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Hyundai Santa Fe Maintenance and Repair (2006 and earlier)

1931 messages,  Last post on May 10, 2013 at 9:18 AM

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Messages Page 108 of 194

#1064 of 1931 HIGH MILEAGE SANTA FE by sf121kmi

Sep 06, 2005 (11:23 am)

I own a 2001 Santa Fe with 120,000 miles on it. Yes I commute. In the last 2 months the engine has "tired out" is what the dealer told me. I have since then, had to replace not only the engine but also the starter, the fuel pump, some fancy computer sensor and now the power steering pump has went.
 I am still paying on the vehicle. I contacted Hyundai Consumer Affairs and was told simply "Sorry it's out of warranty, there's nothing we can do." I have had many HIGH mileage vehicles in my time and have NEVER had these kind of problems. I have maintained this vehicle as suggested by the dealer, who did all of the work, until the "first" warranty of 72kmi is up. I LOVED this vehicle so much and took such good care of it and it is completely falling apart right now. In two months I have put over $4700 into this beast. So to all of you low mileage owners .. enjoy the smooth wonderful ride now and start a "Santa Fe Repair Fund" because you're gonna need it. At least to you other 2001 owners. Hopefully Hyundai has since worked out the bugs.

#1065 of 1931 Re: HIGH MILEAGE SANTA FE [sf121kmi] by targettuning

Sep 06, 2005 (11:51 am)

Replying to: sf121kmi (Sep 06, 2005 11:23 am)
Exactly what do you mean by the term "tired out"? What happened to the original engine? 4 or 2.7 liter V-6 ? Why would the entire engine need replaced verses repair? It is entirely possible the starter, fuel pump and also the power steering pump would need replacement after 120,000 miles. Yes, at 120,000 miles you are clearly out of warranty...did you expect otherwise? Yes, I too have had many high mileage cars and yes they needed all the above things you mentioned plus a whole lot more including alternator..water pump...AC compressor...radiator...automatic transmission...wheel bearings...axle shafts/CV joints...electric cooling fan for the radiator...etc. Included are Dodge, Ford, Subaru. This only goes to prove things wear out. You now have a car with a new engine, new starter, new fuel pump so it is probably far from falling apart. Finally.. see the message above from an owner who has 150,000 plus without undue repair so I guess they ain't all bad. In addition to the Santa Fe we also own a 2000 Elantra with 121,000 miles that needed only brakes, both front and rear and front rotors. It has been one of, if not the most, trouble free car we have owned up to and past the100,000 mile mark.

#1066 of 1931 Re: HIGH MILEAGE SANTA FE [targettuning] by sf121kmi

Sep 06, 2005 (2:16 pm)

Replying to: targettuning (Sep 06, 2005 11:51 am)
It is a 4 cyl engine ... which is no longer an option with the Santa Fe. They are all V6 standard. You probably wonder why I got the 4 cyl, because it was cheaper and what I could afford at the time. As for the engine, I was told that there were too many issues in the engine that it would wiser and probably cheaper to replace it. Did I expect otherwise??? ABSOLUTELY .. I expect that a car will go more than 20kmi over the warranty before needing MANY MAJOR repairs. I know what I have now BUT it's cost me almost $5000!!!! Oh I guess I should've mentioned the $500 wheel bearings I had replaced, the A/C that hasn't worked since last year. Which may seem great for someone like you to have all this new stuff but someone like me who is on worker's comp and having another surgery, living with little money, "when it rains it pours" and this car hasn't helped. I am aware things wear out Dad, but not that soon. I guess that's a lesson learned for buying a first year model. My new motto .. people who drive Hyundai's .. really wanted a Honda but just couldn't afford it. I know I was looking at the CRV before the Santa Fe came out at the end of 2000. Thanks for your input.

#1067 of 1931 Re: HIGH MILEAGE SANTA FE [sf121kmi] by vibrationsick

Sep 06, 2005 (11:15 pm)

Replying to: sf121kmi (Sep 06, 2005 2:16 pm)
I have to say when I had my 4 cyl Hyundai I did not have any problems, lived in Michigan, went through all 4 seasons without a hitch and I drove from there to AZ again no problems then I decided since I couldn't afford a lot of the other SUV's out there that were 6 cylinders, I would trade up for a Hyundai 6 cyl. and now as you see... see #1051... you don't need high mileage to have aggravation with customer service.... I am exhausted with dealers and customer service and finding the real physical reason for a problem that started when I drove the car off the lot... I may have to take a loss and try and trade, but I do not have the money for this either. I have to say that I did drive a Honda CRV before the Hyundai and the comfort of driving was not there and the road noise was horrible, which surprisingly is the same reason Consumer Reports gave as a downfall. I would like a Honda Pilot though... but as you said who the heck can trade a Hyundai Sante Fe for one of those, not me... Hope your money pit does not continue and things look up soon...

#1068 of 1931 Re: HIGH MILEAGE SANTA FE [sf121kmi] by targettuning

Sep 07, 2005 (5:48 am)

Replying to: sf121kmi (Sep 06, 2005 2:16 pm)
I am aware the 4 cylinder is no longer available. No, I don't wonder why you bought a 4 cylinder...many people found it to be a nice alternative to the six. With regard to the warranty, NO you shouldn't have expected otherwise..Hyundai already has the longest one in the business and they(Hyundai) cannot be expected to cover their cars for a million miles or forever, whichever comes first so lets be reasonable here. Should a car go 120,000+ miles without major repair? perhaps but not necessarily. Should it last 200,000 miles, perhaps, but maybe not. My point is you cannot point at this specific car with expectations of how long it should, or shouldn't last. You never know with any mechanical thing. I am NOT your dad. And finally, I drive Hyundai's and NEVER really wanted a Honda (I can afford them too).

#1069 of 1931 Re: HIGH MILEAGE SANTA FE [vibrationsick] by targettuning

Sep 07, 2005 (9:36 am)

Replying to: vibrationsick (Sep 06, 2005 11:15 pm)
I had said in a previous post that I thought I had seen reference to a difficult to find steering vibration on another Santa Fe owners site. I will try to remember to access their data bank for a possible answer to your dilema. I seem to think however that it had to do with an imbalance in the rear differential drive shaft. My memory may or may not prove true but I will make the effort to find it.

#1070 of 1931 Re: vibration steering wheel @60mph [vibrationsick] by targettuning

Sep 08, 2005 (5:43 am)

Replying to: vibrationsick (Aug 31, 2005 8:22 pm)
As promised I checked into your problem and have found a few things to check beyond the things your dealer already tried. Stubborn vibrations in the floor, steering wheel, and felt through the seat have been reported on some Santa Fe's mostly at higher speeds. If thorough wheel/tire inspections for imbalance..out of round...belt damage..bent or otherwise damaged wheel or wheels don't turn up anything obvious some have found temporary replacement of the full set of tires from a car on the lot causes it to disappear. Internal tire damage is impossible to see. Obviously the concern of the dealer a lot to do whether or not they will go to these lengths. Beyond this some other cars have been cured by replacing the driveshaft and a Hyundai mechanic wrote a post to say replacing the whole driveshaft may be unecessary because he fixed several by replacing the U Joint in the driveshaft, either way this may be a fix. Finally one owner posted that his stubborn vibration was fixed by replacing, in his case, the right rear axle shaft (rear differential to wheel) because while on a lift.. engine on, in gear, it was noticed the axle shaft visably "wobbled" and turned out to be bent. Speculation was, the cars being chained down on the boatride from Korea were tied too tightly and the resulting movement bent or damaged this part. Several others concurred they also had bent rear axle shafts. Since front drive cars are especially sensitive to imbalance of any kind it is important to make sure wheels/wheel weights/tires are perfectly OK. Hope something mentioned here helps and makes you feel better about your Santa Fe.

#1071 of 1931 Re: Stuck in 3rd [swanner] by targettuning

Sep 08, 2005 (5:51 am)

Replying to: swanner (Aug 17, 2005 6:54 am)
If you are still out there reading this site I may have an answer (probably already fixed though). If your car defaults to third gear (limp home) you may need an "input speed sensor". The fault code retained for this will be...P0715 and the repair costs should be around $200.00. Have your Hyundai dealer check the fault codes to be sure.

#1072 of 1931 santa fe spark plugs by gebo

Sep 08, 2005 (9:34 am)

I just learned today, the labor charge to install 6 plugs in the 2.7 engine would run $299.00.
Is the plug installation on that engine truly that daunting a job?

#1073 of 1931 Re: santa fe spark plugs [gebo] by targettuning

Sep 08, 2005 (10:34 am)

Replying to: gebo (Sep 08, 2005 9:34 am)
A transverse V-6 engine in a modern front drive car leaves precious little room then toss in a low hood line...anyhow many manufacturers have been "laying" the intake manifold over. This covers the back bank of cylinders and as a result the intake manifold and associated hoses and linkages all have to be removed to reach the back 3 plugs. If you remove the black plastic engine shroud on the Hyundai you will see exactly what I mean. It would be in your interest to be absolutely sure that a misfiring plug is the problem...all Hyundai Santa Fe's have long life platinum plugs from the factory so to change them "just because" isn't as good an idea as it used to be when throwing in plugs was a driveway 20 minute job.
Before you start cursing Hyundai for this setup I have a 1995 Dodge Stratus V-6 that is exactly the same and recently paid a lot of $$ to have the plugs changed, and while things were accessible I also changed the plug wires.

Messages Page 108 of 194

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