to be honest I just wanted to press the button and see how it felt to have all four going at the same time.
I've got a little better understanding about the AWD system now and unless the conditions dictate otherwise, I'll let it do it's thing.
Turned the diff. lock off at the end of the alley and never went over 12 mph.
Excellent SUV so far, very pleased. Lots of praise/compliments for the styling, in and out. As another poster noted, friends with RX350's seem to be kicking themselves after a ride in the SF. The Lex is a great vehicle, but the SF just makes more cents, DUH!
I also was trying out the AWD lock this week after our first snow. It did seem to me that the SF had more traction from a stop with it turned on than without it. When the AWD lock is turned off, I've noticed that the front wheels may spin for a spit second until the AWD kicks in, but I did not feel this with the AWD lock on. Does that make sense?
Well i am in the market and want to get an SUV. Before i was looking at Pilot, Outlook,CX-9 (MT's SUV Of The Year), and Veracruz, however my son made a really goood point telling me that the car is just going to be for me and my wife because the family (5) are all grown oldest 26, 22 and 18, they all got their cars and we barely ever go somewhere all together so it wasnt worth it paying nearly 10K for for a bigger SUV that needs more gas when i wont be using all that space. Now he told me to get a smaller SUV such as the CR-V, VUE, or Santa Fe. Other small SUVs are not reliable and i just dont like them. I am really leaning towards the Santa Fe a Limited AWD with Touring and Premium Pkg in either Slate Blue or Deepwater Blue with Gray Interior. I want the 3rd row because it is just nice to know that it is back there and i can use it whenever we all get together and go someplace, not like a 2 row SUV. My big dilemma now is:
1. Resale value... this is a big one because in case i was to sell this vehicle how much would i get? What is the difference between SF, CR-V, and VUE in resale value? I know the CR-V has the best but by how much?? Anybody know?
2. One thing that REALLY bugs me about the SF is that with the Gray interior you are forced to get Gray wood, i HATE this color wood because it is not as warming as the "real" wood found in Beige interiors, also i really like tha contrast of the wood and gray interior that has always been my favorite interior combo. So can a dealer swap the wood from a beige interior for the wood on a gray interior? Has anybody thought of this? Since the wood pieces just seem like maybe they pop on or something wouldnt it be easy to maybe do that?
I have a Santa Fe Limited AWD and am very pleased with it. It's just my wife and me and we have 2 other cars so we have no need for a larger SUV. Personally, the only other SUVs I'd consider are:
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (love the V8!) Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia Acura RDX (beautiful package but I'm not fond of the turbocharged 4-cylinder) Mazda CX-7 (same as above) Dodge Nitro (Pretty nice but lots of hard plastics and only a 4-speed transmission) Mercury Mountaineer (had one, loved it)
There are a lot of nice SUVs out there but not many that give you the Santa Fe's bang for the buck. My only gripes are the absence of a few features:
Navigation (available on 2008 Limiteds, supposedly) Xenon headlights MP3 player input
As for 3rd row seating, before you decide take a look at the under-floor storage you'd be giving up if you got the extra seats. For us, the storage is more useful than the seats would have been.
I suggest you research trade-in values here at Edmunds if you want that info. Personally, I never recommend buying a car based on resale value since they're all bad investments. Buy something that you like and then hang on to it.
"So can a dealer swap the wood from a beige interior for the wood on a gray interior?"
I seriously doubt it. That would involve a lot of work to disassemble all the door panels and dashboard, and they would not want to swap parts with a new car and sell it as new. You could probably order the panels you like from Hyundai parts and install them yourself, but they probably cost hundreds (just one roof rack crossbar costs $670). eBay has wood trim kits to replace most trim around the radio, vents, etc., but not the same wood trim already in the Santa Fe.
The mazdas use premium fuel. Thats why they were off our list. There is no reason to use premium fuel anymore. We kinda liked the older VUE the new one 2008 is small and does not come with plastic doors. I love those plastic doors. Big mistake for saturn getting rid of them to save money. Also the VUE gets mixed reviews from their forum.
The CRV was our last choice before getting the santa fe. But they drive like crap and the engine is very slow and noisey. Not that I care about HP but with the CRV it was noticable. I really tried to like the CRV but at the end couldn't do it. Toyota is off our list for good our last 3 cars were toyota and started having problems when they got close to 100,000. Dont get me wrong I don't mind problems as long as they get fixed the first time. But with 2 of our Toyota the problems didn't go away.
I really think Toyota has lost quality over the past years.
I did not like the gray wood at first but with the leather package in the limited it looks very nice. I am suprised because the first time we saw the gray wood we thought ugly. But now I like it. The beige is too light for me. The wood is pretty in the beige though.
I think you can forget about resale value on the santa fe. But since you get it cheaper then the others I would not worry. We got the 1.9% for 7 years saving us about $4500.00 take that off the price of the santa fe and we paid around $20,000. You can't get much for 20,000 anymore not even a base CRV. I would also rethink the 3rd row seats as they are pretty useless, go see one in person to see what I mean. But I would recommend the leather. We have the deep water blue not my fav but it does the job. The santa fe 3rd row are supposed to have more room then pilot but my small kids have trouble getting in those seats.
Funny the car we looked at first was a scion xb they are only like $14,000 but you know what the 2008's have been upgraded greatly. They are much more impressive then the prior years. They drive very low to the ground that would have been a problem for me.
As far as I can tell it's not that fading but the rubbing of bras against dirty wet sand/dirt under the bra onto the clearcoat that mess up the paint job. I am actually thinking of a two part system. I myself putting down the cheapo version of clearbra then putting a leather bra over that. That way it is protected from the scrapping. But not sure I will do it yet.
Agree on many points. Wanted to like CRV, but interior room + engine + overall driving experience pointed to the Santa Fe. Lack of xenon, nav, and mp3 input? Well a $300 portable nav. system takes care of two of those things, plus they're usually much more user friendly than most automakers in-dash units.
Why all the negativity on the 3rd row? I'm over 6' and found I could get in/out fairly easily and with the adjustable 2nd row, the 3rd row could be comfortable. Now I wouldn't think of taking a +2 hour road trip back there myself, but for around town, no sweat. Wife + kid(s) seat + in-town in-laws = one vehicle for a evening dinner.
We looked at non-3rd row Santa Fe's (easier to find) and the under floor storage is plentiful and could make sense depending on how you plan on using the SF.
Either way, Hyundai did it right offering both options, IMHO.
"Lack of xenon, nav, and mp3 input? Well a $300 portable nav. system takes care of two of those things, plus they're usually much more user friendly than most automakers in-dash units."
I agree that the absence of these things isn't a deal-breaker. (I bought my Santa Fe instead of any of several alternate SUVs that have these features.) To me, however, a "300 portable nav. system" does not simply resolve the absence of a factory unit. Yeah, the aftermarket unit will give you the navigation functions but I'm one who strongly prefers a full "factory" look. It's not a huge deal and I'll probably buy a Garmin once I confirm that I can't retrofit Hyundai's 2008 nav unit to my 2007. Still, I'd gladly have paid the price for the factory system had it been available. BTW, how does a "$300 portable nav. system" resolve the absence of an MP3 input?
Ah, MP3 "input", ie, a place to plug in your portable MP3 player. Sorry, I meant that some of the GPS systems out there have built in MP3 players, probably reading music via SD card, MMC, etc., my bad.
Splitting the cost of a portable GPS with other family members factored in, as we all take roadtrips occassionally, but not usually at the same time. We can share.
I too like the "factory look", which is why I'm hesitant about swapping the std. stereo as well. It sounds just "ok", but I'm not sure other aftermaket units would match the SF's great blue backlighting.
Like some others here I found myself somewhat underwhelmed with the sound quality of the standard (non-Infinity) stereo in my 2007 Limited (although it sounds considerably better than the extra-cost Bose system in my C6 Corvette). A month or so after buying my Santa Fe I replaced all of the speakers with Polks (component speakers in front, single drivers in back). I also had an external amplifier installed under the front passenger seat. The improvement is dramatic, even without a subwoofer. The amp fits perfectly under the non-power passenger seat while allowing fullfore/aft movement. The speakers fit behind the stock grills in the doors so there are no visible signs of the change.
OK, please help me understand how this works. If I buy a portable nav unit with an MP3 input, how do I get the MP3 player to play through the car's audio system since the portable nav unit isn't connected to the audio system? What am I missing here?
I've had my 07 Limited for a couple of months now but am finding that I really would like to have a 6 cd changer. However, I really love the "blue light" look of the OEM equipment.
"It did seem to me that the SF had more traction from a stop with it turned on than without it. When the AWD lock is turned off, I've noticed that the front wheels may spin for a spit second until the AWD kicks in, but I did not feel this with the AWD lock on. Does that make sense?"
Yup. That is exactly what happens. In AWD (default), you have a center differential that splits torque between the front and rear wheels, with most torque going to the front. If a front wheel begins to slip, the ABS system detects it and applies the brake on that wheel. When that happens the differential transfers torque to the wheels that aren't slipping, i.e., the rear wheels. So without the AWD lock engaged, you will get a little bit of wheelspin in slippery conditions.
When you engage the AWD lock, the center differential locks in a fixed split of torque between the front and rear (typically 50/50, but I haven't verified that's what it is on the Santa Fe). With the lock engaged, you've got the same amount of torque front and rear, independent of wheel slippage.
The AWD lock is therefore sometimes helpful in really slippery conditions. It puts a lot more strain on the driveline, though, so you should only use it in slippery conditions, and then only when you need it. I live in Minnesota where we already have over a foot of snow on the ground, and I haven't had to use the AWD lock on my Santa Fe, yet.
There are lots of aftermarket head units that have lighting that will match the blue lighting of the Santa Fe. I know that I recently looked at a Pioneer unit that had customizable lighting, and the manual claimed there were 6,000 possible configurations to match any interior.
Go to a good car stereo shop and ask for help. They'll set you up. The 07+ Santa Fe takes a standard "double DIN" size head unit, so you have lots of options.
I guess I was not liking the 3rd row seats because they are smaller then my old van had. We really never used them and liked to take the seats out to make room for stuff.
Um, yeah. Think about what you just said. Of COURSE your "van" had more room in the 3rd row than the Santa Fe. A van is, well, a van. A Santa Fe is a compact/midsize sport utility vehicle. Apples and oranges there.
I bought the Santa Fe with the 3rd row specifically because I wanted the 3rd row. The 3rd row is small, but it's more than adequate for the occasional times I have all three of my kids (ages 2, 4 and 8) with me in my car. My wife has the big vehicle that hauls the kids most of them, and that we use on long trips. She had a 2005 Honda Odyssey until it was flooded earlier this year and replaced with a 2007 Saturn Outlook (marketed as an SUV but really nothing more than a minivan with AWD and hinged rear doors). Both the Odyssey and the Outlook (like its GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave twins) are much larger than the Santa Fe, and accordingly have much larger 3rd rows that are easy to get in and out of and more comfortable for adults, especially on longer trips.
When I was shopping, I specifically wanted a vehicle with three rows of seats and AWD, because I have three kids and live in the snow belt. At the same time, I wanted something as small as possible so it would be easier to fit in my garage and, hopefully, get decent gas mileage. I quickly narrowed my choices to the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Santa Fe and Mistubishi Outlander. Everything else was bigger and more expensive, and got worse mileage (Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, GMC Acadia, Ford Freestyle, etc.). There were a lot of other small SUV's comparable in size and price to the RAV4 and Santa Fe, but none of them offered 3 row seating (Nissan Murano, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape and Edge, Saturn Vue, etc.). Compared to the Santa Fe, the RAV4 was too cramped (the tiniest 3rd row seat you will EVER see in an SUV), felt cheap inside, and too expensive, and the seats hurt my back. You also couldn't get both leather and 3rd row seats, which meant no heated seat option if you wanted 3rd row seating. The Mistsubishi had cheesy 3rd row jump seats and felt cheap. The Santa Fe was the clear winner. I still love it after six months and 11,000 miles.
If I didn't have three small kids, I wouldn't have wanted three rows of seats. In the Santa Fe, the 3rd row option costs about $1,000 (part of the "Touring" package), adds weight, and costs you some underfloor storage. But if, like me, you need three rows of seats in a small, all wheel drive vehicle, it's a great package,
I'm a little confused here. Everything I've read indicates the Santa Fe is front wheel drive and only AWD when it is locked and then only to 22 MPH. Can you help me out here?
Thanks for the response. We've had a lot of slush and ice here in Pennsylvania in recent weeks, which I guess are ideal times for the AWD lock. Last week, as I was heading down a slippery hill, the car in front of me starting sliding sideways. My ABS did kick in, but I was able to steer around him, and the SF handled great.
Well it looks like I may install a stone guard. Instead of the bras etc. Found one that didnt require any drilling. Not sure if the OEM one requires drilling or not? Does anyone have a stone guard and if so is blocking the debree from hitting your hood. I look around all the time and notice many trucks etc with with stone guards. They don't seem to take anything away from the looks of the vehicle.
That's one of those gizmos that clip (or sometimes bolt/screw) onto the edge of the hood to deflect rocks? Some of those also attach with adhesive I think.
I don't see as many of those around as I used to, even on all the trucks around here (maybe more folks have gone to the clear film instead?).
I don't recall linking the Bug guards, protective bras & film discussion in here - it may have some hints for you. Alignment and rattling may be an issue with the stone guard things.
I have an '07 Limited AWD (Ultimate + Touring) and got the map light fix done today at Piazza Hyundia in Pottstown, PA. I ordered it about 3 weeks ago from Hyundia USA and I scheduled a service appointment to install it. Mine was the first Santa Fe that they installed the retro kit into and it took 2 hours because of some wire color confusion in the instructions of the kit. The technician had to call Hyundia support to get the correct wire info. They did get it complete and everything looked the same when it was done. They showed me the kit instructions and it really is just a new wire harness kit that connects to the existing dome light via wires that run down the driverside windshield column.
When it was complete, the map lights did indeed turn on when doors opened. It was amazing to actually have light in the front seats of the vehichle now when it got dark this evening. It's much better than it was but I still wish there was a button or switch on the dash that would let me turn on all the lights (2 maps + dome + cargo) from the drivers seat. This would be useful with kids in the car sometimes when someone drops something and needs all lights turned on.
Well I looked all over the net searching for a stone guard for the santa fe. Was about to purchase one for $77.00 then found one at autozone. 49.99 +3.00 taxes you can order it at the store you dont have to pay for shipping (another $8.00). They come in clear or tinted brown. The brand is bugflector II. The good thing is if you don't like it you can return it to the store. The online return policys for the other brands were not as easy if at all possible. It uses mechanical or double backed tape to install. Since the Santa fe already has holes under the hood would think the mechanical install would work. Will put up a picture and let you know if I like it next week. Takes 5 days to get.
By the way rotated my tires last night. Boy do you have to crank that jack up high to get it to clear the tires. The crank they give you is a little bit of a pain to operate. It comes in two pieces. You can expect to use every bit of the screw jack to achieve the height you need. Even purchased a new floor jack to try to save some time. But the jack didn't go up high enough to clear the tires. I don't trust people that rotate tires, I have seen them do they improperly before.
There is an odd shaped tool in the tool kit that I did not know what you use it for. Perhaps its in the manual. Looks like a lolipop with threads on the end. It's rather large.
"There is an odd shaped tool in the tool kit that I did not know what you use it for. Perhaps its in the manual. Looks like a lolipop with threads on the end. It's rather large."
It's a tow/recovery hook. If you look at the rear of your SUV below the tailgate, you'll see a small round knock-out. If you push that out, it exposes a threaded hole in the steel underneath the bumper cover. The hook is threaded into the hole if you need to pull the Santa Fe from behind (such as in recovering it).
Didn't you just get your Santa Fe? Why are you rotating the tires already? I can't imagine that you were able to apply sufficient torque to the lug nuts.
It was a dealer demo it now has 5k now. I have a special circumstance that I had to rotate them would not normally have done it at 5k. I cant go into my circumstance has nothing to do with the car. Took me about 30 minutes but should be able to cut that down to 20 when I get a good jack.
I have no problem applying torque as I use a lead pipe hooked up to the level to do it. In fact whoever torqued them the first time they were loose. .
I just purchased OEM front and rear mud guards from EBAY for $43.00 included shipping very good price as others were well over $65.00 for the same set. This dealer has more if anyone is interested. I will be installing them next week sometime. Will also post pic of them.
Thanks for the info, I called 3 Hyundai dealerships. Of course got 3 different answers to torque. But the avg was 85 lbs. The range was 80-95 lbs. But I like the 85 lbs.
Hi..I'm going to repost this email. I've got a Santa Fe 3.3L front wheel drive with 2200 miles on it. If I'm driving at 45 mph and then let off the gas and coast to a stop sign/light, it seems to be geared down between 40mph to 25mph. The vehicle slows down by itself. Is this normal for this vehicle? The technician at Hyundai told me that it's normal for this type of engine and transmissiont. I just wondered if anyone else has the same symptoms........Thanks.........
I have them on my Santa Fe (got all 4 from my dealer for around $45). They fit perfectly and look great. It took me around 30 minutes to install all 4.
I have the mudguards and they are not long enough to work properly. I still get way too much debris on the sides of the car. I get mudguards on all my vehicles and these are the worst. They do not even say Hyundai on them! Fred.
Hello: Regarding the 07 Santa Fe and choice of trim levels in Canada I do have a few comments. I recently purchased a 2007 Limited Santa Fe in the US and saved over 10 K and got a fully loaded model. I am unsure of where you are located regarding trim levels but the interior of BC has the Limited Santa Fe model here but does have a few options missing when it comes to audio and other option.s I found a Limited AWD Santa Fe in Kelowna but it was 7 passenger and did not have the Tire Pressure Monitoring System(TPMS) which was included with my US purchase. As to the statement saying that you can not purchase a new car in the US you just need to do an internet search and you will find all kinds of dealers willing to sell to Canadian buyers. There is one hiccup in the system presently as the Registrar of Imported BVehicles(RIV) is causing some paper work problems with regards to the starter imobilizer concern. If you sing into RIV.ca you can see which cars are admissable for Canadian import. Hope this helps out. .Mac
Article in the Ottawa Citizen last week - Hyundai Canada announced that they are no longer picking up the cost of wararnty work on vehicles imported from the US by Canadian residents. This means that. like Subaru, anyone who has imported a US car will now have to pay for the work and apply to Hyundai Motor America for reimbursement (Subaru Canada had the good grace to anounce in advance that it would become effective January 08 and going forward; apparently for Hyundai Canada it it applies retroactively). I called the Hyundai Motor America consumer line. They said that they were surprised by this. So for those of us who have imported a US car, it will now be a case of paying up front at Canadian dealerships or taking the vehicle to a US dealer.
thanks gunga64 - but i didn't like what i saw there - thinking of something that can hold more than the cargo box... maybe square shape.... that could hold like 2 big suitcases...
Comments
I've got a little better understanding about the AWD system now and unless the conditions dictate otherwise, I'll let it do it's thing.
Turned the diff. lock off at the end of the alley and never went over 12 mph.
Excellent SUV so far, very pleased. Lots of praise/compliments for the styling, in and out. As another poster noted, friends with RX350's seem to be kicking themselves after a ride in the SF. The Lex is a great vehicle, but the SF just makes more cents, DUH!
Well i am in the market and want to get an SUV. Before i was looking at Pilot, Outlook,CX-9 (MT's SUV Of The Year), and Veracruz, however my son made a really goood point telling me that the car is just going to be for me and my wife because the family (5) are all grown oldest 26, 22 and 18, they all got their cars and we barely ever go somewhere all together so it wasnt worth it paying nearly 10K for for a bigger SUV that needs more gas when i wont be using all that space. Now he told me to get a smaller SUV such as the CR-V, VUE, or Santa Fe. Other small SUVs are not reliable and i just dont like them.
I am really leaning towards the Santa Fe a Limited AWD with Touring and Premium Pkg in either Slate Blue or Deepwater Blue with Gray Interior. I want the 3rd row because it is just nice to know that it is back there and i can use it whenever we all get together and go someplace, not like a 2 row SUV.
My big dilemma now is:
1. Resale value... this is a big one because in case i was to sell this vehicle how much would i get? What is the difference between SF, CR-V, and VUE in resale value? I know the CR-V has the best but by how much?? Anybody know?
2. One thing that REALLY bugs me about the SF is that with the Gray interior you are forced to get Gray wood, i HATE this color wood because it is not as warming as the "real" wood found in Beige interiors, also i really like tha contrast of the wood and gray interior that has always been my favorite interior combo. So can a dealer swap the wood from a beige interior for the wood on a gray interior? Has anybody thought of this? Since the wood pieces just seem like maybe they pop on or something wouldnt it be easy to maybe do that?
I appreciate your responses in advance.
Thanks
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (love the V8!)
Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia
Acura RDX (beautiful package but I'm not fond of the turbocharged 4-cylinder)
Mazda CX-7 (same as above)
Dodge Nitro (Pretty nice but lots of hard plastics and only a 4-speed transmission)
Mercury Mountaineer (had one, loved it)
There are a lot of nice SUVs out there but not many that give you the Santa Fe's bang for the buck. My only gripes are the absence of a few features:
Navigation (available on 2008 Limiteds, supposedly)
Xenon headlights
MP3 player input
As for 3rd row seating, before you decide take a look at the under-floor storage you'd be giving up if you got the extra seats. For us, the storage is more useful than the seats would have been.
I suggest you research trade-in values here at Edmunds if you want that info. Personally, I never recommend buying a car based on resale value since they're all bad investments. Buy something that you like and then hang on to it.
I seriously doubt it. That would involve a lot of work to disassemble all the door panels and dashboard, and they would not want to swap parts with a new car and sell it as new. You could probably order the panels you like from Hyundai parts and install them yourself, but they probably cost hundreds (just one roof rack crossbar costs $670). eBay has wood trim kits to replace most trim around the radio, vents, etc., but not the same wood trim already in the Santa Fe.
I would be careful with stick-on paint chip protectors since over time, the paint may fade unevenly.
The CRV was our last choice before getting the santa fe. But they drive like crap and the engine is very slow and noisey. Not that I care about HP but with the CRV it was noticable. I really tried to like the CRV but at the end couldn't do it. Toyota is off our list for good our last 3 cars were toyota and started having problems when they got close to 100,000. Dont get me wrong I don't mind problems as long as they get fixed the first time. But with 2 of our Toyota the problems didn't go away.
I really think Toyota has lost quality over the past years.
I did not like the gray wood at first but with the leather package in the limited it looks very nice. I am suprised because the first time we saw the gray wood we thought ugly. But now I like it. The beige is too light for me. The wood is pretty in the beige though.
I think you can forget about resale value on the santa fe. But since you get it cheaper then the others I would not worry. We got the 1.9% for 7 years saving us about $4500.00 take that off the price of the santa fe and we paid around $20,000. You can't get much for 20,000 anymore not even a base CRV. I would also rethink the 3rd row seats as they are pretty useless, go see one in person to see what I mean. But I would recommend the leather. We have the deep water blue not my fav but it does the job. The santa fe 3rd row are supposed to have more room then pilot but my small kids have trouble getting in those seats.
Funny the car we looked at first was a scion xb they are only like $14,000 but you know what the 2008's have been upgraded greatly. They are much more impressive then the prior years. They drive very low to the ground that would have been a problem for me.
Why all the negativity on the 3rd row? I'm over 6' and found I could get in/out fairly easily and with the adjustable 2nd row, the 3rd row could be comfortable. Now I wouldn't think of taking a +2 hour road trip back there myself, but for around town, no sweat. Wife + kid(s) seat + in-town in-laws = one vehicle for a evening dinner.
We looked at non-3rd row Santa Fe's (easier to find) and the under floor storage is plentiful and could make sense depending on how you plan on using the SF.
Either way, Hyundai did it right offering both options, IMHO.
I agree that the absence of these things isn't a deal-breaker. (I bought my Santa Fe instead of any of several alternate SUVs that have these features.) To me, however, a "300 portable nav. system" does not simply resolve the absence of a factory unit. Yeah, the aftermarket unit will give you the navigation functions but I'm one who strongly prefers a full "factory" look. It's not a huge deal and I'll probably buy a Garmin once I confirm that I can't retrofit Hyundai's 2008 nav unit to my 2007. Still, I'd gladly have paid the price for the factory system had it been available. BTW, how does a "$300 portable nav. system" resolve the absence of an MP3 input?
Splitting the cost of a portable GPS with other family members factored in, as we all take roadtrips occassionally, but not usually at the same time. We can share.
I too like the "factory look", which is why I'm hesitant about swapping the std. stereo as well. It sounds just "ok", but I'm not sure other aftermaket units would match the SF's great blue backlighting.
Keep us posted on that 2008 nav retrofit though.
The TomTom 920T is available with an optional IPod connection cable - $500 to $600 complete package.
http://www.gpsreview.net/
Is there a workaround for this compromise?
Yup. That is exactly what happens. In AWD (default), you have a center differential that splits torque between the front and rear wheels, with most torque going to the front. If a front wheel begins to slip, the ABS system detects it and applies the brake on that wheel. When that happens the differential transfers torque to the wheels that aren't slipping, i.e., the rear wheels. So without the AWD lock engaged, you will get a little bit of wheelspin in slippery conditions.
When you engage the AWD lock, the center differential locks in a fixed split of torque between the front and rear (typically 50/50, but I haven't verified that's what it is on the Santa Fe). With the lock engaged, you've got the same amount of torque front and rear, independent of wheel slippage.
The AWD lock is therefore sometimes helpful in really slippery conditions. It puts a lot more strain on the driveline, though, so you should only use it in slippery conditions, and then only when you need it. I live in Minnesota where we already have over a foot of snow on the ground, and I haven't had to use the AWD lock on my Santa Fe, yet.
Go to a good car stereo shop and ask for help. They'll set you up. The 07+ Santa Fe takes a standard "double DIN" size head unit, so you have lots of options.
I bought the Santa Fe with the 3rd row specifically because I wanted the 3rd row. The 3rd row is small, but it's more than adequate for the occasional times I have all three of my kids (ages 2, 4 and 8) with me in my car. My wife has the big vehicle that hauls the kids most of them, and that we use on long trips. She had a 2005 Honda Odyssey until it was flooded earlier this year and replaced with a 2007 Saturn Outlook (marketed as an SUV but really nothing more than a minivan with AWD and hinged rear doors). Both the Odyssey and the Outlook (like its GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave twins) are much larger than the Santa Fe, and accordingly have much larger 3rd rows that are easy to get in and out of and more comfortable for adults, especially on longer trips.
When I was shopping, I specifically wanted a vehicle with three rows of seats and AWD, because I have three kids and live in the snow belt. At the same time, I wanted something as small as possible so it would be easier to fit in my garage and, hopefully, get decent gas mileage. I quickly narrowed my choices to the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Santa Fe and Mistubishi Outlander. Everything else was bigger and more expensive, and got worse mileage (Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, GMC Acadia, Ford Freestyle, etc.). There were a lot of other small SUV's comparable in size and price to the RAV4 and Santa Fe, but none of them offered 3 row seating (Nissan Murano, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape and Edge, Saturn Vue, etc.). Compared to the Santa Fe, the RAV4 was too cramped (the tiniest 3rd row seat you will EVER see in an SUV), felt cheap inside, and too expensive, and the seats hurt my back. You also couldn't get both leather and 3rd row seats, which meant no heated seat option if you wanted 3rd row seating. The Mistsubishi had cheesy 3rd row jump seats and felt cheap. The Santa Fe was the clear winner. I still love it after six months and 11,000 miles.
If I didn't have three small kids, I wouldn't have wanted three rows of seats. In the Santa Fe, the 3rd row option costs about $1,000 (part of the "Touring" package), adds weight, and costs you some underfloor storage. But if, like me, you need three rows of seats in a small, all wheel drive vehicle, it's a great package,
Where did you find AWD without the lock?
Canadiandriver.com
Looks like Hyundai did some homework when designing this system, just as they did in redesigning the 2007 SF. Nice.
I don't see as many of those around as I used to, even on all the trucks around here (maybe more folks have gone to the clear film instead?).
I don't recall linking the Bug guards, protective bras & film discussion in here - it may have some hints for you. Alignment and rattling may be an issue with the stone guard things.
When it was complete, the map lights did indeed turn on when doors opened. It was amazing to actually have light in the front seats of the vehichle now when it got dark this evening. It's much better than it was but I still wish there was a button or switch on the dash that would let me turn on all the lights (2 maps + dome + cargo) from the drivers seat. This would be useful with kids in the car sometimes when someone drops something and needs all lights turned on.
By the way rotated my tires last night. Boy do you have to crank that jack up high to get it to clear the tires. The crank they give you is a little bit of a pain to operate. It comes in two pieces. You can expect to use every bit of the screw jack to achieve the height you need. Even purchased a new floor jack to try to save some time. But the jack didn't go up high enough to clear the tires. I don't trust people that rotate tires, I have seen them do they improperly before.
There is an odd shaped tool in the tool kit that I did not know what you use it for. Perhaps its in the manual. Looks like a lolipop with threads on the end. It's rather large.
It's a tow/recovery hook. If you look at the rear of your SUV below the tailgate, you'll see a small round knock-out. If you push that out, it exposes a threaded hole in the steel underneath the bumper cover. The hook is threaded into the hole if you need to pull the Santa Fe from behind (such as in recovering it).
I have no problem applying torque as I use a lead pipe hooked up to the level to do it. In fact whoever torqued them the first time they were loose. .
Full set
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130165162965&- ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=003
They also just sell the front or back
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hyundai-Santa-Fe-2007-2008-Rear-Mud-Guards-OEM-NE- - - W_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118QQcategoryZ50455QQihZ003QQitemZ130165162- - - 933QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V
Is this normal for this vehicle? The technician at Hyundai told me that it's normal for this type of engine and transmissiont. I just wondered if anyone else has the same symptoms........Thanks.........
Post pix as soon as you get them. Thanks-
They're dirty in the pics but you get the idea.
As to the statement saying that you can not purchase a new car in the US you just need to do an internet search and you will find all kinds of dealers willing to sell to Canadian buyers. There is one hiccup in the system presently as the Registrar of Imported BVehicles(RIV) is causing some paper work problems with regards to the starter imobilizer concern. If you sing into RIV.ca you can see which cars are admissable for Canadian import. Hope this helps out. .Mac
No - can you give us any details on why you had this done??
http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t22102-us-cars-to-can-new-policy-warranty-support.- htm
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SUVs and Smart Shopper