Hyundai Santa Fe (2006 and earlier)

lfd440

Thanks, I tried that in the three varieties...I found "jazz" to give me the closest sound.I'm also a musician so look and listen for certain criteria.
I thought there were suggestions on the radio situation (s) in much earlier posts.If one of you SF owners or subscribers recall what would be a good way to "upgrade" the radio please don't hesitate to put it on this list. (My post was # 3400)
As for the sound that I'm getting ( a kind of tickig or almost injector sound) BUT when you step on the gas and the car is cold the sound increases..This only happens at the initial warm up after that it's gone for the rest of the day.
Any advice on that or my other post on using a leather conditioning product would be appreciated.THANKS!

txsantafe

Have you checked the fan belt and its pulleys?

lfd440

To txsantafe......yes it's not that it will only do it when first started from an overnight cool down. and then after 15-20 minutes the noise stops.Thanks for your thoughts on it though!!!
It's raelly more of a nuisance as it didn't fo it upon delivery but at 2 G miles it started. and now with just over 3 G miles it's a pain in the neck.. it would have to stay overnight at a dealer's service dept to MAYBE be heard and hopefully repaired.. There's got to be more SF owners out there with this problem and also my question about the radio 's "quality" sound and then if someone has cleaned their leather seats with a conditioner instead of just soap and water as the manual says.
Thanks once again....!

pdes70

I live on Long Island, I was wondering if anyone out there has recently purchased a SF 2wd GLS. If so what did you pay for it. Also can anyone reccomend a dealer in the NY Metro area?
Thanks
Pete

greg55126

Don't know what there going for now. Seems allot more on the road and harder to get; but bought ours in February. GLS 2wd paid 20,300 Plus tax lic.. Got gls/2wd, with wood dash, liner for back, luggage cross rails, mud flaps, A bike rack for hauling 2 bikes and 3 free oil changes.
Hope this helps.

john795

I have a 2001 Santa Fe .The passenger door plastic molding at the bottom of the door is starting to develop a space at the top where it meets the paint. has any body noticed this yet? Any ideas on water running down between the molding and the paint on the door? I wonder if this is easy enough to correct

lfd440

Jim...
I'm trying to figure what's going on with mine also...at 2500 I also get a clicking sound and after about 15 minutes the clicking sound goes away. This will only happen if it's cooled off (cold) overnight and not after a brief layover period. I too have an brand new SF LX 02 in Merlot. WHEW I thought i was the ONLY one with this problem I posted recently and got a response of possibly the belt or pullies. I have an appointment in 2 weeks to have this nuisance checked out. BUT I will mention what i read from your's. Now to ask you...are you completely satisfied with the quality sound of your radio/speakers. My other car is a 01 Maxima with a Bose system and it's great! Also have you applied any leather conditioner to the seats or dash yet? I'd like to but the manual says only water & mild soap...
Thanks for the reply in advance....
In 1 year I will be a (retired) firefighter in a largee city close to Boston MA.

kenny21

Hi, all

This is my first time visiting on this board. I have owned my SF for one and half years and 48,000 miles on it. No single problem at all until now. My wife and me love our SF, and no regret! This toy is the winner in its class!!!

Enjoy your all SFs...

tidester

Welcome aboard! We hope you'll stick around and look forward to hearing more from you!

tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories

carseeker4

This is long, but I hope it will be helpful for those investigating Hyundai Santa Fe. It will be objective (I'm not a Hyundai-phile...like the Saturn-philes and Honda-philes out there).

Well at 5041 miles on our Pine Green Santa Fe GLS 4WD V6, its time for an objective review. So here goes:

Catastrophic (life threataning) problems: none. I'm still alive!

Major problems (engine/tranny internals): none.

Significant problems (parts peripheral to the drivetrain):
At 469 miles the car began to run very erratically. It never stalled (hey, its not a Tribscape!), but to be safe and not to void the warranty, I had it towed to the dealer. (Hyundai roadside assistance worked fine, by the way).
Problem was a "throttle position sensor". One day at the dealers; fixed with no hassle. (Fred Beans in Doylestown, PA, I'd recommend them to anyone).

Minor problems: Slightly rust-stained left rear wheel hub, replaced with no hassle by Fred Beans.

Annoying things:
STILL not REALLY enough driver leg room (I complained about it on my Lumina too!). With the seat all the way back and at max height, its "OK". The dealer said he had not heard of the seat rail lengthening thing, so if anybody has info, please let me know....thx
The "brow" of the window sits low and I have to bend my head to look at red lights when I'm first in line at the light! (I guess I'd better run more yellow lights!). Otherwise, head room is fine.
The 12V power adapters run ONLY when the ignition is ON. I'm sure this is a safety feature, but so much for charging the cell phone in the car at night!
Slight dash creak in colder weather (below 60 F) and on bumpy roads (which in PA is most roads!).
Slight whistle at very high speeds ( &) to *) MPH....encrypted to avoid state police spies!
;-0 ).
City gas mileage between 17-18, but it seems to be getting better. Hopefully, it will hit that 19 mark! Highway mileage (23 w/4WD) is right on, and maybe a bit conservative.
Cool things:
Rear cargo area is great. YES, I know the seats don't go totally flat...stop knitpicking! (oops). We've hauled a coffee table (aka the Truckville commercial!) and a 6 ft dogwood tree and will be going on vaca soon. Can't wait.
V6 is relatively quiet at cruising speed which is why I wanted it. Power output is acceptable for the 4WD.
LOVE the light thing...you can leave the lights on and when you turn the ignition off the headlights go off and when you open the door the dash light turns off. When you get back in, it all goes in reverse. Like having daytime running
lights. A cool, unadvertised feature.
Seats are comfortable and firm (needs more legroom, didn't I mention that?!).
Interior is the BEST-designed of all the mini-SUVS, not boring like the CRV or Trib. Yeah, a bit plasticy, but still cool (and, hey, we looked in a Volvo with an all leather interior and it looked plasticy!).
Exterior is a tad overdone but not ugly. In fact the mean-looking prow and the smooth curvaceous rear add a mixed-personality to the vehicle. Very interesting styling.
4WD and ABS functioned VERY well in the only snowstorm we had a chance to ride in. I'm looking forward to winter (especially with it being near 100 F today!)! I wonder how
the SF will do on the BEACH!

All in all, we really like this car. Reliability-wise it has been no worse than any American car we have owned, although I doubt it will come up to a Honda...but then you don't have the 3-month
wait, the ridiculous prices for underpowered vehicles, the bland styling and the arrogant sales and service, either! I say its still
the Hyundai gamble (lots of miles to go yet!) and we will see how it works out, but so far, I'm impressed...just a bit nervous, that's all!
I hope this helped anyone looking. Happy Independence Day and God Bless America! (and Canada, and Korea, and Brazil and Japan, and
China, and India and Kenya and...I'd better stop).

harry31

carseeker4:

Here is a URL to a mod that someone did to their Santa Fe. I do not endorse this mod, only offering the info.
==========
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y28316231

stever

Try makeashorterlink.com for those long urls.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

harry31

Thanks for the hint steve =;-)

stever

Glad you remembered the edit trick (don't tell anyone I helped you link to a competing forum LOL).

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

carseeker4

Thanks, Harry. I just went out to take a look at this. The rail stops are really just "nubs" and could almost be hammered down. But I'll take a closer look. I'd probably drive a sheet metal screw into the rails further back, so my WIFE doesn't accidentally slide the seat off the rails....I'll have to study it more, but thanks for the link!

carseeker4

.... I'm still not sure I want to cut the seat stops on the rails! It doesn't appear to buy me that much and I still want a way to stop the seat from coming off the rails! I'm curious as to whether anyone who posts to this board has really TRIED this. Also I'm wondering what year SF that the person who posted this solution has. They may have redesigned the seat rails.

harry31

carseeker4:

I haven't done this - don't even know if there is room for a long flat plate under the seat rail - but if there is, another way to increase leg room (moving the seat back) is get two steel plates (I'd use stainless - maybe about 2 x 10 x 3/8 inches? just guessing here) and mount the two plates onto the original 'seat-mount' holes. There would be a set of two tapped holes in each plate... oh, say..., offset three inches to the rear, with the same spacing as the original rail mounting holes. The seat rails are then mounted to the plate using the tapped holes - 3, 4 or 5 inches (or whatever?) to the rear of the factory position. You would gain the leg room in the front, lose it in the left rear and lose (by the thickness of the plate) some headroom. What you would be doing essentially is moving the seat rail mounting holes without drilling into the floor of the Santa Fe.

Just guessing about the size of the plate. Maybe if it was a little wider it could be thinner (3 x 10 x 1/4?). But don't wanna go too thin. Imagine the seat with you in it and you shoving back with your feet! Need some beef there to hold that force. =;-) You'd have to remove the seat and measure the present holes. The only problem I can see might be the clearance for the bolts holding the seat rails to the ss plate. Also, I would use at least grade 5 bolts.

harry31

Here's some guys (with pix) who have done the seat mod in #3418. Coulda saved myself some writing if I had remembered this thread sooner <sigh>.


http://pub108.ezboard.com/fhyundaisantafemessageboardfrm87.showMessage?topicID=66.topic

adamjrae

Well my Santa Fe hit 30,000 miles with very few problems. Please visit my web site at:

http://www.geocities.com/adamjrae for more information.

It has been updated and easier to navigate.

Adam

carseeker4

...I appreciate your effort in looking this stuff up! I know you are thinking about it too, but thanks for sharing your research! I have saved the pix and am going to see if I can enlarge them for easier viewing! Again, thanks so much.

carseeker4

harry31, I saw one enlarged picture of that technique (post #3419) and I would not try it since I don't have that kind of expertise and I think it compromises safety. Thanks for the link, though.

thor9

I did the mod removing the rear stops on my seat rails, and I have a few words of warning for others.

As previously mentioned, you will have to remove the snap-in retainers for the wiring harnesses under the seat, or the wires will get stretched out too far and damaged. More importantly, the seat rides on several nylon (white plastic) ball-bearings that separate the seat from the rails. By removing the stops, you create small holes in the rails that will allow the ball-bearings to drop down slightly, and when the seat is moved forward again, the bearings will now come out and get lost, leaving the seat sitting on only the nylon tubing that acts as a spacer between the bearings.

If you accidently push the seat too far back, the plastic end-caps will come off the rails. The seat mod works and is relatively easy, but manufacturing new mounting bars for the rails is a more desirable, but more difficult alternative.

carseeker4

thanks for sharing the experience on that one! I guess that removes all my options. Reengineering the seat rails is out of the question! The quick fix obviously works, but like all quick fixes, it has its drawbacks. Harry31, thanks for your info too.... how do you feel about this after doing a bit of study (I think your in the same position I am, investigating but not having done anything yet)?

hyundaima

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020708/80272_1.html

harry31

carseeker4:

Glad to help spread the info - we're all here to learn.

I'm a hair (no pun intended) over 6' tall and drive with the SF seat all the way back. That seems OK for me (the wife is shorter and has the seat more forward) and on the few 'medium' length (nothing extended) trips we have taken, have no complaints about the seating/position.
As for compromising safety, you may be right. In those pix (at least the ones I could make out), the 'new' rails seemed awfully small. One user (posting as scs00) wrote that his rails were 1 1/4 wide and 3/16" thick. If they were made from plain cold rolled steel, I could bend that.
However, double that width and increase the thickness and you're making something beefier than the factory floor. This is assuming (there's that word) that you use the original factory fastening points. Any new holes drilled in the factory floor sheet metal would have to be reinforced (from the underside, as a deceleration to the front, tends to pull the seat and its fasteners, up and out).

My present interest tends to finding a spot to add a bypass oil filter. Not because I think the SF needs more oil filtering, but I would like to increase the oil sump volume. More oil is good. =;-)

alphanstein

I am the one that put in the 1 1/4 wide by 3/16 thick rails. I weigh 225 and I used the original factory holes and mounted the original seat rails to the new ones. There is no flex at all and the install has been in for months without any problems. You do have to drill into the factory rails to make this set-up work.

carseeker4

...I'd worry that in the case of an accident, the seat might move position or come loose from the attachement. Has your Hyundai dealer seen this work and made any comments? Wonderfully done work, but I'm just unsure about the long-term results. Plus, its way beyond my engineering capabilities! I wish you will with your enhancement.

carseeker4

I have noticed a "moaning" noise, like some kind of quick vaccuum noise every so often in the SF. Not sure if its natural or not. It first occurred only when starting the car (or even just turning on the ignition without starting the car). I mentioned this to my dealer who said it was the fuel pump. Believable, since I hade a fuel pump in a Buick that "moaned", but that was a noise in the rear of the car. This noise is in the front; sounds like its behind the dash. Now I hear it occasionally after the car is running and/or in gear. Its one of those difficult "intermittent" things. Any ideas? And where is the fuel pump on the SF located? Thanks.

harry31

carseeker4:
The SF fuel pump is in the fuel tank. I had the 'moo-groan' noise in my SF. =;-) When 'mooving' at low speed (2-3-4 MPH), the sound would come from the rear. I figured it was the brakes and that the sound would eventually go away. It did!
If your sound is from the front and happens even without the engine running, it hasta be what? A relay or fan? What else (that moves/runs) comes on with the ignition?
One thought - about ten years ago, I had a bad air door in a Grand Marquis. It had auto temp control and when the a/c fan speed/heat modulation was doing its thing, one of the air doors would creak. Sounded like the Addams Family front door. A little grease on the vacuum actuator shaft fixed it right up.

carseeker4

I suspected it might be the ventilation fan (not the radiator cooling fan, I hear that go on and the only noise is a slight click and then the fan noise)...I'll have to check that out, I guess by turning off the vent system. I also thought it might be the climate control mix relay or whatever they have behind the dash that mixes warm are with cold. The only experience I have with that is an old Chevy where the mixer was a "door" that swung open to mix the air. That could be making that kind of a noise. This will be a tough one to diagnose. Hopefully, it won't cause the A/C to stop or cause difficulty with the engine running.

alphanstein

I too worry about crash worthiness. This is why I went thru the trouble of getting the right kind of steel, right kind of bolts, nuts, and lockwashers. Between all these and the fact that I used the factory mounting holes, it all works without a hitch. I don't take my car to the dealer, I do all my own maintenance and after 29K miles in just under a year of owning, I have not had any reasons to take it in.

azntrojan

Wow. What a coincidence. I just got back from the services station and the service tech said the problem was likely a blown hose in the passenger side vaccuum actuator thingamajig.

The noise sounded like a hissing sound coming from under my glove compartment. So maybe we might have the same problem. Hope this helps and hopefully I get my baby back tomorrow as promised by the service tech.

carseeker4

my sound was clearly a moan, rather than a hiss and it tended to come from the left side of the dash. Of course, I haven't heard it in 2 days! Go figure!

refaires

front of the Santa Fe at the front of the hood. Would someone please give me a few websites I could check out for prices.

Thanks.

hyundaima

http://www.foreignmotors.com/Parts/HyundaiPartsHome.htm

zandra

I'm going back and forth between the Santa Fe and the Honda CR-V. I have owned three Hondas and as a single mom, have really appreciated their reliability -- I never have to worry about car problems. I actually like the Santa Fe a lot more than the CR-V but am worried about Hyundai's long-term reliability, since I tend to hold onto my cars for several years. Somebody reassure me! Also, I live in Las Vegas and am wondering if the a/c is up to 115-degree temperatures.

Samsdad

Zandra my wife too was a Honda person. She had two accords before we bought the SF. We test drove the new CRV. and she liked it, and actually only test drove the SF to please me. Well when she got back from the test drive, she said there was no comparison, the SF drove so much better, even she was convinced. As for the AC we live in central Texas. The AC is as good as on my F150. We have the climate control on our LX, and it cools down fast! The one weakness of the Hondas is the AC system, we could never get our accords to get real cool, although they worked fine. The AC on the SF is much, much better.

Anyway after 8K miles zero problems, and we are very happy with our purchase especially considering we got a fully loaded SF LX for 3K less than a stripped CRV at MSRP. Good luck, just compare them feature to feature, and I think you will realize which is the best overall deal. The only thing you are chancing, is the Honda reliability factor, and I think that gap has closed considerably.

jaserb

You guys in Vegas have been sending us your weather! Got up to 107 last week, broke an all time high for SLC. Anyway, the A/C has done OK in the last few weeks. Not ice cold, but gets the car comfortable enough in 100+ temps. In my opinion A/C systems in general have gone downhill since they went to R134A. My sister's '92 Protege with a good working R12 system will keep ice cream frozen, no matter the weather. !@#$@# EPA!

-Jason

negliazx7

ok I currently have a 01 sonata (love it) but am really considering trading it on either the Santa Fe(gls) or Xterra(xe). I know that the Santa Fe would be more "car" riding and the Xterra more "truck". Any opinions would be great!

badoogi

Hey, guys. What would be a good price for SF GLS 4x2 with automatic transmission and no other extra option? By the way, I'm in Los Angeles.
Also, is SF still in much demand??

raybear

In LA, I'd start my offer at invoice and see what the dealers come back with. Demand is still high but there's always a chance of getting lucky.

lllinder

Hi,
I bought a Santa Fe LX 4WD just over a week ago, after tons of research and comparisons! I work in the Mojave desert and I'd like to reassure you that the AC is awesome! It's quick to cool and I love the auto feature, I think that you'd be happy...I am. I'm about an hour outside of LA and paid $23K, took the blue because of the demand and didn't want to wait for the copper (it was the only 4WD left on the lot).
Good luck!
Linda

azntrojan

i'm in the LA area.. and i just got one 5 weeks ago.. paid 20.5 out the door... plus roof rack.. cargo tray... mud guards and carpet floor mats.. if you calculate that.. i got that under invoice.. i recommend Lamar Hyundai in Cerritos... talk to walter van.. easiest time buying a car ever... he 1st gave me a price of 20.7 (i think already under invoice) and i told him to lower is a little.... 20.5 out the door.. and it rides like a dream.

lfd440

My new SF LX with about 2,500 miles developed a clicking sound when the AC was used and was also heard faintly when not. This problem only started at the above mileage and will only happen when the car sits over night and is dead cold. The fix is that a new Air Conditioner Compressor is on order.
Also the Ambient temperature reading has been working incorrectly, at 97 degrees outside it registers 68. This is an on again off again problem. There's no "sensor" in this model vehicle so a new "heater control" head being ordered.
The dealer tells me that the "tensioner" on the air compressioner on a few of the SF vehicles are coming up defective and are being replaced.
Passing along this info to all of the happy owners of this terriffic vehicle..( includes myself)

cmnott

I have read every single thread on this vehicle as we are currently checking out whether to get one or not. Let me say that this board has been extremely positive on this vehicle and problem-wise it is far and away one of the better threads on this Town Hall section. Surprising, really.

Wife needs a bigger vehicle and we are looking at wagons and SUVs. AWD isn't really a huge priority but in Canada it is always good to have! It is going to be either a V40 wagon, Passat 1.8 wagon, Explorer or Santa Fe. All either 2002 or 2003. I am more partial to wagons and the Volvo is nice (I have an S60 T5, so a little biased) but kinda cramped. The Passat is bigger and better looking but their Forum has given me the willies...the reliability thing is important but it will be leased for 3 or 4 years, so most cars should be good for that time.

I like the Explorer but my wife really likes the Santa Fe. I drove the Explorer and this vehicle has made quantum leaps as far as sophistication and driveability, but I am still not crazy about the interior. Awesome V8, though.

I went and checked out a Santa Fe with an admittedly bad attitude. I know that they are selling like hotcakes, but I figure price-wise why wouldn't they? I carefully inspected a few Santa Fe's and was stunned at the build quality. I checked out the entire interior and exterior like a cop searching for drugs, and everything was tigh, tight, tight. A glance at the MSRP? Full jam for 29,250.00CAD. 9K cheaper than the Volvo, 6K cheaper than the VW and 15K cheaper than the Ford!

Test drive was real nice. It took a while to get used to the upright seating position, but once accustomed was very comfortable. The motor was smooth and had a nice exhaust note and the tranny shifted crisply...5 speeds would be nice but hey, it is under 30K. Brakes were also strong and the handling was very good, much better than a Grand Cherokee. The only thing I wasn't too crazy about was the very cheap-looking leather seats, not the way it is portrayed in the brochure, but it does look very durable and shouldn't fold too easy. aside from that it is a surprising vehicle. At least the steering wheel had nice feeling leather as well as the shift knob. The back seat has a lot of room and dare I say better than the GC and Explorer.

Congrats to all those who have one, it is a fine car and good for Hyundai, they have definitely earned my respect. And possibly my money!

badoogi

Thanks for your info. The price you paid (20.5k) included tax & license?

carseeker4

check out my 5K review... post 3411 on this board.

shivelyt

I have a real mayday on my 01 GLS with FWD. Car had been trying to downshift when the car was just crawling in low gear. Planet Hyundai Svc Mgr said it was servos in transmission and they had to replace unit. That was Monday 7/22. Hyundai shipped in a new unit from LA but it was wrong transmission. Now car is in pieces on shop floor and I'm scheduled to leave on a 3600 mile trip Friday 7/26. Told dealer I didn't think he could have it fixed by 5 PM on Thursday and get set to put me in one of theirs. I also question the mechanic's competence on this job. Anyone have any transmissions replaced on the Santa Fe to date and what has been your experience? This is beginning to destroy my faith in the car.

jaserb

but why not ask for a loaner car? I know some Hyundai dealers offer them for any service. If you can get a loaner and keep those 3600 miles off your car it will be better all around: they don't have to rush to fix your car, and you don't have to worry about loading up the miles on yours. Just don't mention how long the trip is before you ask for one! If they balk, call Hyundai USA customer service and explain the situation. They've been bending over backwards to help SF owners that have had any problems.
Is Planet Hyundai in Vegas? If so I think there are several other dealers, if you have a reason to question their competence. I wouldn't hold the fact that they got the wrong part against them, though.

Good Luck!
-Jason

gls2003

Anyone know of good sites for parts and accessories for the Sante Fe? I tried hdkautosports.com, foreignmotors.com aka tischerhyundai.com, partsforyourcar.com. Some sites exists, some don't as of this date.
thanks for any help.