2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

DRIVING FROM MY WIFE'S WORK ALL THE SUDDEN THE GAS LEVEL GAUGE WENT TO EMPTY AND ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON. THE GAS TANK WAS 3/4 FULL. DROVE 1/2 A MILE AND IT MARKED 1/2 A TANK, STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHT, WENT TO EMPTY AGAIN IS BEEN DOING IT FORM THAT DAY ON. AFTER TAKING CAR DEALER I WAS TOLD THE REPAIR IS ROUGHLY $680.00 . THIS IS MY 3RD SANTA FE THAT I PURCHASED 2001 2004 & 2008 AND I ONLY ENCOUNTERED SUCH PROBLEM WITH THE 2008 I HAVE SEEN VARIOUS COMPLAINS ON SUCH " PROBLEM" AND WHY IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A "RECALL" BUT THE MANUFACTURER SEEMS IGNORE IT. *TR

I OWN A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE WITH 40000 MILES THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THE FUEL GAUGE IS NOT ACCURATE AND IS MOSTLY READS THAT THE TANK IS EMPTY. IT COST ABOUT $650 TO REPLACE . MY OPINION IS THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. IT ALSO CAUSES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON. *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

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR WAS DEFECTIVE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE CONTROL SENSOR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 97,000.

THE SENSOR FOR THE GAS TANK WENT BAD, IN OUR OPINION, PREMATURELY. WENT ONLINE TO RESEARCH THE ISSUE, AND LEARNED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH SANTA FES, EVEN THOSE NEWER THAN OURS. IMPACT: WHEN THE SENSOR FAILS, THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYS 'EMPTY' NO MATTER WHAT AMOUNT OF FUEL IS IN THE TANK, RENDERING THE FUEL GAUGE TOTALLY UNRELIABLE TO THE DRIVER. THE CAR COULD RUN OUT OF GAS ANYWHERE-- FOR EXAMPLE, ON A HIGHWAY--POTENTIALLY CREATING A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD TO NOT JUST THE DRIVER BUT ALSO TO OTHER DRIVERS AROUND HIM. WE WONDER WHETHER A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED FOR THIS SENSOR. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTE FE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT MANUAL FORCE CAUSING THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TO CRASH INTO A TREE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A BROKEN NECK, STOMACH AND CHEST BRUISING, AS WELL AS LACERATIONS. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000.

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