2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Long-Term Road Test

A few miles of night-time driving reveal our long-term 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe needs a headlight adjustment.

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quadricycle

I find it hard to believe that the headlights only shone a few feet... Anyway, too low is better than too high in my opinion. Of course, correct aim is better than both.

zimtheinvader

I agree with quadricycle, it would be pretty unusual if they were aimed that low. ---- I find that with the projector beam headlights a lot of people tend to think they are too low because they have the sharp cut-off line at the top. Since it is instantly dark above that line it is much more noticeable than on the other style where the light sort-of fades out at the top. --- This leads to a lot of people re-aiming their headlights up to a level that 'seems' to light a more appropriate area for them. However at that point they are blinding oncoming traffic and a real danger.

reminder

Might be both poor adjustment & aging vision. I had a 09 Subaru that I thought had excellent low & high beams. That sharp cutoff at the edge of the beam was present on that car as well. Didn't bother me any.
Those were the best headlamps I have a used thus far.
Very bright, super long range on high.

agentorange

If the high beams look right on that vehicle, then the chances are Kelly is suffering from cut-off hate.

vicki123

I just bought a dealer demo '13 Santa Fe that I did not test drive in the evening. The 'cut off line' that zimtheinvader and agentorange speak of is very severe and unfortunately, right at my sight line. It's very intrusive. I did ask the service area to look at it and he told me it could not be adjusted. It's uncomfortable driving at night. I did not experience this with my last car. Help, I think they should be adjusted slightly up. Driving is comfortable with the high beams but that's not realistic. Yes, it's cut off hate but really, there should be a blended line, not such a sharp cut off point.
Thanks!

vicki123

I just bought a dealer demo '13 Santa Fe that I did not test drive in the evening. The 'cut off line' that zimtheinvader and agentorange speak of is very severe and unfortunately, right at my sight line. It's very intrusive. I did ask the service area to look at it and he told me it could not be adjusted. It's uncomfortable driving at night. I did not experience this with my last car. Help, I think they should be adjusted slightly up. Driving is comfortable with the high beams but that's not realistic. Yes, it's cut off hate but really, there should be a blended line, not such a sharp cut off point.
Thanks!

tomnn70

I'm curious if you ever got the headlights adjusted, so you could see more than 10 feet in front of the car. I too have this problem. The dealer said that it's in spec. What a cop out. With so many people having the problem, there has to be a fix.

skip1947

I just had them adjust my headlights and I still can't see more than 20 feet in front of the car. My car only has 3500 miles and I am ready to trade it on a Honda.

s197gt

very interesting. at least two posts mentioning crappy headlights and owners confirming this.

can edmunds research this more?

any sante fe forum complaints/solutions?

glenn_l

The HID's auto-adjust to be at optimal viewing. However I recently noted that my HID's were pointed at the ground 40' in front. Took to the dealership, apparently there's a nut that comes off because they aren't factory lock-tite. They replaced it and everything is great again.

kiiwii

stop whining. it's a hyundai. what do u expect??