Hyundai Santa Fe (2006 and earlier)

3904

My wife and I finally settled on purchasing a Santa Fe LX AWD. Drove about 130 miles to pick it up last night and so far, it seems to have been worth the trip. Now mind you, we only have about 400 miles on it thus far but it seems like a well-built, solid car. We were fortunate, living in Pennsylvania, to locate a Crystal Blue exterior. All most Hyundai dealers have, in our area are black or white.

As I had mentioned earlier, we were considering a Saturn VUE until I caught up with some of the crap the Saturn dealership was pulling on us. They may act friendly, appear sincere, and claim to "do business in a different (up front) way BUT in my experience to date, they are no different in their antics than any other dealership -- actually this dealership was worse than many others we've dealt with over the years.

Keep in mind that this "maybe" an isolated occurrance so a blanket condemnation of all Saturn dealerships is possibly unwarranted, however, it made enough of an impression on us that we'll never do business with Saturn again EVER!!!

thecpa

A couple of evenings ago I read a May? owners survey that rated the S/F very high. It was a posting here est. June01 with a hot link to "Pacific Auto???" who published the survey. I didn't make a note and now I can't find it, Any help would be appreciated.

hyundaima

http://www.autopacific.com/scores/index.html

markshew1

Thanks for the suggestion. The one thing that I did not mention in my first posting that proves conclusively (to me) that Rain-Ex was the problem was that I also applied it to my other car and that too developed that same problem at the same time.

If the problem persists, I will do as you say and replace the wiper blades. The only thing that is stopping me doing that at the moment is tha,t according to the customer service, the problem is due to a build up of the material on the blade. If this is the case, new blades would soon have the same problem. I have found that if I clean the blades with IPA (alcohol) they will work fine for a short time until (presumably) the material builds up on them again.

Thanks once again for the input.

thecpa

I found it again. I see I had the Auto Pacific reversed. I'm a new S/F LX owner and still am very surprised to find such quality in fit and finish in a low price brand. Thanks for the link.

mnduggan

Our local Hyundai dealer here in Central IL recently had black and merlot '01 LX AWD's w/about 12,000 miles for $22995. Sold 'em in a few days. Then they got two merlot GLS's w/about the same miles priced at $20995 and sold 'em again in a few days. Seems to bode well for resale value. I'm in my 14th month w/an '01 LX AWD... 14,500 miles and no problems whatsoever. I'll trade for a new one in '03 if they offer a factory sunroof... I know it's early, but has anyone heard if a sunroof is in the cards?

lscat

I have changed my oil 3 times so far.Each time I change it I have a problem with oil leak from drain plug. I am using a new compressed washer and can't seem to get it just right to prevent oil from leaking the first time.I usually have to change the washer 2 times before the leaking stops.The dealer told me to hand tight then 1/2 turn is all that is needed, but this doesn't work. Is there a torque spec. for tightness? Does anyone else have the same problem?

hyundaima

Santa Fe engine oil drain plug tightening torque is 25-33 lb.ft. That's a lot more force needed for hand-tight-and-half-turn. Do you mind telling us the name of the dealer? Also be careful not to place the new washer upside down. The raised side faces the oil pan.

http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/iindex.asp?id=394877463#_394877463

lscat

Thanks for the information. It seems like when the plug is too tight(tightned by hand) the washer gets too compressed and oil leaks out.25-33lb.ft.is like alot of tourqe pressure.Could I have be given the wrong washers? Also could the drain plug be stripped? It doesn't seem to be because it is tight.What material is the pan made out of?

hyundaima

The lower part, the one with the plug hole, is made of steel. Did you get the washer from a dealer? What's the part number on the receipt?

lscat

Thanks for the fast response. Yes I got the washer from a dealer, and no I don't have the receipt any more. I was told by the service manager that the 4 cyl., 5 speed, FWD has a aluminum pan. Is this so, if it is, does the torque spec. still hold true.The dealer I am dealing with is in the Phila.Pa area.

hyundaima

sorry I assumed you have a V6. don't know what the 4-cyl. engine oil pan is made of. I'll ask around. The torque spec. applies to all SF engines.

ranco

I've had my gold 2001 Santa Fe LX for a year and two months. It now has almost 18,000 miles. I've driven it locally, as well as on several long highway trips. My best mileage was 28mpg when driving the speed limit. Average hwy mpg is around 23.
The vehicle is a tight today, as the day I drove it off the lot brand new. I've had ZERO mechanical problems, no "quirks", no "issues", nothing. I think the Santa Fe is a true "sleeper" in terms of value...it's too bad all the so-called professional reviewers "know" which "brand" is which--rather than a truly HONEST, "double-blind" type report, because then I suspect the Santa Fe would rank FAR higher in the estimation of both professional, AND "private" eyes.

thecpa

I agree Ranco.
The two polls are Auto Pacific which shows S/F as #1 compact sport ute and #37 on all brands and models.
www.autopacific.com
The second poll is in the S/F review in the msn carpoint site. The S/F has a 9 rating out of 10. Compare with Mercedes ML and Lexus RX300 in the same poll! The Jeep liberty is a 7. HAPPY TRUCKING!

lrchome

I agree with the other respondents, I have had my Santa Fe LX for 15 months now, and have 12,000 miles. The vehicle has been perfect, and rides, handles, and is as quiet as the day I bought it.

lakeperson

Am considering 2002 santa fe. Does it offer a traction control option? If so, might that be the answer to avoiding the extra weight problem on the engine in the awd model? Please advise

hyundaima

Yes, it's an available option, but it doesn't shift torque to the wheels with better traction like the AWD system. It controls traction by applying brake to the spinning wheels and/or requesting torque reduction.

hyundaima

was curious why they are not offering TCS on CR-V, so I asked a Honda mechanic about the CR-V ABS system. As I suspected, it's a 3-channel system. No wonder they are not mentioning it in the specs table. Solved another mystery of other makes...

mastrv

Hi Hyundaima. For my knowledge, why would a 3-channel system mean they can't offer TCS? Does this mean that each wheel can't be controlled independently? What would you need or how would you classify the Santa Fe's ABS - 4 channel?

Thanks in advance.

hyundaima

In CR-V, one channel is used for both rear brakes. You need an ABS that can modulate each brake independently to implement TCS if the powertrain can deliver torque to all 4 wheels. Santa Fe's ABS is 4-sensor/4-channel system.

Samsdad

Hello, my wife and I are in the process of looking for a new car. We have just recently looked at the CRV, and my wife was impressed by it. We also have been very impressed with the Santa Fe by Hyundai, and were wondering if anyone here compared the two before buying, and would appreciate any input about their comparison, paticularly drivability, and safety. We already know about the Honda dependability Vs. Hyundais past record, although Hyundai seems to have improved upon this. Anyway thanks in advance.

stever

If memory serves, don't you have a Quest? If so, are you getting rid of it for a SUV?

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

diploid

Good luck trying to find a 2wd Santa Fe with traction control. I know when I looked for one, salesman said they were a rare species.

Samsdad

Steve nope don't have a Quest. Have an F150 for me, and my wife has a 95 accord. Thats what makes this so hard, the accord still looks and runs like a new car, but we need a little more room and a little more weight to combat the other SUV's out there:)

stever

Well, I remember your member id (favorably) for some reason - maybe it'll come to me :-).

Good luck in your hunt.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

sooz111

I WANT TO BUY THE SANTE FE GLS IN SILVER AND I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE BEST DEALER IS IN NEW JERSEY..SANSOME IS MAKING YOU PAY ADJUSTED MARKET VALUE WHICH IS OUT OF CONTROL AND I WOULD LIKE SUGGESTIONS WHERE TO GO TO GET A GOOD DEAL??.THANKS,SUE

phonos

"Engine failures hit Hyundai SUVs"

"Company says 290 Santa Fe models have experienced problems with cylinder liners, but it has no plans for a recall."

January 8, 2002

By CHRIS KNAP and ELIZABETH AGUILERA
The Orange County Register

LINK:

http://www.ocregister.com/news/hyundai00108cci1.shtml

diploid

I'm a bit shocked at what you said about Sansone...they have a pretty good reputation.

If you want to venture onto Rt. 22 west, there's Maxim's Hyundai (Union) and Global Hyundai (North Plainfield). Global has several Santa Fe's on its lot, but my experience with them has been bad. Maxim's parking lot is way too small, and unfortunately they're located right across from Planet Honda...where the new CR-V's are on display. You could probably use that to your advantage...

shivelyt

Has anyone put a pad under the hood of their Santa Fe? Mine has 12,000 miles on it now and the engine seems to be getting noisier. Does Hyundai sell this as an aftermarket item or do we have to order it from an outside house?

suthern

The article on engine seizures for Santa Fe's said it effected those made between July and November of 2000. does anyone know how I can find out when my car was manufactured? I bought it in June of 2001. So far I have 9,000 miles and not one problem with anything. Your help is appreciated. Email me if possible at guynlanow@aol.com, Thanks.

hyundaima

The article doesn't say that. It reports that the earliest failure was a car built in July 2000 and the latest month was Nov. 2000.

The manufacture date is on the little metal plate affixed to the bottom section of the B-pillar.

SAULADLER

To: hyundaima. Really appreciate all of your posts. They are very informative and helpful. Regarding this new problem on engine failures, the article says that the failures are due to "cylinder liners cracked or slipped inside the block". (Hyundai has since used "thicker liners").
My question is if there is anything the owner of the V6 can do now before there is a problem?

Can they be checked by a mechanic monthly for weakening?

Thanks for everyone's continued help and advice. This newsgroup is outstanding.

p.s. I still love my Santa Fe and have 13,500 perfect carefree miles on it.

suthern

Hyndaima: Actually, it does say "Hyundai data documenting the failures show that the engines involved were installed in cars manufactured in Korea between July and November of 2000." Also, the article states that since those manufacturing dates, thicker liners are being utilized. Thanks for your comments Hyndaima. And by the way, what is a B pillar and where is the bottom of it? Thanks much.

hyundaima

I don't think a defective liner exhibits some kind of sign before it fails. If it does, they probably would have recalled some early products to inspect the liner with a borescope. The interesting thing is that noboby has filed a complaint with the NHTSA. At least that was the case as of November 2001. I was told it takes about 2 to 3 weeks for a complaint to show up in the database search on the NHTSA site after you lodge one with the agency.

hyundaima

The keyword here is "involved." Are they simply refering to the ones already failed? There's a remote possibility that the two reporters used it as a loaded word. B-pillar is the middle column of a car's side panel. You need to open the driver's side door and look down at the pillar to find the plate.

suthern

rbnator

First I must say this is a great resource for information. I posted my problem I was having with my SF hesitating and the response I received made me more knowledgeable to what the problem may have been. I was referred to www.alldata.com for information on service bulletins. Then "hyundaima" identified the problem based on the information I provided.

I took the car in last Wednesday and I just got it back today. The problem I was having was the car started hesitating at various times. The dealer replaced the crankshaft sensor and then tested the vehicle. This did not resolve all the problem and then they replaced the throttle valve body per 01-40-010 and 01-36-006. These items may be a recall item in the future. It is something that you should be aware of. Nothing worse then stepping on the accelerator and the car hesitating on you. Thanks again to this site and all your help. Everyone keep posting your problems for others to learn from.

Rich

tsberkey4

Hi, everyone. I have just discovered this site and it looks very informative. We are considering a new Santa Fe, but after 12 years of mini-vans, my wife is really nervous about giving up 7-passenger seating. We don't want to move into the $30k+ range to get that extra seat! Does anyone know of an aftermarket 3rd seat that can be installed/removed relatively easily?

pat_sea

Hi All; I'm thinking of getting a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe LX 4WD, Black. Is there anything special I need to be aware of? I live near West Palm Beach Fl, any ideas where to get the best buy? I have a Dodge Caravan '96, as you can see I don't buy cars often so I'm nervous about it. Any help is appreciated.
Pat

marsden

Just received my new 2002 Santa Fe 6cly. awd 3 weeks ago. I'm a little concerned about the fuel consumption. I'm only averaging 450 kms a tank. But, I only have 2,100 kms on it, so I hope it will improve. This is a concern to me because I drive 120kms a day to work and back.
Also, is anyone else having this problem? There must alot of fuel at the bottom of the tank. I've filled it up and it will only take 55 litres. I've driven it for 25 kms after the low fuel light has went on.

Also, thought I would share I problem I experienced last week. The oil light had been going on and off, brought it to the dealer and they said it was an electrical problem. Then it began to leak oil. Brought it in again, and they fixed it. It was and oil senor problem so they say. Oil leaked onto some belts also, and they replaced them. But since the belt replacment there is a rubber burning smell. Besides these problems, love my Santa Fe. Would appreciate any Canadian reports on their fuel consumption.

magoo1955

Looking at the past posts (I've been on since Dec, 2000), owners report a prob w/complete fill-ups
of the tank, sometimes it will go all the way, some
times not. I makes it dificult to calculate
mileage. Other prob can't help with.
Good Luck.

harry31

>Also, is anyone else having this problem? There must alot of fuel at the bottom of >the tank. I've filled it up and it will only take 55 litres. I've driven it for 25 kms after the >low fuel light has went on.
> ===============

Go back and search the previous messages - I remember this fill problem being discussed before. If the low fuel sensor isn't within working range (and isn't adjustable), it should probably be replaced.

guyf

I got my Sante Fe 1 year ago and I now have 36,000 Km on the clock. My commute is the same as yours. 450 km on a tank is about right for winter. A little over 500 in the summer.

As the 2 other posts mention, it is sometimes difficult to completely fill it up. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't for no apparent reason. Except from that, no problem whatsoever. Great traction in the snow with Bridgestone Winter Dueler tires by the way.

marsden

Thanks so much for the info. 500 kms a tank sounds a little better. As for the gasing up problem. When I fill up it goes to Full. I just think it must have alot of the bottom of the tank.
I'm just to chicken to test it. Have many kms have you driven with the low fuel light on. I think there must be about 15 litres in it after the light goes on. If it truly is 65 litre capacity.

guyf

I've driven over 40 kms with the light on on mine. I once fueled it with 67 litres. Either Hyundai is underating their capacity or the fuel station was cheating. Today I fueled it with 61.2 Litres and the low level light was not on yet.

Your mileage will improve after 10-15,000 kms. I'm pretty lead footed so I typically use more fuel than most people.

georgefarmer

Our 2002 GLS has a large crack in the clear cover of the instrument panel. Will that take a long time to fix? I need to know as our dealer is an hour's drive and I need to know how long the wait will be. Not sure why it cracked, maybe from cleaning or hitting a hard bump and there was already a defect in it.

hyundaima

I doubt the lens is available separately.

Samsdad

Last week I posted to ask if anyone had compaired these two vehicles, as my wife is in the market for a small SUV. We test drove both vehicles yeterday, and were surprised at the results. Let me preface by saying I preferred the Santa Fe styling, while my wife is a Honda person from way back. She currently drives a 1995 accord EX, and she was positive she would like the CRV better, and was only driving the Santa Fe as comparison to how well the Honda was built. We found that the price for a fully loaded models was within a few dollars for each, so that was a wash.
We first drove the CRV, and both of our comments were "well it drives like a honda" meaning good acceleration for a 4 cylinder, good handling, solid but not overly impressive interior, plain jane exterior styling. Basically a honda. We did notice, though that you could feel the bumps on the road quite easily, and it fely kind of light. Over all we both thought it would make a great little purchase, and my wife really liked it. Then we drove the Santa Fe.
It was obvious just from looking at the interior, that there was much more to the Santa Fe than the Honda. I found it drove even better than it looked. The V6 got it off the line very well, and got up to and maintained hiway speeds well. It felt like a much more substantial vehicle on the road, and I would compare the ride to many of the luxury SUV's on the market. If you were blind-folded and put into it for a ride, it would be very comparable to a Lexus RX300. I was convinced that this was a much better vehicle for the price than tha Honda. The surprising part, was that my wife completly agreed. I could tell by the grin on her face that she was impressed. She told me later, she didn't want to like the Santa Fe, but it just drove and felt so much better than the Honda, she couldn't help but like it. She also said it felt more like a $40000 luxury SUV than a 23k Hundai. She said it drove like her Mom's Acura, and was just as quiet.
So although the Honda is a good, quality mini-ute, my wife decided she would be crazy to get the CRV over the Santa Fe at the same price. Also we found out there is NO dealing on the CRV MSRP and up. The Santa Fe we can deal a little, but still not much.
Thanks for the feedback on my previous question. Now we have to sell our accord, that will hurt, its been a great car. So i guess we will be Santa Fe people. Now we have to find an Ice blue LX in Central Texas. Anyone have any experiences around the Austin area with Hyundai dealers? And if so what did you pay for you Santa Fe?

dlewis513

I am seriously considering purchasing a Santa Fe in the very near future. I would like to know if any of you have had good or bad experiences with Hyundai dealers in any of the following areas: southeast Georgia, northeast OR northwest Florida (including the panhandle). I live in southeast GA and don't mind a bit of a drive if it'll save me from a bad dealership. I would appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks.

markshew1

Has anyone fitted an aftermarket tow hitch to a Santa Fe and if so, I am looking for recommendations as to who's equipment works best. My SF did not come fitted with a hitch and I really dislike my local dealer so would rather do the work myself. Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks.