2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE, 78K MILES. FUEL GAGE READING STARTING BOUNCING AROUND. SHOWED HALF FULL ON A FRESHLY FILLED TANK. EVENTUALLY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. ERROR CODE P0464 (FUEL LEVEL SENSOR 'A' ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WAS INTERMITTENT FOR A PREDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME.). FUEL SENSORS REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. AN INACCURATE FUEL READING IS A SAFETY CONCERN, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ISSUE THAT CAN LEAD TO UNEXPECTED VEHICLE SHUTDOWN. THE NUMEROUS REPORTS ON THE WEB CONCERNING THE FAILURE OF THE FUEL SENSORS IN THE 2008 SANTA FE SUGGESTS STRONGLY THAT A RECALL IS WARRANTED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE BATTERY WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. AFTER DRIVING SEVERAL MILES, SEVERAL MORE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT INTO THE PARK POSITION, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO ANY OTHER GEAR BESIDES DRIVE AND NEUTRAL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

WHEN THE GAS TANK IS LESS THAN HALF FULL, THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYS TANK AS NEARLY EMPTY AND THE AMBER LOW FUEL LIGHT APPEARS. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ALSO COMES ON. THE FUEL GAUGE SWINGS BACK UP TO NEARLY HALF FULL, DROPS DOWN TO 1/4 FULL, THEN DROPS DOWN TO ALMOST EMPTY, THEN SWING BACK TO HALF FULL. ABOUT 3 MONTHS AFTER THIS PROBLEM STARTED, THE FUEL GAUGE REMAINS NEAR EMPTY WITH THE AMBER LOW FUEL LIGHT LIT. WHEN I FILL UP THE GAS TANK, THE FUEL GAUGE IS ONCE AGAIN ACCURATE UNTIL THE TANK GOES BELOW 1/2 FULL. HOWEVER, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON AT ALL TIMES AND CAN ONLY BE CLEARED BY A MECHANIC. I'VE HAD MY MECHANIC CLEAR IT TWICE. THIS IS A FUEL SENSOR ISSUE WITH THE TWO SENDERS IN THE GAS TANK. I WAS GOING TO HAVE THIS REPAIRED BY HAVING THE FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY REPLACED BUT FOUND OUT IT WOULD COST $1000. I CAN'T AFFORD THAT SO I'M STUCK. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO RESET THE ODOMETER EVERY TIME I FILL UP AND MAKE SURE I FILL UP THE TANK EVERY 300 MILES. I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH AND THIS IS A KNOWN, WIDESPREAD ISSUE WITH THE 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE VEHICLES. I SAW MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE FILED ON THE NHSTA SO THIS AGENCY IS WELL AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT HAS CHOSEN NOT TO RECALL THE SANTA FE FOR THE 2008 MODEL YEAR. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS: THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS A GROSS DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. WE BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE USED WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS. THE FUEL GAUGE STARTED BEHAVING ERRATICALLY A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AFTER WE BOUGHT IT IN MAY 2014, WHICH WOULD BE AROUND LATE JULY 2015. HE FIRST SIGN OF A PROBLEM OCCURRED AFTER I FILLED THE GAS TANK IN LATE JULY 2015. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON EVEN THOUGH THE GAS TANK WAS FULL. I HAD MY MECHANIC CLEAR IT. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED ABOUT 6 WEEKS LATER. AFTER THAT THE ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE BEHAVIOR I DESCRIBED STARTED OCCURRING.

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.

I LOST POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN GOING UP A VERY STEEP GRADE. I WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT INTO PARK SO THAT I COULD TURN MY CAR OFF. I HAD TO LAY ON THE BRAKE WITH ALL MY WEIGHT TO KEEP FROM ROLLING BACKWARDS INTO CARS BEHIND ME. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS. AFTER A MINUTE, WHICH FELT LIKE MUCH LONGER, I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT TO PARK AND TURN MY CAR OFF AND BACK ON. THE SECOND TIME I LOST ALL POWER, WAS A COUPLE MONTHS LATER. I WAS GOING ABOUT 40 MPH ON A CURVY HILLY ROAD. I WAS UNABLE TO STEER, ACCELERATE, DECELERATE, OR APPLY THE BRAKES. THERE WERE CARS BEHIND ME AND I WAS TERRIFIED I WOULD END UP OFF THE ROAD OR HEADING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE FINALLY CAME TO A STOP WHEN IT DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MOMENTUM TO MAKE IT UP A HILL. I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT INTO PARK AND TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON. BOTH TIMES MY INFANT WAS IN THE CAR WITH ME. THANK GOODNESS BOTH OF US WERE UNHARMED, BECAUSE WE COULD HAVE VERY EASILY BEEN HURT OR HURT OTHERS. I WAS IN A SEVERAL THOUSAND POUND VEHICLE WHICH WAS OUT OF CONTROL. I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY AS I REFUSED TO DRIVE IT. THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO THINK IT WAS A BIG DEAL AND SAID I NEEDED A NEW ALTERNATOR. LUCKILY, I HAD PURCHASED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WHICH COVERED THE ALTERNATOR REPLACEMENT.

FRONT VALVE COVER GASKET KEEP LEAKING OIL ON TO THE ALTERNATOR CAUSING THE ALTERNATOR TO GO OUT . THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPEN THE CORE OF THE ALTERNATOR BURNED .I HAVE REPLACE THE ALTERNATOR 3 TIMES AND VALVE COVER GASKET TWICE. HYUNDAI HAVE A RECALL ON THE VERACRUZ FOR THIS SOME ISSUES BUT WILL NOT RECALL THE SANTA FE FOR THIS ISSUES .

SAFETY ISSUE: FAILURE OF THE FUEL SENDING UNIT PERMANENTLY TURNS ON THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" WHICH DENIES THE USE OF THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" FOR OTHER SERIOUS CONDITIONS. MANY CONSUMERS HAVE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THE FAILURE OF THE FUEL SENDING UNIT. THESE UNITS COST BETWEEN $800 TO $1200 TO FIX SO MOST DRIVERS DO NOT FIX IT AND INSTEAD USE THE ODOMETER READING TO DETERMINE WHEN FUEL IS NEEDED. UNFORTUNATELY, DRIVING WITH THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" ON AT ALL TIMES PREVENTS THE DRIVER FROM SEEING THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" ILLUMINATE WHEN A SERIOUS CONDITION EXISTS. THEREFORE, THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF CONSUMER REPORTS ALREADY SENT TO NHTSA REGARDING FAILED FUEL SENDING UNITS, HYUNDAI SHOULD IMMEDIATELY ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL TO FIX THESE UNITS.

MY GAS GAUGE STOPPED WORKING CORRECTLY, GOING UP AND DOWN BUT NEVER PASSING ONE HALF A TANK AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON ALL THE TIME. THE MECHANIC SAID THE SEATS WOULD NEED TO BE TAKEN OUT TO GET TO THE SENSOR, THAT IT WAS PROBABLY BAD AND WOULD NEED A NEW ONE. I TRIED TO ESTIMATE HOW MUCH GAS I HAD IN THE TANK BY USING THE ODOMETER AND RESETTING AT 0 FOR A GAS FILLUP TILL I GOT THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE. THE TANK WOULD KICK THE GAS BACK AT HALF A TANK SO I WAS GETTING ONLY 8 GALLONS IN. ON TUESDAY I RAN OUT OF GAS ON A HIGHWAY GOING 55, WHICH WAS DANGEROUS, AS THERE WAS A TRUCK BEHIND ME AND HE HAD TO SWERVE INTO THE MEDIAN TO AVOID HITTING ME WHEN MY CAR DIED. I WAS TOWED TO THE MECHANIC. THE MECHANIC CHECKED BYTAKING THE SEATS OUT AND PUTTING IN A NEW SENSOR. HE FILLED THE GAS TANK UP (19.9 GALLONS) AND YET WITH THE NEW SENSOR IN, THE GAUGE STILL READS ONLY HALF A TANK AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS STILL ON. SOMETHING ELSE IS WRONG AND I SEE THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAFETY ISSUE WITH THIS CAR AND IT HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED OR RESOLVED EFFECTIVELY. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE FIRST? ARE WE SURE SOMEONE HAS NOT ALREADY? *TR

I FILLED UP THE TANK AND THE GAS GAUGE LEVEL READ EMPTY. CONTINUED AND HAS BEEN ON EMPTY. SOMETIMES IT WILL RISE GRADUALLY TO CORRECT LEVEL. AND WHEN YOU TURN OFF ENGINE THEN IT GOES BACK TO EMPTY. I FIND THIS TO BE DANGEROUS BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF THE CAR WILL STOP. I HAVE READ MANY OTHERS THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. A RECALL IS IN ORDER TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT GASKET LEAKED OIL INTO THE ALTERNATOR AND THE ALTERNATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.