2007 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 2.7 from North America

Summary:

Excellent small SUV

Faults:

EGR valve - Replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

Excellent vehicle. Traded it for a GMC Acadia because we needed more room. The Hyundai was not luxurious, but can't find anything bad to say about the vehicle. I wouldn't hesitate to own another if our needs changed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th December, 2011

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe LTD 3.3L gasoline from North America

Summary:

Great auto for the price, would purchase another if the noise problem is corrected

Faults:

From day one, we witnessed a metallic rattling noise coming from the front wheels, when driving on rough roads and over highway joints.

When driving on a ripply/washboard road, the noise is constant until one applies the brakes slightly, then the noise disappears completely, that is until one releases the brakes..

Been back to the Hyundai dealer several times, just to learn that they could find nothing wrong. They did mention that the front wheel brake calipers rattle somewhat, and that's the way they're made.. The dealer would do nothing about it.

I recently jacked the front end up and removed the front tires, inspected the brake caliper assemblies; the pads are in like new condition, and yes, the calipers do have a sloppy play in them that would cause the metallic hammering noise until the brakes are slightly applied.

Does anyone have a fix??

General Comments:

We have no other complaints at this time. The auto performs well, has plenty of get-up and go, fuel mileage is about 26 on the highway, plenty of cargo space.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 18th December, 2010

27th Dec 2012, 23:57

Same problem on our 2009 Santa Fe. The dealer fixed it once by replacing a caliper under warranty, but the rattle started to return about 1 month later and has continued to get worse. Dealer now says there is no fix.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS AWD 3.3L V6 from North America

Summary:

Great value, smooth, refined, perfect for your family

Faults:

Nothing yet, just needs tire balancing.

General Comments:

Although we've only had this car a short time, it's been a dream for my wife. We needed to step up to an SUV in order to meet the needs of our growing family. Plenty of room for 5 adults or 2-3 carseats, or any combination, plus plentiful cargo room.

Smooth acceleration & handling. Tight turning radius and an interior refinement we were not expecting from Hyundai. This car has it all for the right price.

We paid 13k Cdn for a car that was 35k new with AWD, leather, sunroof, running boards, digital compass, etc. The mileage is higher, but every indication is that this truck will last us and hopefully be a reliable source of transportation for our family over the coming years. We couldn't compare the features and interior fit & finish in this price class.. Simply amazing.

Give Hyundai a shot, test drive this vehicle and compare to the other imports; no better value found elsewhere.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th September, 2010

2nd Jan 2011, 10:52

Fantastic review. We are in the same boat, and are happy going forward with our decision to purchase a pre-owned Santa Fe. Looking forward to the future with this vehicle.

3rd Feb 2011, 13:03

Thanks for the review. I just test drove a pre-owned Santa Fe yesterday (3.3 V6 AWD), and it drives perfectly. Acceleration is great and very smooth. You got yours at a very good deal (CDN13k). The car I am looking at cost CDN17k with 120K mileage. What province are you in if you don't mind? Interior also looks great. Do you know how can I tell if the all-wheel-drive or four-wheel drive is working properly? Any indicator? Cheers!

12th Mar 2011, 05:53

To the previous poster, sorry I didn't respond earlier to your questions; as this is an anonymous site, I did not receive notification of your question. If it's not too late, here is my response.

We are in Ontario. Quite frankly speaking, we stole this car from a Benz dealer. They simply wanted the car off the lot, had higher mileage and a couple of scratches, which dropped the price 2k, but I fixed it for $150. I don't think we would ever find the same deal again, even a year from now.

Keep up the search if you don't like the price, something always turns up.

As for AWD, nothing in my research was able to tell me how to check the health of the AWD, aside from a good test drive. I drove it in the summer, so I just took my chances. In the winter, find a good patch of snow, or take it offroad and try to spin out the back end. If it catches or corrects itself as AWD should, it's working fine.

120k km is nothing on these cars.. Just keep up the maintenance, and I'm sure it will serve well.

Good luck! Enjoy.

17th Feb 2012, 19:54

AWD check. Park your car with the right wheels on unpaved shoulder, left on paved road, and step on it. If the car drives straight, it works very good. I've heard the Audi dealers show off this way.