This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Fuel gauge stopped working and service engine light is on. Fuel gauge now reads empty even if tank is full. This is a safety issue as amount of gas in tank is unknown and should be recalled by Hyundai.
The issue began about a month ago during a long interstate trip. If the fuel gauge reached the 1/4 tank mark, it would plummet to empty. As the car ran, the gauge would rise up and fall again repeatedly. Sometimes when the car was started (even with a full tank), the gauge would never rise above "E." thankfully, the car never stalled and always started. I just had it serviced today. Both sending units were replaced and was told by a Hyundai dealer that they keep these parts (fuel sensors) in stock due to the high frequency of calls they receive from other owners with this same problem. Surprised there has been no recall issued yet!
When the gas tank is less than half full, the fuel gauge displays tank as nearly empty and the amber low fuel light appears. The check engine warning light also comes on. The fuel gauge swings back up to nearly half full, drops down to 1/4 full, then drops down to almost empty, then swing back to half full. After filling the tank the fuel gauge is once again accurate until the tank goes below 1/2 full.. this is a fuel sensor issue with the two sensors in the gas tank. I'm going to have to reset the odometer every time I fill up and make sure I fill up the tank every 300-325 miles. I've done my research and this is a known, widespread issue with the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles. I saw many complaints about this issue filed on the nhsta so this Agency is well aware of the issue but has chosen not to recall the Santa Fe for the 2008 model year. I don't understand this: This is a safety issue as well as a gross design and manufacturing problem with this vehicle.
When the gas tank is less than half full, the fuel gauge displays tank as nearly empty and the amber low fuel light appears. The check engine warning light also comes on. The fuel gauge swings back up to nearly half full, drops down to 1/4 full, then drops down to almost empty, then swing back to half full. About 3 months after this problem started, the fuel gauge remains near empty with the amber low fuel light lit. When I fill up the gas tank, the fuel gauge is once again accurate until the tank goes below 1/2 full. However, the check engine light remains on at all times and can only be cleared by a mechanic. I've had my mechanic clear it twice. This is a fuel sensor issue with the two senders in the gas tank. I was going to have this repaired by having the fuel pump assembly replaced but found out it would cost $1000. I can't afford that so I'm stuck. I'm going to have to reset the odometer every time I fill up and make sure I fill up the tank every 300 miles. I've done my research and this is a known, widespread issue with the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles. I saw many complaints about this issue filed on the nhsta so this Agency is well aware of the issue but has chosen not to recall the Santa Fe for the 2008 model year. I don't understand this: This is a safety issue as well as a gross design and manufacturing problem with this vehicle. We bought this vehicle used with no knowledge of this. The fuel gauge started behaving erratically a little over a year after we bought it in May 2014, which would be around late July 2015. He first sign of a problem occurred after I filled the gas tank in late July 2015. That was the first time the check engine light came on even though the gas tank was full. I had my mechanic clear it. This same thing happened about 6 weeks later. After that the erratic fuel gauge behavior I described started occurring.
Late last year (2014) my gas gauge suddenly showed empty (with empty light coming on) on my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe gls 2..3 L engine. In addition, the 'check engine' came on and stayed on. I took vehicle to my mechanic, who told me the fail codes related to the a and B sensors in the fuel tank not functioning properly. The cost of the repair was estimated at around $700. My vehicle is no longer under any warranty. I asked if this defect is causing environmental problems or other problems that could cause engine damage, etc. And he said no. I said well, I could live with this by zeroing out my trip indicator and keeping track that way, knowing my approximate mpg. (I live in Wisconsin on the lakeshore and we are under mandatory emissions testing due to the polluted air coming up from Illinois and being trapped by lake Michigan.) he told that next year (current 2015), my vehicle would not pass emissions because the 'check engine' light is on! now as registration is due in November, I have to get it fixed. First off, I believe this is a safety issue because if I forgot to zero out my trip odometer and ran out of gas in tin-buk-two, I or my wife (who doesn't have a concealed carry permit) could be stranded in a dangerous area. Secondly, I get screwed on not being able to register my vehicle due to a non-emissions related issue.
- Sheboygan, WI, USA
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Fuel gauge started intermittently going up and down, then stopped working completely. While driving in the left lane on I95, at 70 mph, the vehicle stalled running out of gas almost causing a crash, due to the loss of all power.
I also have the fuel leveling sensor issue on my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe limited. The check engine light came on and the code indicated a failing fuel leveling sensor. This is accompanied by fluctuation in the fuel gauge and makes it difficult to determine how much fuel is left and when the code is cleared will come back on randomly. It appears to happen to a lot of these vehicles between 60,000 and 120,000 miles. I think this should be a recall or class action suite as it is an estimated $800 repair and will often fail either before the warranty expires or within 20,000 miles outside the 100,000 mile warranty.
The gauge on the fuel tank has stopped operating and doesn't accurately show how much fuel is in the tank. After filling up the gas tank the empty light comes on intermittently. This happens randomly when the car is in motion. The fuel gauge moves up and down and the check engine light has come on and stays on.
Check engine light is activated and fuel gauge reads empty at all times. Constantly adding fuel as there is no way to accurately estimate amount of fuel in tank. This is a safety issue as running out of fuel is a constant issue for anyone driving these vehicles. This is a known problem with this model year Hyundai Santa Fe as documented. Dealer estimate for cost to repair is $900 as both fuel sensors would be replaced at one time.
We stopped to get gas on a road trip and after filling up the fuel gauge showed 1/2 full then empty and the fuel gauge would spin down and up instead of slowing decreasing with driving. How does a fuel gauge stop working on a 6 year old vehicle? there have been many complaints that this should be looked into for a possible recall. Dealer says it is $500 to replace sensor and it is dangerous to drive and not know when you could run out of gas. Very disappointing.
The gas gauge is very sporadic. Sometimes it reads correctly other times it does not. It can say empty when full or 1/4 of a tank when full. I researched this on the Hyundai internet forums and it seems to be a very common fault with this vehicle. With so many occurrences you would think this would be covered under a recall.
Just as the other noted complaints, my check engine light has been coming on and off and my fuel gauge indicator has been extremely temperamental. Rarely it'll show the correct level - usually once I fill my tank, my fuel gage shoes I am below empty and flashes that I have no miles left to drive until my tank is empty. I have resorted to tracking my mileage with the trip function because as others have discovered - to repair it costs an arm and a leg due to expensive labor from where the sensor needs to be accessed to replace it, under the driver seat.
We have the same issue on our 2008 Santa Fe as described by many other drivers here. Check engine light goes on and off and the fuel gauge up and down. I'm surprised there hasn't been a recall for this issue yet, since there are so many comments/complaints here.
Check engine light came on and the fuel gauge began jumping all over the place. It would say I had 88 miles to empty and then jump back up to 130. The next day the check engine light was off and then the next it would be back on again. Had a mechanic check the codes and it was a bad fuel sensor. I took my car to the dealership and they replaced both fuel sensors for $416. If I hadn't gotten it fixed, I wouldn't have been able to pass emissions testing which is mandatory in my county. Also, I wouldn't have any clue how much gas I had and could've been stranded.
When you fill up the gas tank, it register empty and the check engine light comes on. Sometimes the gauge will read correctly and then it goes back to empty. I have to always fill the car up because I don't know how much gas is in the car. This is annoying. It very expensive to fix. This is the third Hyundai I've bought (two Santa Fe's and one sonata) and this car is the worst model I bought.
I filled up my tank to full one evening. After which I came home and parked for the night. The next morning I was leaving and noticed my low gas light came on and it was on empty. This had happened presviously to me but correctly itself so I continued to drive. While driving my check engine light also came on. Eventually the tank read 1/2 full and the low gas light turned off. However the check engine light is still on. This is not ok. I take great care of my vehicle and should feel safe driving in it with my children. I'm very disappointed with Hyundai.
While I was driving along at approximately 25 mph in my Hyundai santafe the steering became very difficult and there was no throttle response. I stopped the vehicle completely in the middle of the boulevard street and put the vehicle in park and restarted the engine. I was very frightened during the incident that someone was going to run into the back of my car and that the vehicle would stop again before I got home. I refused to drive the vehicle again and followed my husband in another vehicle as he drove the faulty vehicle to the dealer the following day. The tech rep we spoke with at the dealer casually said the throttle positioning sensor was bad and if we wanted it repaired it would cost about $400. I couldn't believe they would let me leave the dealership with this malfunctioning part. The symptoms are the same as the General Motors ignition switch problem. I looked it up online and this seems to be a common problem with the Hyundai santafe. Where is the outrage" where are the recalls? is it going to take many deaths and 10 years to correct this problem like GM ignition switch problem? does somebody have to die before this is taken seriously" Hyundai management refuses to discuss this problem. I sincerely hope I can appeal to your sensibility and force this Korean company to address this dangerous problem.
My Santa Fe AWD 2008 was bought in June 2009 and now has ~99K mileage. I had four or five similar incidents with my Santa Fe starting on 4/21/15, which led to significant power loss and speed loss of the car on the road. The first time, I was driving on a local road at ~25 mph. Suddenly I felt the car lost the power and began to slow down. I stepped down on the accelerator, but the car could not accelerate (the speed dropped to ~10 mph). I saw 3 system indicator/warning lights on: The ESC off(electronic stability control) and check engine indicators had a steady light and the AWD system warning light was flashing. I pulled off to the side of the road, shut off the car, waited ~1 minute, and then restarted the car. The check engine light stayed on, but the other lights went out. Then I drove the car to continue to my job. The 2nd incident occurred on my way home. The same scenario except that I was driving at ~40 mph at the time. The sudden power loss caused the car speed quickly dropped to ~10 mph and probably led the car behind mine to make a sudden stop to avoid a crash. Again, I pulled off to the side of the road, shut off the engine, and then restarted the car with the check engine light staying on. The other times I was on the cresent city connection (bridge) in the center lane. I had to work my way over two lanes to turn the vehicle off to restart to continue on my way to or from work. After the 5th time, I did some research online and found an article stating that this problem was on the tsb (technical safety bulletin). Maybe someone somewhere should be aware of more than one vehicle having this problem.......
While driving on the highway the fuel propulsion system light came on and the fuel gauge read empty. However, based on mileage and the last time I had filled the gas tank, I knew I should have close to half a tank. The next morning the gauge read close to half a tank. While driving the fuel gauge marked once again empty. As a driver, I had no idea how much gasoline the car really had. I took the car to the dealership and they retrieved the code P0469: Fuel level sensors a and B failure. Hyundai dealership/warranty did not cover the cost of the replacement, even though the car only had 40, 228 miles. I had to pay $600 for the replcement of the two fuel sensors.
Safety issue: Failure of the fuel sending unit permanently turns on the "check engine light" which denies the use of the "check engine light" for other serious conditions. Many consumers have previously reported the failure of the fuel sending unit. These units cost between $800 to $1200 to fix so most drivers do not fix it and instead use the odometer reading to determine when fuel is needed. Unfortunately, driving with the "check engine light" on at all times prevents the driver from seeing the "check engine light" illuminate when a serious condition exists. Therefore, this is a safety issue. Considering the number of consumer reports already sent to NHTSA regarding failed fuel sending units, Hyundai should immediately issue a safety recall to fix these units.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Elk Grove Village, IL, USA