2009 Hyundai Santa Fe: sudden loss of power

Filed Jul 9, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 197,000 miles · GA

I purchased this car used in 2011. Over the years, at random times, the radio will "pop" off and back on again. It doesn't seem to affect the rest of the electrical system in the car, but it's a little scary when it happens - mechanic can't replicate. Now, twice in the last week, my car has stalled while slowing down, once on a multi-lane street and once after decelerating coming off the expressway (complete loss of power, steering, brakes, etc). I put the car in neutral and it started right back up, but this has happened in heavy traffic and scared the cr*p out of me! I'm terrified that this might happen at a higher speed on the expressway. I have seen several mentions of similar power losses for this same vehicle. I have no check engine lights and no codes come up when scanned. No recalls reported either, although a power loss at the wrong time could kill someone. Not sure if this is electrical, engine or fuel system related - I had over a half a tank of gas in the car during both occurrences.

Filed Jul 5, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 105,000 miles · CA

Vehicle stalls while slowing down. When this happens, headlights and power steering and braking are lost, and the check engine light and battery light come on. Imagine driving down a dark windy road at night and losing power steering and braking and not being able to see the road. This is accurate to the experience. If I turn car off and back on, it starts just fine. It happens everywhere, on the freeway, while parking, etc. Every person I have talked to with same vehicle confirms the same. I have yet to find anyone with a fix. There is a recall out for 2010 and on for a similar issue. This issue started happening in 2015 when I purchased the car, and it has continued to happen for years.

Filed May 5, 2017 · Engine · 98,650 miles · AZ

My 2009 hyundai santa fe stalled out again. This event happened while turning left onto a busy street after siting at a red light. The car lost all power, making it difficult to control while pulling over to the side of the road, but in the way of other drivers. I put the car in park and then the engine restarted and I was able to drive away. The car behind me was forced to slam on their brakes, as it appears that I have just decided to stop in the middle of the road. Was nearly rear ended. Very dangerous and completely out of my control.

Filed Dec 5, 2016 · Fuel system · 65,000 miles · IL

Faulty fuel sensor gauge. When trying to fill an empty tank the pump shuts off after only a couple of gallons. If I wasn't paying attention I would have thought it was full. I've seen complaints that the fuel gauge stops working on this car at similar mileage, if that happens too I won't know how much gas is in my car. I could then run out of gas while driving and lose power steering. This is an accident hazard.

Filed Oct 4, 2016 · Engine · 72,000 miles · OH

Vehicle recall notice. Recall states that alternator may fail on said vehicle resulting in loss of power, etc., etc. Took vehicle to authorized dealer. Almost 2- hrs. Rep came to me for 1400 est in car repairs. No information on alternator. Talked to boss and within five minutes was told it was about the valve cover gasket. Work completed. Almost 3-hrs. Recall notice is false information to bring car owners into dealer to perform multi point inspection, etc., and perform needed work. Not centered on auto recall at all. Unsat. Car was at dealership in shop for review and warranty work for recall. Because of recall work. All other cars(entailing monies) after me were completed before me. I was last out of waiting room.

Filed Nov 4, 2015 · Fuel system · 78,000 miles · PA

Car lost power while in motion taking a turn and slowing down to a stop. Started july 2015, once again in aug. Now since oct, happens more regularly, sometimes twice a day. Dealer looked at it twice. No codes, can't replicate so they don't know what's causing the problem. Replaced tcs and did recall 9h292430 all with no luck. Dealers next best guess is replacing throttle body.

Filed Nov 2, 2015 · Fuel system · 95,000 miles · AZ

Several months ago, the check engine light came on. I took the car to the dealer and while nothing was wrong with the engine, I needed to pay $1000 to repair the sensor because I needed my car emission inspected. In the last month, while on a road trip, the check engine light came on again and the car just lost power and stalled. When we restarted the car, the light was still on but went off the next day. Since then, the check engine light comes on randomly and the fuel gauge jumps all over the place. It will indicate I have 88 miles to empty and then jump back up to 130. The check engine light will come on one day and be off the next.

Filed Oct 11, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 77,450 miles · AL

We were exiting west bound I-10 in pensacola, fl, and when turning right onto the surface road at slow speed the engine died and we lost power including steering and brakes. We were able to pull off of the road into a restaurant parking lot and restart the car, but had a close call with suddenly reduced speed in merging traffic. This is the second time this has happened to us in this car. The first incident was in aug, 2013 and was reported as incident report #1053149. At that time, the dealer was unable to reproduce the issue, so no repair was made. We believe that this is a safety issue and should be investigated.

Filed Jul 2, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 80,000 miles · OK

We had a sudden loss of power while traveling on the interstate at 70 MPH. Had to get over quickly as the traffic was heavy and the car had no power. The engine would not deliver any power, other than idle. Turned the car off and let it sit for about 15 seconds, then started the car and had power back for about 3 miles. Happened again and did the same for about ten miles until got home. Recently started to happen again, same codes come up each time. Took car to dealership and they told me that it was just glitches causing codes to come up and cause the ESC to go into safe mode. Since then I have seen the exact same codes and not a lot of codes, but codes that indicate an ignition/fuel/control module problem. This is not as bad as acceleration, but if pulling out in traffic or on an on ramp, could be deadly. Has now happened seven times. First date was april 2014, could not enter date in your form for some reason.

Filed May 10, 2015 · Acceleration, Brakes · 21,000 miles · FL

We were exiting a ramp off rt 75 in florida. Our speed was about 30 MPH. Suddenly we loss power steering and braking and acceleration. We coasted to a stop. We turned off the ignition and restarted the car after about 2 minutes...everything returned to normal. It was the second such experience. The first was august 2013. The dealership replaced the throttle sensor at that time. This latest experience is the exact duplicate of the first. I am taking the car to the dealership tomorrow morning.

Filed Aug 13, 2014 · Engine · 78,000 miles · FL

Upon take off from signal light, at about 10-15 miles an hour, vehicle engine had a total loss of power. At the time we were only able to coast to the side of the road. Turned key off. Waited a few minutes and then restarted engine and vehicle started up as if nothing happened. This is the second incident with this vehicle in the past 2 years. Online research reveals similar problems with hyundai vehicles along with no resolution from manufacturer.

Filed May 15, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 59,600 miles · WI

While driving on the interstate at approximately 70 MPH, using cruise control, the car suddenly lost power. I stepped on the gas and it would not accelerate. I coasted to a stop and pulled onto the shoulder. The engine was running, transmission was in gear, but the car would not move. I turned off the ignition and let it sit for a few minutes. I restarted it, had power, everything seemed normal, except the engine light remained lit. I drove approximately 10 miles to my destination. The car sat for six hours and I was then able to drive the 65 miles home without incident. Repair results: my hyundai dealer indicated the problem was caused by a 'throttle position sensor'. They replaced the electronic component and reset the error codes in the vehicle's computer.