2002 Hyundai Santa Fe

WE FOUND THAT BOTH REAR TRAILING ARMS WE COMPLETELY RUSTED THROUGH. WE HAD TO GET THEM BOTH REPLACED BY THE DEALER FOR $650 A PIECE. THE OLD PARTS WERE DISCARDED BY THE HYUNDAI DEALER. THE DEALER THINKS THIS IS NORMAL WARE AND TARE ON AN 2002 VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM THAT I HAVE IS THAT THE REAR TRAILING ARMS ARE A MAJOR SUSPENSION COMPONENT. FIFTY PERCENT OF THE VEHICLE WEIGHT RESIDES ON THESE COMPONENTS. HYUNDAI SHOULD HAVE BUILD THEM WITH HIGHEST QUALITY IN MIND. MY OPINION THE REAR TRAILING ARMS SHOULD HAVE LASTED LONGER THEN THE FENDER ON THE CAR. THEIR WAS NO EVENT LEADING UP TO THE SUSPENSION PROBLEM. ONE DAY THE CAR FELT LIKE THE WHEEL ALIGNMENT WAS OUT. THE VEHICLE WAS VERY HARD TO HANDLE ON THE ROAD. WE THEN ARRANGED FOR THE CAR TO GET A WHEEL ALIGNMENT. THEY SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T DO A ALIGNMENT BECAUSE THEIR IS A SUSPENSION PROBLEM WITH THE REAR TRAILING ARMS. THEY ALSO INFORMED US THAT THE CAR IS NOT SAFE AND TO BRING IT TO A DEALER TO GET FIXED. I FEEL THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A FATAL ACCIDENT!!! *TR

I BOUGHT A 2002 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, STANDARD 5-SPEED. SINCE THAT TIME I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH TWICE. NOW I AM REPLACING IT AGAIN AS IT WAS DAMAGED BY THE FLY WHEEL. A NEW FLY WHEEL COSTS $1500.00. I HAVE MADE EXTENSIVE EFFORTS TO FIND A USED ONE. MOST OF THE SALVAGE YARDS TELL ME THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ONE BECAUSE IT IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM AND EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR ONE. MY MECHANIC TELLS ME MOST FLY WHEELS ARE MOUNTED TO THE ENGINE AND DON'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM. ALSO MOST FLY WHEELS COST UNDER $100.00, SO MOST WARRANTIES DO NOT COVER THE FLY WHEEL. IT SEEMS THIS IS A MANUFACTURING PROBLEMS SINCE IT HAPPENS FREQUENTLY. *TR

THE FAN SPEED SWITCH FOR THE BLOWER MOTOR INSIDE THE VEHICLE HAS FAILED FOR THE SECOND TIME. IT FIRST STARTED A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN DECEMBER OF 2007, I CAME OUT OF THE STORE STARTED THE CAR AND THE BLOWER WOULDN'T CAME ON FOR THE HEATER. I HAD TO JIGGLE THE SWITCH FOR THE FAN SPEED CONTROL TO GET THE BLOWER TO COME ON, IT WORKED FOR AWHILE, BUT IT FAILED COMPLETELY. I HAD NO WARNING AT ALL, THE FAN SPEED BLOWER SWITCH JUST STOPPED WORKING. I WENT TO THE DEALER AND BOUGHT THE PART FOR $20.57, IT WAS WORKING FINE AND THEN ON 7/19/2008 I CAME OUT OF THE STORE STARTED THE CAR, I ENGAGED THE AIR CONDITIONER AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN. NOW I AM GOING TO HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE DEALER AND BUY THIS PART AGAIN. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW A SIMPLE FAN SPEED CONTROL SWITCH CAN FAIL IN 7 MONTHS. IT IS VERY ANNOYING TO GO THROUGH THIS. I HOPE THAT HYUNDAI CAN HELP ME WHEN I GO BACK TO THE DEALER. *TR

THERE WERE NO EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. IT WAS SUDDEN, AND CAUSED COMPLETE SHUT DOWN OF THE ENGINE ON A BUSY HIGHWAY DURING A BUSY TIME OF DAY. WE WERE TOLD BY HYUNDAI THAT THE 6 CYLINDER HAS A RECALL AGAINST THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR, BUT THE 4 CYLINDER WHICH WE OWN DON'T HAVE THE RECALL, YET THE SAME PART FAILED CAUSING THE SAME ENGINE SHUTDOWN. I SEE THE 6 CYLINDER RECALL ON YOU WEBSITE. SO FAR, AS OF THE TIME OF WRITING THIS EMAIL AND A WEEK OF THE CAR IN THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP, THERE HAS BEEN NO REPAIR, AND MY MOM IS STILL WITHOUT A CAR. THEY ARE MAKING HER PAY THE LABOR CHARGE FOR THE REPAIR, AND CONTINUE WITH EXCUSES AS TO WHY THE CAR HASN'T BEEN FIXED YET. *TR

WITH REGARDS THE TRANSMISSION OF THE SUV HYUNDAI SANTA FE 2002 AND IT HAS BEEN 4 WEEKS STILL ON THE DEALER SHOP AND NO EXTRA RENTAL CAR PROVIDED AFTER 4 WEEKS THAT'S BEEN,JUST WANTS TO FIND OUT IF IT PART OF THE RECALL VEHICLE. IF WE DIDN'T NOTICE ANYTHING , WHO KNOWS COULD IT HAPPEN IF WE'RE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE TRANSMISSION START TO FALL OUT. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF THIS CONSIDER AS A RECALL, THANK YOU ... *TR

MY 2002 HYUNDAI SANTA FE STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC SEVERAL TIMES. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED. THEY CALLED ME AND SAID I HAVE A BAD CRANKSHAFT POSITIONING SENSOR. I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR 2002 SANTA FE FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM. BUT WHEN I TOLD THEM THAT , THEY RESPONDED WITH MY VIN # NOT BEING ATTACHED TO A RECALL. I AM VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS. I FEEL THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN, WHAT IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED DURING TRAFFIC WHEN MY CAR STALLED. THE COMPANY SHOULD WARRANTY THIS ISSUE, BUT THEY WON'T. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. ON MAY 27, 2008, WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 1-20 MPH, THE ABS LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO AVOID CRASHING SEVERAL TIMES BY APPLYING THE HAND BRAKE. ON JUNE 17, 2005, SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 04V131000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE); HOWEVER, THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE IN THE 2002 MODEL. THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED HIM TO TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSIS. THE CONTACT WILL TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,744 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 115,864.

THE TIRES ON OUR VEHICLE ARE FAILING. THEY ARE PROSPECTOR BRAND TIRES, SIZE 225 70 16; DOT BF 5CF9CC 4404 (3 TIRES) AND DOT BF 5CF9CC 3604 (1 TIRE). IN THE 3 YEARS WE HAVE OWNED THESE TIRES WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD DIFFICULTY KEEPING THEM BALANCED. THE TIRES HAVE LESS THAN 20,000 MILES ON THEM, AND HAVE SIGNIFICANT TREAD LIFE REMAINING. OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE HAD TO REBALANCE THEM FREQUENTLY (ABOUT 7 TIMES, MOST RECENTLY LESS THAN 1000 MILES AGO). AT THE LAST BALANCING, THE MECHANIC SAID THAT THERE WERE BULDGES APPEARING IN THE TIRES, INDICATING TO HIM THAT THE TIRES WERE EXPERIENCING MULTIPLE PLY SEPARATIONS. NOW, ONCE AGAIN, THE TIRES ARE SHIMMYING ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLY AT EXPRESSWAY SPEED; LESS SO AT SPEEDS BELOW 40 MPH, BUT STILL SHAKING. USING THE INTERNET, I FOUND THAT PROSPECTOR TIRES HAD BEEN RECALLED BY THEIR MANUFACTURER, BF GOODRICH, ONCE BEFORE. I CALLED BF GOODRICH (AT 1-877-788-8899) AND WAS TOLD THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION ON THE PROSPECTOR TIRES, OTHER THAN THAT THEY WERE MANUFACTURED IN THE SAME PLANT THAT MAKES BF GOODRICH TIRES. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE CHECKED SEVERAL TIMES WITH HER SUPERVISOR, RETURNING EACH TIME SAYING THAT BF GOODRICH HAD NO RESPONSIBILITY AT ALL RELATING TO THESE TIRES OR THIS ISSUE. I BELIEVE THESE TIRES ARE UNSAFE TO USE AND WILL BE REPLACING THEM WITHIN A WEEK. *TR

HI I WENT TO MY HYUNDAI DEALER TODAY FOR WHAT APPEARED TO BE A RE-OCCURRING FLUID LEAK ON THE TRANSFER CASE SEAL, FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. I WAS TOLD THIS TIME THAT THE LEAK WAS CAUSED BY A VENT TUBE LOCATED AT THE TRANSFER CASE. THE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN REFERENCED BY THE SERVICE ADVISOR STATES THAT THE FLUID WILL ONLY APPEAR DURING VERY COLD TEMPERATURES. THIS SEEMS TO BE WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW ,WITH MY VEHICLE. MY ISSUE IS THAT IN ORDER TO STOP THIS FLUID LEAK,THE DEALER TELLS ME THAT THE TRANSFER CASE VENT TUBE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED WITH A REDESIGNED UNIT. I AM ALSO TOLD THAT THIS NEW UNIT WILL NOT BE REPLACED UNDER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. I ASKED WHY NOT?? IF THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW ON HYUNDAI'S PART ,HYUNDAI SHOULD RECALL THE AFFECTED VEHICLES AND INSTALL THE NEW VENT TUBE UNIT AT THERE COST,NOT THE CONSUMERS'. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY $224.32 PARTS AND LABOR TO CORRECT AN ISSUE THAT IS DEFINITELY A DESIGN FLAW THAT OCCURRED FROM HYUNDAI. PLEASE RESPOND ACCORDINGLY KENNETH JOHN BASTA *TR

ON 2/2/08, I PURCHASED A REPLACEMENT SEAT BELT ASSEMBLY FOR MY 2002 HYUNDAI SANTA FE FROM BUTLER HYUNDAI (INDIANAPOLIS, IN. 317-848-4200). LABEL ON BELT STATES: SEAT BELT PART NO. 89810-26 500 YD, DATED 11/09/06. THE SEAT BELT DID NOT COME WITH ANY INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. I ASKED ANGELA, AT THE PARTS DESK, WHERE THEY WERE. SHE SAID SHE DID NOT KNOW. I MENTIONED THAT ACCORDING TO THE NHTSA, ALL SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES ARE REQUIRED TO COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS. I ASKED FOR THE SUPERVISOR. SHE CAME BACK AND SAID THAT THE SUPERVISOR WAS BUSY, AND HE WAS NOT AWARE OF WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. I ASKED IF THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE SERVICE CENTER THAT SHE COULD GIVE ME, OR MAKE A COPY OF FOR ME. SHE SAID NO. SHE SAID I COULD GO TO HYUNDAI ONLINE, OR CALL TECHNICAL SUPPORT. SHE DID NOT GIVE ME A PHONE NUMBER OR WEB SITE INSTRUCTIONS. BEFORE PURCHASING THE SEAT BELT, I SPOKE TO CLAUDIA KOVELL OF NHTSA (PHONE: 202-366-5293). SHE STATED THAT TO BE IN COMPLIANCE, ALL SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES NEED TO COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS. *TR