2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

THE ISSUE BEGAN ABOUT A MONTH AGO DURING A LONG INTERSTATE TRIP. IF THE FUEL GAUGE REACHED THE 1/4 TANK MARK, IT WOULD PLUMMET TO EMPTY. AS THE CAR RAN, THE GAUGE WOULD RISE UP AND FALL AGAIN REPEATEDLY. SOMETIMES WHEN THE CAR WAS STARTED (EVEN WITH A FULL TANK), THE GAUGE WOULD NEVER RISE ABOVE "E." THANKFULLY, THE CAR NEVER STALLED AND ALWAYS STARTED. I JUST HAD IT SERVICED TODAY. BOTH SENDING UNITS WERE REPLACED AND WAS TOLD BY A HYUNDAI DEALER THAT THEY KEEP THESE PARTS (FUEL SENSORS) IN STOCK DUE TO THE HIGH FREQUENCY OF CALLS THEY RECEIVE FROM OTHER OWNERS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. SURPRISED THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL ISSUED YET!

WHEN THE GAS TANK IS LESS THAN HALF FULL, THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYS TANK AS NEARLY EMPTY AND THE AMBER LOW FUEL LIGHT APPEARS. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ALSO COMES ON. THE FUEL GAUGE SWINGS BACK UP TO NEARLY HALF FULL, DROPS DOWN TO 1/4 FULL, THEN DROPS DOWN TO ALMOST EMPTY, THEN SWING BACK TO HALF FULL. AFTER FILLING THE TANK THE FUEL GAUGE IS ONCE AGAIN ACCURATE UNTIL THE TANK GOES BELOW 1/2 FULL. . THIS IS A FUEL SENSOR ISSUE WITH THE TWO SENSORS IN THE GAS TANK. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO RESET THE ODOMETER EVERY TIME I FILL UP AND MAKE SURE I FILL UP THE TANK EVERY 300-325 MILES. I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH AND THIS IS A KNOWN, WIDESPREAD ISSUE WITH THE 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE VEHICLES. I SAW MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE FILED ON THE NHSTA SO THIS AGENCY IS WELL AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT HAS CHOSEN NOT TO RECALL THE SANTA FE FOR THE 2008 MODEL YEAR. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS: THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS A GROSS DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE.

WHEN THE GAS TANK IS LESS THAN HALF FULL, THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYS TANK AS NEARLY EMPTY AND THE AMBER LOW FUEL LIGHT APPEARS. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ALSO COMES ON. THE FUEL GAUGE SWINGS BACK UP TO NEARLY HALF FULL, DROPS DOWN TO 1/4 FULL, THEN DROPS DOWN TO ALMOST EMPTY, THEN SWING BACK TO HALF FULL. ABOUT 3 MONTHS AFTER THIS PROBLEM STARTED, THE FUEL GAUGE REMAINS NEAR EMPTY WITH THE AMBER LOW FUEL LIGHT LIT. WHEN I FILL UP THE GAS TANK, THE FUEL GAUGE IS ONCE AGAIN ACCURATE UNTIL THE TANK GOES BELOW 1/2 FULL. HOWEVER, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON AT ALL TIMES AND CAN ONLY BE CLEARED BY A MECHANIC. I'VE HAD MY MECHANIC CLEAR IT TWICE. THIS IS A FUEL SENSOR ISSUE WITH THE TWO SENDERS IN THE GAS TANK. I WAS GOING TO HAVE THIS REPAIRED BY HAVING THE FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY REPLACED BUT FOUND OUT IT WOULD COST $1000. I CAN'T AFFORD THAT SO I'M STUCK. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO RESET THE ODOMETER EVERY TIME I FILL UP AND MAKE SURE I FILL UP THE TANK EVERY 300 MILES. I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH AND THIS IS A KNOWN, WIDESPREAD ISSUE WITH THE 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE VEHICLES. I SAW MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE FILED ON THE NHSTA SO THIS AGENCY IS WELL AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT HAS CHOSEN NOT TO RECALL THE SANTA FE FOR THE 2008 MODEL YEAR. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS: THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS A GROSS DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. WE BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE USED WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS. THE FUEL GAUGE STARTED BEHAVING ERRATICALLY A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AFTER WE BOUGHT IT IN MAY 2014, WHICH WOULD BE AROUND LATE JULY 2015. HE FIRST SIGN OF A PROBLEM OCCURRED AFTER I FILLED THE GAS TANK IN LATE JULY 2015. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON EVEN THOUGH THE GAS TANK WAS FULL. I HAD MY MECHANIC CLEAR IT. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED ABOUT 6 WEEKS LATER. AFTER THAT THE ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE BEHAVIOR I DESCRIBED STARTED OCCURRING.

LATE LAST YEAR (2014) MY GAS GAUGE SUDDENLY SHOWED EMPTY (WITH EMPTY LIGHT COMING ON) ON MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE GLS 2..3 L ENGINE. IN ADDITION, THE 'CHECK ENGINE' CAME ON AND STAYED ON. I TOOK VEHICLE TO MY MECHANIC, WHO TOLD ME THE FAIL CODES RELATED TO THE A AND B SENSORS IN THE FUEL TANK NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. THE COST OF THE REPAIR WAS ESTIMATED AT AROUND $700.00. MY VEHICLE IS NO LONGER UNDER ANY WARRANTY. I ASKED IF THIS DEFECT IS CAUSING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OR OTHER PROBLEMS THAT COULD CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE, ETC. AND HE SAID NO. I SAID WELL, I COULD LIVE WITH THIS BY ZEROING OUT MY TRIP INDICATOR AND KEEPING TRACK THAT WAY, KNOWING MY APPROXIMATE MPG. (I LIVE IN WISCONSIN ON THE LAKESHORE AND WE ARE UNDER MANDATORY EMISSIONS TESTING DUE TO THE POLLUTED AIR COMING UP FROM ILLINOIS AND BEING TRAPPED BY LAKE MICHIGAN.) HE TOLD THAT NEXT YEAR (CURRENT 2015), MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT PASS EMISSIONS BECAUSE THE 'CHECK ENGINE' LIGHT IS ON! NOW AS REGISTRATION IS DUE IN NOVEMBER, I HAVE TO GET IT FIXED. FIRST OFF, I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE IF I FORGOT TO ZERO OUT MY TRIP ODOMETER AND RAN OUT OF GAS IN TIN-BUK-TWO, I OR MY WIFE (WHO DOESN'T HAVE A CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT) COULD BE STRANDED IN A DANGEROUS AREA. SECONDLY, I GET SCREWED ON NOT BEING ABLE TO REGISTER MY VEHICLE DUE TO A NON-EMISSIONS RELATED ISSUE.

I ALSO HAVE THE FUEL LEVELING SENSOR ISSUE ON MY 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE LIMITED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CODE INDICATED A FAILING FUEL LEVELING SENSOR. THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY FLUCTUATION IN THE FUEL GAUGE AND MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH FUEL IS LEFT AND WHEN THE CODE IS CLEARED WILL COME BACK ON RANDOMLY. IT APPEARS TO HAPPEN TO A LOT OF THESE VEHICLES BETWEEN 60,000 AND 120,000 MILES. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL OR CLASS ACTION SUITE AS IT IS AN ESTIMATED $800 REPAIR AND WILL OFTEN FAIL EITHER BEFORE THE WARRANTY EXPIRES OR WITHIN 20,000 MILES OUTSIDE THE 100,000 MILE WARRANTY.

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ACTIVATED AND FUEL GAUGE READS EMPTY AT ALL TIMES. CONSTANTLY ADDING FUEL AS THERE IS NO WAY TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN TANK. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS RUNNING OUT OF FUEL IS A CONSTANT ISSUE FOR ANYONE DRIVING THESE VEHICLES. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL YEAR HYUNDAI SANTA FE AS DOCUMENTED. DEALER ESTIMATE FOR COST TO REPAIR IS $900 AS BOTH FUEL SENSORS WOULD BE REPLACED AT ONE TIME.

WE STOPPED TO GET GAS ON A ROAD TRIP AND AFTER FILLING UP THE FUEL GAUGE SHOWED 1/2 FULL THEN EMPTY AND THE FUEL GAUGE WOULD SPIN DOWN AND UP INSTEAD OF SLOWING DECREASING WITH DRIVING. HOW DOES A FUEL GAUGE STOP WORKING ON A 6 YEAR OLD VEHICLE? THERE HAVE BEEN MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO FOR A POSSIBLE RECALL. DEALER SAYS IT IS $500 TO REPLACE SENSOR AND IT IS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND NOT KNOW WHEN YOU COULD RUN OUT OF GAS. VERY DISAPPOINTING.