Anyone experience Sudden Unintended Acceleration in a Santa Fe?
We've experienced two separate instances in the past week where our 2009 Santa Fe has accelerated on it's own. Once in town at around 30mph with my wife driving and again when I was on the highway at 75-80mph. Applying the brakes did nothing, and in both instances, we had to shift the vehicle into NEUTRAL and allow the engine to rev and slam it back into gear before normal operation resumed. Let me assure you that it was NOT a fun experience. Cruise control was NOT ENGAGED, nor was this a "FLOOR MAT PROBLEM". I physically stuck my foot under the gas pedal and raised it up with no difference to the vehicles speed. It just wanted to take off. We immediately called and took the vehicle to the dealership after the most recent incident (on 12 DEC 2009) and they stated they have been unable to find anything wrong. Of course not. It was operating normally when we dropped it off too! I've filed a complaint with the NHTSA as well as with Hyundai USA. I suggested that the problem was related to the electronic throttle somewhere and even suggested they replace the Throttle Position Sensor as it may be defective. (they failed to repair or replace anything!) They want us to take the vehicle, but we do not feel safe driving it, especially since nothing was repaired or replaced! This is a serious issue, and the problem occurred with two different drivers at different times. If they're so confident there's nothing wrong, I'd like to see them put their wife and kids in the car and let them take it out on the highway.
I'd really like to know if other Santa Fe owners have also experienced unexplained sudden acceleration issues? If so, please speak up and log a complaint at NHTSA.GOV!
I'd really like to know if other Santa Fe owners have also experienced unexplained sudden acceleration issues? If so, please speak up and log a complaint at NHTSA.GOV!
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I think your guess of a TPS sensor is a pretty good one. However, if they installed one and it didn't help, that would count as a repair attempt if you ever went to Lemon Law arbitration. And your quick mention of "reporting to the NHTSA" indicates you're the type of person who might go that route, rather than work with the dealership to fix your car.
I can't put blame on the service department, because they're only authorized to do what corporate allows them to do. The service manager at the dealership has been great, but he can only do much. The SUA incidents occurred twice in a week's time about 5-6 days apart... once while my wife was driving and had our daughter in the car, and once while I was driving it on the highway at around 75-80mph. I took it directly to the dealership immediately after it occurred when I was driving and they had our vehicle for 4 days. They were going to charge us for a loaner until we brought up the point that this was a potential safety issue and we weren't bringing the car in on a whim, we had a legitimate concern. Only after engaging a sales manager did they agree to provide a loaner at no charge. Corporate refused to allow the dealer to replace any parts. While I do understand their unwillingness to replace the TPS for fear it'll count against them as a "repair attempt", isn't it also the dealership's responsibility to attempt to repair problems? There's never any guarantee that a performed repair fixes every problem the first time. But it stands to reason that the TPS would be the first logical part to replace, before diving deeper.
I work in IT, and when we cannot determine the exact cause of a customers system crash, we often start with replacing components such as memory and CPU to see if the problem goes away before we start replacing system boards, etc... It only makes sense that they would first try to replace the TPS and see if that resolves the problem. If the vehicle still exhibited the SUA problem, I'd simply take it back and tell them to try again. But their unwillingness to replace ANYTHING and tell a customer "we didn't find anything wrong -- here ya go, good luck - hope you don't have an accident" and hand it back over seems very irresponsible when lives are potentially at stake.
2007-10-30 00:00:00 Brigantine, NJ
Sudden engine acceleration when parking. this is the second time this happened. my wife was parking the car and when she put her foot on the brake (note, she is a very experienced driver and was not accidentally pushing the accelerator, also nothing on the floor was touching it.) the engine started to accelerate to full throttle, she jammed on the brake and throw it into park at which point the engine raced full speed until she turned off the key. it was ok after restarting, this is the 2nd time within a month. very dangerous condition .
Posted by: Charlie K. | Nov 27, 2009 1:05:29 PM
I wonder how wide spread the sudden acceleration issue is to vehicle makes beyond the current recall. We own a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe. My wife has frighteningly experienced this problem with our car, and the dealer mentioned receiving a Hyundai service report on the issue, although mostly concerning sudden deceleration.
The dealership is handcuffed until either your computer detects a fault or they reproduce the occurance. Hyundai won't pay them unless a problem is found/fixed. They won't pay a tech to drive it for days. You can try "opening a case" with Hyundai, but it just refers back to the dealership.
Both Hyundai and the dealership want nothing more than to fix your car (and get you out of their hair!). But if they don't know what is wrong.... obviously, they can't.
If it were me, I would pay for a new TPS to be installed (cheap part). See if the Service Manager will do it at cost. As long as it's by YOUR request, they'll do it.
Worth a shot!
By the way, you said this in your earlier post:
"If it was not under warranty the dealer would have gladly accepted my money and replaced the Throttle Position Sensor or anything else they could think of as long as it wasn`t costing them anything and they could make money on me."
You seem to be under the mistaken impression that the dealership pays for warranty repairs to your car.
Truth is, the manufacturer pays the dealership for warranty repairs, so, it's absolutley in the dealers best interest to repair your car. Conversely, Hyundai pays the dealer NOTHING to disconnect your battery etc. if there is "no problem found."
Truth is the manufacturer's book time is so off it's impossible to meet unless the tech was performing the procedure twenty times a day. Warranty work isn't a money maker and profit is the name of the game.
Posted by: Steve | Dec 31, 2009 9:08:02 PM
Bryancos, we have a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe and we have had the same exact 2 instances that you mentioned with sudden unintended acceleration, one on city streets at below 55 mph, the second one just yesterday at 75-80 mph on I-35. My wife is now afraid to drive or ride in the car. We also took it to our dealer the first time it happened, they found nothing. We will be filing the complaints as you suggested. Thank you.
NHTSA.GOV: ODI ID Number : 10286003
Make: HYUNDAI
Model: SANTA FE
Year: 2008
Complaint Number: 10286003
Summary:
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS AND APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO COAST WITH CAUTION INTO A PARKING LOT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE THROTTLE SENSOR ASSEMBLY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT HAD CONCERNS OF THE SAFETY RISK INVOLVED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 8,452.
While I agree that the dealer is likely to want to fix it, corporate is going to be very reluctant to acknowledge the problem, as it represents a huge liability potential whether they issue a recall or just fix those cars that are presented with the problem.
As it is an intermittent problem (just as it is with Toyota), it is next to impossible to document. Your only real hope is that it will miraculously happen at the time the Hyundai tech test drives it.
I had unhooked my battery on many occasions for other reasons, and that did NOT manage to cure the problem. Worth a try, I suppose, but it didn't work for me.
I would like to encourage all Hyundai owners with this problem to document it with the dealer and with the government. Intermittent, non-replicable issues like this will only get attention if there is sufficient volume of complaints.
Direct link to the online complaint form:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
OR BY CALLING THEM BY PHONE:
Call the Hotline, Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm at
(888) 327-4236 , TTY: (800) 424-9153.
If a problem isn't documented with them, it doesn't really help the rest of us to force the manufacturer to take responsiblity... so speak up and ensure you get the problem in their database!
2007-06-01 00:00:00 Neenah, WI
Fast acceleration from a stop sign. not all the time but every so often. it snaps your head and neck back. have had it in to dealership and they told me i didn't know how to drive a censor accelerator vehicle. all new hyundai's are supposed to have this but no one else seems to have a problem.
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2009-07-06 11:31:58 UK/South Africa
The exact same thing happened to us in April 2009, with our low mileage Santa Fe 2.7 automatic, with serious consequences - the vehicle slammed through a closed garage door doing major damage to vehicle and property and causing some injuries, but had someone been in front opening the garage door they would have been killed. An independent engineer has identified a design and/or manufacturing fault with the accelerator and automatic choke cables, but Hyundai don't want to know and claim this is not something that has happened before - what a bunch of liars!! We are gathering evidence to take legal action and want all Hyundai drivers to demand checks on their vehicles. Look at Youtube for video evidence.
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2007-03-17 00:00:00 Allen, TX
I am the owner of a 2005 santa fe w/a 3.5l engine. i've recently taken my vehicle in to have some warranty items taken care of. i asked that my car also be fixed in regards to an acceleration concern. for example: 1. while departing from a stopped position, the car will violently jerk your head back. this occurs while barely touching the accelerator. 2. when the car is in motion i can feel it surging forward and back. i have had several people drive the car to make sure it wasn't me, and they all experienced the same results. when the service manager at a hyundai dealership drove the car, he at first said he didn't feel anything. then, after further complaint by me, he admitted that, "well, there was a little bit of surge, but that's just because it's the type of engine". i asked what could be done about it and he told me, "nothing, that's just the way it is. they've had several complaints and now they don't use that engine anymore." i said it felt like it was getting worse over time and he said, "it probably is, but there is still nothing they can do about it". hyundai was apparently aware that there is a concern of safety with this engine since they no longer use the engine and are manufacturing their santa fe's with an improved, safer engine. i am at the point where i no longer feel as if i am driving a safe vehicle and i am getting tired of people asking me why my car jerks forward. (the car snaps your head back and i do not want to be held accountable if someone gets hurt.) there are numerous complaints to the nhtsa and i do not want to be killed or kill someone on the road because my car concerns were not addressed by the appropriate administration of hyundai. if the nhtsa has yet to formally force hyundai into fixing this issue, i am requesting that now is the time to do so. hyundai's lack of interest in the safety of their customers and the general public is unacceptable.
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2006-09-13 00:00:00 Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Dt: the contact stated while stopped at a red light, the vehicle lurched forward without warning. the vehicle stopped after applying brake pressure, placing the vehicle in park, and turning off the ignition. the vehicle was towed to a dealer who was unable to duplicate the problem, but suggested that the contact should not use floor gear shift of the automatic transmission as though it were a manual transmission while driving. the manufacturer was alerted.
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2005-12-27 00:00:00 Winston Salem, NC
Dt: while the contact was pulling into a parking place the vehicle surged, causing the engine to rev above 6500 rpms. the vehicle accelerated and took off on its own. he reported having no problems with the vehicle prior to the above incident. he has not taken the vehicle to a dealer.
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2005-11-25 00:00:00 Narragansett, RI
When put into reverse 2005 santa fe engine roared. the consumer had no control over the vehicle. with the vehicle still in reverse, the consumer crashed into a neighbors deck causing a considerable amount of damage to the vehicle and the deck. the consumer had a left foot accelerator installed on the vehicle and wondered if that was the cause of the sudden acceleration.
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http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2009/12/sudden-unintended-acceleration-sua- -analysis-2008-toyota-lexus-ford-gm.html
About six months later I took it to another dealer and I explained it to them. They said it is most likely the computer and they would re-program it. They did that and it appeared to work but about six months later it occured again. I didn't anything more about it because it happened so little I learned to live with it. When it did happen I would put it in neutual and put on the hand break. It last for about15 seconds then stopped.
I called the dealer and they said to bring it in but explained in great length that Hyundai's have a different throttle control system than Toyota's and BMWs. I don't really care that my system is configured differently. The fact that my problem occured during their crisis is circumstantial. My problem DID occur though. And someone could've been hurt.
I'm having my husband drive it to the dealer. We'll see what they can find.
Well, it took about 5 days for them to fix my issue. They had to call Hyundai engineering to figure out the issue and my Throttle Positioning Sensor had to be replaced. I keep waiting for this issue to reappear. It's very frustrating. My car only had about 30,000 miles on it. Plus the service department I took it to sucked. They had horrible customer service.
http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t44931-sudden-unintended-acceleration-in-santa-fe.- htm
In thinking about the type of acceleration problem with your Santa Fe would you describe your problem as
a) more like the hesitation-to-surge
or
b) true unintended acceleration where you cannot get the accelerator to back off?
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
We would like to hear from others, as well, who might provide answers to the questions we posed in my earlier posting.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
I asked one dealership he replied "we have not had any complaints about surges" and he ignored me. I asked a 2nd dealership service manager and he suggested possibly the way I put my foot on the gas pedal, as if there are different methods of pressing the gas pedal. Give me a break, I've been driving for 25 years , I think something is going on here but very hard to prove it if it cannot be duplicated by the mechanics.
Is it true that Hyundai uses the same parts for gas pedals as Toyota?
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
PLEASE ensure that you log a complaint with NHTSA. I have posted the website and phone information in a previous message. Go back up a few messages to find it and don't delay in filing a formal complaint!
I have not been able to duplicate this problem.
The vehicle does surge under normal acceleration, which the dealer says is normal.
I still do not feel safe.