2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

The contact owns a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing difficulty charging. The contact stated that while driving 50-60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times while driving on the highway. The vehicle was able to be jump-started. The contact stated that a mobile mechanic had inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that there was oil leaking onto the spark plugs. The contact stated that the vehicle was chugging while driving. The contact became aware that the VIN was included in Hyundai Campaign Number: 976. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repair. The dealer diagnosed that the valve cover gasket was leaking onto the alternator and onto other unknown parts. The dealer replaced the valve cover gasket and the alternator under Hyundai Campaign Number: 976. The contact stated after driving 7-8 minutes after picking up the vehicle from the dealer, the contact noticed an abnormal odor and smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact pulled into a gas station and parked the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle back to the dealer. The contact stated she drove to the nearby residence of a friend instead because she needed to report to work. The contact stated upon opening the hood and starting the vehicle the following day, the contact noticed flames in the engine compartment. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. No police report was filed. There was no injury sustained. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the fire had occurred due to an old oil leak; however, the contact stated there was also a noticeable new oil leak under the hood. The dealer later informed the contact that the starter had failed, and that the fire had not caused any further damage to the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON IN THE CAR, I TOOK IT TO BE DIAGNOSED AND IT IS A FAILURE OF THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. APPARENTLY HYUNDAI IS WELL AWARE OF THIS VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND REFUSES TO ISSUE A RECALL. ADDITIONALLY, THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY IS ONLY SOLD TOGETHER, THEREFORE THIS IS A FIX THAT WILL COST AT LEAST $800 WHICH I CANNOT AFFORD. SO NOW I JUST HAVE TO DRIVE AROUND WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AT ALL TIMES, HAVING NO IDEA HOW MUCH FUEL I HAVE OR IF ANY OTHER ENGINE ISSUES HAVE COME UP. SHAME ON HYUNDAI. *TR

SEE ATTACHED EMAIL UPDATED 06/04/2013*LJ THE OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OSC) DOES NOT CONSISTENTLY RECOGNIZE SMALL-STATURED ADULTS, CAUSING THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG TO DEACTIVATE WHEN SUCH PERSON OCCUPY THE FRONT SEAT. ALSO, THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSION, A KNOCKING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN, AN ISSUE WITH THE THROTTLE CABLE, AND A WHINING SOUND UPON ACCELERATION. *TR

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

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE ESC, CHECK ENGINE AND AWD WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE THEN STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND AS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO DRIVE WITH AN EXTREME LOSS OF POWER. THE CONTACT SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE AND WHEN RESTARTED, THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT TO BRING THE VEHICLE IN FOR AN INSPECTION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 14,000.

ON 12/26/2010,MY HUSBAND AND 2 CHILDREN WERE RETURNING FROM NJ TO CT VIA THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY, NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE AND THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE. FOUR TIMES DURING THAT TRIP, OUR HYUNDAI SANTA FE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. EACH TIME THE LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED THERE WAS NO PRECIPITATING EVENT, JUST A SUDDEN AND RANDOM LOSS OF POWER FOLLOWED BY THE ESC LIGHT ILLUMINATING ON THE DASH. HE HAD TO COAST THRU TRAFFIC, FIND A SAFE PLACE TO STOP AND TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN TO REGAIN POWER. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE HYUNDAI DEALER IN MERIDEN CT AND THEY INTERROGATED THE COMPUTER. THE SERVICE TECH TOLD US THEY REPLACED THE TPS (THROTTLE POSITION) SENSOR. WE DID SOME AMATEUR RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF RESEARCHING, CAME ACROSS DOZENS OF SANTA FE OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCED THE SAME EVENT. WE ARE WONDERING WHY THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL ON THE SANTA FE MODELS THAT ARE AFFECTED. WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THE PROPER AUTHORITIES ARE AWARE OF THE SITUATION SO THAT NECESSARY ACTION CAN BE TAKEN. WE ARE SO FORTUNATE THAT THE DRIVERS NEAR US ALL FOUR TIMES WERE PAYING ATTENTION AND DIDN'T RAM US FROM BEHIND. THESE ARE HEAVILY TRAVELED ROADS WITH MANY TRUCKS, TRACTOR TRAILERS AND CARS, ALL TRAVELLING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED AND SOMETIMES FOLLOWING CLOSELY. THIS IS A POTENTIAL TRAGEDY FOR ANOTHER FAMILY WHO ISN'T AS LUCKY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING AT 80MPH THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE LANES AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LOOSE POWER, THE STEERING FAILED, AND THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. SHE WAS ABLE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE UNTO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND WAS UNABLE TO RECREATE THE FAILURE. THE DIAGNOSTIC TESTING DID NOT PRODUCE A FAILURE CODE, THEREFORE THE DEALER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF GAS. ON JUNE 8, 2010 WHILE REVERSING FROM THE DRIVE WAY THE FAILURE RE-OCCURRED. THE GEAR DID NOT RELEASE FROM REVERSE AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED THE GARAGE TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 541 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 21,817.