ EMPTY AND THE FUEL LIGHT WAS ON. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS SUPPOSE TO INDICATE REAL PROBLEMS -- NOW I DON'T KNOW WHEN TO TRUST IT. PLEASE MAKE HYUNDAI RECALL THIS PART AND MAKE THIS REPAIR. *TR

THE FUEL GAUGE IN MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE AS STARTED BOBBING UP AND DOWN. WHEN I START THE CAR IT SHOWS THAT I HAVE NO FUEL THEN RAISES UP TO ABOUT HALF A TANK AND THEN GOES BACK DOWN TO ABOUT A QUARTER BEFORE SLOWLY RAISING UP AGAIN. THIS CAR HAS CAUSED ME MORE TROUBLE THAN ANY OTHER CAR I HAVE OWNED. *TR