10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,469 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 fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2009 Hyundai Santa Fe Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)

problem #109

Jun 142023

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

My kids and I were going to town one afternoon and I started to smell gas coming from the air vents the gas smell was very strong I opened the hood and could see that it was wet I touched the spot and smelled it and it was fuel.i was worried about driving home with my children in the car so I called my brother he came looked and tracked down the issue and the fuel leak was coming from the front fuel rail.i had never heard of a fuel rail going out on a vehicle before so calling around to parts stores and auto parts recycling places to get it fixed and no one will sale me one they have all told me to take it to dealership.please help it's the only vehicle my children and i have.

- Niceville , FL, USA

problem #108

Oct 222022

Santa Fe

  • miles
Pulling into driveway. Car engine accelerated suddenly. Was just coasting in. The car wouldn't stop. Hit front of a home. The engine sounded like a race car.

- Honeoye, NY, USA

problem #107

Sep 302022

Santa Fe

  • miles
The vehicle's check engine light came on and the fuel gauge shows "E". I did an OBD scan and it shows the fuel sending unit has issues. The gauge will work intermittently and the check engine light will go away. Further reviews from others show the same issues with their vehicle with each needing a bad sending unit replaced.

- Lexington , KY, USA

problem #106

Sep 232022

Santa Fe

  • miles

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

I was decelarating after going highway speed on the highway and the car stalled electrical still worked but braking power steering acceleation all stopped working and engine lights turned on and esc and other lights i retarted the car and no engine lights turned on i went to my mechanic he said it dosnt show on diagnostics so he cant fix it this is just one incident its happend numerous times and it almost caused accident its dangerous and must be dealt with right away

- Boynton Beach, FL, USA

problem #105

Jul 312021

Santa Fe

  • miles
2009 Hyundai Santa Fe Stalls out/DEATH TRAP, occasionally with no warning, seem to be when going up or down hills usually with quarter tank of gas approx. Possibly when decelerating. We have replaced both fuel pumps and it was ok for a while. The other day I was going down steep hill and it quit, i coasted to bottom and tried at least 10 times to restart. A DEATH TRAP for people, i had cars flying up on me almost rear ending me even thou I had my emergency flashers were on and my arm out the window flagging then around. I let car sit still a few minutes and it finally cracked. I started looking online for solutions but found many 2009 Santa Fe's have this problem. I called Hyundai and no Recall. I have already spend over $500 trying to repair this. I do see settlement against Hyundai for this problem on other years. They seem to know it is a problem but are not fixing unless forced. Please help.

- Saraland, AL, USA

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problem #104

Apr 122021

Santa Fe

  • 98,000 miles
The fuel gage is broken, it reads empty when full. The ABS light came on and took it in to fix it. $400 later it was fixed. Now I hear clinking sound from engine. I think the pistons rings are bad. I've read other similar complaints about this vehicle. NHTSA needs to investigate!

- Fond Du Lac, WI, USA

problem #103

Oct 192020

Santa Fe

  • 98,220 miles

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

My gas gage started to work improperly. I took it to a mechanic I trust. He told me the fuel pump senders were bad. After he removed them he called me to tell me I was lucky my vehicle didn't catch fire or blow up! one sender has insulation broken and the wire is exposed. He also found that an internal wire was even worst. The protective connector was gone! that left those wires with no protection. They show signs of bad corrosion on both the wires and the terminals. They appear to maybe even have shorted out. They are black and a rust orange color. They are also pitted. I contacted Hyundai. They didn't seem to care. They were more concerned that I hadn't brought my car to a dealer for over five years. I explained that two different dealerships here in miami had cheated me and treated me badly. The representative was trying to insist if I had brought my vehicle in they would have discovered the problem sooner. That is just not true. They only way to observe this problem was to physically remove the backseat and open the floor to expose the gas tank and then remove the pump! they will not do anything! I have the feeling that they won't even report this to their own company or to you. I still have the parts. They were also not interested in seeing them or pictures. They just don't care! what if my car caught fire" what if the fumes ignited" anyone in the backseat would have been either killed or injured!

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #102

Aug 152020

Santa Fe

  • 10 miles
Filled up with gas and did some grocery shopping with my wife. After about 15 minutes, we started smelling strong fuel coming through air vents while driving around. Got home and removed engine cover and spotted fuel seeping from the fuel rail above the fuel injectors. The fuel rail tube is made of plastic and had cracked.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #101

Feb 292020

Santa Fe

  • miles
Check engine light on for failed fuel level sensor. Gas gauge is erratic. When I start the car the gauge falls to empty. Never know exactly how much gas I have. Very costly to repair.

- Elgin, IL, USA

problem #100

Jan 172020

Santa Fe

  • 116,000 miles
Fuel gauge became erratic and triggered check engine light to come on also it will fluctuate a little bit when it hits the 1/4 mark and the low fuel light will come on. It will go from 1/4 to empty can not tell how much fuel is in the tank. When I fill the tank it registers empty and the and the low fuel light indicator comes on. Starting the car again on the same day or the next day, the gage comes up again to the full or half way mark and the light goes out. The car stalls while in city traffic causing a dangerous situation another car could crash into me.

- Mystic, CT, USA

problem #99

Jan 212020

Santa Fe

  • 63,245 miles

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

The fuel gauge varies widely. It is difficult to know at times how much gas the car truly has. This seems to by a systemic problem with this vehicle.

- Orchard Park, NY, USA

problem #98

Oct 092019

Santa Fe

  • 60,000 miles
Gas gauge highly inaccurate. Fuel warning light goes on and check engine light also appears. Have to pull over as afraid to drive. Finally go to nearest gas station only to find out that gas tank was still half full. This has happened a number of times. Vehicle has only 60,000 miles.

- Belmont, CA, USA

problem #97

Aug 042019

Santa Fe

  • 10 miles
The battery light kept blinking, my battery is new, also the seat belt light for passenger seat kept blinking even when the seat belt was buckled. I stalled out and wouldn't start back up. I was in the street when it wouldn't start back up. I had it looked at when it was towed and the shop said there was alot of oil on my alternator and I would have to replace my value cover gaskets also.

- Leesport, PA, USA

problem #96

Jul 292019

Santa Fe

  • 79,000 miles
Fuel guage does not work properly. Fluctuates greatly causing potential safety issue if one were to run out of gas on the highway. Check engine light on after filling gas tank.

- Sanford, NC, USA

problem #95

May 162018

Santa Fe

  • 150,000 miles
Both fuel level sensors went bad

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #94

May 152019

Santa Fe

  • 150,000 miles
Car does not want to start after filling with gas. It does not matter if 5 or 15 gallons are put in.

- Rosedale, IN, USA

problem #93

Jul 012019

Santa Fe

  • 98,000 miles
After driving at highway speeds and decelerating, Hyundai Santa Fe 2009 vehicle abruptly stalls with no warning. No error codes show. This is extremely dangerous as vehicle immediately shuts down and is an accident risk. All power steering and brake operation shut down.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

problem #92

Mar 012019

Santa Fe

  • 79,000 miles
Both of the fuel gauges would drop down to empty wynfall while stationary. If I turn off my car then turn it back on it would stay empty even after being at the gas station. I do not know how much gas I have left in my car and has been on going problem and a safety issue

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #91

Jan 172019

Santa Fe

  • 85,000 miles
All of a sudden the gas gauge does stopped reading fual properly.. I never know how much gas I have. On one occasion I was driving to work early in the morning the vehicle studdard I put on my hazard lights and had to maneuver quickly to avoid being hit in the rear. I found out I had run out of gas. Attached is a link with other owners with the same issue. It doesn't matter how much gas I put in it I do not get correct reading. If I put $30 worth of gas in my vehicle it will only read half full. I feel this is a danger because I never know when I run out of gas and being on the highway all of a sudden running out of gas is a safety issue.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #90

Dec 042018

Santa Fe

  • 60,000 miles
I bought a 2009 hyndai Santa Fe in 2013 with only 40,000 miles on it and had no problems until December of 2018. I drove about 20 miles and on the way back home it started going as slow as 5 miles an hour; I don't know if it is an issue about being recalled but I still have 2 more years of payments and the truck isn't working!!!

- Homestead, FL, USA

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