Hyundai Santa Fe Maintenance and Repair (2007+)

thunderbird

I am very concerned about the 18 inch tires than come on the se santa fe. I am told by two tire dealers that 18 inchers are more for performance than for long life. I was told by firestone that no 18 inch will get more than 40K max. if that much. Seeing that I am going in the morning to possibly buy one? I have read in this forum that owners are reporting tires wearing out in as little as 20K. This tire size is very expensive. I can get a GLS with 16 inches but only santa fe owners can tell me if cost trade off is worth it. Is it?

davesuv

I have 2500 miles on my Santa Fe Limited with 18 inch wheels and the tires still look like new

But seriously, I'm not concerned about the 18 inch wheels. I have not yet heard from a 2007 Santa Fe owner with enough miles to assess tire wear. The big problem with 18 inch wheels is that most of them use tires with tiny sidewall heights, stiffer sidewalls, and softer tread material to increase traction. The Santa Fe uses a 235/60 R18 sized tire with a fairly high sidewall (60% of the 235mm width). Manufacturers should be able to build tires with decent wear capabilities in this size.

My only real concern right now is that this is not currently a popular tire size so the selection of available tires is limited. A quick check at TireRack shows about 6 tires that will fit. I have no idea how my factory Bridgestone Dueler H/T D684 II tires will wear. Since many Crossovers are going to 18 inch wheels, I'm sure the tire selection will improve in the next few years.

I absolutely love my Santa Fe Limited AWD, which is one of the safest vehicles you can buy that's not a minivan or monster SUV.

tinydog1

I have 5100 miles on my 07 Santa Fe and my tires still look new. I personally don't keep tires for more than 40k miles on any vehicle so if they last at least that long, I'm fine with that. I looked them up on tire rack and they are listed at $120, not bad compared to the 17in Michelins on my 06 Azera that retail for over $220.

kp58

Not sure about wear time on the 18's but they sure give the vehicle a cool look and really sharpen up its exterior appearance in a good way.

07xle

Have you ever heard of looking at the Treadwear rating on the side of the tire??????????

That is a better comparison than others and your opinions.

Screw Firestone!

thunderbird

I appreciate all who wrote back. Even though I wasn't planning on buying today, I wanted to think it over tonight ...but... my wife fell in love with the tucson. She said it drove and rides like a dream. I said, you know, a nightmare is also a dream. Her answer to that was that I am more the nightmare than the car. So that is that. Regarding the treadware rating on the tires; I checked. The santa fe tires are rated with a 330 tread, rating for temperature and traction of "B". The tucson has a number 500 treadware and a A rating for traction and B temp. The traction is very important and I can see the difference in the tread pattern between B and A.

pelican19

Went to the dealer yesterday for my first oil change. I told them about the driver seat issue and they said they would look at it after they changed the oil. Turns out the switch is bad. They will order it and install when it comes in. Also asked them to enable the door locks when driving. That went well. They lock at around 15-20 mph. Cool.

mr_magoo

2007 Santa Fe SE.....When in gear (drive or reverse), engine idling, foot not on throttle or brake, I sometimes experience slight engine surge. It's acts like I am slightly stepping on the accelerator, but I am not. It does it very briefly (less than a second). It happens when I am moving slowly through a parking lot or backing out of the garage. Is this happening to anybody else?

pelican19

Update:

Dealer called today to tell me the switch is in. Will have it installed in the morning. 48 hour turn around, not bad...

pelican19

I called a good friend of mine who is the service manager at my local hyundai dealer. They currently have only one customer with this issue. He calls it hunting ( Throttle surge ). They are currently looking into the problem. He thinks they have isolated the issue to a throttle sensor or vacuum problem. Will update as more info becomes avail.

Anthony

tjk850

I am curious about being able to have the door locks engage while driving, and would like more information.

pelican19

For some strange reason Hyundai disables this feature by default. You just have to ask your service dept. and they will enable it. I had mine set to 20mph. Upon reaching 20mph the doors will lock if they are open. There are several additional settings for higher speeds(25/30/35/40)although I can not imagine why you would want your doors to lock any higher than 20mph.

zaro

Hi, can anyone advise if poss to remove glass from wing mirror (side mirror). I want to fit modified wing mirror housing but can't seem to get glass (mirror) out? - Thanks!!

pelican19

UPDATE #2

Got to the dealer at 8:30am. Since I was there to replace a part they took me right away. 5 hours later, no thats not a type-o, they found the problem. Turns out yet again the techs were duped by the shop manuals. On my Santa there is a second switch hidden under the seat that went bad NOT the external side mounted one we have access to. They did not have it in stock so I said find one cause I aint leaving. The tech took it from a floor model. Cool. It doesnt end there. They try to replace the side cover to the seat and it cracked. Now I am waiting for THAT to come in. Bummer.

mrmagoo1

2007 Limited, 3100 miles.
There seems to be a hesittation/transmission slippage between first and second gear on easy acceleration.
The headlights don't seem to "throw" down the road as much as my other cars.
Has anyone changed the oil themselves yet...the new drop-in filter is different and I wonder does it pose any problems?
Thanks for your time.

bcme136

The headlights are flat on the top instead of fully round. I live in a "hilly" city and going up a hill there isn't any "throw" at all. Same way on the Elantra I had.

pelican19

I checked the Hyundai Webtech site for any TSB's that may be related to your problem and did not find any. Have you tried manual shifting from first to second with the sport shift? If so what were the results? If not try it. In any case this could be a potentially serious condition or it may just simply be a matter of re-setting the adaptive learning of the trans. Have your dealer look at it asap. As for the lights, they just may need adjusting. I dont know what other cars you have but if your looking for HID type throw forget about it. Oil changes require a specific filter and plug gasket seal thingy. For the amount of money I would be saving its not worth my time. Also, many issues brought to the dealers service department come from TSB's. These allow the Service department to inspect your vehicle for possible problems, in many cases before they happen and correct them. If you still want to change your own oil make sure you keep outstanding documentation on the time date and so on. If you have issues with the powertrain down the road they will want to see them before servicing your truck.

Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

pelican19

I am going to guess by throw you mean distance. I just went out to the truck and I am getting at least a 60/70 foot throw. Good spread too. I do however see what you mean about being flat. Never noticed that before. I still think he should have the dealer take a look and see if they just need to come up a bit on the angle.

davesuv

RE: Hesitation
Does it do it all the time or just when it's cold after you've had it parked a while?

My Limited (2600 miles) will often give a brief shift hesitation when starting out after it's been parked all night and is cold. It only does it once at the first shift point and then drives fine after that. I notice it more now that the weather is cold. I've never given it too much thought and have ascribed it to the transmission fluid not yet warm enough for proper operation. Just adds to the "personality" of this fine vehicle My prior Toyota Avalon did something similar when it was cold. With todays automotive computers, it may also be related to some self-diagnostic routine, similar to what the braking system does as you start to drive.

sprintrps

I'm driving my '07 Santa Fe, enjoying some M&Ms Peanut when I drop one down the side. I don't think much of it until I start hearing it rolling around when I turn. It turns out that there is a space between the rear heater vent under the seat and the floor. Well the M&M has fallen into this space and I do not see any way of getting it out. I was thinking of getting some spray foam insulation and filling up the area under the vent. Anyone know what is in this space? seems like a hollow space to me.

pelican19

Dude, its a car not your basement. I would not fill it in. Have the dealer look at it when you bring it in for its first oil change. Just MO.

pelican19

I have the 3.3 AWD Limited. I dont think this matters but what model do you have? I went out and looked at mine and do not see a space. I also went looking in the shop manuals specifically under the trim cat and found no such gap. The manual does not seem to be that detailed. Only shows the interior trim installation. Nothing eludes to a gap or function that would require one. Again, I would not fill it. Have the dealer take a look.

sprintrps

OK. I got the M&M out. It had gone into the heater vent and traveled up the vent each time the car would brake, and back down under acceleration. I stopped at my buddy's bike shop (Hollywoodz Customs, Jonesboro, AR) and we unbolted the seat, disconnested the sensors and removed the seat from the car. Then we removed the plastic rear vent and found the M&M about 12" up the vent.

If you look under the front seats you will see that Hyundai has made a poor design. The bottom of the vent has no lip and is flush with the carpet. Anything that may fall on the rear floor can move forward when braking. As the vent is flush with the carpet, an item can easily go into the air vent.

Here is the solution: we cut a piece of screen approx. 7"L x 2" W and placed it up against the vent opening, then just slid part of the screen under the carpet to keep it in place. This way nothing can go into the plastic air vent under the seat and air flow is not impeded.

picard12

How quiet is the interior cabin of santa fe 2007? I want to compare it to RAV4 V6 2007. Do you guys notice any difference between 2 SUV?

pelican19

Drove both on same stretch of road. Thought Santa was quieter...

mr_magoo

Our 2 month old Limited seems to have the potential to be quiet but, the Homelink Mirror rattles bigtime badly when driving over Donner Summit. I told the dealer about it and they said they would drive it around the block. I told them it wouldn't rattle around the block and they would need to drive it over the pass to replicate the noise. They told me if it didn't rattle on the road behind the shop it wasn't going to rattle. I really don't have the inclination to explain natural frequencies to them. I am a mechanical engineer and tend to prefer to solve problems myself. Unfortunately, the mirror doesn't come apart. I have CA'd the glass to the frame and stuffed double sided tape around the electrical connection on the back of the mirror. Next trip over the pass and I'll see if I fixed it. Also, there is a screw in the tailgate that rattles around when cornering. I'll fix that when the weather warms up. I read all the problems with the Rav4 when I decided to get the Santa Fe. At this time, I am on the bubble if I made the right decision. It seems like the Santa Fe has the potential to be quiet (if you get a good one). I didn't.

motorman409

I see this on my vehicle too, and have seen it on my previous vehicle, an '03 Avalanche. I was advised that the shifting sequence on the electronic transmission is set-up so that when cold the vehicle revs higher in a given gear, the engine works harder, warms quicker and engine pollutants are reduced quicker.

Don't know if its true, but it seems to make sense.

pedro6

I now drive a 2007 top of line Santa Fe, however few things that I find with this car that are unusual. Since the car has a sun roof, when you open the doors, the only interior light that turns on, is way in the back of the car, for some reason the map lights do not turn on when you open the doors, at night you can not see the front cabin. The other thing is that my son complains that while he is watching a movie, the screen turns black any ideas why?. Also the A/C, (3 times back to the dealer to be fix with only 2000 miles), while driving the a/c stops cooling and only blows regular air, I have to turn the car off and back in order to work again for a while. The last thing is a noise that the car makes after I drive away one block, I feel and hear a noise around the accelerator, like something arming??? Any tips? I had another noise from there too, however it was a nut that need it adjustemt, it was resolved.

pedro6

I now drive a 2007 top of line Santa Fe, however few thing that I find with this car that are unusual. Since the car has a sun roof, when you open the doors, the only interior light that turns on inside, is way in the back of the car, for some reason the map lights do not turn on when you open the doors, at night you can not see the front cabin. The other thing is that my son complains that while he is watching a movie, the screen turns black any ideas?. Also the A/C, (3 times back to the dealer to be fix with only 2000 miles), while driving the ac stops cooling and only blows regular air, only once I turn the car off and on it would work again for a while. The last thing is a noise that the car makes after I drive away one block, I feel and hear a noise around the accelerator, like something arming??? Any tips?

rbautista

The noise that you hear around the accelerator is the ABS engaging. You will most likely hear when you get close to 20mph. This has been confirmed by the dealer and others on this forum that this is normal.

pedro6

Thanks, one down, several to go.

rbrando

I have a new Sante Fe and am getting little or no heated air coming out at the floor. It will blast out of the center vents but nothing out of the floor. The dealer says the heat only comes out if the air intake control is set to recirculate, not fresh air. However, I'm not getting much that way either, although I do get air out of the side vents. Is everyone else getting lots of air at the floor. I think the dealer's service guys are a little weak. They didn't know about the auto door locks or temp readings functions either.

snappysurfer

Changing the filter is a piece of cake. You need to remove the plastic engine cover to access it (six 10mm screws) Just unscrew the round filter housing, lift out the element and replace. No mess compaired to filters located underneath the vehicle.

bcme136

My 07 limited is the same, very little air going to the floor. Sounds as if the air is blowing behind the dash instead of blowing at the floor? Hose off??Too cold to check it out now.

srdriver

My Santa Fe Limited does the same thing too with the floor setting but works well and maintains proper temperatures.

susanthiel

Yes, my 2003 Santa Fe 3.5L does a slight surge only when stopped and in drive. It doesn't happen every day, and I don't remember when it started.

gizzer777

Hi
I picked up my 2007 Sante Fe GS yesterday and so far find it quite a nice vehicle. I sold a 2005 Element which was also quite nice but a different class of vehicle. Like most, I have always been afraid of the Hyundais, but it seems as though they have pulled themselves together to make some nice rides...I sure hope the reliability is there

A small problem with the trip computer has surfaced already.
When I test drove it, the computer would read out the outside temp...I purchased that vehicle and when I got it home the Temp readout was not present. Took it in today and it worked for the tech but then stopped again shortly thereafter (it will not even bring up the option for temp). He asked someone and was told there was an update due out shortly...anyone heard of this? I asked how I would be notified and he did not know.......Anyone else having this little issue?
Thanks
Jeff

sprintrps

There is a Technical Service Bulletin on this issue. It is TSB 07-90-001 The dealer has to relocate a wire in the fuse box. Takes about 15-20 minutes.

gizzer777

Thank you for the info(they say the fix only applies to a certain range of manufacturing dates)...very non committal but eager to help)...

I just had to return to the dealer...been raining on and off since I picked it up yesterday. I just noticed that the driver's side rear tail light had water leaking into it (not from a crack or impact)....Not a really good start ...2 small problems in 2 days. I Hope I do not have to keep going back to the dealer. I just turned 100 miles and 50 of those miles are trips to the dealer!

I can still remember my own words...the warranty is great....unless you have to use it a lot...Hopefully this pup will settle down!

gizzer777

Follow up

Thanks again for the TSB on the trip computer ...that was the fix. Funny it did not work all weekend and then at the dealer...it worked! They finally got it to fail and did the TSB....seems ok now.

They were also nice enough to replace the rear tail lamp that leaked water into it with one from the lot(instead of waiting for the part to arrive)...saved me a bunch of grief since we are due for more rain!

sprintrps

You will see by my posts of 1.18.07 of the problem I had with a candy rolling into the heater duct.

Yesterday I went on the Hyundai Plant Tour in Montgomery. AL. I checked in with the receptionist at the visitor center and asked to see an engineer about a design flaw. ANY OTHER car company would have blown me off, not Hyundai. Immediatly a public relations rep came to the center, and told me the engineers were in a meeting. I explained the issue and showed him (they had one of each Hyundai model on display)how any foreign item could drop down the heater vent under the seat and there was no way to retrieve an item as the vent goes down and a cross member blocks any return.

Then I went on the tour, which is just amazing. When the tour returned to the visitor center, a senior engineer was waiting to speak to me. He had reviewed the issue and agreed that it was a design flaw. He showed me how he had already sent details of the problem and any easy solution, to the engineers in Korea. He was genuinly appreciative of my bringing to issue to Hyundai's attention. THIS IS ONE GREAT CAR COMPANY !!!! Imagine going to GM in Detroit and asking to see an engineer!!!

ppborceb

Help!
Does anybody out there know how to remove the cross-rails off of a 2007 Santa Fe Limited?
Explores and Trailblazer simply slid off, but these little puppies won't come off that easily.
Thanks in advance for your advise.

pelican19

Visit the Hyundai Webtech site. Create a login if you do not already have one. Click on Service Information and navigate to the 07 Santa Fe Shop Manuals. Under Body ( Interior and Exterior ) / Exterior / Body Side Moldings ( Dont ask me why its here and why they consider these side moldings - Go figure ) you will find a procedure for replacement of the rails with an exploded view. I think it provides more info than you need but it should help. I have not looked at mine ( too cold out ) yet. I would hope there is an easier way than this. When you see the diagram you will understand what I mean.

http://www.hmaservice.com

ppborceb

Pelican19:
Thanks for your input on this, and please let me know what you find out regarding removing your roof rails.
Reason being, I got to the site, drilled down but couldn't get anything to come up, neither words or diagram.
When I asked my dealership to remove them, they said it was a lot of work and almost a "de-installation" to do it and a lot of labor. Go figure!

pelican19

The site can be a pain. You must use IE 6+ and you must have security next to crippled to get the java to load. Im in the IT industry and keep my pc locked down. It was an effort to get the site to load properly. I have sent you instructions under seperate cover.

ppborceb

Pelican19:
Thanks again for your help and the instructions and diagrams. After getting them off, I don't understand the big deal mentioned by the service guy... you just have to press the 'stop-lever' under the end cap.

pelican19

Thats great.

The dealers have a hard time just saying I dont know. Its ok if you dont know. So many of them just dont take a little time and read the book. Its sad.

pelican19

The horror! My biggest concern was scuffing the front end of the 07. My old Santa ( 03 ) had a bumper of sorts. The new Santa doesn't so I ordered a chrome bumper guard. It should arrive Monday or Tuesday. TOO LATE! I swung the front into another parked car and put a 14 inch scuff across the right front quarter. The horror! A few friends gave me some ideas on how to remove it short of sending to a body shop. I will update this post if one of them actually works...THE HORROR!

guyf

If you hit a pedestrian with that chrome bumbper guard it will much more horrible; dont't install it!

gizzer777

I have been checking parts for my recently purchased 07 SF. It seems as though they used a NON STANDARD battery in it as well. None of the majors carry one unless there is a cross reference.

I hope when it is time, there are some as I can just imagine what Hyundai would charge