2009 Hyundai Santa Fe body problems

Filed Oct 21, 2026 · Body, Suspension · NY

I am reporting a serious vehicle safety concern involving a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe with approximately 56,000 miles. On [XXX], the vehicle was inspected at West Herr Hyundai in Williamsville, New York, in connection with Hyundai’s underbody corrosion Service Campaign 947. During the inspection, the dealership discovered severe and extensive corrosion affecting the vehicle’s underbody, structural components, and frame-related areas. The corrosion was so significant that the dealership determined the vehicle was unsafe to drive. This is not a cosmetic rust issue. The deterioration involves critical structural areas of the vehicle and raises serious concerns about structural integrity, suspension mounting points, and the potential for component failure or loss of vehicle control. The vehicle’s condition presents a significant safety hazard to its occupants and other motorists. What makes this particularly concerning is that the vehicle has only approximately 56,000 miles and was otherwise in good condition. Despite its relatively low mileage, the structural corrosion has rendered the vehicle unsafe for continued operation. The vehicle remains at West Herr Hyundai and is available for further inspection. On [XXX], the dealership documented the corrosion, took photographs, and submitted the findings to Hyundai Corporate for review. We are currently awaiting Hyundai’s determination regarding the appropriate remedy. I am requesting that the federal safety agency investigate this serious structural corrosion issue, including the effectiveness of Hyundai’s Campaign 947 in addressing the underlying safety concern. I am also seeking an appropriate remedy from Hyundai, as the vehicle has been deemed unsafe to drive due to extensive structural deterioration. This condition presents an unacceptable safety risk, particularly in a vehicle with such low mileage. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 25, 2024 · Body · OR

My 2009 Santa Fe's paint is peeling in large portions. It started on the driver's side door right below the window and has continued to crack and bubble all the way down the door. There has been no safety issues as of yet, but it will be a safety issue if I am driving and pieces or chunks of the paint fly off. If pieces or chunks fly off and land on my or another driver's windshield and blocks the ability of our vision it could be very dangerous and potentially cause an accident. I am not talking about little chips of paint here and there, I am talking about large size chunks. I know that I am not the only person who is having this issue, there are hundreds of people having this same issue and why there has not been a recall for this yet is blowing my mind. What is Hyundai waiting for a accident, a fatality? This is something that they need to make right, we work hard and when we purchase a vehicle for a lot of money and we take care of it so it will last us a long time and then the paint starts peeling all over the place and makes it look horrible not to mention it will begin to rust, how does Hyundai not feel obligated to fix it and make it right?

Filed Mar 8, 2023 · Body, Visibility · FL

Paint is peeling/delaminating off the car in chunks - from the roof and the hood. Paint peeled off of the hood in a large chunk while I was driving, and got stuck on the windshield & caught up on the wipers while in use. This damaged the wipers and created a dangerous situation, as it blocked my vision while driving. The paint peels off and flies off the car in chunks and can land on another car windshield as well and block their view. I brought the car to the dealer years ago when the paint first starting peeling, and was told it was just past the warranty and there was nothing they could do. I read online that there was a class action suit on this exact issue and it has been a problem for many, many years and Hyundai continues to manufacture this paint despite being aware of the problem. I contacted Hyundai corporate to report this issue, and they said there is nothing they can do. So I have decided to report the issue to warn other drivers, as the last chunk that peeled off became a safety hazard. Note: Car was only used occasionally, has very low mileage, and is garaged for a portion of the year. The paint should not be in this condition - it is defective. I paid extra for this particular pearl white paint when I purchased the car new - it was an upgrade, presented as self-healing paint.

Filed May 1, 2022 · Body · MD

The driver's side sun visor randomly falls out of the connection in the ceiling and then dangles from the electrical cord that operates the light in the visor above the mirror. When this happens it completely obstructs the driver's view of the roadway as the visor is now swaying back and forth in front of the driver's face & the driver must take one hand off the steering wheel to move the visor out of the way to see the roadway. It takes two hands to actually shove the electrical wire and visor arm back up into the ceiling. This issue not only happens when the visor is in the down (in use) position & when it is down and swung to the side to block the side window but it also happens when the visor in not in use and is just clipped up. The ceiling connection piece falls down on the left side then too...thankfully because the visor is not in use, the right hand clip secures that side in place so only half of the driver's view is obstructed. This happens without any warning - you're driving along and suddenly the visor has fallen in front of your face. It is manufacturer defect in the small plastic piece that goes from the arm of the visor up into the ceiling. There is a very small plastic tip that is broken - that tip is the only thing that keeps the visor post secured in the ceiling. When you unscrew the visor attachment that goes into the ceiling the broken piece is right there. The electrical wires go thru it so it's still in there. I have replaced my visor once already and the same piece broke off of the new visor after a couple years. My vehicle has not been inspected by anyone but there are many reports on the Hyundai forum about this visor issue. Hyundai is aware of this cheap plastic defect as they issued recalls on the sun visors on other models but not on the Sante Fe. They have also changed to a newer visor connection piece on their newer model cars. A recall should be issued for the Sante Fe so that the visors can be replaced w/ an updated version.

Filed Dec 8, 2021 · Body · NH

Passenger front and driver side rear door handle breaking off. Normal pulls have cause the handle to come in hand.

Filed Aug 18, 2020 · Body · IL

Purchased car new garage kept well maintained at dealer. Had a recall in 2016 for frame corrosion. I brought car in and dealer rust proofed frame. Continued to have car serviced and completed all maintenance that dealer recommended. Some repairs very expensive like timing belt, water pump, idle pulley etc. Last month brought car in for transmission exchange and I was told the side rails of car are rusted thru and car is unsafe to drive. This vehicle was supposedly inspected every time car was serviced. Hyundai never said anything about rust getting worse. I would like your help holding them accountable. They admitted to having defective steel. Please help!!

Filed May 23, 2017 · Body, Visibility · 96,000 miles · OR

Paint comes off the car in large pieces that, if raining, will stick to windshield of the car and the car behind you, while driving. This blocks the visibility out of the front of the windshield and causes wiper problems as the large pieces get stuck to them. Again this will happen while driving in the rain. The large piece of paint will still come off during normal driving, but the safety concern is while driving in the rain. Pieces as large as 1 inch by 1 inch are not uncommon, with the largest piece currently missing is about 8 inches by 8 inches. Problem started happening over 2 years ago. When the pieces get stuck to the windshield, you have to pull over to remove them from both the windshield and wiper blades. This is also dangerous as we have had to pull over on a major freeway before to remove them from parts of the vehicle, namely the windshield and wipers. This problem again causes problems with visibility out of the front of the windshield of the car and possibly the car(s) behind you while driving in the rain. I don't believe that large pieces (sheets) of paint should be coming off of a car and sticking to a windshield of the affected car and cars around it, while driving in the rain. Truly this is a safety issue.

Filed Jan 5, 2017 · Body · 54,000 miles · PA

After routine inspection, engine cradle is rusted through and will not pass inspection. Car has 54,000 miles. #1 cochran took pictures and submitted them to hyundai, said they never saw anything like this for a 2009 santa fe and thought hyundai would replace the subframe. Hyundai declined replacement of subframe. Hyundai has pictures that were taken by #1 cochran.

Filed Jun 13, 2016 · Body · 50,000 miles · TX

The paint on our vehicle keeps bubbling up and peeling off causing the exterior metal on the car to rust in those spots. This has been a recurring problem with the vehicle since 2012 and is occurring in multiple random spots on the vehicle. We have seen multiple other same make and model vehicles with this same problem. We called the local hyundai dealership who recommended a body shop to fix the paint issues. The owner of the body shop said it was such a reoccurring problem, he didn't need us to bring the car in for a quote, only tell him where the paint was bubbling and peeling and gave us a price over the phone. This has been an issue over time. We are not sure what is causing the problem, whether it is certain weather , road conditions or environment.

Filed Aug 18, 2015 · Body, Suspension · 70,333 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

At around 4:50 pm on august 11, 2015, my wife was driving our 2009 hyundai santa fe limited 2wd 4 door wagon north-bound on second avenue, through the intersection of second avenue and foothill boulevard in upland, california. While crossing the intersection the hyundai santa fe was struck by a car entering the intersection from the west. The impact to the hyundai santa fe by the other car was severe enough to cause the hyundai santa fe to be a total loss. Additionally, my wife suffered soft tissue injuries to her hip, shoulder, back and right temple (head). While the impact to the hyundai santa fe wagon was severe enough to cause the vehicle to be a total loss and cause injuries to my wife, none of the front or side impact air-bags deployed. The car is now in the possession of the automobile club of southern california (claim number 012002790. I took some pictures of the damage to the vehicles, which I can provide if requ