2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

THE FUEL GAUGE ON MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE AT AROUND 67K MILES STARTED READING EMPTY AND THEN IT STARTED READING NORMAL AND THEN EMPTY. FINALLY IT HAS ONLY READ EMPTY FOR THE PAST COUPLE THOUSAND MILES. I WAS HOPING THAT IT WOULD FIX ITSELF WHICH IT NEVER DID. WISHFUL THINKING. I ENDED UP BRINGING MY SANTA FE INTO THE LOCAL HYUNDAI SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM PLUS REPLACE THE FRONT AND BACK BRAKES, AND PERFORM EXISTING RECALLS. THEY TOLD ME THAT ONE OF THE TWO FUEL PUMPS LOCATED IN THE GAS TANK HAD FAILED. THE FUEL PUMP THAT FAILED WAS THE ONE WITH THE SENDING UNIT WHICH PROVIDES THE SIGNAL TO THE FUEL GAUGE. THEY TOLD ME THAT I WAS FORTUNATE THAT THE OTHER FUEL PUMP DID NOT FAIL AS MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE WILL STOP RUNNING. *TR

AS OF LATE, THE FUEL GAUGE HAS BEEN ACTING VERY ERRATICALLY. THE LOW FUEL LIGHT IS LIT EVEN WHEN THE FUEL TANK IS FULL. AS I'M DRIVING, THE AMOUNT OF FUEL ON THE FUEL GAUGE FLUCTUATES FROM EMPTY TO 3/4 OR FROM FULL DOWN TO EMPTY. SEEING THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME THING, HYUNDAI SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL - OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A DEFECT WITH THE FUEL SENSOR. OVERALL, THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN A REALLY GOOD VEHICLE, BUT THIS FUEL GAUGE THING IS STARTING TO DRIVE MY CRAZY. I'M AFRAID ONE DAY I'LL RUN OUT OF GAS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE BECAUSE THE FUEL GAUGE IS GIVING ME A FALSE READING! *TR

AFTER FILLING THE 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE WITH FUEL, I STARTED THE ENGINE AND THE FUEL GAUGE WAS ON E AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT WAS ON. LATER THE FUEL GAUGE NEEDLE MOVED BUT NOT TO FULL. THIS HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THAT FIRST INCIDENT. THE FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT REGISTER ACCURATELY AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON OCCASIONALLY. THE DISTANCE TO EMPTY MILEAGE INDICATOR IS ALSO INCORRECT. THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW HOW MUCH FUEL REMAINS IN THE TANK. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR CIRCUIT WAS PROVIDING ERRONEOUS FUEL LEVEL READINGS. ADDITIONALLY, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE BOTH NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,000. UPDATED 02/27/14*LJ

FUEL LEVEL SENSOR IS BAD CAUSING FUEL GAUGE TO ACT ERRATICALLY. CAUSES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO CONSTANTLY STAY ON. AFTER FILLING GAS TANK, GAS PEDAL MUST BE PRESSED WHEN STARTING AND SHIFTING INTO DRIVE SO CAR DOESN'T STALL ,CREATING DANGEROUS SITUATION AT THE PUMP. *TR

FUEL SENSOR IS BAD AND CAUSING THE FUEL NEEDLE TO FLUCTUATE AND GIVE INCORRECT WARNINGS ABOUT LOW FUEL AND AMOUNT OF FUEL LEFT IN THE FUEL TANK. *TR

GAS GAUGE AND DIGITAL DISPLAY SHOW EMPTY WHEN THE CAR HAS JUST BEEN FILLED WITH FUEL. UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE LATER IN THE DAY, THE GAUGE SHOWS 1/2 TANK AND THE DIGITAL DISPLAY READS 70 MILES. I PUT 15.5 GALLONS OF GAS IN AND SHOULD HAVE A FULL TANK AND OVER 270 MILES. *TR

MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE LIMITED FUEL LEVEL INDICATOR IS FLUCTUATING CAUSING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON. FUEL LEVEL SENSOR WOULD INDICATED AND EMPTY TANK AFTER THE TANK WAS FILLED AND THEN RANDOMLY WOULD CORRECT ITSELF. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS. *TR

I WENT TO PUT MY CAR INTO REVERSE AND IT GOT STUCK AND WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO SHIFT INTO DRIVE OR ANY OTHER GEAR FOR THAT MATTER. THE WHOLE SHIFTER IS NOW BEING REMOVED. *TR

THE FUEL GAUGE ON DASH HAS BEGUN FLUCTUATING WILDLY EVEN WITH FULL TANK OF GAS. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT YET BUT BASED ON WHAT I HAVE READ I AM ANTICIPATING A PROBLEM CODE COMING SOON. MY RESEARCH IS POINTING TO THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR ATTACHED TO THE FUEL PUMP. HOWEVER, ONLY THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY APPEARS TO BE AVAILABLE AND AS SUCH, IT IS HIGHLY COSTLY TO CORRECT. HYUNDAI SHOULD PROVIDE A RECALL FOR THIS DUE TO THE HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM. IT HAS ALSO BEEN NOTED THAT THIS HAS CAUSED VEHICLES TO STALL WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY CREATING A HAZARD TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MYSELF. WHEN THE CAR RAN OUT OF GAS, THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND IT BECAME VERY HARD TO STEER. PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING WEB SITE FOR A CURRENT LIST OF MANY OTHER SANTA FE OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. HTTP://WWW.ABOUTAUTOMOBILE.COM/COMPLAINT/2008/HYUNDAI/SANTA+FE/FUEL+SYSTEM. *TR