Hyundai dealer informed me that valve cover gasket is leaking onto alternator which will cause it to fail. Estimated out of pocket cost to repair is over $700. This is the same problem that caused the recall on the hyundai vera cruz. I'm afraid that the alternator will fail at speed causing loss of power and diminish braking and steering capability.
2007 Hyundai Santa Fe engine complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 70 of 70, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled and the check engine light, battery light, ecs light, and ABS light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined that the crank shaft position sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 83,100.
Warning light came on while driving vehicle indicating an electrical problem. Was able to drive home, but next day car would not start due to drained battery. Battery was then recharged and car driven to local firestone store for diagnosis. Was determined that the alternator was not working properly due to oil that had leaked from the front valve cover gasket. The alternator was heavily caked with this oil/grime. After installing new valve cover gasket and alternator today, car now runs fine. This problem seems to me to be identical to that described in hyundai's recall number 121 which covered certain veracruz models (the federal safety agency campaign number 14v415000) and therefore I believe that the recall should be extended to cover at least my car and probably others.
I had a new battery installed two days earlier and car was running fine. Driving on the freeway, my battery light came on and the ESC and brake warning lights. This was about a mile from my intended exit. After the exit more lights came on and the engine started running rough. If I stepped on the brake, the tach and temperature gauges dropped to zero. As I pulled into my driveway, the engine died. I looked to see if I had broken a belt but saw it was intact. I did notice that the alternator seemed to be shiny from oil. I went online and searched for the symptoms and found that there was a recall for the veracruz with the very same symptoms caused by a leaking valve cover gasket. The recall is the federal safety agency campaign 14v415000. As others have stated, if it's the same engine with the same issue, it should be covered by the recall and the repairs covered.
I read in a previous complaint, and just personally confirmed it myself, that hyundai issued a safety recall (the federal safety agency campaign number 14v415000) for 2007-2012 veracruz vehicles with the lambda mpi engine to correct an oil leak from the front valve cover gasket that saturates the alternator and causes the alternator to short out. The recall also states that "an unexpected failure of motive power while driving increases risk of a crash". The same exact thing is happening in santa fe's. My car shut down on me while driving 35 MPH and I had to have the car towed to the dealership. I found out that my car had an oil leak from the front valve cover gasket that spilled onto my alternator and shorted out my alternator,which need to be replaced, and this ultimately killed my battery. So new alternator, new battery, and new gasket cover. This engine oil leak is so dangerous and should not be happening. There should also be a recall for this issue in santa fe models which have the same engine.
The front valve cover gasket on the engine has failed. Engine oil is leaking onto the alternator. This creates a significant risk for alternator failure and potential loss of power while driving.
I recently learned that hyundai had issued a safety recall (the federal safety agency campaign number 14v415000) for 2007-2012 veracruz vehicles with the lambda mpi engine to correct an oil leak from the front valve cover gasket that saturates the alternator and causes the alternator to short out. If this happens while driving the car can quit on the driver. Our 2007 hyundai santa fe uses the same engine and we are experiencing the same symptoms (I.e. Oil leaking from front valve cover onto the alternator), so I called hyundai to see about getting this issue fixed under this recall. Hyundai customer service told me that because my vehicle was not covered they would not cover this issue. It seems that hyundai should have to correct this for all vehicles that use the same lambda v6 engine, not just a select few. If it is dangerous for veracruz owners, how is it not dangerous for santa fe owners with the exact same engine and symptoms? I would like to see this safety recall expanded to cover all vehicles that use this same engine.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. While driving 70 MPH, the engine seized. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed an oil leak that damaged the alternator, battery, and computer chip. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.
2007 santa fe limited 6 cyl 3.3l. Oil is leaking from valve cover gasket killing the alternator and battery and the motor. Lights flash on dash seat belt light, battery light, ESC , TPMS. Replaced battery in the dark at first. I saw the same issues with a new battery. Then researched and saw similar issues pointing to valve cover gasket leaking oil onto alternator. I checked the valve cover in the light and saw the leak immediately and the alternator covered in oil. If the 2007 vera cruz is getting a recall for this exact same issue as of aug 1st 2014, then the 2007 santa fe should as well as other years of santa fe's. Dealership wants $900 plus tax to fix this. Also had to replace the fuel sending unit -that was $700 in jan of 2013 and there are tons of complaints about that one too. I still smell gas when I fill the tank full and the check engine light comes on due to this. I can and have proven it using a obd code reader to reset the code, fill the tank and bingo code is back like the fuel cap is loose but it is not and the interior smells of gasoline till the fuel level is reduced.
Same oil leak as proposed recall for our 2010 vera cruz with the same engine (v6).
On wednesday, july 30th, 2014, I was driving on the freeway in my 2007 hyundai santa fe with my family and children on board at 60 MPH when all of the warning lights on the dashboard flashed on at the same time. The vehicle started to shake, the engine stalled and both the steering and brakes suddenly became very heavy to operate. Luckily I managed to veer off the freeway before it completely shut down on a live high speed lane and ordered a tow truck from my auto club. The hyundai dealership technician advise that the cause of this breakdown was an oil leak from a valve cover gasket onto the alternator, causing it to fail. The battery was also affected by chain of event. This cascading chain of breakdown is a systemic failure and this defect is not particular to only my car but is rampant with the hyundai santa fe owners. Any internet search with " santa fe 2007 leaking valve cover gasket " will turn up countless results. It is also the same type of failure that has already been recalled from another hyundai SUV, the veracruz as it was built on a hyundai santa fe platform. I was lucky that I didn't come to a complete dead stop without warning on a live freeway lane at a high rate of speed as the result would have been catastrophic for all involved. Link to hyundai veracruz recall with the same problem. Http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/ucm459247/rcdnn-14v415-5243p.pdf kind regards,
The drive axel broke while the car was doing approximately 5 MPH. When it broke, the ball joint pulled out of the right side wheel, a piece of metal flew up and tore the serpentine belt. There is a recall #112 for the 2013 hyundai santa fe that the drive axel can break but I was told it does not affect my car. How does the drive axel just break. The recall affects the front right axel. Prior to it breaking, I was going down i70 at 70mph, thankfully, it didn't break at that time.
While traveling on expressway at 65 MPH our 2007 santa fe suddenly lost all power and we had to pull over to the emergency lane. A defective valve cover gasket leaked oil on the alternator causing it to short out and be damaged beyond repair. Hyundai have a recall (#121) on the 2007-2012 veracruz for the exact same problem. Clearly the santa fe needs to be included in the 121 recall. My family and I were placed in danger as we were in the left lane on a busy expressway and had to quickly merge over to the emergency lane on the right side while quickly losing speed. Additionally, the cost of repair was $750 for the alternator and gasket cover replacement.
2007 hyundai santa fe. Consumer writes in regards to oil leak from front cylinder valve cover. *smd the consumer stated a leak was formed, because the studs that held the valve cover in place were stripped, thus allowing oil to leak past the gasket, and then over the alternator. The consumer stated the failure occurred twice. *jb......updated 09-03-14 *bf updated 11/26/2014
As I was driving is a rain storm, my battery light came on. I lost my window defrosting capability, my lights dimmed and I had no power steering. I am not sure what else was affected at this time as I was just concentrating on getting home alive. When home, I opened the engine compartment and found that the crank shaft pulley had come apart. Lucky, it was laying on a small ledge in the car. This could have fallen off, damaged the engine compartment, fallen to the street and become a rolling piece of metal. If a woman had been driving(this is actually my girlfriends car), this would have been a dangerous situation.
My crankshaft vibration damper failed. It literally broke into two pieces. It left me unable to steer the vehicle. Fortunately I was stopped at a light on a two lane (each side = 4) road. I was in the left lane, however, and had to maneuver the vehicle to the right and off the road. If I had been on the highway doing 70 who knows what would have happened. I consider myself lucky. This is dangerous and should have been a recall item in my opinion.
Symptoms: "check engine" light illuminated. "low fuel" warning light illuminated. Fuel gauge indicated nearly empty even though tank was close to half full. Cause: fuel tank level sensor failed indicating fuel is always empty."check engine" light always illuminated.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated he had to make several attempts to start the vehicle before the engine would operate. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was currently being diagnosed by an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
At a slow speed while turning (either direction, as incident has occurred now 3 times in 10 weeks) vehicle loses all power to steer and brake. Feels like the car has died, however the battery and check engine light are on. When it resolved, the engine was still running, brakes and steering restored. First two times the power failure was momentarily. Third time the vehicle lost power for 3-4 minutes and stranded me while turning onto major road from my neighborhood with oncoming traffic. Had car towed to local hyundai dealer who kept insisting they would need to see the vehicle fail in order to know how to repair it. I said not good enough, they need to find another method to trouble shoot and refused to pick up vehicle. Now the dealer is blaming the power loss on worn front tires and the ESC system cutting power to the engine, steering and brakes due to it sensing slippage. I'm not buying this explanation from the dealer, especially because of (1) the slow speed (no slipping tires in these three instances), and (2) tires have slipped on quick acceleration before without ESC system cutting power to brakes & steering, and (3) if this were the case, I would think ESC would be potentially dangerous and not designed to save lives! Will file complaint with hyundai america but I don't have much faith that they will be of help.
Check engine light came on, I took it to my mechanic who informed me its the fuel sensors. The one on the fuel pump and one on the gauge. My gas gauge will fluctuate to full then empty. I was told eventually the vehicle will shut down. Costs about $500 to repair. I just purchased my vehicle 5 weeks prior as used with 50320 on the odometer. I have a limited warranty through the dealer and an extended warranty as well. Neither warranty covers this problem. I am seeing that a lot of people have the same issue with these vehicles. It is a safety issue because you don't know how much gas is in the tank plus what happens if my vehicle totally breaks down in the middle of no where.
While driving the car suddenly loses power. Pressing the accelerator has no effect even though the engine is still running and in drive. This has occurred multiple times at different speeds. So far I have managed to pull to the side of the road without incident. Turning the engine off and on multiple times restores power again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that the serpentine belt failed, which caused the power steering to malfunction. The vehicle was towed to a repair facility. The contact was told that the belt was not under warranty, but the owners manual stated that the belt should last for 67,000 miles. The current mileage was 37,000 and the failure mileage was unavailable. ...updated 09/12/12 *bf updated 09/18/2012
I own a 2007 santa fe hyundai. My power system went out about three months ago. Luckily, I had just left the grocery store and was still in the parking lot. My car at the time had 26,334 miles on it. At first I thought it was the battery, but I had someone jump start my car, and after I drove it about three feet, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't steer it and coasted to a stop by a wendy's restaurant. I called my son and when he lifted the hood, he saw a round part just hanging there. I had to have my car towed to a dealer in waldorf, maryland. Apparently, the damper pulley came apart. They replaced damper pulley and belt. I was under warranty, but I still worry about it happening again every time I have to drive it on a main highway and in a lot of traffic.
This same problem has occurred twice. Once with 850 miles on the vehicle and again with 46,000 miles. Hyundai santa fe 2007. Traveling at 70 MPH the engine totally shut down and would not restart. Auto was towed to dealer each time and restarted upon unload. Hyundai cannot find problem nor does diagnostic computer indicate any problem has occurred. Fortunately there were no accidents associated with this problem but 7 hours of time and forced hotel stays were a result.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. While the contact was driving approximately between 45- 50 MPH, the engine stalled followed by the "check engine" warning light illumination. The vehicle would not restart and was towed to an authorized dealer where the technician informed that the failure was contributed to the output speed sensor. The failure occurred on five different times. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 30,909.
I was driving to work on saturday, february 21st on route 140 west in westminster, md. I was driving about 45 miles per hour when the car suddenly lunged forward and pulled to the right. This happened without warning and no lights came on the dashboard this time -- previously the "ESC off" light would come on. Again, this morning, february 24th on my way down a hill to work, the car felt as though it was going to stall. This time the ESC light was flickering. I believe there is a defect with the car and will report each incident. I am also sending a letter to hyundai motor vehicles eastern region office.
Driving from my mother's home, where I was visiting, to the grocery store not three miles away my 2007 hyundai santa fe all of sudden lost power and started overheating. I was able to pull it off the road and called roadside service for assistance. This being the fourth of july long weekend, the orlando dealership was not open. The following day I spoke to the service assistant at orlando hyundai. Several hours later, I was informed that the radiator was damaged and not a warranty item, the repair was $700. Being from out of the area I had no choice but to pay the money and get the car fixed. The cause of the failure, according to the service manager, was some item damaged the radiator and using his words "probably road debris" passing through the grill. He continued the explanation that there are not barriers that would prevent small items from passing through the grill and damaging the condenser and radiator while traveling on the highways. Asking the service manager if this could happen again, he replied yes. The failure of hyundai to foresee, design and provide any type of screen barrier behind the grill allows any type of debris to cause harm to the condenser or radiator at any time. The vehicle was repaired on july 5, 2008 by orlando hyundai in orlando fl. I disputed this claim as subjective to hyundai of america as soon as I returned. They sent me to my local dealer, jenkins hyundai of bradenton. The service manager there told me he couldn't do anything. I was given the runaround. I suggest the following solution, sent in by another compliant, should be listened to. A small amount of hardware cloth attached to the back of the grill would deflect most all debris and protect the condenser and radiator from damage while still allowing ample air flow. Today, my car overheated again! I will bring it to the dealer tomorrow without confidence in this product or the warranty which is why I bought the car in the first place.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 hyundai santa fe. While driving 45 MPH, the vehicle shut off without warning. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle would not restart and was towed to the dealer. The vehicle has been to the dealer four times and they have been unable to locate the cause of the failure. The dealer has now declared the vehicle unsafe. The powertrain was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 18,000. Updated 4/2/08 *cn updated 04/02/08
I have a hyundai santa fe. I have had three major issues with the car and one small cosmetic issure. The major issues have been with the structure of the car, the wheel axel, the alignment, and the engine block. All of these items have either been loose, broken, or defective. Yes, they keep fixing the car, but it's a new car. If I wanted a car that needed to be repaired weekly I would have kept or purchased an used car. I fear for my safety and the safety of my family riding in this car. We have been lucky so far that I have been able to catch these defects before we've gotten into a major accident.
Driving I-75 south in georgia, sunday afternoon, june 10, 2007, the air conditioning system stopped working, traveling to jacksonville, fl. Calling from the highway on a cell phone to the dealership, we were instructed to call the hyundai assistance 800 number. Upon connection was given the names and phone numbers of two hyundai dealerships in jacksonville, fl. On monday, june 11 am, took the vehicle to key buick, hyunday in jacksonville for service. Several hours later, we were informed that the AC condenser was damaged and not a warranty item, the repair was estimated at $750. The cause of the failure, according to the service manager, was some item damaged the condenser and using his words "probably road debris" passing through the grill. He continued the explanation that there are not barriers that would prevent small items from passing through the grill and damaging the condenser and radiator while traveling on the highways. Asking the service manager if this could happen again, he replied yes. The failure of hyundai to foresee, design and provide any type of screen barrier behind the grill allows any type of debris to cause harm to the condenser or radiator at any time. The vehicle was repaired on june 14 by key buick hyundai in jacksonville, fl. I offer a solution that a small amount of hardware cloth attached to the back of the grill would deflect most all debris and protect the condenser and radiator from damage while still allowing ample air flow. Hardly a happy traveling period with 3 days of negotiating with two dealerships rick case hyundai in duluth, ga. & key buick hyundai in jacksonville, no vehicle availability and frustrating expenses.
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