2007 Hyundai Santa Fe: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Aug 27, 2016 · Driver assistance · IL

Hyundai santa fe ESC light pops on intermittently and after pushing the on/off switch does not put it out. "ESC " light intermittently illuminates on the dashboard the front tires kind of lock up with a grinding sound and the car violently trying to stop it self and I was going straight on a city street. Research shows this is a common problem in many hyundai models and recalls have been issued. I am the owner of the vehicle.

Filed Oct 21, 2015 · Suspension · 98,000 miles · MD

When driving at any speed and going over any minor irregularity in the road surface, distracting noises from the front suspension...squeaks, creaking and thuds are best word to describe. Very disturbing as nothing is visible according to mechanics but there is an internal problem due to the hundreds of on line complaints I'm seeing.

Filed Nov 14, 2013 · Driver assistance · 40,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle started to shudder and there was a grinding noise coming from under the vehicle. In addition, the ecs warning light would illuminate intermittently as the brakes seized. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 46,000.

Filed Aug 7, 2013 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 43,000 miles · NJ

Purchased used vehicle in march of 2013 at 32700 miles. 4 mos later at 43000 miles rear brakes began grinding severely. Took it to the dealer and they informed me the rear caliper got stuck/froze and the grinding damaged the rotor. Brake pad and rotor on rear driver side must be replaced and brake pad and rotor on passenger side needs resurfacing. Also ESC light has been turning off and on and dealership claims there is no recall on the brake switch despite the federal safety agency having the brake switch listed as defective and causing issues with the ESC.

Filed Jul 24, 2013 · Visibility · 16,700 miles · PA

When pulling out of my driveway and traveling up the residential street, the driver side sun visor fell out of the rooftop and hit me in the head. It appears broken and I can not re-insert it without it falling out again. I rarely use the visor, and it fell out without my attempting to lower it. It appears many are having this problem with the 2007 santa fe. If hyundai won't recognize the issue, fine. I'm still working on a solution to prevent the visor from hitting me in the head while I'm driving and then dangling in front of me and blocking my vision. The front left tie rod needed to be replaced a few months ago. I couldn't understand why the dealer did not recognize this problem a year ago when the warranty was still active. The mechanic who eventually replaced the tie rod told me he thinks this issue was long-standing, and perhaps existed when I purchased the vehicle. Dealer cost to repair: $700+. My mechanic repaired for $180 (including front-end alignment. Now my brakes are squealing, and the pads are fine. My mechanic took photos of rust on the rotors. He is amazed at the number of problems I am having with a car @ 16,000 miles. I think I bought a piece of junk without knowing it.

Filed Apr 11, 2013 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 37,975 miles · CA

My 2007 hyundai santa fe will randomly apply the brakes while driving. Very dangerous.the brakes will apply making the car pull to the right or left may cause the car to veer into the next lane. I would need to press on the brakes to make them release.the first time this happened I thought it was the brake pads needing to be replaced we replaced the brakes and the problem did not occur again for maybe a year.it happen so much in 2011& 2012 I did not feel safe driving the car.I took my car to hardin hyundai 6/09/12 explained in detail that the brakes would apply when I was driving, and the ESC light was coming on. I told the dealership that we had changed the brake pads hoping this would resolve the issue it did not. The dealer recommended 3 tires, alignment and pins were missing when we did the brake job and that was causing the brakes to stick. We did what was suggested.this did not correct the problem.the dealership did not put it on the computer to diagnosis the issue.the car is out of warranty now so I took it to an independent mechanic he did diagnosis it with the computer. The ESC module is bad. Now I a'm driving with the ESC off.when driving with the ESC off it doesn''t randomly brake but will sometimes make a horrible grinding sound and the brakes stick when the brakes are applied.this is not good either.why require this safety feature in every car if it will fail and cause an accident and if the dealership can not diagnosis it correctly. Some hyundais have been recalled for this problem so I feel the dealerships should be well aware of this issue.the work order does not mention brakes nor did they try to diagnosis it correctly. Was this an intentional move by hyundai so they do not have to acknowledge that their ESC modules are still failing. I feel extremely lucky that I have not been injured due to this malfunction. Hyundai failed on this issue.

Filed Nov 14, 2011 · Brakes · 40,000 miles · NY

With out any warning my rear brakes failed. I had to apply as much brake pedal as I could to stop the vehicle. After that I kept my speed down to a speed that I feel that I could stop the car safely. A short time after that the front brakes started shuddering. I was headed for my cottage in north ontario at night were there are no garages so I had to have parts sent to that location were I replaced the front and rear rotors and brake pads. If had to make an emergency stop with the brakes in that condition I would have surely had an accident. Luckily the traffic was light. The rear brake pad was so tight in the caliper that I had to hit it with a hammer to free it and I had to grind part of the new pad so that it would fit loose in the caliper. I have to assume that the front breaks had to work so hard with no back breaks that the front rotor warped from the heat since they were fine up to that time. This is definitely a design flaw in the hyundai brakes. The fit of the brake pad to the caliper is too close and the slightest amount of rust causes them to jam. Even without rust the new rotors were so tight that any good mechanic would not install them in that condition. This is a serious faults and I am not alone with this problem. Hyundai's answer is to pay $ 200 every year and have the brakes serviced. This is not a solution since they could seize up to 6 months after service the way the hyundai brake parts are rusting. I had check all my brakes at the end of the winter and they seemed to be fine. The pads were not worn and the car was stopping okay. [xxx] note that I live in canada but the car was purchased in buffalo. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jul 27, 2011 · Brakes · 26,000 miles · CT · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyunai santa fe. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the contact heard a grinding and squealing noise upon engaging the brake pedal. Also, there was a burning odor coming from the overheated brakes. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they resurfaced both front and rear rotors. Also, the front and rear brakes were replaced. The identical failure recurred two years later. The manufacturer was notified of the premature brake failure. The vehicle had not been repaired for the most recent failure. The approximate failure mileage was 26,000. Updated 08/31/11 *bf updated 2/21/12

Filed Jun 17, 2011 · Brakes · 37,200 miles · OH

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH the vehicle started making a grinding noise and the rear brake calipers locked. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the slide plate and brake pads froze and remained on the rotors, as a result. The dealer had to replace the rotors and brake pads. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 37,000 and the current mileage was 37,200. Updated 07/21/11 *bf updated 3/20/12

Filed Jun 17, 2011 · Driver assistance · FL

My 2007 santa fe was purchased used in 2010. The first day I had it, it gave me the problem. Every so often, I never know when it'll happen, the front tires kind of lock up with a grinding sound and the car violently jars to the right. All the while, the ESC light is flashing. It is very scary and I'm afraid may cause an accident eventually. We have tried driving it with the ESC turned off and it did not help. I brought it to the dealership and they could not fix anything. I later called them when it kept happening and they told me it was just "a burp" and they wouldn't be able to detect it unless it happened while hooked up to their computer, which of course is impossible. Not much later, with only 3 of my 6 six years up and only about half of my covered mileage used, the dealership sent me a letter telling me my warranty was expired. I have recently had two mechanics check it out and they cannot fix it. I do not trust this car and would give anything to go back in time and purchase an american car instead!!

Filed Oct 12, 2010 · Brakes · 36,000 miles · PA

2007 hyundai santa fe ~36,000 miles. Rear brakes completely replaced in may 2010. While driving on highway, loud grinding brake noise heard from rear of vehicle. Large amounts of 'brake dust' on rim of rear driver's side wheel. Brought vehicle to dealer for inspection. Determined caliper was seized up due to rust. They will not remedy via warranty b/c they determine that it is an environmental issue. (salt/road debris buildup). New brake pads/rotors were damaged as a result. This has to be a safety issue as the rim of the wheel got extremely hot during use. Could this eventually lead to a tire blow out while driving? Not sure!? Searching online results in a lot of consumer complaints on blog/car sites. Same problem everytime: rear driver's side caliper is stuck resulting in damage to rotors and pads.

Filed Sep 16, 2010 · Brakes · 38,000 miles · MN

During normal driving the left rear disc brake began to grind metal on metal. I took the car to the dealer for repair. They found "the pads were seized in the caliper brackets due to rust". The rear pads and rotors were replaced at my expense. No indication was given that the defect that caused the pre-mature failure was fixed.