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.
At approx 65000 miles of normal driving fuel gauge became erratic and unreliable. Guage reads anywhere from full to one eighth and fluctuates almost constantly regardless of actual fuel level. Check engine light on produced error code P0464. This is a dangerous situation.
Check engine light came on. Fuel gauge read empty. I had just filled up a day or so prior. I took to my mechanic he said that it is the fuel sensor. So I fill up the car and reset my trip to 0 every time I fill up now. Otherwise I have no idea how much gas is in the car...the fuel gauge jumps around...sometimes it says half empty...sometimes it says low fuel light. This is a dangerous and expensive situation...the fuel sensors should not failing! I see that may other people are experiencing the same problem...although this first happened over the summer the problem is ongoing and apparently wide spread.
Fuel level stopped working, check engine light came on. Mechanic said the code called for replacement of fuel level sensors. $500 repair and the problem was not corrected. I never know how much gas I have and I can never put more than 8 gallons in when I fuel up. But gas gauge will go up to have then drop to empty then go up to half a tank. Very horrific. Check engine light is on which will cause me to fail inspection.
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
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Only 85K miles on the Hyundai used for normal driving. The fuel gauge/sensors have begun acting erratic. Filled the gas tank and gauge showed full. Very next morning gauge down to a quarter tank. Purchased gas and only needed 3 gallons. Fuel gauge all over the place and not measuring gas correctly. Creates an unsafe condition as driver does not reliably know how much fuel is available. Many issues like this according to posts on internet. Hyundai has a systematic problem and should repair free of charge.
After filling vehicle with fuel, fuel gauge showed tank empty and yellow light on dash shows fuel empty. Fuel gauge recovered to show 1/2 full, then displays erratic results. Online forums show defective fuel sensor with a large number of Hyundai vehicles. There should be recall on this issue. Drivers may think they have sufficient fuel, to then have vehicle run out of gas in a dangerous driving environment.
Car lost power while in motion taking a turn and slowing down to a stop. Started July 2015, once again in Aug. Now since Oct, happens more regularly, sometimes twice a day. Dealer looked at it twice. No codes, can't replicate so they don't know what's causing the problem. Replaced tcs and did recall 9H292430 all with no luck. Dealers next best guess is replacing throttle body.
Several months ago, the check engine light came on. I took the car to the dealer and while nothing was wrong with the engine, I needed to pay $1000 to repair the sensor because I needed my car emission inspected. In the last month, while on a road trip, the check engine light came on again and the car just lost power and stalled. When we restarted the car, the light was still on but went off the next day. Since then, the check engine light comes on randomly and the fuel gauge jumps all over the place. It will indicate I have 88 miles to empty and then jump back up to 130. The check engine light will come on one day and be off the next.
Once the gas gage reaches 1/4 full, it goes to empty. After filling with gas, it will take over 1 hour to record a full tank. Cannot use the gage as we are never sure how much gas is in the tank. The engine light also appears and stays on until the gas sensor records full.
Vehicle fuel system gauge inaccurate. After a fill up, the gas gauge would change from 3/4 full to empty, to 1/4 full, to 3/4 full to empty, regarldess of how much fuel was in the vehicle. Check engine light intermittently comes on and off. This is clearly the most common safety complaint on NHTSA, and other internet complaint pages related to safety issues with the Hyundai Santa Fe. Several model years appear to be heavily affected. Not knowing how much fuel the vehicle has is a major safety concern and could lead to accidents, injuries, and deaths. I'm having to pay for very expensive repairs because of this, and Hyundai refuses to accept responsibility, even though their service folks acknowledge they see this often. This should be a recall, and all those who have paid for this costly repair should be reimbursed.
My gas gauge showed a half tank one day then it showed empty then it showed empty/ the next day it would not start I new there was gas in it an hour later it started but after I was out it went back to empty. This problem needs to be fixed several people I meet in parking lots have the same problem. Are you waiting for someone to get in the rear when it shuts off and people get killed big law suits will happen iam sure it would cheaper to fix this then get sued. I see there are a lot complaints
Fuel gauge does not work properly. No matter how much gas is in tank it usually registers empty, and occasionally it will randomly fluctuate up and down. Because of this issue the check engine light is always on. This happens while car is stationary or in motion. This is a known issue by Hyundai.
The check engine light came on as I was filling up my vehicle. Once I filled it, I could not get it to start. Took two to three tries to get the vehicle to turn over. I had the battery checked and my battery is good. My fuel gauge sits at empty for the first 100 miles after filling up with the low fuel indicator light on. I have had the car checked and was told it was told I had a problem with the fuel sensor. I had one replaced for $250 in 2014. Car worked fine. Then after 500 miles, the same thing happened. When is Hyundai going to realize that they have a serious issue with this vehicle! I can't even get a fair trade in value for the vehicle due to the problem.
Fuel gauge is not working and car is running out of gas even though indicator indicate there is gas. I had both fuel sensors replaced and the problem still continues. I have run out of gas multiple times and recently ran out of gas on an extremely dangerous stretch of 101. With two young children, this continues to be a major safety threat and concern for me. Based on some quick googling it's clear this is a major problem and security concern for other Santa Fe owners and it should be repaired or replaced under a recall.
Had about a half tank of gas and filled up before taking a road trip. Left station and noticed gauge did not move to full. Few miles down the road it started to slowly increase up to the fuel mark. After stopping again on down the road and restarting fuel gauge would show half tank then drop to empty and then back up to half tank. I have to keep getting gas and keep track of mileage so that I do not run out while on the interstate. From what I've read this is a very costly repair and is certainly a safety hazard as I travel a lot for work on the busy interstates and cannot chance running out of fuel
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.
This has happened multiple times over the past year and has increased in frequency the last 2 months. At random times, in town or on highway with varying speeds, the RPM will jump without me using any more pressure on the gas pedal, which causes the car to accelerate quickly and without warning. Then, the RPM will go back down in the same manner just as quickly.
The light for my fuel tank came on saying empty, however I recalled just having put gas in the tank. A few days later the engine light began to come on. I took my car to autozone to test the engine light, I was told there was a problem with the fuel sensor. I later called Hyundai after constantly having to watch my gas and mileage to make sure the tank does not run empty. Hyundai advised it is possibly the fuel sending unit without even having to look at the car and advised it would cost about $800 to repair. The rep in the parts department stated they have had several calls regarding replacing the part. This could potentially be a serious issue, especially if you are driving on a busy road or highway. There seems to be several people having the same issue.
Filled fuel tank and began driving on highway. As usual checked gages and noticed fuel gage at 1/4 full. Over time driving, needle on gage began to move up to point indicating approx. 3/4 full. Over balance of drive needle danced around the 3/4 full mark. I am reading numerous complaints from Hyundai owners of same problem over several model years. It appears Hyundai is denying a problem and has taken no steps to improve fuel level sensors and thus replacing with them with same is only band aide fix with potential of serious accident if vehicle does run out of gas on highway or crossing intersection. Vey poor position of company and when shopping for new car I will consider another manufacturer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA