Hyundai Santa Fe Transmission Problems

sasha16 · June 2011

I have to say that I just traded in my 2010 Santa Fe in with 239.800 miles on it only because, as my mechanic put it, my car was starting to own me, not me owning my car. I was really upset having to give my Santa Fe up but am very happy with my 2011 Santa Fe Ltd AWD. The only issue I have ever had with my Santa Fe was that occasionally in rain or if the roads were wet, when I put used the brakes, the abs light came on, there was a noise but I could not stop, even when I stomped on the brake pedal. Other than that, I loved driving this suv and would have kept it but as stated before, mechanical expenses were increasing as the mileage went up.

gibber249 · July 2011

There is an updated calibration to get rid of that bump out now

gibber249 · July 2011

How can anyone take a foul mouthed person like you seriously?? If I were the service people and saw you walking in I'd get up and leave. Most of those people make barely over minimum wage and are there to help you as far as their abilities will allow. If I was behind that counter I'd tell you to leave with an attitude like that.

viper14 · July 2011

gibber249, Where is the rest of your message? Makes no sense as it's displayed.

chellestockman · July 2011

I had my first transmission replace at 7000 miles and then again at 68,000 miles. This SUV is temperamental and puts on light shows for ya. At any time a warning light can come on and then go off. It drives great and suddenly without warning starts acting wonky. You take it in and it costs you a pretty price but then misbehaves. It's a petulant strain of car, I'm telling you. I'll never buy another Hyundai. It looks like I got the best year ever made, 2001.

diamond22 · July 2011

This message is a follow up to my April 1 post (not a joke). I took my 2010 Santa Fe Limited in on Thursday to get the recall concerning the front springs which I received from Hyundai via letter. The protective coating over the springs was installed without cost to me. I told them also to check the transmission because it was shifting while in park after starting. The problem, like all others is intermittent. The service rep didn't even question the tranny problem. He asked if it only happened when it was cold. I said the heat index here is 107, there is no such thing as cold in NC this time of year. He sheepishly agreed. Anyway, they had a technical service bulletin on the shift problem. They installed it and I'll let you know if further problems develop. I now have almost 18,000 miles.

diamond22 · July 2011

Hang in there...they replaced my transmission at about 10,000 miles and they just did the latest software upgrades on the transmission problems. I have believed all along that it was a software problem in the TCM. They sure as hell try your patience.

obkt · July 2011

I received a transmission recall notice on my 2010 Santa Fe, 2wd with 2.4 engine. Possible "Excessive wear due to misalignment of the intermediate shaft with the right side output gear".
Has anyone had this work done? My Fe has operated flawlessly for 15K miles and I hate the though of someone tearing the tranny apart, fixing one problem and possibly inducing another. Thoughts??

tedrik2 · July 2011

Get it done! Mine was "caught" at the factory, luckily. They don't actually do anything to your transmission-it's simply the way the intermediate shaft was coupled/aligned with your transmission at the factory assembly plant (defective). They will perform a modification to properly align/fit the shaft with the transmission properly. I would, however, ask them what damage has already been done as I have read on the Hyundai Santa Fe forums of the defective shaft alignment "shreading" the transmissions at approximately 24-30,000 miles. I would ask for a new transmission as well. Perhaps the dealer intends to do that (a good dealer would)-since you have over 15,000 miles. Good luck!

obkt · July 2011

Thank you for the advice. Definitely getting it done. I've already called the dealership for an appointment but they don't have the parts yet. Tech advisor said something about special fluid being on order. Need to call again next week.
I'm hoping that they don't find anything wrong. I have not heard any noises from the drive train and the recall says there "may be" a misalignment. I will keep very close tabs on the work.

carew1 · August 2011

Has anyone heard of an issue with the Hyundia Santa Fe Making a loud pop and coming to a stop and not regaining any power until you restart the vehicle. We have 14,000 on our 2011 and it's happened 6 times. We can't duplicate or have it happen on demand so when we brought it in they said they couldn't help us. I'm thinking it's something to do with the transmission as i've read some of the postings in this forum but no one seems to have the same issue. Anyone have any idea's???

ccpb · August 2011

I have been having transmission issues where they cannot duplicate the problem so they have installed a small unit (I think it's called a VCI) where I press a button to record what's happening when I experience the problem. I can record up to 4 or 5 instances, then I bring it into the dealer and hopefully they'll be able to diagnose my problem without being able to duplicate it.
Hope this helps.

chucko6 · August 2011

WHO and WHERE is your Dealer located ?

ccpb · August 2011

oakville, ontario just outside of toronto

ccpb · August 2011

go to every dealer you can find, you are bound to find one that will help, it's what i did. the dealership, where i bought my vehicle, told me the same old story that i see many posting, we cannot duplicate the problem at this time...they must have all gone to the same hyundai course. i blasted every email on my dealer's website with links to similar problems regarding the santa fe and finally got a call from them. my dealership never once mentioned the tsb out on my vehicle until i had a service manager from a dealership from another city call him. i'm floored and appalled at the service, it's just not about quality and care anymore, sadly no one gives a crap:( i think i'll buy a large lemon and mount it on my crappa fe, think they would appreciate the advertising? thanks for the rant, i'm done with my truck, as soon as it's fixed(that's funny), i'm selling it or leaving it in precarious places where there is a good chance someone will steal it and destroy it joy riding. lets just say it has been an ordeal. good luck with yours.

dustinl · August 2011

Same issues here 2010 Santa Fe bought it late in 2010, already had strange noises from transmissions by my first oil change. Then over the winter and by winter I mean 50 degrees in Florida. Shifting 3rd-2nd-3rd or (2-1-2) not sure its at low speeds around 25 mph. It slams back into gear so hard seems like you got rearended by another car. Dealship said they couldnt reproduce it and no record in the computer. Come spring 2011 I had a list of times, speeds, and severity. They adjusted the adaptive driver computer back to zero, this is to learn how I drive, (insert massive disbelief here). Had it for 3 days after that and had it slam into gear again. Took it back this time the computer chip (sorry dont know which one) was reprogrammed. (insert small disbelief). Ive had it for 10 days no sign of the problem, not giving it a solved problem yet as this didnt always occur could be weeks and weeks before it happens again.

pbriggs · August 2011

Driving to work yesterday my car made a log 'bang' and shook like I'd had a blow-up. I pulled over and tires and everything looked ok. I even walked back to make sure I hadn't hit something in the road, but nothing there. This is the second time this has happened. this time when I got back in to take off the car was sluggish...took awhile to get to 45 mph and then my tach was up in the 4000 rpm area instead of 1-1/2 to 2 range as usual. I only have 9800 miles on it so had it towed to the dealer. Not sure if drive went out on the transmission or if it put itself into AWD without me asking but it is a problem. Anyone else have this happen to them?

viper14 · August 2011

pbriggs,

If you state has a lemon law use it and get rid of your car. Your problems have just started. Read the threads on this web site.

pbriggs · August 2011

They found nothing wrong with the car...no computer issues, no codes, no anything. Couldn't replicate which doesn't surprise me since it has only happened 2 x in 6 months. Not sure what to do about it now.

diamond22 · August 2011

This is a follow up to my July 25 post. During that visit, in addition to putting the coating on the springs, they reprogrammed the CM which they had a service bulletin on. This fix is supposed to remedy the shifting in park upon starting the engine. So far I have noticed an improvement, but it still isn't quite right despite a new transmission, two reprogramming modules, etc. It doesn't quite lunge as hard in park as it did before. However, this thing doesn't shift like most other cars. If you have cruise control on and push on the gas, the sound of the engine sounds like a screeching hyena. Stay tuned, will update as necessary. Just turned 19,000 miles. Other than transmission, the car is exceptional, but rides rough on rough roads.

jennrobutka · August 2011

I was having the same problems with my 2010 Santa fe and they replaced the transmission and reprogramed the chip and it lasted about two weeks before it started again. Took it back to the shop and the service manager took a ride and he stated that it is the rear cuplings that is causing the problem. Once the cuplings were replaced my Santa fe has not had the problem since.

bobbichen · September 2011

I have been monitoring the traffic on this site since right around the time I bought the unit. With some reservations I went ahead and purchased it (pre owned, with about 24k miles at wholesale NADA). I noticed some rough shifting but no bangs or serious noises. Purchased in June so most driving has been in the warmer months. Recently, I went to the dealer (Green Hyundai, Springfield, IL) to have the most recent software flash and to have it checked out. They said the upgraded fluid was placed at the factory. The vehicle seemed to upshift smoother, but downshifted a bit when slowing (odd in my experience for an automatic). I have recently started hearing an odd "whirring" noise right before shift. I have never heard such a sound from a transmission before. It is pronounced. I noticed that the recall on the I4 transmission mentioned a similar noise. My guess is that the 6 speed transmission that was new for 2010 is going to end up being recalled as well and that they will have a lot of problems with them. As an aside I sent an email to Green and to Hyundai America and received a reply from neither. I guess I will just have to wait until it gives out and then they will get interested.

chucko6 · September 2011

I beleive this is the first time we have seen the term "rear cupling" used
with the 2010-2011 SF Transmisssion problems. What is it and has anyone else had this addressed as a valid link to correct rough shifts/slams that others have complained about ???

ednab · September 2011

This happened to me as well & I was thinking this happened because of the number of miles I put on a car but not really! I came to a stop sign & she moved no further, at least not without a tow truck. I am running into static about Hyundai replacing the transmission without cost to me. Any suggestions?

msohn · September 2011

I just bought the 2012 SF two weeks ago and put about 500 miles on it so far. Today I almost got into an accident on a road that is slightly uphill. I was driving home from work and there were lots of traffic on the road. After a brief stopping, I was trying to cut into the next lane and realized that the transmission did not respond as I expected and the SF stalled for a brief moment. It was a scary moment and right after that experience I went to the dealer so that the transmission could be checked out. A technician put the computer on the car and examined it for a while and said that the transmission was OK (meaning that the car computer did not throw any error code). Is there anyone with a similar experience with the transmission on 2012 SF? I don't know how to address this problem and am very worried that I might be stuck with a $30K lemon.

edgarnp · September 2011

Coming from 5 months fighting my dealer to get my 2007 transmission replaced after less than 30K miles, I can tell you that very likely your transmission is also faulty. Mine did not throw an error code until the internal pieces were finally irreparable. If it keeps this way for a long longer, return the SUV or sell it. Unfortunately, you might need to pass onto the next.

viper14 · October 2011

If you have even the slightest pressure on the brake pedal with your left foot the car will not accellerate. Keep your foot off the brake when driving. I had the same problem and I have learned to keep my foot off the pedal. My dealer said Hyundai did this as a result of problems with Toyota.

I would hope the Hyundai has the transmission problem on Santa Fe cars by now. If not I'm driving my last one.

ecotrklvr · October 2011

Any chance that the stalling you felt was in the Engine, and not the Transmission? My new 2011 acted funny for the first few hundred miles, stumbling upon acccleration. The Engine and Trans are "learning " your habits of how fast you hit the accelerator, and how fast you drive. Try a few more spirited acceleration scenarios at a time and place where you don't absolutely need them, and see if it resonds better each time. Mine eventually did.

pbriggs · October 2011

It wasn't a stalling issue. It was a very loud BANG and the whole car shook like my tire had blown out. It has only happened twice, but is very frightening. The second time, it took a long time to build up speed, like the engine was in a lower gear.

chucko6 · October 2011

Welcome to the Club. A lot of weird transmission noises and issues since they added the 6th gear.

chucko6 · October 2011

Can't beleive that almost a whole month has gone by and no one else knows anything about a "Rear Coupling" fix for the Transmission issues.
Sounds like you were happy with it.
Have the Slams and the Bangs gone for real?

diamond22 · October 2011

This is an update to my July 25 post re tranny problems with my 2010 Santa Fe 6cyl limited. After getting the upgrades mentioned in the last post, I didn't notice the shifting in park upon starting the engine for awhile. Well the software patches didn't fix the problem, it is still doing it periodically. I haven't bothered to call Hyundai customer relations or the dealer, they sound like a broken record and nothing fixes the problem. I have a little over 20K miles. If it gets worse will raise hell with customer relations again. Will keep you posted.

nttw · October 2011

Can you tell me about this "rear coupling" fix? My dad has had problems with his new Sante Fe from the first week he bought it last May. It hesitates and stalls, and several trips to 3 different dealers have been unsuccessful as they cannot duplicate the problem.

chucko6 · October 2011

Any chance we could get the gentleman ( or any else who had their Transmission problems corrected by replacing the "Rear Coupling")
to respond to the Forum.
I know there are many of us who would like to know what that is all about
and if it has been a "permanent" fix ?
The up-dates aren't working for everyone, so we need some fresh ideas.

wolfpk1 · October 2011

We have the same problem with our 2001 Santa Fe shifting with a loud bang after remaining in low gear for too long. Took it to Advance Auto for a totally free error code reading...came back with error codes p0720 "Output Shaft Speed Sensor" which in turn created the error p1529 "Trans Control Module" . Hyundai dealer for service and repair closed on Saturday and Sunday so it will be Monday before I can see what the repair costs will be.

chucko6 · October 2011

The 2010-2012 transmissions are hopefully different than a decade earlier and of course a lot less use and mileage.
Don't believe the same problem would have survived that time period.

coyote10 · October 2011

Did you ever figure out what this was? I have had this happen twice now to my just purchased "used" car 2010. Last week I thought I ran over something in the road, the car thumped then felt like I put the brake on. After that I noticed reduced power when I was stopped and trying to accelerate. It sat in the parking lot when I went to work and then worked fine on a 10 hour drive round trip over the weekend.
Went out today and the same thing happened, felt like I ran over something, and the same reduced power. Also noticed when I put the car into park there was a hard transistion to park, reverse and or drive, not smooth and quiet like it use to be

pbriggs · October 2011

No, it hasn't happened again (yet). Only 2x since I bought the car new. It worrisome though. Just hope if anything is going to go out it happens before the 70,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty off. If I don't have a heart attack the next time it happens in rush hour traffic, that is.

coastwatch · October 2011

I have a 2002 Santa Fe. Between 35 and 42 MPH I get a vibration in the front end. Sounds like going over rumble strip. Does not happen below 35 or over 42. Car has to be increasing speed. It will only do when slightly acelerating. It will occur in drive or 4th. gear. It will not happen in 3 gear.

Other folks on the forum have stated the same problem (*message 354) etc but I cannot find any replies or information as to what the cause might be. It has nothing to do with tires or alignment. Happens consistently at the speeds indicated. Shakes the whole car. Been in shop 3 times and can find nothing wrong? If anyone has any ideas appreciate it. Thanks CoastWatch

gera · October 2011

Yes. Transmission. Unfortunately. Make sure you have plenty of transmission fluid. Sometimes it is just the nut on the bottom that gets jarred loose. More than likely, you are looking at have to replace the transmission. So sorry. Mine just sitting in the driveway gathering dust now. I don't trust it to drive it. Have 8,000 miles on rebuilt transmission and he rebuilt with all new parts. It's Hyundai. They need to take care of this problem. Guess not enough people are making noise!

prestonmd · October 2011

While driving on a side street around 25mph, the car lost power as though I had shifted into neutral, and coasted to a stop. Car was towed to the dealer from whom I bought the car and a new transmission is being installed!

chucko6 · October 2011

Did you have any symptons/issues with the Tranny prior to the Failure ???

Let us know if the replacement is New or a Rebuild..

thommo107 · October 2011

I was in neutral sitting at traffic lights and lights changed to green,I had my toe lightly on accelerator and had about 1100 rpm or less. When I selected 1st gear there was a loud metallic clunk and the car went nowhere in any gear. Had to be towed home it was after hours and yet to talk to mechanics. The engine runs fine but it seems the gearbox is now totally disengaged from the engine by some sort of sheared drive shaft, any ideas.

chucko6 · October 2011

Maybe it's that "Rear Coupling " I've seen mentioned. Would be nice if someone would tell us what that's all about.

thommo107 · October 2011

Yeah I am not sure, if the rear coupling is the last engagement from the engine to the gearbox or the torque converter I could go with that for sure. Thanks chuck I will try to find a diagram some where, cheers, thommo107

ktaikato · November 2011

Thats interesting. I have a 2006 model & mine just jumped & lost power. Since found out a piece of metal broke off the teeth & I now need a whole new gear box. Would be interested to know if this is a common problem with them

chucko6 · November 2011

Would you please enlighten many of us about the Rear Cupling fix you had done. You are the first to mention it and it might be a valuable post for many of our Tranny problems.

emjayprice · November 2011

I have a 2005 Santa Fe with almost 64k on it and have owned it since 17k, 3 years ago. Recently, I was driving and went to accelerate at a stop sign after going up a steep hill and coasted as my car didn't want to get out of first gear. I ended up parking it for the day and bumming a ride from my hubby. I took it to get looked at today, and they said that the tranny fluid was burnt (which I noticed when I checked it out), and that they don't know how, but I need a minimum rebuild for whatever reason. It's hard for me to believe that I could need a new tranny at 64k, but I guess so. Feedback or ideas would be great. I'm having a hard time thinking about spending that money. Would a flush and new filter do the job?

natalie02le · November 2011

lemon law questions. 1. in which state are you located? 2. were you required to provide any additional documentation and/or did you have additional documentation (I have started a log of my transmission thunks)? 3. did arbitration process use guideline for depreciation? (I live in FL and lemon law here has guideline of 1/120,000th of price for each mile driven. In other words, if the vehicle has 12,000 miles then they would pay 90% of your cost of the vehicle. 24,000 = 80%, and so on.). thanks for the info.

xfiles954 · November 2011

mine just went at 35000 miles and it was just after it was in the shop for a recall on the springs ,they said at first it was the coupler or something then next day said it was trasmission also and they give everyone a rebuilt transmission no one gets a new one they are lying if they tell you that I got off the phone with california customer care for hyundai and they told me remanufactured trannys are part of the warranty not new ones so its a bait and switch warranty for 10 years or 100,000 is needed you may replace the tranny 3 times.Also if you are not the original owner warranty is 5year 60000 and if you replace the tranny at 58000 you get 2000 miles warranty on your remanned tranny ..Now how is this company still in business

Hyundai Santa Fe Transmission Problems

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