2004 Hyundai Santa Fe

AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. DIAGNOSED AS FAULTY WIRING. DEALER GOT IT TO GO OUT, BUT IF IT COMES BACK ON AGAIN THEY SAY THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. DEALER CANNOT SAY IF THE AIR BAG WILL DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT AND SAYS THAT THE MANUFACTURER WILL NOT SAY EITHER. NOW, THE LIGHT IS OUT BEHIND THE HEATER CONTROL BUTTON. ONCE AGAIN DIAGNOSED AS FAULTY WIRING. FAULTY WIRING SOUNDS LIKE A FACTORY PROBLEM TO ME. ALL SERVICES ON THIS VEHICLE HAVE BEEN DONE SINCE DAY ONE AS RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR

I PURCHASED A USED 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE IN AUG/2005 FROM A HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP (# ). IN AUG/2006, THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THE RESULTS WERE "CODE B1382 PSAB RESISTANCE HIGH - RESECURE CONNECTOR UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT/CLEAR CODE". IN FEB/2008, THE AIRBAG SENSOR AGAIN APPEARED. THE SAME TECHNICAL CODE WAS DETECTED, AND THE DEALERSHIP RESOLUTION WAS TO "REROUTE WIRE HARNESS". IN MAR/2008, THE AIRBAG LIGHT AGAIN APPEARED AND WAS SERVICED BY THE DEALERSHIP. IN NOV/2008, THE VEHICLE WAS AGAIN TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP DUE TO THE AIRBAG LIGHT APPEARING. AT THE TIME OF SERVICE IN NOV/2008, THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE DEALERSHIP INDICATED THEY WOULD NOT FIX THE AIRBAG FREE OF CHARGE UNDER THE WARRANTY, AT WHICH TIME, THEY WERE INFORMED THAT A COMPLAINT WOULD BE FILED UNDER THE CALIFORNIA LEMON LAW DUE TO REPEAT FIXES FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THE DEALERSHIP THEN FIXED THE ISSUE. ON NOV. 26, 2008, THE VEHICLE WAS HIT IN A HIGH-SPEED REAR END COLLISION (~35MPH) WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT AND PUSHED INTO AN INTERSECTION, WHERE IT BROADSIDED A MOVING VEHICLE. AS A RESULT OF THE IMPACTS, THE HYUNDAI WAS TOTALED, ALL REAR SEATED PASSENGERS SUSTAINED INJURY DUE TO THE SPARE TIRE BEING LIFTED FROM THE INITIAL IMPACT AND RAISING THE 60/40 SPLIT REAR SEAT AND PUSHING IT FORWARD, THE FRONT PASSENGER RECEIVED CHEST CONTUSIONS AND THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED UPPER BODY INJURIES. DESPITE BEING PUSHED FORWARD AND MAKING A STRONG IMPACT, THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. I REQUESTED HYUNDAI INVESTIGATE THE MATTER, AND THEY DETERMINED THAT ALTHOUGH THE FRONT RIGHT OF THE VEHICLE WAS DAMAGED FROM THE SECONDARY IMPACT, IT WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO WARRANT AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. I RESEARCHED COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER HYUNDAI OWNERS REGARDING REPEATED AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT REPAIRS AND OTHER AIRBAG FAILURES, INCLUDING STORIES OF CRASHES INTO POLES WITH FAILED AIRBAGS. HYUNDAI HAS NOT ISSUED ANY RECALL, BUT THEY PROBABLY SHOULD. *TR

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ON A LITTLE ST. IN FOSTORIA,OHIO ON OCT 16 AT APPROX. 4 PM. HER SPEED WAS AROUND 35 MPH AND THE ROAD CONDITIONS WERE GOOD. SHE HAD A LARGE VEHICLE ON HER DRIVER SIDE AS THIS IS A TWO LANE HIGHWAY. A BLAZER/BRONCO CROSSED FROM THE ONCOMING LANE ATTEMPTING TO TURN ON A SIDE STREET (SOUTH UNION STREET, CUTTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE IMPACT STOPPED HER VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY AND DROVE HER CAR INTO A TRUCK WAITING TO TURN ONTO LITTLE STREET FROM THE SAME SIDE STREET. ALTHOUGH THE ACCIDENT CAUSED A FRONT END IMPACT TO OUR HYUNDAI, THE AIRBAG IN OUR HYUNDAI DID NOT DEPLOY. MY WIFE SUSTAINED INJURIES TO HER LEFT COLLARBONE AND SHOULDER, AND ALSO TO HER RIGHT KNEE, REQUIRING A TRIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AND XRAYS. SHE WAS ALSO UNABLE TO WORK FOR A SHORT TIME DUE TO HER INJURIES. *TR

WE TOOK OUR VEHICLE TO GARY ROME HOLYOKE FOR ROUTINE SERVICE AND COMPLAINT OF A AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ON. WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WAS A UNIT UNDERNEATH THE SEAT THAT WAS BAD. THEY GOT THE LIGHT TO GO OFF AND WE WERE TOLD TO SELL OR TRADE THE CAR BEFORE THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON. WE WERE TOLD WE WERE OUT OF WARRANTY,BY LESS THAN 1000 MILES AND TO REPLACE THIS PART WOULD BE IN THE $2000-$3000 RANGE. THEY ALSO SAID IT WAS THE SIDE AIRBAGS AND THEY WERE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS PART ON OTHER MODELS AS WELL. MY WIFE WAS TOLD THE SAME BY THE MANUFACTURER WHEN SHE CALLED. *TR

FAILURE OF DRIVER'S SIDE FRONTAL AIRBAG TO DEPLOY ON A 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING HER SANTA FE ON A TWO-LANE COUNTRY ROAD IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. WEATHER AND ROAD CONDITIONS WERE NORMAL, WITH NO ICE, SNOW, OR OTHER SLIPPING HAZARDS ON THE ROAD. AS SHE ROUNDED A CURVE A CAR WAS STOPPED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HER AND BECAUSE HER VISION WAS OBSTRUCTED BY LANDSCALE ALONG THE ROAD SHE COULD NOT SEE THE OTHER VEHICLE (A 1988 JEEP TRUCK) BEFORE SHE STRUCK IT. DAMAGE TO THE JEEP WAS MINIMAL (BROKEN REAR WINDOW AND BENT BUMPER), BUT DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF HER SANTA FE WAS EXTENSIVE, ESTIMATED ABOUT $9,500. I CALLED OUR LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA TO URGE THEM TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT A POTENTIAL AIRBAG MALFUNCTION. I WAS TOLD BY THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THE FAILURE OF THE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY WAS NOT UNUSUAL BECAUSE THE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT SENSORS ARE LOCATED WELL BACK FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR. GIVEN THE SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE CAR (THE FRONT IS EXTENSIVELY CRUSHED) AND THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE TROOPERS OBSERVATION THAT HE WAS SURPRISED THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY, HYUNDAI SHOULD ADDRESS THIS POTENTIAL PROBLEM. *TR