2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

WITHIN THE PAST WEEK I NOTICED MY FUEL GAUGE DROP TO EMPTY AND THE FUEL LOW LIGHT GO ON. I HAD PLENTY OF GAS KNOWING THAT I HAD JUST FILLED UP THE DAY BEFORE. I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND WHEN I RESTARTED THE ENGINE THE FUEL GAUGE WENT UP TO 3/4 FULL AS WHERE I EXPECTED IT TO GO. SUDDENLY THE GAUGE WAS GOING DOWN AND THAN BACK UP AGAIN. I PUSHED THE TRIP BUTTON TO SEE THE RANGE OF MILES TO EMPTY AND IT WAS ALSO DROPPING AND CLIMBING. I SEEMED TO WORK IT'S SELF OUT AND WAS FINE FOR THREE DAYS. THAN I WAS DRIVING AND THE GAUGE DROPPED TO ZERO AGAIN AND RETURNED TO 1/2 FULL, THAT'S WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THAT SAME DAY I DROPPED IT OFF TO MY LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER. THEY WERE BUSY AND LOOKED AT THE CAR THE NEXT DAY. THEY TESTED THE CAR AND CAME UP WITH CODES THAT STATED FAILED FUEL LEVEL SENSORS. REPLACE FUEL LEVEL SENSORS A AND B. THE REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE AS FOLLOWS, QTY.OF 2 #31115 PACKING FUEL PUMP, QTY. OF 2 # 31152 RING LOCK, QTY OF 1 #94430 SENDER ASSY, AND QTY OF 1 #94460 SENDER ASSY . THIS REPAIR AT THE DEALER COST ME 714.39 AFTER TAXES ,CODE CHECK AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEES. AFTER I AGREED TO THE REPAIR, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE CAR IS ONLY 5 YEARS YOUNG. I WAS AMAZED WHEN I RESEARCHED THIS ON LINE, THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH ALOT OF VEHICLES. HOW MANY CARS HAVE TO FAIL BEFORE THERE IS A RECALL ON THESE SENSORS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR WAS DEFECTIVE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 97,000.

THE SENSOR FOR THE GAS TANK WENT BAD, IN OUR OPINION, PREMATURELY. WENT ONLINE TO RESEARCH THE ISSUE, AND LEARNED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH SANTA FES, EVEN THOSE NEWER THAN OURS. IMPACT: WHEN THE SENSOR FAILS, THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYS 'EMPTY' NO MATTER WHAT AMOUNT OF FUEL IS IN THE TANK, RENDERING THE FUEL GAUGE TOTALLY UNRELIABLE TO THE DRIVER. THE CAR COULD RUN OUT OF GAS ANYWHERE-- FOR EXAMPLE, ON A HIGHWAY--POTENTIALLY CREATING A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD TO NOT JUST THE DRIVER BUT ALSO TO OTHER DRIVERS AROUND HIM. WE WONDER WHETHER A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED FOR THIS SENSOR. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTE FE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT MANUAL FORCE CAUSING THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TO CRASH INTO A TREE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A BROKEN NECK, STOMACH AND CHEST BRUISING, AS WELL AS LACERATIONS. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

THE GAS GAUGE FLUCTUATES ON MY CAR AS WELL AND I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 33,000 MILES! ONE MINUTE THE CAR WILL REGISTER 1/2 OF A TANK OF GAS, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WILL GO TO EMPTY AND THE GAS LIGHT COMES ON. WAIT A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND IT COMES BACK UP. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER YESTERDAY, TOLD THE SERVICE AGENT ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AND SHE SAID THAT THEY HAVE TO CHARGE A $108 DIAGNOSTIC FEE TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. I THEN GET A CALL THAT IT IS THE FUEL ASSEMBLY PARTS A & B AND WILL COST $615 PLUS TAX. OF COURSE IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. MY HUSBAND CALLED A FRIEND'S MECHANIC AND EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM AND HE KNEW RIGHT AWAY WHAT IT WAS WITHOUT HAVING TO DO A DIAGNOSTIC. THEN I LOG ON TO THIS SITE AND CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. HYUNDAI KNOWS ABOUT IT BUT YET THE DEALER WILL HIT YOU WITH A DIAGNOSTIC FEE THEN A REPAIR FEE. NOW THAT IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY, I'M GOING TO SUPPORT MY LOCAL MECHANIC INSTEAD OF A DEALERSHIP! *TR

I STARTED MY VEHICLE AND THE FUEL GAUGE BEGAN TO MOVE UP AND DOWN, SHOWING EMPTY, THEN OVER HALF FULL, THEN JUST UNDER HALF. I SWITCHED TO THE MODE INDICATING HOW MANY MILES LEFT UNTIL I WOULD BE OUT OF GAS, WHICH ALSO FLUCTUATED BY OVER 75 MILES. THIS FLUCTUATION IS CONSISTENT AND NOW IS BECOMING A BIG CONCERN IN REGARDS TO LONGER TRIPS MY YOUNG FAMILY TAKES. THIS OBVIOUSLY IS A KNOWN PROBLEM, BASED ON THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS REGISTERED ABOUT THIS SAME MALFUNCTION. SHOULD MY FAMILY BE STRANDED ON A ROADSIDE, OR WORSE YET, GET INTO AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS PROBLEM, HYUNDAI WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR NEGLIGENCE ON THEIR PART TO ACT ON A KNOWN VEHICLE DEFECT. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 60000 MILES,I NOTICED THAT MY FUEL GAUGE WAS NOT REGISTERING CORRECTLY. WOULD FILL IT UP AND THE GAUGE WOULD REGISTER A 1/4 TANK, PROBLEM GOT WORSE IN THE PROCEEDING WEEKS. CHECK ENGINE CAME ON TOOK IT TO AUTO PARTS PLACE AND THEY SAID THE FUEL SENSORS WERE BAD. TOTAL COST TO REPAIR $440. NO HELP FROM DEALER. EXTENDED WARRANTY NOT HELPFUL EITHER. *TR

OUR USED SANTA FE'S WARRANTY EXPIRED ON APRIL 28TH, 2013. A MONTH LATER, THE FUEL GAUGE AND MILEAGE REPORTING STARTED TO FLUCTUATE WILDLY, AND FOR THE PAST MONTH WE'VE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE FUEL SENSOR ASSEMBLY IS FAULTY. THE ACCURATE REPORTING OF THE FUEL LEVEL IS NOW IMPOSSIBLE AND IT IS CLEAR TO US THAT THIS WILL BE AT LEAST A $600 REPAIR JOB. HYUNDAI DEFLECTED OUR E-MAILS TO THEM, SO I ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO ALSO WRITE A LETTER TO THEM BY POSTAL MAIL. THE ADDRESS THEY GAVE US IS HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA P. O. BOX 20850 FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA 92728-0850. IT IS RIDICULOUS TIMING THAT THIS OCCURS AFTER AN EXPENSIVE MAINTENANCE APPOINTMENT AND RIGHT AFTER THE SECOND-OWNER WARRANTY EXPIRED. A SYSTEM LIKE THIS SHOULD NOT FAIL WITH ONLY 44K MILES ON A VEHICLE, AND HYUNDAI CAN'T CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE. THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL, AND OWNERS WHO HAVE GONE AHEAD AND DONE THIS REPAIR FOR EXORBITANT FEES NEED TO BE REIMBURSED. IN RECENT NEWS, ASIANA AIRLINES REPRESENTED THE HONOR AND INTEGRITY OF KOREAN CORPORATE CULTURE, I'D EXPECT THE SAME FROM HYUNDAI WHO HAS THUS FAR FAILED IN THEIR DUTY TO THE CUSTOMER. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY FAILED TO ACCELERATE WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE ESC AND ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR. THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF. THE VEHICLE RESUMED UPON RESTARTING; HOWEVER, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED EIGHT TIMES. IN ADDITION, ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL HESITATION WOULD FOLLOW. THERE WAS A RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 13V113000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING , SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). THE RECALL REMEDY WAS PERFORMED ON TWO OCCASIONS AND THE FAILURE PERSISTED AFTER EACH REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED FOR THE MOST RECENT FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 92,099.

ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY FOR THIS WHEN I CALLED DEALERSHIP. FUEL GAUGE WILL GO BELOW 'E' TO 1/2 TANK IN SECONDS. SOMETIMES WHEN TURNING THE CAR ON, THE GAUGE IS BELOW 'E' AND WILL STAY THERE FOR A WHILE THEN GO BACK UP TO GAS LEVEL. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS COME ON SAYING THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM. CLEARED CODE. IT STAYED OFF FOR WEEK OR SO, AND HAS COME BACK ON. I HOPE THIS BECOMES A RECALL...TOO MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM! *TR