After filling vehicle with fuel, fuel gauge showed tank empty and yellow light on dash shows fuel empty. Fuel gauge recovered to show 1/2 full, then displays erratic results. Online forums show defective fuel sensor with a large number of hyundai vehicles. There should be recall on this issue. Drivers may think they have sufficient fuel, to then have vehicle run out of gas in a dangerous driving environment.
2009 Hyundai Santa Fe fuel system complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 127, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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.
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.
Once the gas gage reaches 1/4 full, it goes to empty. After filling with gas, it will take over 1 hour to record a full tank. Cannot use the gage as we are never sure how much gas is in the tank. The engine light also appears and stays on until the gas sensor records full.
Vehicle fuel system gauge inaccurate. After a fill up, the gas gauge would change from 3/4 full to empty, to 1/4 full, to 3/4 full to empty, regarldess of how much fuel was in the vehicle. Check engine light intermittently comes on and off. This is clearly the most common safety complaint on the federal safety agency, and other internet complaint pages related to safety issues with the hyundai santa fe. Several model years appear to be heavily affected. Not knowing how much fuel the vehicle has is a major safety concern and could lead to accidents, injuries, and deaths. I'm having to pay for very expensive repairs because of this, and hyundai refuses to accept responsibility, even though their service folks acknowledge they see this often. This should be a recall, and all those who have paid for this costly repair should be reimbursed.
My gas gauge showed a half tank one day then it showed empty then it showed empty/ the next day it would not start I new there was gas in it an hour later it started but after I was out it went back to empty. This problem needs to be fixed several people I meet in parking lots have the same problem. Are you waiting for someone to get in the rear when it shuts off and people get killed big law suits will happen iam sure it would cheaper to fix this then get sued. I see there are a lot complaints
Fuel gauge does not work properly. No matter how much gas is in tank it usually registers empty, and occasionally it will randomly fluctuate up and down. Because of this issue the check engine light is always on. This happens while car is stationary or in motion. This is a known issue by hyundai.
The check engine light came on as I was filling up my vehicle. Once I filled it, I could not get it to start. Took two to three tries to get the vehicle to turn over. I had the battery checked and my battery is good. My fuel gauge sits at empty for the first 100 miles after filling up with the low fuel indicator light on. I have had the car checked and was told it was told I had a problem with the fuel sensor. I had one replaced for $250 in 2014. Car worked fine. Then after 500 miles, the same thing happened. When is hyundai going to realize that they have a serious issue with this vehicle! I can't even get a fair trade in value for the vehicle due to the problem.
Fuel gauge is not working and car is running out of gas even though indicator indicate there is gas. I had both fuel sensors replaced and the problem still continues. I have run out of gas multiple times and recently ran out of gas on an extremely dangerous stretch of 101. With two young children, this continues to be a major safety threat and concern for me. Based on some quick googling it's clear this is a major problem and security concern for other santa fe owners and it should be repaired or replaced under a recall.
Had about a half tank of gas and filled up before taking a road trip. Left station and noticed gauge did not move to full. Few miles down the road it started to slowly increase up to the fuel mark. After stopping again on down the road and restarting fuel gauge would show half tank then drop to empty and then back up to half tank. I have to keep getting gas and keep track of mileage so that I do not run out while on the interstate. From what I've read this is a very costly repair and is certainly a safety hazard as I travel a lot for work on the busy interstates and cannot chance running out of fuel
This has happened on 4 separate occasions, both while driving in town at slow speeds and on a highway at high speeds. The check engine light will come on and the car will cut off, no power at all. On each occasion I put the car in neutral and restarted the car immediately and it resumed it's normal driving capacity. It is very scary to be driving along and then all of a sudden the car cuts off for no reason. The last time it happened I was in the middle of a sharp curve, so not having power steering at that point was not very safe, as I ended up in the other lane but thank goodness there wasn't a car coming in the other direction at the time.
This has happened multiple times over the past year and has increased in frequency the last 2 months. At random times, in town or on highway with varying speeds, the RPM will jump without me using any more pressure on the gas pedal, which causes the car to accelerate quickly and without warning. Then, the RPM will go back down in the same manner just as quickly.
The light for my fuel tank came on saying empty, however I recalled just having put gas in the tank. A few days later the engine light began to come on. I took my car to autozone to test the engine light, I was told there was a problem with the fuel sensor. I later called hyundai after constantly having to watch my gas and mileage to make sure the tank does not run empty. Hyundai advised it is possibly the fuel sending unit without even having to look at the car and advised it would cost about $800 to repair. The rep in the parts department stated they have had several calls regarding replacing the part. This could potentially be a serious issue, especially if you are driving on a busy road or highway. There seems to be several people having the same issue.
Filled fuel tank and began driving on highway. As usual checked gages and noticed fuel gage at 1/4 full. Over time driving, needle on gage began to move up to point indicating approx. 3/4 full. Over balance of drive needle danced around the 3/4 full mark. I am reading numerous complaints from hyundai owners of same problem over several model years. It appears hyundai is denying a problem and has taken no steps to improve fuel level sensors and thus replacing with them with same is only band aide fix with potential of serious accident if vehicle does run out of gas on highway or crossing intersection. Vey poor position of company and when shopping for new car I will consider another manufacturer.
The fuel gauge sending unit is inoperative. Perusal of the internet shows it is a common problem with 2007-2013 hyundai santa fe vehicles. The fix is $ 500. Hyundai USA and hyundai worldwide h.q. Refuse to acknowledge that the problem exists or offer any repairs for the faulty unit or why indeed it failed. Try driving any distance without a gas gauge. The car is useless unless repaired. Manufacturers should either stand behind their vehicles or the public should be advised to look to a more reliable manufacturer for a better, safer and more reliable product.
Fuel float in gas tank stuck therefore no fuel gage reading.
After filling the gas tank, the gas gauge read empty, along with the low-fuel warning light. After driving approximately 10 miles, the gauge then appeared to be functioning normally. The gauge continues to malfunction if the gas tank is filled. When the tank is below half full, the gauge will randomly read empty or half full. An internet search quickly revealed that many owners are experiencing this problem. I hope hyundai will initiate a safety recall too correct the issue.
When the fuel gauge gets around half full, the gauge bounces around below the half full and empty. The check engine indicator light comes on and stays on. Cannot exactly determine how much fuel is left in tank. Had fuel sensing parts replaced at a cost of approximately $600 by a master ase certified technician. After repairs we filled the tank with fuel. Although tank was full it only registered 3/4 full with a range of 254 miles. Before this incident, the range was 320 - 324 miles. Returned to technician who alerted us that he has seen many similar problems with hyundais and kias. He believes hyundai should recall and fix problems. This attested to by similar problems listed on your site safer car.gov. My wife and I are in our 70s and are concerned we will run out of gas on a remote highway or engine will stall in traffic.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 hyundai santa fe. While having the vehicle inspected, the inspection technician notified the contact that the vehicle failed due to the fuel sensor gauge. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 132,000. The VIN was unavailable.
I have taken this vehicle to the dealership 11 times in the last 2 1/2 years trying to fix an issue where I randomly cannot put fuel in the car. The nozzles click off as if the tank is full, usually after pumping a few gallons. The dealership says they have replaced every single piece of the fuel system, but it continues to have issues and they're not sure why. Sometimes it works fine; sometimes pumping gas slowly helps and I'm able to fill up; sometimes nothing I do works and I have to drive off and try again another day. The check engine light has only come on once, with the first repair attempt in 2013. Since then, there are no warning lights, just the inability to pump gas. I've tracked mileage to make sure it's not just an issue with the fuel gauge showing as being emptier than it really is. Unless this SUV is getting 60+ mpg, it's not the gauge. I generally start attempting to fill up when I get down to half a tank of gas, because I never know how much gas I'll be able to put into the vehicle at a time.
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.
Check engine light coming on. Had it checked out and it was the fuel level sensor. Gas gauge not working properly now. I checked and there has been many more reports for this type of problem. Company should fix this problem at little or no cost.
Check engine light came on may 28 2015, dealer advised fuel sensor/pump issue, repaired it $$$$ june 5th same issue back at dealer, also will not start and fuel gauge acting up 33rd record of the same issue at ntsha for this 2009, over 100 for the cumulative years for the santa fe same issue
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed to provide a proper reading and would fluctuate from full to empty after the tank was refueled. The contact mentioned that the vehicle stalled due to the failure. The failure was reported to the authorized dealer who stated that the contact was not included in a manufacturer recall and that the vehicle would need to be diagnosed to determine the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Noticed fuel gauge started to fluctuate whenever vehicle was parked for a while. Stopped at church showed 1/4 tank with a range of 90 miles, stopped at walmart showed between 1/4 & 1/2 tank and a range of 147 miles. About to take this vehicle on the road and really have no choice but to have it fixed. Drove old vehicles for years and never had a fuel gauge go bad. This is only under warranty for 5/60k so thanks hyundai, I am crossing them off the list of my next car model. Btw $600 bill for this. People want to know if it's a safety factor. Of course not, running out of gas on the middle of an interstate can't be a safety problem. To me it's no different than having your keys turn your ignition switch off cause they're too heavy.
The check engine light came on and fuel gauge went down to empty, even though I had a full tank. Took to my mechanic and he said the check engine code indicated "p0464 - fuel level sensor 'a' ckt intermittent" problem. He informed me of his price, but recommended I go to a hyundai dealership first to see if covered under the 100k power train warranty. Took to local dealer on 11/10/14 and they said it wasn't covered or considered a recall, and it would cost over $800 to repair. My mechanic suggested I use a bottle or two of chevron techron fuel additive with my next fill up because it may clean the sending unit, as gasoline tends to coat the grid that contacts pass over causing the gage failure. A 20 oz and 12 oz bottle were added and shortly after, the check engine light went out and the fuel gage began to register properly again. This lasted about 2 months, but then the light came on again in january and gage went down when I started up the car one morning. I tried the same thing again with the techron, and it worked for about 1 month. The problem has occurred several more times lately but the gage problem is inconsistent. Sometimes everything seems good then if I happen to accelerate quickly, everything goes haywire again. I don't want to keep paying for bottles of techron on every other fill-up or use premium gas (which didn't work btw), and I also think this problem is common enough on 2007-2009 santa fe's on internet postings that its time for hyundai to step up to fix this problem as a recall. Some think it's not important because it hasn't caused a crash, fire, or accident resulting in injury or death, but if someone ignores it and runs out of gas on a major highway, in a tunnel (I go through one 2x per day), or another dangerous spot, it very well could cause a major accident or death. Do the right thing hyundai and issue a recall for this issue!!
Vehicle fuel gauge is erratic. With a full tank of fuel the gauge sometimes reads empty with the low fuel light on. Other times it may read as half or anywhere in between. Probably defective fuel sending unit.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed to operate. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not provided. The failure mileage was 100,700.
Rpm jumped without driver increasing pedal pressure, causing sudden unintended acceleration. Dealership unable to identify issue. This is the second occurrence in the last couple months.
Filled up gas tank and a short time later gas gauge showed half tank. We paid particular attention to watching gauge and it randomly would go up and down. A few days later the check engine warning light came on. We went to our mechanic who checked for the reason for check engine light and the result was a code indicating that the fuel tank level sensor was working intermittently. This is a real problem as we're not sure at any time what the level of fuel is since it goes up and down. It is obvious in researching this problem that this is an ongoing issue. We love our santa fe but these types of issues will certainly weigh in on our car replacement decision.
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