2007 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 2.7 from North America

Summary:

Electrical nightmare

Faults:

Well, where to start?

The car wouldn't start due to an electrical issue that had me at the dealer 4 times.. They replaced a power door lock, rear brake switch, power and negative battery cable.. Hyundai engineer came out to look at, and still couldn't find it.. Blogged it, and it's common. Has only happened once, and service was good at trying to help me.

After having my 60k service done, the car kicks at low speeds.. I think the rear end of the car is taking a beating, but once again they can't find the issue?? But they did find a $100 vacuum line that they stated was a first for them, but Hyundai said it was common?

I was told the complete lack of power - I'm talking about crawling up hills, and not to mention lots of down shifting up and down by the auto trans.. Dealer stated it's an AWD SUV with a small V6 going up hills; nothing they can do... So I guess it's my fault the 2.7 is under powered and gets poor gas mileage; buy the 3.3, not the 2.7 -- or buy HONDA and don't waste your money until they step it up - warranty is good, going weekly to the dealer is not.

General Comments:

Overall - the SUV looks good. The trim is easily marred, but looks OK..

AWD works absolutely great - shifts smooth on flat ground.

They will back the warranty, but it's a hassle to always take it there.

Paint is thin and easily scratched/chip - I read all of this in Consumer Reports, but worked for Hyundai in sales, and thought the cars were OK..

Get the 3.3 or 3.5. The 4cyl and small 2.7 are junk..

Just like Kia, if it has an electrical issue, you're screwed - if not, it will be a great car..

Dealer is great; called the company and they told take a long walk - warranty covers power train, but all power trains will make it to 100k no problem.. electrical issues go out within 30k on the warranty.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th August, 2010

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe GS 2.7 V6 from North America

Summary:

Warranty is NO good

Faults:

Front driver caliper overheated to 350+ degrees, and the dealership said it was a manufacturer defect. Now the driver's rear caliper is doing the same exact thing, and the dealership won't fix it, even though it is doing the same thing.

At these temperatures, the tire could catch on fire, causing the tire to explode, but as of right now, Hyundai doesn't see a problem with this.

I encourage every 2007 Santa Fe owner to fill out a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, so they will open an investigation and issue a recall. The form takes about 3 minutes to do, and can save all of us A LOT OF MONEY! They need only 5 complainants to open the investigation.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

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

Review Date: 13th July, 2009

13th Jul 2009, 13:16

Um that's all well and good, but why don't you contact Hyundai consumer affairs before you do that, could save you time as well as money. Also take it to another dealer. I am truly amazed by the large number of people on this site turned off from Hyundai, not by the manufacturer, but by the large number of incompetent or dishonest dealers. I am senior technician for a Hyundai dealer and I don't have these problems, I am truly sorry for all of your unhappiness and disappointment in both you vehicles and the people you've had to do business with.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe SE V6 from North America

Faults:

My Santa Fe has 20,000 miles on it, and I just had the rear brakes go bad. The left rear froze up and gouged up the router in no time flat. I took it to the dealer, and he said because of the hitch, it was a corrosion issue, maybe from putting a boat in the water. I DON'T OWN A BOAT. He said he can't warranty the brake job, so I had him take it out of the shop. I will go to 2 more dealers and the regional Rep for Hyundai. If they don't warranty it, they will own it back. This is by far their problem due to Mfg. problems. No cars brakes go bad at 20,000 miles. Keep you posted.

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

Review Date: 15th June, 2009

16th Jun 2009, 13:38

Yeah I have to agree with you, REAR brakes usually don't go bad that quickly, if you said front I would doubt you, but even if you drove around with the e-brake on, the way that the e-brake is set up on this vehicle is a drum design with the disc around that, so leaving the e brake would eat up the e-brake only, not the regular brake pads, sounds like you have two problems, 1 a sticking caliper and 2 a dealer who does not believe in skilled technicians or customer service or both. go to another dealer. You see I AM a Hyundai technician...

17th Jun 2009, 07:53

I contacted Hyundai USA on the brake problem and they are looking into it. Another dealer said they inspect the slides at the 7500 mile check. After looking into that I found that to be wrong. Brake inspection isn't done till 15,000 miles. Still they shouldn't go bad at 20,000 miles. I feel there is a brake distribution issue and the slides are not working properly. Poor design from Hyundai causing corrosion. Funny thing one dealer said he saw problems with the Sonota rear brakes. I told him that was funny because I own a 2006 sonata and got 80,000 miles on the rear brakes and they didn't touch the rotors. Now if I hadn't spent 28 yrs. in the car business, they may have taken me for a ride, but not this time. Thanks again.

21st Aug 2013, 14:24

2007 Santa Fe 3.3 Limited

This is a design issue between the pad and the caliper. At 30,000 the rear brakes cooked off my wife's Santa Fe. Just buy new rotors and new pads, and shave the brake pad guide finger down so it doesn't stick. Add some high temp lube and you're good to go.

Also the OEM bushings on the sway bar are junk. Once you hear knocking, get them replaced with Moog bushings. You'll be riding like a Lexus again.

It also wouldn't hurt to get new outer tie rod ends also.