2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

PURCHASED 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE FROM HERRNSTEINS HYUNDAI OF CHILLICOTHE, OH. IN JANUARY 2010. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS; ONCE IN MARCH, AND ONCE IN JUNE ON 315 COLUMBUS, OHIO. THE FIRST TIME IT OVER ACCELERATED I WAS ATTEMPTING TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE. I ACCELERATED TO PASS AND THEN WAS ATTEMPTING TO SLOW BACK DOWN WHEN I HEARD THE ENGINE REV AND FELT THE VEHICLE SPEED UP. I DO NOT AND DID NOT USE THE CRUISE CONTROL. THE BREAKS ONLY SLOWED THE VEHICLE I COULD NOT GET IT STOPPED. I DID MANAGE TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL AND AS THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO REV, I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF. UPON RESTARTING IT WAS OK. THE SECOND TIME I WAS ACCELERATING TO MERGE, UPON COMPLETION OF THE MERGE I ATTEMPTED TO LET OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND SLOW DOWN. AGAIN THE ENGINE REVVED, AND I FELT THE VEHICLE SPEEDING UP. I APPLIED BREAKS FORCEFULLY LIKE BEFORE THE VEHICLE SLOWED A BIT BUT SPED BACK UP I CONTINUED TO BREAK USING BOTH FEET AND THE VEHICLE SLOWED AND WAS THEN OK. WE REPORTED THIS TO THE DEALERSHIP EACH TIME IT OCCURRED. THEIR RESPONSE WAS THAT IT DID NOT SHOW A CODE. AFTER THE SECOND EVENT HERRNSTEINS HAS SHOWN CONCERN AND REALIZES THEIR IS A PROBLEM. HOWEVER THE HYUANDI CORP. HAS TAKEN THE STANCE WITH US THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SUA IN THEIR VEHICLES AND THAT OURS IS SAFE TO DRIVE. I SUPPOSE BECAUSE I DID NOT GET KILLED OR KILL SOMEONE ELSE THAT I CAN NOT PROVE IT HAPPENED. *TR

WHILE PULLING INTO HEAD-IN PARKING SPACE, 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. HIT A CONCRETE WALL, CAUSING SIGNIFICANT RADIATOR AND FENDER DAMAGE (ESTIMATED TOTAL REPAIR COSTS OVER $8000). DRIVER SUFFERED SCRAPES AND BRUISES ON NECK/CHEST FROM SEATBELT/STEERING WHEEL, BRUISING ON KNEE, AND HEAD PAIN . CHILD IN REAR BOOSTER SEAT SUFFERS NECK PAIN. AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *TR

STOPPED AT RED LITE GIVE THE CAR GAS AND THE ENGINE REVS UP AND TAKES OFF HAD TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL MOVE TO SHOULDER WAITED A FEW MOMENTS RESTARTED CAR AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE. VERY UNNERVING HOPE IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE I FIND OUT THAT THIS IS CALLED SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND I AM NOT ALONE WITH THIS PROBLEM..HAPPEN WITH ONLY 6700 MILES ON SUV WILL BE TAKING TO DEALER FOR 7500 MILE CHECKUP AND WANT HIM TO DOCUMENT THIS FOR MY RECORDS ON THIS SUV. *TR

ON MARCH 24, 2010, MY CO-WORKER AND I WERE IN MY 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE WHEN IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. I PUSHED THE BRAKE TO THE FLOOR AND IT WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN. I THEN PUT ON THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. BOTH FEET WERE EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR HOLDING THESE BRAKES DOWN. THE CAR DID SLOW DOWN BUT WOULD NOT STOP. I HAD TO TAKE A LEFT TURN ACROSS THE HIGHWAY (THERE WAS FORTUNATELY A BREAK IN THE TRAFFIC), I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE. IT MADE A VERY LOUD NOISE THAT LASTED ABOUT 10 SECONDS OR SO. WE JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR AS IF IT WERE ON FIRE. IT'S CURRENTLY AT THE SHEEHY DEALERSHIP IN WALDORF, MD. WE ARE AWAITING THEIR DIAGNOSIS.

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND IT WOULD NOT GO OVER 20 MILES PER HOUR. AND HAD TO TOWED TO DEALER AND IT COME TO BE THE SAME PROBLEM TOYOTA IS HAVING WITH THE GAS PEDALS. *TR

(INTERMITTENT ISSUE)RADIO STAYS ON AFTER SHUTTING OFF IGNITION AND REMOVING KEY. IT SHUTS OFF BRIEFLY WHEN CAR DOOR IS OPENED, BUT WHEN YOU SHUT CAR DOOR, THE RADIO AND CLOCK COME BACK ON. I AM CONCERNED OF ELECTRICAL ISSUES IN MY VEHICLE, WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY START A FIRE BY REMAINING ON. ALSO, MY POWER WINDOWS, BY PUSHING THE BUTTON AFTER THE KEY IS REMOVED CAN ALSO MOVE UP AND DOWN(INTERMITTENT ISSUE). TO TRY AND CORRECT THE RADIO ISSUE, I HAVE REMOVED THE CABLE FROM THE USB PORT (FOR IPOD USAGE) WHILE THE CAR IS ON, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, REMOVED THE KEY AND THE RADIO & CLOCK ARE STILL ON. I HAVE REVIEWED WEBSITES AND HAVE NOT FOUND THAT THERE ARE ANY RECALLS OR ISSUES. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS PART OF THE VEHICLE'S FEATURES THAT ARE NORMAL, IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT. *TR

ON 01/02/2010, I BOUGHT A HYUNDAI SANTA FE LIMITED FROM A CAR DEALER NAMED SOUTHERN STATES IMPORTS IN RALEIGH. A FEW DAYS LATER, I NOTICED THAT THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF RED LIGHT STAYED ON OCCASIONALLY REGARDLESS OF THE WEIGHT OR POSITION OF THE FRONT SEAT OCCUPANT. AROUND THE SAME TIME, I NOTICED THAT THE CD PLAYER OCCASIONALLY AUTOMATICALLY TRIPPED OVER TO THE RADIO AND VICE VERSA. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND RECEIVED CONFLICTING ADVICE ON WHAT I SHOULD DO AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER, I CHOSE THE ADVICE OF MY FIRST CONTACT PERSON AT THE DEALERSHIP AND DECIDED TO WAIT UNTIL EITHER OR BOTH MY COMPLAINTS OCCURRED AGAIN. TWO DAYS AFTER THIS DECISION, THE AIRBAG OFF LIGHT DID NOT GO OFF AS I WAS TRAVELING TO DOWNTOWN RALEIGH, NC. THE NEXT MORNING, I NOTICED THAT INSTEAD OF THE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER OPENING TO A CD MUSIC SET (SINCE IT WAS LAST ON CD), MUSIC FROM A RADIO STATION STARTED PLAYING. THE NEXT DAY- MONDAY, I DROPPED THE CAR AT THE DEALERSHIPS SERVICE DEPARTMENT. AFTER 2-3 DAYS OF TESTING, I WAS ASKED TO PICK UP MY CAR AND TOLD THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE MY COMPLAINTS. BOTH DEALERSHIP AND USA HYUNDAI ADVISED ME TO BRING IT INTO SERVICE AS SOON AS I NOTICE EITHER COMPLAINT HAPPENING AGAIN REGARDLESS OF TIME. A FEW DAYS LATER (2-3 DAYS) THE SAME COMPLAINTS (AIRBAG AND RADIO PROBLEMS) RE-OCCURRED AND I DROPPED THE SANTA FE AT SOUTHERN STATES HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP SERVICE STATION WITH ONE OF MY SONS AT ABOUT 10. 15 P.M. OFCOURSE, I HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY BOTH DEALERSHIP AND US HYUNDAI THAT THEY PROBLEMS COULD NOT BE DETECTED OR DUPLICATED. AS A RESULT OF THE ABOVE PROBLEMS, I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE TO DRIVE THIS PARTICULAR HYUNDAI AND THE CAR IN QUESTION HAS REMAINED IN THE HANDS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP AND/OR SERVICE DEPARTMENT. *TR

UNEXPLAINED ACCELERATION BETWEEN 30 AND 35 MPH. THERE WAS NO FLOOR MAT INTERFERENCE AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE ERROR TODAY. THIS WAS THE FIRST OCCURRENCE. *TR

HYUNDAI SANTA FE PURCHASED ON 12 SEPT 2009. DVD SCREEN NOT FUNCTIONING, COULD HEAR MOVIE NOT SEE IT. DEALERSHIP REPLACED SCREEN IN OCTOBER 2009. SINCE THEN, THE DVD RSE SYSTEM HAS INTERMITTENTLY CHANGED FROM DVD TO XM OR CD AT WILL. REAR PASSENGERS ARE NOT ABLE TO REACH THE DVD BUTTONS DUE TO AGE AND CHILD SAFETY SEATS. RSE IS LOCKED FROM FRONT CONTROLS. DVD SYSTEM CONTINUES TO SWITCH FROM DVD TO XM OR CD AT LEAST ONCE PER DAY CAUSING THE PASSENGERS TO BE BLASTED WITH HIGH VOLUME MUSIC. IN OCTOBER 2009, THE INTERNAL ELECTRICAL CONTROL SYSTEM (FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS AND SUCH) WAS REPLACED AND THE ALARM SYSTEM WAS RESET (IT KEPT ARMING ITSELF RANDOMLY). IN NOVEMBER 2009, THE ALARM SYSTEM WAS RESET AGAIN AND THE DVD PROBLEM WAS BROUGHT TO MECHANICS ATTENTION AGAIN. ALARM SYSTEM WAS FIXED BUT THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE DVD PROBLEM. TOOK CAR IN AGAIN 16 JANUARY 2010, WAS TOLD INTERTWINING OUTSIDE RADIO SIGNALS AND THE FACT I WORK ON A MILITARY BASE WERE CAUSING THE DVD TO SWITCH. FT SAM HOUSTON, TX IS MAINLY A MEDICAL TRAINING MILITARY BASE. MECHANIC REPLICATED PROBLEM BUT LATER TOLD SHOP MANAGER THAT HE COULDN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM WITH OUT DRIVING IN TOWN WHERE I NORMALLY DRIVE. MECHANIC AND REPAIR SHOP MANAGER STATED IT COULD NOT BE A LOOSE PLUG OR WIRING IT WAS THE RADIO SIGNALS. THIS OCCURS AT RANDOM AND I THOUGHT IT WAS FROM BUMPS IN THE ROAD UNTIL IT CONTINUED TO HAPPEN WHEN DRIVER WAS NOT TOUCHING THE STEERING WHEEL OR RADIO CONTROLS, AT STOP LIGHTS, AND ON SMOOTH ROADS. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND A BLOG ON EDMUNDS STATING HYUNDAI HAS KNOW ABOUT THIS AND AUDIO PROBLEMS SINCE 2007 BUT NOTHING WILL FIX DVD PROBLEM.*CW

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 75-80 MPH THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT INTENTION. EVEN AFTER REPEATED BRAKE APPLICATION THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DECELERATE. HE HAD TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL TO DECELERATE. 5 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FAILURE THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 25-35 MPH IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. THERE WAS NOT INTERFERENCE BETWEEN THE FLOOR MAT AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE TECHNICIAN HAVE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, BUT COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000.