10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 3
Average Mileage:
60,670 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2009 Hyundai Santa Fe electrical problems

electrical problem

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2009 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #27

Nov 162015

Santa Fe

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At around 90,000 miles, the fuel gauge stopped working. Evidently, this is a common problem. Even after filling the tank with gas, the gauge shows "empty". the problem seems to be the fuel sending units in the tank - the sensor brushes break off and the unit no longer sends a signal to the gauge. This poses safety issues to people who don't carefully track their car's fuel use, which could result in a car stalling on the highway due to fuel exhaustion. The problem sets trouble codes and lights the "check engine" light.

- Grants, NM, USA

problem #26

May 292017

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving approximately 15 mph, there was a loud pop sound and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. In addition, the fuel gauge read empty. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer and the dealer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Updated 08/23/17

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #25

Feb 102017

Santa Fe

  • 98,000 miles
My fuel gauge is no longer working. It doesn't register the amount of gas. The gauge goes up and down randomly and mainly stays on empty.

- Dunedin, FL, USA

problem #24

Jan 092017

Santa Fe

  • 100,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Fuel gauge not working properly, it will go from showing there is gas in the tank to completely empty, then back to gas in the tank. This has lead to the check engine light coming on. I don't want to get stuck out in this cold weather with an empty tank due to a faulty fuel gauge

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #23

Jan 092016

Santa Fe

  • 67,000 miles
The fuel gauge stopped working around 67,000 miles after filling up the gas. The gauge would float between full and empty regardless of gas usage usually resting at empty. Then the check engine light started going on because of the fuel gauge malfunction. This is unsafe because there is no way to gauge the amount of gas in the car, . it is also unsafe to have the check engine light always on, because there is no other way to alert the driver of safety issues.

- Palatine, IL, USA

problem #22

Sep 192016

Santa Fe

  • miles
The check engine light came on because of the gas gauge. Now I have no clue how much gas I have because the reader on the dash keeps going up and down. A month ago, I had the alternator and gas line replaced because of the last recall/service announcement. These electrical problems stem from that replacement.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #21

Sep 192016

Santa Fe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The check engine light went on because of the fuel gauge. It was running on a city street. Now I can't tell how much gas I do, or don't, have

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #20

Nov 022015

Santa Fe

  • 78,000 miles
I am having the issue with the gas gauge, where a short time after filling up the tank, the gauge drops to empty and then the check engine light comes on. I believe this problem was caused by the same issue as a recent recall, where oil was dripping on the alternator. Just a couple days after I received the recall for that issue, I began having electrical issues. My radio came on and off, my windows rolled up and down very slowly. On my last drive home, my electronic brakes stopped working, the steering was hard and the transmission began shifting up and down before I was finally able to pull over and have the car towed. Upon my drive home from the dealer after the recall repair, I noticed that a headlight was newly burned out. In less than a week, the other headlight burned out. On the same tank of gas I had since getting the car back from the dealer, the gauge first dropped to empty before the tank was empty. I believe something was shorted out in the gas gauge system, just as the headlights and all the other electrical issues that resulted from the alternator not working. Hyundai should repair the gas gauge issue since it was caused by the issue of their last recall.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #19

Jun 112016

Santa Fe

  • 60,500 miles
Fuel level gauge becomes erratic and non-responsive to actual fuel levels. Most of the time the level gauge on the instrument cluster will read an empty tank with the fuel warning light lit, even after filling up the tank with gas. First symptoms occured while driving at highway speeds.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #18

Dec 142015

Santa Fe

  • 106,000 miles
I noticed that when I was in park, the car would just shut off. This happened three times within a few week's time. I was concerned and wondered if the car would ever just shut off while I was driving on the freeway or a busy street. To my horror, it happened! a few days ago I was turning into a parking lot and the car just shut off!...there was a car behind me that came to a screeching halt! again my greatest fear is that the car will stall on me while the vehicle is in motion and if that happens on a road where cars are travelling at high speeds, then I would probably not live to tell the story.

- Lathrup Village, MI, USA

problem #17

Nov 292015

Santa Fe

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The engine lights stays on when you fill the gas tank it still says empty when driving everything will shut off this is for the second time in less than a year

- Shreveport, LA, USA

problem #16

Oct 102015

Santa Fe

  • 77,450 miles
We were exiting West bound I-10 in pensacola, fl, and when turning right onto the surface road at slow speed the engine died and we lost power including steering and brakes. We were able to pull off of the road into a restaurant parking lot and restart the car, but had a close call with suddenly reduced speed in merging traffic. This is the second time this has happened to us in this car. The first incident was in Aug, 2013 and was reported as incident report #1053149. At that time, the dealer was unable to reproduce the issue, so no repair was made. We believe that this is a safety issue and should be investigated.

- Dothan, AL, USA

problem #15

Sep 222015

Santa Fe

  • 170,000 miles
This has happened on 4 separate occasions, both while driving in town at slow speeds and on a highway at high speeds. The check engine light will come on and the car will cut off, no power at all. On each occasion I put the car in neutral and restarted the car immediately and it resumed it's normal driving capacity. It is very scary to be driving along and then all of a sudden the car cuts off for no reason. The last time it happened I was in the middle of a sharp curve, so not having power steering at that point was not very safe, as I ended up in the other lane but thank goodness there wasn't a car coming in the other direction at the time.

- Graham, NC, USA

problem #14

Jul 192015

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving at 60 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000. Updated 09/21/15 updated 12/4/2017

- Baldwin, MD, USA

problem #13

Apr 012014

Santa Fe

  • 80,000 miles
We had a sudden loss of power while traveling on the interstate at 70 mph. Had to get over quickly as the traffic was heavy and the car had no power. The engine would not deliver any power, other than idle. Turned the car off and let it sit for about 15 seconds, then started the car and had power back for about 3 miles. Happened again and did the same for about ten miles until got home. Recently started to happen again, same codes come up each time. Took car to dealership and they told me that it was just glitches causing codes to come up and cause the ESC to go into safe mode. Since then I have seen the exact same codes and not a lot of codes, but codes that indicate an ignition/fuel/control module problem. This is not as bad as acceleration, but if pulling out in traffic or on an on ramp, could be deadly. Has now happened seven times. First date was April 2014, could not enter date in your form for some reason.

- Perry, OK, USA

problem #12

Apr 172015

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 81,000 miles
Noticed fuel gauge started to fluctuate whenever vehicle was parked for a while. Stopped at church showed 1/4 tank with a range of 90 miles, stopped at walmart showed between 1/4 & 1/2 tank and a range of 147 miles. About to take this vehicle on the road and really have no choice but to have it fixed. Drove old vehicles for years and never had a fuel gauge go bad. This is only under warranty for 5/60K so thanks Hyundai, I am crossing them off the list of my next car model. Btw $600 bill for this. People want to know if it's a safety factor. Of course not, running out of gas on the middle of an interstate can't be a safety problem. To me it's no different than having your keys turn your ignition switch off cause they're too heavy.

- Papillion, NE, USA

problem #11

Feb 062013

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 36,000 miles
When I went to start vehicle the electrical system came on but did not turn the starter, this happened maybe twice last year.so far this year it has happened about 5 times.the electrical system comes on when I turn the key to start but nothing happens, I finally found out if I put my foot on the brake and take the transmission out of park and work it thru all gears then shove it back to park it will start.we travel up to the state of Washington from home ever year and would hate to get stranded some where along the road.

- West Covina, CA, USA

problem #10

May 112014

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 59,600 miles
While driving on the interstate at approximately 70 mph, using cruise control, the car suddenly lost power. I stepped on the gas and it would not accelerate. I coasted to a stop and pulled onto the shoulder. The engine was running, transmission was in gear, but the car would not move. I turned off the ignition and let it sit for a few minutes. I restarted it, had power, everything seemed normal, except the engine light remained lit. I drove approximately 10 miles to my destination. The car sat for six hours and I was then able to drive the 65 miles home without incident. Repair results: My Hyundai dealer indicated the problem was caused by a 'throttle position sensor'. they replaced the electronic component and reset the error codes in the vehicle's computer.

- Mount Pleasant, WI, USA

problem #9

Aug 172013

Santa Fe 6-cyl

  • 48,186 miles
When entering an up-ramp to a limited access highway at slow speed, less than 30 mph, and turning to the right, the engine suddenly died and power was lost to steering and brakes. We were able to pull off the road and restart, but were just lucky that this didn't happen on a curve at high speed or in heavy traffic. Took the car to the dealer the next day, and they were unable to repeat the problem.

- Dothan, AL, USA

problem #8

Apr 072013

Santa Fe

  • 45,000 miles
While driving the vehicle it shut down. The warning lights came on the dashboard and the vehicle lost all functions (I.e. acceleration, steering, etc) the incident was undetected by the dealership and not able to be duplicated. The vehicle has shut down since the initial malfunction.

- Dupont, PA, USA

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