2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

OVER THE LAST YEAR, OUR HYUNDAI SANTA FE HAS DEVELOPED A VERY TROUBLING STALLING PROBLEM THAT HAS ONLY INCREASED IN FREQUENCY. THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER WHILE DRIVING REGARDLESS OF SPEED, OFTEN SEVERAL TIMES IN THE SAME TRIP REGARDLESS OF DISTANCE TRAVELED. IT STALLS ON LOCAL, LOW-SPEED ROADS AS WELL AS FREEWAY DRIVING. WHEN IT STALLS, ALL STEERING IS LOST. THIS IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AMONG HYUNDAI CUSTOMERS AND DEALERSHIPS AND YET I AM NOT ABLE TO LOCATE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT A RECALL TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY FATAL PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY HYUNDAI. I DID CONTACT THEM. TODAY, I RECEIVED A RESPONSE INDICATING THAT HYUNDAI HAS NO EXPLANATION FOR THE ISSUE AND WILL OFFER NO ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR IT. THEIR ONLY SUGGESTION WAS THAT I CONTACT A LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. AS I INDICATED, THIS IS A PROBLEM KNOWN TO HYUNDAI, SOME OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND DEALERSHIPS. SINCE NHTSA IS THE AGENCY OVERSEEING ISSUES OF THIS TYPE, I WOULD RESPECTFULLY REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS STALLING ISSUE BEFORE SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENS.

MY CAR HAS STALLED SEVERAL TIMES THIS PAST WEEK WITHOUT WARNING OR INDICATION THAT ANYTHING IS WRONG. THE VEHICLE WILL SUDDENLY STOP AND LOSE POWER COMPLETELY WHILE I ANXIOUSLY TRY TO RESTART IT. IT HAS PUT ME AT RISK WITH OTHER DRIVERS WHERE I'VE HAD TO PUT MY HAZARDS ON AND HOPE VEHICLES ARE ABLE TO STOP IN TIME SO THEY DON'T HIT ME. I'VE TAKEN IT IN FOR SERVICE AND THEY CAN'T SEEM TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE CAR IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND NO ONE SEEMS TO BE HELPING ME. I FOUND INFORMATION ONLINE ABOUT HYUNDAI GETTING SLAPPED WITH A CLASS ACTION SUIT FOR THE SAME PROBLEMS I'M REPORTING, BUT THE SUIT APPEARS TO ONLY COVER 2010-2012 MODELS, MINE IS 2008. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

WHEN THE VEHICLE IS FILLED UP WITH GAS THE FUEL GAUGE GOES TO ZERO AND THE ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CODES GENERATED ARE P2067, P0463 AND P0464. AT SOME POINT THE GAUGE BEGINS WORKING PROPERLY AGAIN BUT THE ACCURACY OF THE GAUGE IS IN QUESTION. THERE IS A SAFETY CONCERN SINCE THE VEHICLE COULD RUN OUT OF GAS AT ANY TIME LEAVING THE USER STRANDED IN BAD WEATHER OR IN A DANGEROUS TRAFFIC SITUATION. THIS PROBLEM IS NOT ISOLATED, JUDGING FROM SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET, IT APPEARS THAT THE PARTS USED FOR THE FUEL LEVEL INDICATION ARE UNRELIABLE AND A RECALL IS NEEDED TO RESOLVE THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THE PROBLEM OCCURS AT FILL UP AND DRIVING HAS NO EFFECT ON THIS ISSUE AND HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO MY VEHICLE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS BUT SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE AS TIME GOES ON. .

WHILE AT A STOP IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE, MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE, WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED INTO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. ALTHOUGH MY FOOT WAS PLANTED HARD ON THE BRAKE, THE ENGINE CONTINUED RACING, AND IT FELT LIKE MY CAR WAS GOING TO PUSH HIS CAR DOWN THE STREET! I SHIFTED INTO PARK AND TURNED THE CAR OFF. LUCKILY THERE WAS ONLY $4,000 WORTH OF DAMAGE TO MY CAR, AND NO ONE WAS HURT. I REFUSED TO DRIVE IT, AND HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID THE COMPUTER SHOWED NO MALFUNCTION, AND IT HAD TO BE DRIVER ERROR. THREE MONTHS LATER, IT DID IT AGAIN TO A LESSER DEGREE, IN AN OPEN AREA. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AGAIN, AND IT WAS FINE UNTIL YESTERDAY. IT HAS BEEN 4 MONTHS SINCE THAT LAST INCIDENT, BUT THIS ONE EVEN WAS WORSE THAN THE FIRST. ONLY THING IS, NOW I KNOW TO PUT ALL MY WEIGHT ON THE BRAKE, SHIFT TO NEUTRAL AND TURN THE CAR OFF AS FAST AS I CAN. THIS ONE FRIGHTENED ME SO BADLY, I WILL NOT DRIVE IT AGAIN. IT IS GOING TO SIT AT THE DEALER UNTIL THEY FIND OUT WHAT TO DO. I CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE DRIVE IT, SELL IT OR EVEN TRADE IT IN UNTIL I KNOW IT IS SAFE! EVERY TIME IT HAPPENED, THE CAR WAS ON A CITY STREET, STATIONARY, AND HEADING STRAIGHT. THE ENGINE REVS UP SO LOUD, IT SOUNDS LIKE AN AIRPLANE! YESTERDAY I COULD TELL THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR STOPPED NEXT TO ME HEARD IT AND LOOKED AT ME! I HAVE OWNED THIS SANTA FE SINCE IT WAS BRAND NEW, AND PEOPLE TELL ME IT LOOKS LIKE A NEW CAR. I KEEP UP WITH THE RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE AND ALWAYS TAKE IT TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE. UNTIL LAST JULY, IT HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT CAR. THE ACCIDENT I HAD WITH IT WAS THE ONLY ACCIDENT I HAVE HAD IN 50 YEARS OF DRIVING! PLEASE GIVE ME SOME IDEAS ON WHAT TO TELL THE DEALER TO REPLACE, REPAIR OR DISCONNECT. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

FUEL GAUGE HAS BEEN FAULTY AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WOULD TURN ON AND OFF AFTER REPLACING WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A BAD BATTERY ONE MONTH AGO. ONE WEEK AGO WHILE DRIVING, ALL LIGHTS ON DASHBOARD CAME ON (BATTERY, CHECK ENGINE, ABS, ESC...), ENGINE STARTED TO REV, ELECTRICAL AND POWER STEERING FAILED, AND CAR HAD TO BE TURNED OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND TOWED HOME. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE WHILE DRIVING NOW. ISSUE IS FROM A FAILING/FAILED ALTERNATOR CAUSED BY OIL LEAK FROM FRONT VALVE COVER. THIS PROBLEM IS IDENTICAL TO ISSUES WITH '06-'12 VERACRUZ, RECALL #121.

THE GAS MILEAGE ON MY VEHICLE IS 14 MPG CITY DRIVING; TOTAL HIGHWAY DRIVING IS 18MPG AND COMBINED 15- 16 MPG. I AM A VERY CONSERVATIVE DRIVER AND HAVE DRIVEN FOR 47 YEARS. MY MILEAGE IS SO POOR I CONTACTED THE HYUNDAI CORP. REPEATEDLY ON THIS. I'VE SPOKEN ON A FEW OCCASIONS WITH THE CEO[XXX], AND CORRESPONDED WITH HIM AS WELL VIA EMAIL AFTER GETTING NO SATISFACTION/HELP FROM THE REGIONAL PERSON. THE CEO'S WIFE GREW UP IN MY AREA (LAKE OSWEGO, OR.) AND THAT IS WHY HE CALLED ME PERSONALLY. HOWEVER, THE BOTTOM LINE WAS NOTHING HAS HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THIS CALL. HE OFFERED ME THE FOLLOWING: HE OFFERED TO EXCHANGE MY VEHICLE WHICH HAD ABOUT 8,000 MILES ON IT BY THE TIME HE GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME FOR A NEW 2009 SONATA FWD AND IT WAS THE OLD MODEL AS HYUNDAI WAS COMING OUT WITH A TOTALLY REVAMPED 2010 SONATA MODEL. I BOUGHT MY SANTA FE AWD BECAUSE I WANTED A SUV WITH AWD! IF I WANTED A SEDAN, I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT ONE! I BEGGED HIM TO GIVE ME ANOTHER COMPARABLY EQUIPPED SANTA FE AS THEY COULD FIND NO REASON MECHANICALLY WHY MY MILEAGE WAS SO LOW AND I ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK IT MANUALLY IN ADDITION TO THE COMPUTER OUTPUT. SO, I REFUSED TO ACCEPT THIS OFFER AND I SPEND A HUGE AMOUNT ON GAS AND I LIVE ON A SMALL FIXED INCOME AND CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY ANOTHER SANTA FE! OTHERS I'VE QUESTIONED WITH THE SAME VEHICLE AND EQUIPPED COMPARABLY GET 20 MPG OR MORE CITY DRIVING. READING HYUNDAI HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT SO MANY ISSUES BROUGHT UP IS ABOMINABLE. SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SO LIVES AREN'T LOST AND PEOPLE AREN'T PAYING AT ALMOST $4/GALLON FOR ALL THIS GAS I HAVE TO KEEP BUYING IN MY CASE. THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING MAJOR WRONG WITH MY ENGINE OR SOMETHING THAT PREVENTS ME FROM GETTING THE MILEAGE I SHOULD. AS I SAID, I AM A VERY CONSERVATIVE DRIVER. PLEASE INTERVENE WITH THE MANUFACTURER ON ALL THESE MATTERS.THEY TRULY DON'T CARE ABOUT CONSUMERS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I HAVE A 4 MONTH OLD 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. I WAS DRIVING IT ON THE FREEWAY AND TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS TO GET READY TO BRAKE FOR MY EXIT. WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL THE ENGINE KEPT REVVING AND PULLING THE CAR FORWARD. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK. I IMMEDIATELY HIT THE BREAKS TO SEE IF MAYBE THE CRUISE CONTROL KICKED IN, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T GO NEAR THE CRUISE CONTROL. WHEN I HIT THE BRAKES, MUCH TO MY HORROR, I HAD NO BRAKES!!!! I PUNCHED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR A BUNCH OF TIMES AND NOTHING!!!!!! I HAD TO STEP ON THE EMERGENCY BREAK, PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL (TO KEEP THE ENGINE FROM REVVING ON ITS OWN) AND DRIVE MY CAR INTO A HILLSIDE ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY TO STOP IT! IT'S A MIRACLE THAT MYSELF AND MY PASSENGER WERE NOT HARMED AND THAT I DIDN'T KILL OR INJURE ANYONE ELSE. UNACCEPTABLE FOR A NEW VEHICLE OR ANY VEHICLE TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN. *TR