2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND TOOK THE CAR TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP AND THE MECHANIC READ THE CODES AND SAID THAT IT WAS THE FUEL SENSOR (FUEL LEVEL SENDER). SINCE THEN, THE FUEL GAUGE CONTINUOUSLY MOVES GIVING AN INACCURATE FUEL LEVEL. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND OUT THAT MANY OTHERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND THE HYUNDAI COMPANY IS NOT WILLING TO DO A RECALL ON THE PARTS AFFECTED. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET A COMPANY TO RECALL A DEFECTIVE PART? *TR

AFTER FILLING THE GAS TANK AT THE PUMP AND THEN STARTING THE ENGINE, I NOTICED THAT THE DASHBOARD FUEL GAUGE INDICATED EMPTY, WITH THE "LOW FUEL" INDICATOR LIGHT ON. DRIVING AROUND FOR 5 MILES DID NOTHING TO MOVE THE NEEDLE. AFTER A DAY OR SO THE GAUGE SLOWLY WORKED ITS WAY UP TO REGISTER A FULL TANK. THIS SAME PROBLEM RE-OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES OVER 6-8 WEEKS, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO KNOW HOW MUCH FUEL WAS ACTUALLY IN THE GAS TANK. AT ONE POINT THE "CHECK ENGINE" INDICATOR CAME ON AND STAYED ON FOR A DAY AND A HALF BEFORE TURNING OFF. UPON TAKING THE CAR TO THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP AND EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM, I WAS TOLD IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE THEY EVEN INSPECTED THE CAR, EXACTLY WHAT WAS WRONG. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID IT WAS THE FUEL LEVEL SENSORS AND THAT THEY'VE REPLACED "HUNDREDS"..."IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM WITH HYUNDAIS". REPLACING TWO SENSORS COST A JOLTING $650, BUT I COULDN'T IGNORE THE SAFETY RISK OF NEVER KNOWING WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW I MIGHT RUN OUT OF GAS. WHEN I ASKED WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ISSUED, THE SALES MANAGER SAID THAT THERE HAS TO BE A "SAFETY ISSUE" INVOLVED. *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE READING CAME BACK AS A BAD FUEL SENSOR. SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM YET HYUNDAI IS NOT WILLING TO RECALL. DESPITE TRYING TO KEEP TRACK OF HOW MUCH GAS I HAVE I DID ONCE RUN OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION AND WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET TO A SAFE LOCATION. HYUNDAI KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WHEN THEY INSTALLED THESE, THERE'S NON POINT IN REPLACING IT WITHOUT REPLACING THE FUEL PUMP AS WELL. THIS CAR HAS GIVEN ME MORE ISSUE THAN ANY OTHER CAR I'VE OWNED. FIRST A CYLINDER MISFIRE WHICH WAS A BAD COIL PACK, THEN I HAD TO REPLACE A PURGE VALVE AND NOW THIS. I'M SELLING IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP ASAP. *TR

THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR IN THE TANK BEGAN TO FAIL, CAUSING THE FUEL GAUGE TO BEHAVE ERRATICALLY. FUEL LEVELS WOULD SWING WILDLY FROM FULL TO EMPTY. THE CEL WAS THROWN, BUT NOT UNTIL AFTER THE ERRATIC BEHAVIOR WAS OBSERVED. WITHOUT A CEL TO WARN OF A PROBLEM, THE DRIVER MAY THINK THEY HAVE FUEL WHEN THEY DO NOT AND POTENTIALLY RUN OUT OF GAS. THIS WOULD BE A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WE'VE SPOKEN WITH HYUNDAI AND THIS IS NOT A RECALL OR EVEN A TSB ISSUE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE PROBLEM IS WELL DOCUMENTED AMONG OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM IS COMMON AND THIS VEHICLE SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR

MY 2008 GAS GAUGE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY OR READING THE CORRECT LEVELS OF FUEL. WHEN I FILL THE TANK UP, THE LOW LEVEL INDICATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATES AND STAYS ON FOR SEVERAL DAYS. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATES. AFTER SEVERAL MILES OF DRIVING (FEW DAYS), BOTH LIGHTS WILL GO OFF AND GAS GAUGE WORKS PROPERLY. AROUND THE HALF TANK MARK, THE INDICATOR LIGHT COMES BACK ON SHOWING EMPTY AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARS. I'VE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY QUOTED NEARLY $800 TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH THEY ADMITTED THAT THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE, THERE IS NO RECALL??? THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. *TR

6/25/14, ON INTERSTATE WITH CRUISE CONTROL AT 65MPH. DEPRESSED THE THROTTLE PEDAL TO PASS A VEHICLE. THROTTLE STUCK WIDE OPEN. APPLIED BRAKES BUT KEPT ON INCREASING SPEED. DEPRESSED THROTTLE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES BUT NO CHANGE. TURNED CRUISE CONTROL OFF, NO CHANGE. TURNED KEY TO ACC AND THEN BACK TO ON BUT NO CHANGE. TURNED KEY TO ACC AND WAITED SEVERAL SECONDS THEN BACK ON. THROTTLE PEDAL STARTED TO RESPOND. PULLED OVER AND CHECKED IF FLOOR MAT WAS JAMMING THROTTLE PEDAL. NO PROBLEM, NO JAMMING. PROBLEM REPEATED AGAIN. CONTINUED TO DESTINATION AND TRIED CRUISE CONTROL BUT IT WOULD NOT SET. TURNED CRUISE CONTROL OFF. SUV WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT AT DESTINATION. ON RETURN TRIP THROTTLE AND CRUISE CONTROL WORKED FINE. 6/30/14, TOOK SUV TO RAY BRANDT HYUNDAI, THEY FOUND NO CODES SET AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IT SEEMS IF BOTH THE THROTTLE IS WIDE OPEN AND THE BRAKES ARE BEING APPLIED THEN A CODE SHOULD BE SET.THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM! THE SITE BELOW DOCUMENTS 3 ADDITIONAL OCCURRENCES: HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/HYUNDAI/SANTAFE/2008/ACCELERATOR-STUCK-PROBLEMS.PHP. *TR

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON IN THE CAR, I TOOK IT TO BE DIAGNOSED AND IT IS A FAILURE OF THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. APPARENTLY HYUNDAI IS WELL AWARE OF THIS VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND REFUSES TO ISSUE A RECALL. ADDITIONALLY, THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY IS ONLY SOLD TOGETHER, THEREFORE THIS IS A FIX THAT WILL COST AT LEAST $800 WHICH I CANNOT AFFORD. SO NOW I JUST HAVE TO DRIVE AROUND WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AT ALL TIMES, HAVING NO IDEA HOW MUCH FUEL I HAVE OR IF ANY OTHER ENGINE ISSUES HAVE COME UP. SHAME ON HYUNDAI. *TR

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND WHEN I GOT IT CHECKED IT WAS FOR FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. I ALSO NOTICED SHORTLY AFTER I FILLED UP WITH GAS THE GAUGE WOULD GO DOWN AND WHEN 1/2 OR LESS IT WOULD DROP AND GAS LIGHT WOULD COME ON. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP, WHILE I WAS PULLED INTO SERVICE CENTER, CAR STOPPED AND RUNNING, SERVICE TECH SAW GAS GAUGE GO DOWN AND LIGHT CAME ON EVEN THOUGH I HAD AT LEAST 3/4 GAS. NO LONGER COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND QUOTED ME $605 TO FIX. SHOULD BE A RECALL SINCE SO MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!! *TR

FUEL GAUGE AND FUEL SENSOR NOT WORKING PROPERLY. THE GAUGE REGISTERS LESS FUEL THAN IS IN THE TANK. THE GAUGE WILL INDICATE THAT THE TANK IS EMPTY WHEN THERE'S MORE THAN 1/2 A TANK LEFT, AND THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT COMES ON. THE ISSUE OCCURS SPORADICALLY. IT WILL REGISTER A FALSE READING FOR SEVERAL CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH THE WARNING LIGHT ON EVEN AFTER FILLING UP THE GAS TANK, AND THEN SOME DAYS IT WILL SELF CORRECT AND THE WARNING LIGHT WILL TURN OFF. *TR