2012 Hyundai Santa Fe: jerking or lurching

Filed Jan 6, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 135,000 miles · FL

When driving the vehicle, the vehicle will lurch forward. This could be done as I am accelerating, as I am breaking, or as I am coasting. The dashboard lights will then all come on including the check engine light. The vehicle will start to shake and unable to accelerate. Forcing you to pull off and park the vehicle. When you turn the vehicle off and turn it back on it's like nothing ever happened. The vehicle has also has instances where the RPM gage registers zero, even after you are accelerating. We have had the spark plugs replaced, the fuel system line cleaned out, we started noticing the problem in february is 2020 and the frequency of the problem has only increased. This now happens about every 3-4 days. I have 2 children and I do not feel safe driving in this car with them. I believe that my vehicle should be a part of the recall number 20v746000, or from hyaundai's recall number 198.

Filed Apr 24, 2019 · 158,000 miles · IL

To whom it may concern ,I currently own santa fe the problem is hyundai is not recognize the problem with the vechicle I expiain to the service dpt,I absorb a jerk loses acceleration power next escindicator dbc lights comes on tachometer goes 0.the vechicle is still in motion .I turn the ignitionoff restart the vechicle thevechicle return back in normal state service replied I have to wait for a service lights.iam aware that santafe fires begins in the eng also in the rear.hyundai dont have an answer they want me to drive in danger.I dont need a tragedy.please help [xxx] thx you. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jun 19, 2018 · Engine · 140,000 miles · TX

On may 12th, 2018 I was driving down the highway when the car started to jerk, I keep my foot on the gas but could feel the car slowing down. I was passing a vehicle at about 60mph and another car was behind me. This car has about 140,000 miles on it. And now it's knocking. I had it towed to texan hyundai in rosenberg, texas. I was told I need a new motor. This one has internal problems. I was also told these motors are no longer made and one was found with 75,000 miles on it. Total repairs was close to $8000. I have kept it well maintained and never had problems with it.

Filed Apr 28, 2015 · Acceleration, Brakes · 35,587 miles · FL · crash

Today april 28, 2015, my mother, daughter and I were coming home from running an errand, when we came to are house we pulled up and went in reverse to pull into the drive way like normal so we can park the car in the garage. When we pulled in we were going just 5mph. Then suddenly when my mom was pushing the brake the stop and put the car into park. The car out of no where lurched and crashed into are washer, water heater , and caused the back windshield to shatter. An we have had this car for 3 years and its always the same routine, so were very shook up on how this could happen. Even though this happened at a resident im filing this since it could happen anywhere to another car.

Filed Feb 23, 2015 · Engine, Fuel system · 56,500 miles · PA

While stopped at a red light on an incline, vehicle did not move when gas pedal was pressed. It felt like the car had stalled out but the RPM's were still between 1 and 2. When I pressed harder on the gas the car lurched forward. This has happened several times and is now happening more often, not always on an incline or when temperature or engine is cold. Taking to dealer for repair but told if they can't duplicate they can't do anything about it. I have only owned this car 4 months and want to get rid of it because I'm afraid to drive it now. Not sure if its a problem with the transmission or fuel system but something is definitely not right. Hope it happens for the dealer so it can be fixed.

Filed Feb 16, 2015 · Electrical · TX · crash

Vehicle inexplicably lurched ahead when foot on brake, went over a curb, through some grass and into and over a fire hydrant. Was unable to stop/control the vehicle,. Vehicle is currently undriveable and at the body shop for repairs.

Filed Aug 25, 2013 · Engine · 22,392 miles · MA

I was stopped in heavy traffic and suddenly the engine raced to maximum and the car lurched forward. Fortunately, I had left enough space back from the vehicle in front of me to avoid an accident. I had to put both feet on the brake and attempted to shut off the engine to stop the engine from racing.

Filed Apr 7, 2013 · Engine · 3,200 miles · FL

This complaint involves the intermittent total lack of engine power with no throttle response. Please note that the engine does not stall nor do any instrument panel lights come on. For two to four seconds, there is absolute silence and then all of a sudden the engine springs to life and, depending on where you have your foot on the accelerator, the vehicle proceeds or lurches forward. All three incidents were while driving slowly in grocery store parking lots, involving several stop and go incidents through slow moving traffic. The first incident took me by surprise and I thought the engine stalled. I was going to shift to neutral for a restart, but before I could, the engine came back to life and I nearly rear-ended the car in front of me. The second incident was when leaving this same parking lot, except I was entering a divided highway, expecting to merge into 55+MPH traffic, when the loss of engine occurred again. Luckily I avoided being hit by oncoming vehicles and was able to get in to the next opening after the engine again came back to life on it's own. The latest incident took place in a different market parking lot. I was in a line of vehicles stopped at the stop sign at the entrance to the market where pedestrians cross. The truck ahead of me proceeded through and when I started to come up to the stop sign, the engine died, but restarted it self as before. My foot was approximately half way down on the accelerator and when everything engaged, the front tires screeched and startled several people in the cross walk, along with myself. Fortunately I was able to brake quickly and avert a possible disaster. This situation is extremely dangerous and I can foresee the potential for serious injury due to this problem. Internet research shows many more of these same vehicles are prone to this same defect. Thank you.

Filed Dec 27, 2012 · Acceleration · 13,366 miles · MO

While driving my 2012 hyundai santa fe (mileage approx. 13366) on the highway in fairly heavy traffic at around 70 MPH and applying pressure to the accelerator, suddenly the vehicle failed to accelerate. I heard a little "blip" noise and felt a very slight jerk, kind of like a sudden gear change or something like that, then the car suddenly started decelerating. I barely missed getting rear-ended by another vehicle and managed to coast across two lanes of traffic to the shoulder of the road without getting hit. I stopped the car and turned it off and called the hyundai dealership and asked them what I should do. I told them the engine malfunction light was on. They indicated that they had never heard of a vehicle doing this before. They said if the malfunction light wasn't blinking, the car was safe to drive and to bring it in at my earliest convenience. On the way home, the deceleration issue happened approximately 3 or 4 more times.this is an incredibly dangerous issue with the vehicle. Took it to a local dealership and the paperwork said they found issue via tsb. They did an ECM upgrade. Vehicle worked just fine for a month and a half and then the exact same problem occurred again. This time I was able to make it home, fortunately without getting into a major accident. Had to stop and start the car about 3 times to get home. Called roadside assistance and had it towed to a different dealership to see if they can find the real problem this time. At this point, I'm not sure if I will ever feel safe driving this vehicle again. How will I know if the issue has really been fixed? This is a very serious, dangerous problem that could potentially lead to a tragic accident. It's hard to believe that there hasn't been a recall issued to fix this problem.

Filed Sep 14, 2012 · Acceleration · 5,500 miles · IL · crash

My santa fe hyundai 2012 accelerated unintentionally when I was turning into a parking spot. I was making a right turn into the parking spot when it lurched full throttle over two bushes and knocked down a black iron fence and I pressed on the brakes and I was on the side walk. I could have hit a pedestrian! It was very frightening.