2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

THE FUEL GAUGE ON DASH HAS BEGUN FLUCTUATING WILDLY EVEN WITH FULL TANK OF GAS. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT YET BUT BASED ON WHAT I HAVE READ I AM ANTICIPATING A PROBLEM CODE COMING SOON. MY RESEARCH IS POINTING TO THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR ATTACHED TO THE FUEL PUMP. HOWEVER, ONLY THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY APPEARS TO BE AVAILABLE AND AS SUCH, IT IS HIGHLY COSTLY TO CORRECT. HYUNDAI SHOULD PROVIDE A RECALL FOR THIS DUE TO THE HUGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM. IT HAS ALSO BEEN NOTED THAT THIS HAS CAUSED VEHICLES TO STALL WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY CREATING A HAZARD TO OTHER DRIVERS AND MYSELF. WHEN THE CAR RAN OUT OF GAS, THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND IT BECAME VERY HARD TO STEER. PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING WEB SITE FOR A CURRENT LIST OF MANY OTHER SANTA FE OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. HTTP://WWW.ABOUTAUTOMOBILE.COM/COMPLAINT/2008/HYUNDAI/SANTA+FE/FUEL+SYSTEM. *TR

BACK IN APRIL, MY SANTA FE ALSO HAD THE FUEL GAUGE ISSUE. IT ALSO BEGAN FLUCTUATING WILDLY AND THE RANGE COMPUTER WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE. THE DEALER TOLD ME IT WAS PART OF THE FUEL PUMP AND THAT I HAD TO REPLACE BOTH OF THEM, WHO KNEW IT HAD TWO. IT COST ME $1,583.80 TO FIX. THEY TOLD ME IF I DIDN'T FIX IT, THE CAR COULD JUST LOSE POWER AND WE WOULD BE STUCK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS SHOULD DEFINITELY BE A RECALL!!!! NOW, MY SANTA FE HAS THE AIR BAG LIGHT ON. THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS BACK IN 2011, WHICH I DEFINITELY RECEIVED LITERATURE FROM HYUNDAI ABOUT IT. YESTERDAY, THE DEALER FIRST TOLD ME THAT RECALL DIDN'T EXIST. THEN THEY TOLD ME IT DIDN'T APPLY TO MY MAKE OR MODEL, NOR DID IT APPLY TO MY VIN. THEY WANTED TO CHARGE $350 TO FIX THE CLOCK SPRING ASSEMBLY. I REFUSED SINCE I KNOW THIS WAS RECALLED. I'M GOING TO TRY AND CONTACT THE CORPORATE OFFICE OF HYUNDAI ABOUT THIS. IN THE MEANTIME, I DON'T HAVE A DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. THANKS HYUNDAI. STAY AWAY FROM HYUNDAI VEHICLES!!!! *TR

I'M ALSO EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL SENSOR FAILING.THE FUEL GAUGE SHOWS EMPTY AND THEN LATER THAT I HAVE FUEL. I CALLED MY DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. THEY SAID AT THIS TIME THERE'S NO RECALL OUT FOR THIS REPAIR, BUT AGREED THAT THERE SHOULD BE. THIS CAN BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD CAUSE SERIOUS INJURIES TO THE DRIVER AS WELL AS OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. I LOVE MY VEHICLE AND WOULD HATE FOR THIS TO CAUSE ME TO SWITCH IF I'M GOING TO CONTINUALLY HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THIS ISSUE. I FEEL THAT HYUNDAI SHOULD STEP UP AND THAT CARE OF THIS FAULTY PART. *JS

THE GAS GAUGE BEGAN FLUCTUATING BETWEEN HALF FULL AND EMPTY. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT TO MY NEAREST O'REILLY'S WHERE THEY TESTED IT AND SAID IT WAS A FUEL SENSOR PROBLEM. AFTER A COUPLE WEEKS IT BEGAN TO SEEMINGLY WORK AGAIN, BUT I BEGAN HAVING SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH IT A FEW WEEKS AFTER THAT. MY GAUGE NEVER REGISTERS FULL AFTER FILLING IT. SOMETIMES IT STARTS OFF AT EMPTY (LIGHT ON) BUT AS I DRIVE IT CREEPS UP TO HALF FULL. I BEGAN INVESTIGATING THE ISSUE ONLINE AND AM SHOCKED TO SEE HOW MANY OTHER 2008 SANTA FE OWNERS ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. OBVIOUSLY IT IS A DEFECTIVE PART ON HYUNDAIS BEHALF. I NEVER KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH GAS I HAVE. I HAVE TO USE MY TRIP METER TO ESTIMATE WHEN I NEED TO FILL IT. I HAVE INVESTIGATED THE COST TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND IT IS EXPENSIVE - BETWEEN $500 - $800. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECT AND SHOULD BE RECALLED BY HYUNDAI. *TR

WITHIN THE PAST WEEK I NOTICED MY FUEL GAUGE DROP TO EMPTY AND THE FUEL LOW LIGHT GO ON. I HAD PLENTY OF GAS KNOWING THAT I HAD JUST FILLED UP THE DAY BEFORE. I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND WHEN I RESTARTED THE ENGINE THE FUEL GAUGE WENT UP TO 3/4 FULL AS WHERE I EXPECTED IT TO GO. SUDDENLY THE GAUGE WAS GOING DOWN AND THAN BACK UP AGAIN. I PUSHED THE TRIP BUTTON TO SEE THE RANGE OF MILES TO EMPTY AND IT WAS ALSO DROPPING AND CLIMBING. I SEEMED TO WORK IT'S SELF OUT AND WAS FINE FOR THREE DAYS. THAN I WAS DRIVING AND THE GAUGE DROPPED TO ZERO AGAIN AND RETURNED TO 1/2 FULL, THAT'S WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THAT SAME DAY I DROPPED IT OFF TO MY LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER. THEY WERE BUSY AND LOOKED AT THE CAR THE NEXT DAY. THEY TESTED THE CAR AND CAME UP WITH CODES THAT STATED FAILED FUEL LEVEL SENSORS. REPLACE FUEL LEVEL SENSORS A AND B. THE REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE AS FOLLOWS, QTY.OF 2 #31115 PACKING FUEL PUMP, QTY. OF 2 # 31152 RING LOCK, QTY OF 1 #94430 SENDER ASSY, AND QTY OF 1 #94460 SENDER ASSY . THIS REPAIR AT THE DEALER COST ME 714.39 AFTER TAXES ,CODE CHECK AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEES. AFTER I AGREED TO THE REPAIR, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE CAR IS ONLY 5 YEARS YOUNG. I WAS AMAZED WHEN I RESEARCHED THIS ON LINE, THAT THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH ALOT OF VEHICLES. HOW MANY CARS HAVE TO FAIL BEFORE THERE IS A RECALL ON THESE SENSORS. *TR

THE GAS GAUGE FLUCTUATES ON MY CAR AS WELL AND I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 33,000 MILES! ONE MINUTE THE CAR WILL REGISTER 1/2 OF A TANK OF GAS, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WILL GO TO EMPTY AND THE GAS LIGHT COMES ON. WAIT A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND IT COMES BACK UP. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER YESTERDAY, TOLD THE SERVICE AGENT ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AND SHE SAID THAT THEY HAVE TO CHARGE A $108 DIAGNOSTIC FEE TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. I THEN GET A CALL THAT IT IS THE FUEL ASSEMBLY PARTS A & B AND WILL COST $615 PLUS TAX. OF COURSE IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. MY HUSBAND CALLED A FRIEND'S MECHANIC AND EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM AND HE KNEW RIGHT AWAY WHAT IT WAS WITHOUT HAVING TO DO A DIAGNOSTIC. THEN I LOG ON TO THIS SITE AND CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. HYUNDAI KNOWS ABOUT IT BUT YET THE DEALER WILL HIT YOU WITH A DIAGNOSTIC FEE THEN A REPAIR FEE. NOW THAT IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY, I'M GOING TO SUPPORT MY LOCAL MECHANIC INSTEAD OF A DEALERSHIP! *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 60000 MILES,I NOTICED THAT MY FUEL GAUGE WAS NOT REGISTERING CORRECTLY. WOULD FILL IT UP AND THE GAUGE WOULD REGISTER A 1/4 TANK, PROBLEM GOT WORSE IN THE PROCEEDING WEEKS. CHECK ENGINE CAME ON TOOK IT TO AUTO PARTS PLACE AND THEY SAID THE FUEL SENSORS WERE BAD. TOTAL COST TO REPAIR $440. NO HELP FROM DEALER. EXTENDED WARRANTY NOT HELPFUL EITHER. *TR

WHILE DRIVING FROM MARSHALL, NC TO ASHEVILLE, NC, MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 55-60 MILES PER HOUR WHEN THEN ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE FUEL TANK WAS FULL AND THE FUEL GAUGE STARTED TO ACT CRAZY TELLING ME THAT THE TANK WAS EMPTY. UPON NOTICING THIS PROBLEM, I IMMEDIATELY CALLED HYUNDAI AND THEY SAID TO BRING IT IN. WHEN I TOOK IT IN, THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC FOR $45.00 AND CAME BACK AND TOLD ME THAT BOTH FUEL SENSORS HAD GONE OUT. THEY PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT THE JOB WOULD COST AROUND $600.00 OR SO. I TOLD THEM THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS AND THAT IT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED ESPECIALLY ON A VEHICLE THAT IS NOT THAT OLD. I WENT HOME AND LOOKED THE PROBLEM UP ON LINE, ONLY TO FIND THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT HAVE HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM, SOME EVEN WITH NEWER HYUNDAI VEHICLES. MY WIFE AND I FEEL THAT THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AND SAFETY ISSUE ITEM. IF THIS MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM, THEN OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A MANUFACTURING PROBLEM. THIS SITUATION IS NOT SAFE BECAUSE IF THIS HAPPENS TO SOMEONE WHEN THEIR FUEL MAY BE LOW, THEY MAY BE DRIVING ALONG AND STALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY OR THEY MAY BE IN A REMOTE AREA. *TR