2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE Complaints

I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE GLS AWD ON 4/13/2009. ON FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2009 AT APPROX 5:20 PM I WAS DRIVING TO MY SISTERS WHO LIVES 5 MINUTES AWAY WITH MY SON IN THE CAR. I HAD JUST TURNED ONTO THE STREET AND A RED LIGHT WAS 1 BLOCK AWAY. I WAS SLOWING DOWN, WHEN I WAS ABOUT TWO CAR LENGTHS FROM THE NEXT VEHICLE I APPLIED THE BRAKE IT WENT ALL THE WAY TO FLOOR. I PUMPED THE BRAKE SEVERAL TIMES WITH NO RESPONSE. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED THE WHEEL TOWARD THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO GO IN A DITCH WHEN THE BRAKE FINALLY ENGAGED AND I STOPPED. I SLOWLY DROVE INTO A NEARBY PARKING LOT. TESTED THE BRAKES AND CONTINUED TO MY SISTERS. FOUR HOURS LATER WE WERE DRIVING HOME. STILL CAUTIOUS AND LEAVING ROOM BETWEEN ME AND OTHER CARS. I WAS COMPLETELY STOPPED. THE BRAKE LET GO AND MY CAR SHOT FORWARD. LUCKILY I HIT THE BRAKE AGAIN AND IT CAUGHT. MY SON AND I BOTH WERE PULLED BACK AND HIT THE SEATS BY THE SEAT BELTS. I DROVE THE FEW BLOCKS HOME AND CALLED A TOW TRUCK THE NEXT MORNING. MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT THE DEALER SINCE. THEY ARE INSISTING THAT I PICK UP THE VEHICLE TOMORROW EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE NOT FOUND THE CAUSE. THEY REFUSE TO REPAIR ANYTHING BECAUSE THEY ARE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE IT. I AM NOT COMFORTABLE DRIVING A VEHICLE JUST WAITING FOR THE NEXT BRAKE FAILURE. I MAY NOT BE LUCKY NEXT TIME AND MAY FINE MYSELF IN AN ACCIDENT WHERE MYSELF AND OTHERS COULD BE INJURED. I HAVE SEEN MANY REPORTS FROM OTHERS ONLINE WITH THE SAME ISSUES. THERE MUST BE SOME DEFECT ON THE BRAKES IN THIS VEHICLE AND I HOPE SOMEONE WILL MAKE HYUNDAI BE RESPONSIBLE AND FIX THEIR VEHICLES AND BACK THEIR PRODUCT BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 60-65 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, THE VEHICLE VIBRATED EXCESSIVELY WHEN ACCELERATING AND DECELERATING. IN ADDITION, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY PERFORMED A FOUR WHEEL BALANCING ON THE VEHICLE THREE SEPARATE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON TWO MORE OCCASIONS FOR THE IDENTICAL FAILURE, BUT THERE WERE NO RESOLUTIONS. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT ACCEPTED BY THE SYSTEM. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 2,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE VEHICLE HAS BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE TIRES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE DROVE ROUGHLY AT 55 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT A TIRE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE DEALER ROTATED THE TIRES AND STATED THAT THEY HAD TO ORDER A NEW TIRE. A NEW TIRE WAS INSTALLED ON MARCH 15, 2009, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS STILL SHAKING WHEN IN MOTION. THE DEALER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND CONFIRMED THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS PUT IN TOUCH WITH A DISTRICT MANAGER AND GIVEN A CASE NUMBER, BUT THE DISTRICT MANAGER DID NOT ASSIST. BRIDGESTONE REFERRED THE CONTACT TO A STORE IN SYRACUSE, NY AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIRES WERE OUT OF ALIGNMENT. IT WOULD COST $194.36 TO BALANCE THE WHEELS. BOTH REAR WHEELS WERE OUT OF BALANCE. ON MARCH 28, 2009, THE CONTACT ADDED UNDERCOATING, WHICH THE DEALER STATED MAY HAVE CAUSED HARMONIC VIBRATIONS. THE TIRE INFORMATION WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 1,100 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 19.

MY HUSBAND AND I JUST PURCHASED THIS 2008 SANTA FE GLS (USED WITH 10,000 MILES) ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO. WE NOTICED THIS ISSUE TWO DAYS LATER. THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL NOT TURN ON WHEN I, A 120 LB, 5' 7", 31 YEAR OLD ADULT FEMALE SIT IN THE SEAT. I TOOK IT IN TO THE HYUNDAI SERVICE CENTER AND WAS SIMPLY TOLD THAT I WAS NOT HEAVY ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE SEAT SO THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT IT IS SET TO ACTIVATE FOR ANYONE OVER 110 LBS. I AM DEFINITELY HEAVIER THAN THAT. THIS SEEMS TO ME TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE WHICH SHOULD BE RESOLVED QUICKLY AS I HAVE READ OF MANY OTHER CUSTOMERS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES. *TR

2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE - PASSENGER SIDE FRONT AIRBAG LIGHT INDICATES THAT THE AIRBAG IS NOT WORKING WHEN A PASSENGER, WHO WEIGHS AROUND 170 LBS IS IN THE SEAT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS CAR TO TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS FOR REPAIR, ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE FIRST TIME, THEY COULDN'T RECREATE THE ISSUE, I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP, THE PROBLEM HAPPENED AGAIN WITHIN 10 MINUTES. I TOOK PICTURES AND VIDEO OF THE PASSENGER IN THE SEAT WITH THE "AIR BAG OFF" LIGHT ILLUMINATED. BROUGHT IT BACK THE NEXT DAY, THEY REPLACED A WEIGHT SENSOR. ISSUE WAS STILL HAPPENING, BROUGHT IT BACK THE THIRD TIME AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T RECREATE THE ISSUE. AGAIN, I DROVE OFF THE LOT, AND THE ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN. CALLED HYUNDAI CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND WAS TOLD TO BRING IT IN AGAIN. THIS TIME I BROUGHT IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP, AND TODAY WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULDN'T RECREATE THE ISSUE, BUT THEY WILL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I BOUGHT THIS CAR WAS SAFETY. I WILL NOT RIDE WITH A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT, BECAUSE, CHANCES ARE THAT THE AIRBAG WILL NOT WORK OR WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY. HYUNDAI NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS AS THERE ARE MANY MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE FROM SANTA FE OWNERS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SONATA. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT AIR BAG DOES NOT DETECT HER WEIGHT. SHE WEIGHS ROUGHLY 102 LBS. SECONDLY, SHE NOTICED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, WHICH SIGNIFIED THAT THE AIR BAG WAS INOPERATIVE. THE FAILURE COULD CAUSE THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG NOT TO DEPLOY AND INJURE THE OCCUPANT. THE TECHNICIAN CONFIRMED THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THEY COULD NOT PROVIDE A REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VIN WAS EXCLUDED FROM NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 08V161000 (AIR BAGS); THEREFORE, THEY COULD NOT OFFER ANY RECOURSE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 1,756. UPDATED 4/14/09 *CN UPDATED 04/17/09.*JB

AIRBAG INDICATOR LIGHTS COME ON TO SHOW AIRBAGS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING. 2008 SANTA FE WAS RETURNED TO DEALER TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. DEALER RESET COMPUTER CODE FOR AIRBAG SENSORS. WORKED FOR A COUPLE WEEKS , THEN LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. RETURNED TO DEALER TO CHECK AGAIN. DEALER SAID THE AIRBAG SENSOR BUILT INTO THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS DEFECTIVE. THE DEALER SUBSTITUTED A SEAT FROM ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARED. THE DEALER CALLED A HYUNDAI ENGINEER IN CALIFORNIA AND WAS TOLD ALL AIRBAGS WERE NOT OPERABLE WHEN LIGHT WAS ON. DEALER NOW HAS CAR WAITING FOR DELIVERY OF A REPLACEMENT PASSENGER SEAT. DEALER CLAIMS HE HAS SEEN THIS PROBLEM ONCE BEFORE. *TR

ON FEBRUARY 14, 2009 I INCURRED A SCALP LACERATION THAT REQUIRED 6 STAPLE SUTURES WHEN I HIT MY HEAD WITH THE REAR HATCHBACK DOOR OF MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE SUV. I LATER LEARNED FROM OTHER MOTORISTS THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO THEM IN THEIR SUV'S. I WOULD SUGGEST A VISIBLE WARNING STICKER BE PLACED SOMEWHERE NEAR THE PULL STRAP WARNING MOTORISTS WHEN THEY LOWER THEIR HATCHBACK DOORS. *TR

2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE PASSENGER AIRBAG WORKS SPORADICALLY AT BEST. PASSENGER WEIGHS AROUND 120 POUNDS AND THE LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF LEADING ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE AIRBAG WOULD NOT WORK EFFECTIVELY IN AN ACCIDENT. HAVE TAKEN TO THE DEALER TWICE NOW AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IT APPEARS THAT THE SONOTA HAS BEEN RECALLED FOR A VERY SIMILAR ISSUE. THIS HAS OCCURRED THE AT 50 MILES VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS 600 MILES. *TR

PURCHASED 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. AIR BAG SENOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON. WHEN EVER A PASSENGER WOULD SHIFT THEIR WEIGHT IN THE SEAT, THE SENOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND STAY ON. TOOK INTO DEALER TWO TIMES WITH NO PROBLEM FOUND. THIRD TIME FACTORY REP WAS PRESENT, PROBLEM FOUND BUT COULD NOT BE FIXED. WAS OFFERED A DIFFERENT CAR WITH ME PAYING THE DIFFERENCE IN STICKER PRICE OR THEY WOULD BUY BACK MY CAR WITH A FEE. THE LEMON LAW IN REVERSE. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN TO FIX PROBLEM. *TR