2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

WHEN I WOULD BEGIN ACCELERATION THE VEHICLE WOULD HESITATE THEN TAKE OFF RAPIDLY THEN I WOULD LOOSE POWER TO A SPEED OF @ 15 MILES PER HOUR AND THE ESC OFF SWITCH WOULD APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD FOLLOWED BY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. I SAFELY PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS. ONCE I TURNED THE VEHICLE BACK ON, THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS WOULD GO OUT AND I WOULD REPEAT THIS CYCLE 8-9 TIMES BEFORE BEING ABLE TO DRIVE NORMALLY. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AFTER DRIVING NORMALLY FOR ABOUT 10 MILES THE ESC OFF LIGHT WOULD REAPPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD AND I WOULD LOOSE POWER WHILE DRIVING SOMETIMES ON A HIGHWAY WHICH WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO GO FROM 60 MPH TO COASTING AT @ 15 MPH. DIAGNOSIS FROM THE CAR DEALER IS THE THROTTLE POSITION CENSOR AND THROTTLE BODY PART. IN MY OPINION THIS IS A SERIOUS MALFUNCTION AND CERTAINLY DANGEROUS COMBINATION AND SHOULD BE LABELED AS A RECALL. HYUNDAI SHOULD VALUE THE SAFETY AND EXPECTATIONS OF THEIR CAR BUYERS. WHEN WE AS CONSUMERS PURCHASE A VEHICLE WE EXPECT AN EXCELLENT QUALITY PRODUCT. I RESEARCHED THIS VEHICLE BEFORE PURCHASING AND WAS LED TO BUY IT BECAUSE OF THE MANY SOLID QUALITIES I FOUND. AS A CONSUMER, I AM DISAPPOINTED IN THIS MALFUNCTION AND EQUALLY DISAPPOINTED IN HYUNDAI FOR NOT STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE TO CORRECT THIS MAJOR SAFETY, QUALITY AND IMPORTANT ISSUE. FURTHERMORE, I WAS IN THE MARKET TO UPGRADE MY SANTE FE, HOWEVER NOW I WILL BE LOOKING INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE TO PURCHASE. *TR

WHILE ACCELERATING TO PASS A CAR, MY ACCELERATOR GOT STUCK AND I COULDN'T GET MY CAR TO STOP WITH THE BRAKES. THIS HAD HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND I WAS ABLE TO GET IT 'UNSTUCK' BY PUMPING BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR. I TOOK THE CAR IN TO BE CHECKED AND THE DEALER SAID THEY COULDN'T 'RECREATE' THE ISSUE AND THAT IT WAS PROBABLY MY FLOOR MATS. I BASICALLY CHALKED IT UP AS A FLUKE, ALTHOUGH I NEVER AGREED WITH THE FLOOR MAT SCENARIO. WHEN IT HAPPENED THIS TIME, I TRIED PUMPING BRAKES, ACCELERATOR, DOWNSHIFTING, ETC. AND THE CAR SLOWED DOWN SOME, BUT WOULDN'T ACTUALLY STOP UNTIL I RAN INTO THE BACK OF ANOTHER CAR. EVEN THEN, THE ENGINE WAS REVVING AND THE ONLY WAY I COULD GET IT TO STOP WAS TO TURN IT OFF. I WAS TOO AFRAID TO DRIVE IT AGAIN SO IT WAS TOWED AND IS BEING CHECKED FOR MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. I SEE THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL!! *TR

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, I ATTEMPTED TO DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL BY TAPPING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT TURN OFF EVEN WITH HOLDING THE BRAKE DOWN HARDER. I WAS ABLE TO SHUT OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL USING THE OFF SWITCH ON THE STEERING WHEEL. UPON EXITING THE INTERSTATE AND REACHING MY DESTINATION, I COULD NOT GET THE SHIFTER TO GO INTO PARK. AFTER SHUTTING THE CAR OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIMES, I GOT IT TO GO INTO PARK. IT HAS ONLY DONE THIS ONE TIME AND NEVER HAPPENED SINCE THEN. FORTUNATELY, I WAS DRIVING AND NOT MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER WHO NORMALLY DRIVES THIS VEHICLE. HER LACK OF EXPERIENCE MAY HAVE CAUSED HER TO PANIC WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL FAILED TO DEACTIVATE WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL. *TR

MY 2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE WILL RANDOMLY APPLY THE BRAKES WHILE DRIVING. VERY DANGEROUS.THE BRAKES WILL APPLY MAKING THE CAR PULL TO THE RIGHT OR LEFT MAY CAUSE THE CAR TO VEER INTO THE NEXT LANE. I WOULD NEED TO PRESS ON THE BRAKES TO MAKE THEM RELEASE.THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I THOUGHT IT WAS THE BRAKE PADS NEEDING TO BE REPLACED WE REPLACED THE BRAKES AND THE PROBLEM DID NOT OCCUR AGAIN FOR MAYBE A YEAR.IT HAPPEN SO MUCH IN 2011& 2012 I DID NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THE CAR.I TOOK MY CAR TO HARDIN HYUNDAI 6/09/12 EXPLAINED IN DETAIL THAT THE BRAKES WOULD APPLY WHEN I WAS DRIVING, AND THE ESC LIGHT WAS COMING ON. I TOLD THE DEALERSHIP THAT WE HAD CHANGED THE BRAKE PADS HOPING THIS WOULD RESOLVE THE ISSUE IT DID NOT. THE DEALER RECOMMENDED 3 TIRES, ALIGNMENT AND PINS WERE MISSING WHEN WE DID THE BRAKE JOB AND THAT WAS CAUSING THE BRAKES TO STICK. WE DID WHAT WAS SUGGESTED.THIS DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM.THE DEALERSHIP DID NOT PUT IT ON THE COMPUTER TO DIAGNOSIS THE ISSUE.THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY NOW SO I TOOK IT TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC HE DID DIAGNOSIS IT WITH THE COMPUTER. THE ESC MODULE IS BAD. NOW I A'M DRIVING WITH THE ESC OFF.WHEN DRIVING WITH THE ESC OFF IT DOESN''T RANDOMLY BRAKE BUT WILL SOMETIMES MAKE A HORRIBLE GRINDING SOUND AND THE BRAKES STICK WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED.THIS IS NOT GOOD EITHER.WHY REQUIRE THIS SAFETY FEATURE IN EVERY CAR IF IT WILL FAIL AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AND IF THE DEALERSHIP CAN NOT DIAGNOSIS IT CORRECTLY. SOME HYUNDAIS HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS PROBLEM SO I FEEL THE DEALERSHIPS SHOULD BE WELL AWARE OF THIS ISSUE.THE WORK ORDER DOES NOT MENTION BRAKES NOR DID THEY TRY TO DIAGNOSIS IT CORRECTLY. WAS THIS AN INTENTIONAL MOVE BY HYUNDAI SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEIR ESC MODULES ARE STILL FAILING. I FEEL EXTREMELY LUCKY THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN INJURED DUE TO THIS MALFUNCTION. HYUNDAI FAILED ON THIS ISSUE. *TR

CAR BEGAN ACCELERATING AS IF CRUISE CONTROL WAS ON. I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND THE CAR HESITATED FOR A SECOND. MY FOOT THEN RETURNED TO THE GAS PEDAL AND AGAIN THE CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AT A VERY FAST PACE. MY FOOT THEN RETURNED TO THE BRAKE AND THE SPEED CONTINUED TO INCREASE. I THEN PUT THE CAR INTO PARK AND SHUT OFF THE IGNITION. PRIOR TO TURNING OFF THE CAR THE SPEEDOMETER SHOWED SPEED OF 90 MILES PER HOUR. MY VEHICLE THEN ROLLED TO A STOP. WHEN THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE THE STEERING COLUMN WAS LOCKED AND HE WAS NOT ABLE TO TURN THE KEY IN THE IGNITION. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP. THE FOLLOWING MORNING THEY CLAIMED THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND SUGGESTED THAT THE INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY MY FLOOR MAT. *TR

SUV WILL START BUT ESC LIGHT STAYS ON AND THEN THE SUV FAILS TO ACCELERATE. SUV MUST THEN BE RESTARTED FOR A CYCLE OF 10-15 TIMES UPON WHICH TIME THE ESC LIGHT TURNS OFF AND SUV WILL THEN ACCELERATE WHEN GOING UP A HILL. SYSTEM FAILURE HAS OCCURRED DAILY SINCE MARCH 2013. DEALERSHIP KNOWS HYUNDAI IS RECALLING 2007 SANTA FE BUT REFUSES TO SERVICE VEHICLE AT NO COST UNLESS I RECEIVE A RECALL NOTICE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, SHE SHIFTED INTO DRIVE WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND CRASHED INTO A PARKING SIGN. THE CONTACT SHUT THE IGNITION OFF IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND AVOID CRASHING INTO OTHER VEHICLES. THE POLICE REPORTED TO THE SCENE AND FILED A REPORT. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 61,000. *TR

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE ON AN INTERSTATE TO PASS A VEHICLE, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECAME STUCK AND THE VEHICLE QUICKLY SPED UP TO 80 MPH IN A MATTER OF SECONDS. THANKFULLY DUE TO RECENT ACCELERATOR ISSUES/RECALLS FOR OTHER MANUFACTURES, I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL. THE ENGINE WAS PEGGED AT MAX RPMS WHILE I FRANTICALLY TRIED TO GET OVER THROUGH THE LANES WITH THE CAR IN NEUTRAL. WITH THREE CHILDREN ABOARD, THIS WAS A VERY HARROWING EXPERIENCE. I WAS ULTIMATELY ABLE TO REACH DOWN, GRAB THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, AND YANK IT BACK. AFTER DOING THIS, IT AGAIN DROVE NORMALLY. I IMMEDIATELY LOOKED AT THE PEDAL, FLOOR MAT, AND CARPET ONCE ARRIVING HOME. IT IS CLEARLY OBVIOUS THAT THE FLOOR CARPET ITSELF (NOT THE MAT, THE ACTUAL VEHICLE'S CARPETING) JUST UNDER THE PEDAL HAS HARDENED AND DEVELOPED A BULGE SUCH THAT THE PEDAL WILL GET STUCK IN IT IF DEPRESSED TO FAR. THIS WAS BROUGHT TO THE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION OF THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP WHO INDICATED THE WARRANTY WAS NO LONGER VALID AS THE VEHICLE WAS PAST 60K MILES (75K), AND A CALL PLACED TO HYUNDAI USA AGAIN YIELDED THE SAME RESULTS, THAT THE OWNER WOULD NEED TO PAY $1400 TO REPLACE THE FLOORING. THERE IS CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW IN THE FLOOR CARPET AND RAISED SECTION DIRECTLY UNDER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THAT LEAD TO THIS UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, PUTTING MY SAFETY AT RISK, AND HYUNDAI IS WILLING TO HIDE BEHIND THE WARRANTY TO AVOID KEEPING ITS ONCE LOYAL CUSTOMER SAFE. *TR

CRUISE CONTROL WOULD TURN ON BUT NOT ALLOW A SPEED TO BE SET. ALSO ESC OFF LIGHT REMAINED ON DASH SOLID. WE NEVER RECEIVED ANY NOTICE OF A RECALL FROM HYUNDAI. I SEE NUMEROUS OTHER HYUNDAI OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM.ALSO THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON AND WON'T TURN OFF NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THE CAP IS TAKEN OFF THEN PUT BACK ON AFTER THREE TURNS. FUEL READS EMPTY WHEN TANK IS FULL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR WOULD RELEASE DOWNWARD WHENEVER THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING OR WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, OBSTRUCTING THE CONTACT'S VISIBILITY OF THE ROADWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. IN MARCH OF 2012, THE PASSENGER'S SIDE SUN VISOR WAS REPLACED UNDER A SERVICE WARRANTY DUE TO A FAULTY PLASTIC SUPPORT MECHANISM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,000. ...UPDATED 04/25/13 *BF UPDATED 06/03/2013 *JS