2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

I WAS ON THE HIGH WAY I CHANGED LANES AND WHEN I DID I NEEDED TO ACCELERATE TO CHANGE LANES. AFTER CHANGING LANES I HAD TO HIT THE BREAKS TO SLOW DOWN, THE BREAK SEEMED TO ACT LIKE A GAS PEDAL. THE CAR WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN THE BREAKS WOULD NOT SLOW THE CAR IT ACCELERATED TO 80MPH. I WAS NOT HITTING THE ACCELERATOR BY MISTAKE. THERE WAS NOTHING STUCK UNDER THE PEDALS. I BELIEVE IT WAS THE THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR,TPS. I LOOKED THIS UP ON THE INTERNET THERE ARE MANY INSTANCES OF THIS HAPPENING WITH THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLE. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD I THOUGHT ME AND MY UNBORN CHILD WERE GOING TO DIE. I HAVE YET TO CONTACT MY DEALERSHIP HOWEVER AS FAR AS I AM AWARE THERE ARE NO RECALLS ON THIS VEHICLE. AND THERE SHOULD BE! THE CAR HAS 104800 MILES ROUGHLY. THE CAR ACCELERATED TO 80 MILES PER HOUR ON ITS OWN PRIOR TO THAT I WAS GOING ABOUT 55 MILES PER HOUR. IT ASKED FOR THIS INFORMATION ON THE NEXT PART OF THIS FORM HOWEVER IT WAS NOT ALLOWING ME TO TYPE IT.

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!

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WENT ENTIRELY TO THE FLOORBOARD AND REMAINED STUCK WHEN IT WAS RELEASED. THE CONTACT VIOLENTLY DEPRESSED THE BRAKES AND MANEUVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER FEW MINUTES, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL RELEASED AND FUNCTIONED AS NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE REOCCURRED TWICE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 94,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

THE VEHICLE SO FAR HAS HAD TWO INSTANCES OF UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION, NOT JUST SUDDEN BUT WHILE DRIVING AND PERFORMING A PASSING MANEUVER OR NEED TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY THE TRANSMISSION WILL GET STUCK ON A GEAR, PRESSING THE BRAKE OR SHIFTING TO MANUAL MODE, ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT UP OR DOWN OR BACK TO D OR N WILL NOT STOP THE ACCELERATION. I JUST KEPT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, PUT HAZARDS ON, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE (LEFT KEY IN ACCESSORIES) AND THEN COASTED TO THE SHOULDER. THE MINUTE I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF I GAINED STOP CONTROL, PRIOR, MASHING ON THE BRAKE WASN'T STOPPING THE CAR. ONCE I COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, I WAITED A MINUTE OR SO, CAREFULLY RESTARTED THE CAR AND THINGS WERE BACK TO NORMAL. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED BE STUCK ON 5TH GEAR, BUT WHEN I SHIFTED FROM D TO MANUAL AND BACK THE ACCELERATION RETURNED TO NORMAL. THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO BE STUCK ON 3RD, THE INITIAL DESCRIPTION ABOVE IS ABOUT THE 2ND INSTANCE. TAKING THE VEHICLE TO DEALER AND WILL AVOID RABBIT STARTS OR INITIATING ANY RAPID ACCELERATION, WHICH SEEMS TO BE WHERE THE TRANSMISSION OR SOME SENSOR IS GETTING BAD DATA. MY GUESS IT'S THE THROTTLE BODY POSITIONING SENSOR. ALTHOUGH I WOULD ASSUME THAT IF THE COMPUTER/TRANSMISSION EXPERIENCE A BAD SIGNAL OR LOSS OF SIGNAL FROM A SENSOR THAT THE DEFAULT ACTION WOULD BE TO SHUT OFF... NOT LOCK IN A GEAR WITH NO MEANS TO STOP OTHER THAN SHUTTING OFF THE ENGINE.

MY SANTA FE AWD 2008 WAS BOUGHT IN JUNE 2009 AND NOW HAS ~99K MILEAGE. I HAD FOUR OR FIVE SIMILAR INCIDENTS WITH MY SANTA FE STARTING ON 4/21/15, WHICH LED TO SIGNIFICANT POWER LOSS AND SPEED LOSS OF THE CAR ON THE ROAD. THE FIRST TIME, I WAS DRIVING ON A LOCAL ROAD AT ~25 MPH. SUDDENLY I FELT THE CAR LOST THE POWER AND BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN. I STEPPED DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE CAR COULD NOT ACCELERATE (THE SPEED DROPPED TO ~10 MPH). I SAW 3 SYSTEM INDICATOR/WARNING LIGHTS ON: THE ESC OFF(ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL) AND CHECK ENGINE INDICATORS HAD A STEADY LIGHT AND THE AWD SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT WAS FLASHING. I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SHUT OFF THE CAR, WAITED ~1 MINUTE, AND THEN RESTARTED THE CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON, BUT THE OTHER LIGHTS WENT OUT. THEN I DROVE THE CAR TO CONTINUE TO MY JOB. THE 2ND INCIDENT OCCURRED ON MY WAY HOME. THE SAME SCENARIO EXCEPT THAT I WAS DRIVING AT ~40 MPH AT THE TIME. THE SUDDEN POWER LOSS CAUSED THE CAR SPEED QUICKLY DROPPED TO ~10 MPH AND PROBABLY LED THE CAR BEHIND MINE TO MAKE A SUDDEN STOP TO AVOID A CRASH. AGAIN, I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, AND THEN RESTARTED THE CAR WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYING ON. THE OTHER TIMES I WAS ON THE CRESENT CITY CONNECTION (BRIDGE) IN THE CENTER LANE. I HAD TO WORK MY WAY OVER TWO LANES TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF TO RESTART TO CONTINUE ON MY WAY TO OR FROM WORK. AFTER THE 5TH TIME, I DID SOME RESEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND AN ARTICLE STATING THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS ON THE TSB (TECHNICAL SAFETY BULLETIN). MAYBE SOMEONE SOMEWHERE SHOULD BE AWARE OF MORE THAN ONE VEHICLE HAVING THIS PROBLEM.......

THE CAR ACCELERATED WHILE BRAKE PEDAL WAS BEING DEPRESSED AND WOULD NOT STOP ACCELERATING. CAR HAD TO BE THROWN INTO NEUTRAL AND KEY TURNED OFF. ALL FOUR BRAKES WERE BURNT UP. THANKFULLY NO ONE WAS INJURED NOR WAS THERE A CRASH. THE REPAIR SHOP COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUE ON THEIR DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE OTHER THAN THE RPM'S RISING EVEN THOUGH BRAKE WAS BEING APPLIED. SO THEY KNOW IT HAPPENED BUT JUST DON'T KNOW WHY. CALLED HYUNDAI TO DOCUMENT THIS AND THEIR ONLY RESPONSE WAS THERE WAS NO RECALL AND I SHOULD TAKE IT TO A HYUNDAI DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC STUDY. SURE - SPEND MORE MONEY WITH HYUNDAI FOR THEM TO TELL ME NOTHING. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED PRIOR TO THE LOSS OF 30+ LIVES. *TR

WAS ON AN INTERSTATE WITH CRUISE CONTROL SET TO 65 MPH. WAS ATTEMPTING TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE, THUS DEPRESSED THE THROTTLE PEDAL. THE THROTTLE STUCK WIDE OPEN. APPLIED BRAKES BUT KEPT ON INCREASING SPEED. DEPRESSED THROTTLE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES BUT NO CHANGE. TURNED CRUISE CONTROL OFF, NO CHANGE. HAD TO PULL OVER, PUT VEHICLE IN PARK WITH BRAKE PRESSED AND TURNED KEY OFF. WAITED SEVERAL MINUTES THEN BACK ON, THROTTLE PEDAL STARTED TO RESPOND. SECOND INSTANCE, WAS ACCELERATING TO MERGE ONTO INTERSTATE FROM A RAMP, HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD CRUISE CONTROL SET TO 65 MPH, THROTTLE STUCK WIDE OPEN, AGAIN HAD TO PULLED OVER, PUT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK, AND TURN OFF IGNITION . I CHECKED TO ENSURE FLOOR MAT WAS NOT INTERFERING THROTTLE PEDAL, IT WAS NOT. PROBLEM HAS RECURRED 4 TIMES NOW ON THIS VEHICLE ALL WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO EITHER PASS A VEHICLE OR MERGE ONTO AN INTERSTATE. ALL TIMES THE CRUISE CONTROL HAD BEEN ENGAGED. *TR

MY SANTA FE LIMITED AWD 2008 WAS BOUGHT AT THE END OF FEB 2009 AND NOW HAS ~44K MILEAGE. I HAD TWO SIMILAR INCIDENTS WITH MY SANTA FE TODAY (7/6/2014), WHICH LED TO SIGNIFICANT POWER LOSS AND SPEED LOSS OF THE CAR ON THE ROAD. THE FIRST TIME, I WAS DRIVING ON A LOCAL ROAD AT ~45 MPH. SUDDENLY I FELT THE CAR LOST THE POWER AND BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN. I STEPPED DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE CAR COULD NOT ACCELERATE (THE SPEED DROPPED TO ~20 MPH). I SAW 3 SYSTEM INDICATOR/WARNING LIGHTS ON: THE ESC OFF(ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL) AND CHECK ENGINE INDICATORS HAD A STEADY LIGHT AND THE AWD SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT WAS FLASHING. I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SHUT OFF THE CAR, WAITED ~1 MINUTE, AND THEN RESTARTED THE CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON, BUT THE OTHER LIGHTS WENT OUT. THEN I DROVE THE CAR TO CONTINUE MY GROCERY SHOPPING (SEVERAL STOPS, ~30 MILES IN TOTAL). THE 2ND INCIDENT OCCURRED ON MY WAY HOME. THE SAME SCENARIO EXCEPT THAT I WAS DRIVING AT ~40 MPH AND GOING UPHILL AT THE TIME. THE SUDDEN POWER LOSS CAUSED THE CAR SPEED QUICKLY DROPPED TO ~10 MPH AND PROBABLY LED THE CAR BEHIND MINE TO MAKE A SUDDEN STOP TO AVOID A CRASH. AGAIN, I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, AND THEN RESTARTED THE CAR WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYING ON. AFTER GOT HOME SAFELY, I DID SOME SEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND SEVERAL SIMILAR INCIDENTS REPORTED ON HYUNDAI SANTA FE SUVS BEFORE (SEE THE ATTACHED LINKS BELOW). SO I DECIDED TO REPORT THIS SERIOUS ISSUE. THE LINK OF WEBSITES WITH SIMILAR INCIDENTS REPORTED: 1. HTTP://WWW.JUSTANSWER.COM/HYUNDAI/47Z2R-HYUNDAI-SANTA-FE-LIMITED-HI-HYUNDAI-SANTA-FE-AWD-2008.HTML 2. HTTP://FORUMS.EDMUNDS.COM/DISCUSSION/9216/HYUNDAI/SANTA-FE/HYUNDAI-SANTA-FE-ENGINE-PROBLEMS/P2 (ALTOSTEPH POST) 3. HTTP://WWW.HYUNDAIFORUM.COM/FORUM/HYUNDAI-SANTA-FE-20/4WD-SYSTEM-WARNING-LIGHT-BLINKING-LOSS-POWER-12357/ *JS

6/25/14, ON INTERSTATE WITH CRUISE CONTROL AT 65MPH. DEPRESSED THE THROTTLE PEDAL TO PASS A VEHICLE. THROTTLE STUCK WIDE OPEN. APPLIED BRAKES BUT KEPT ON INCREASING SPEED. DEPRESSED THROTTLE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES BUT NO CHANGE. TURNED CRUISE CONTROL OFF, NO CHANGE. TURNED KEY TO ACC AND THEN BACK TO ON BUT NO CHANGE. TURNED KEY TO ACC AND WAITED SEVERAL SECONDS THEN BACK ON. THROTTLE PEDAL STARTED TO RESPOND. PULLED OVER AND CHECKED IF FLOOR MAT WAS JAMMING THROTTLE PEDAL. NO PROBLEM, NO JAMMING. PROBLEM REPEATED AGAIN. CONTINUED TO DESTINATION AND TRIED CRUISE CONTROL BUT IT WOULD NOT SET. TURNED CRUISE CONTROL OFF. SUV WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT AT DESTINATION. ON RETURN TRIP THROTTLE AND CRUISE CONTROL WORKED FINE. 6/30/14, TOOK SUV TO RAY BRANDT HYUNDAI, THEY FOUND NO CODES SET AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IT SEEMS IF BOTH THE THROTTLE IS WIDE OPEN AND THE BRAKES ARE BEING APPLIED THEN A CODE SHOULD BE SET.THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM! THE SITE BELOW DOCUMENTS 3 ADDITIONAL OCCURRENCES: HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/HYUNDAI/SANTAFE/2008/ACCELERATOR-STUCK-PROBLEMS.PHP. *TR

THE 2008 SANTA FE TRAVELING BETWEEN 55& 60MPH ON DIVIDED HIGHWAY WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF OF ACCELERATOR. I APPLIED BRAKES BUT DIFFICULT TO MAKE VEHICLE STOP. I THINK I SLOWED IT DOWN A LOT BUT DID NOT OR WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STOP. IT WAS LIKE IDLE GOT STUCK ON HIGH! AFTER 20 SECONDS OR SO THE ACCELERATION RETURNED TO NORMAL & I PROCEEDED. IT WAS SCARY ! FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED. I JUST HAD IT IN FOR SERVICE TO REPLACE TO HEADLIGHTS & MISSING SCREW UNDER FRONT SEAT. *TR