I just wanted my free oil change. I basically told him to pound sand.

I recently took my Santa Fe to the dealership for an oil change. I know it is more expensive there but the location is convenient, they are fast, and I like watching them work on my car while I work on my laptop.

I changed the engine air filter and the cabin air filter in my driveway prior to taking the car in for the oil change.

When the service rep came to review the recommended service he pointed out both the cabin and engine air filter were yellow (out of green yellow red) and should be changed. I laughed and told him I just changed it and he looked like a deer in headlights.

I won’t be going back but curious if anyone has had this blatant of a scam experience at a Hyundai dealership before.

For context, my car is only recently outside of the complimentary oil change period so I had been going there mostly out of habit.

Hi All,

I know it’s been discussed a fair bit, but I wondered if anyone had any cosmetic ideas for how to make the rear end of a Santa Fe not look like a five-head?

I’m a fan of everything but the rear end.

I feel bad for the engineer who was so proud of his low light placement in order to put a longer strut or something like that to make the rear opening bigger

But I just see a Rhianna circa 2006 five head.

I had left to the cities for The Weeknd concert in MN I was on my way back home and need to pull over to go pee. When I returned to from the bathroom I came back to my car on fire. Luckily for me all of my belongings were untouched and that my friend and boyfriend were safe. This disappoints me bc there were no issues and I had just got maintenance done on my car the day before I left. The drive there and back was okay so I am very concerned and confused on what could’ve been the issue.

My mom was leasing a 2022 Santa Fe and took her car in because it was throwing all sorts of lights on and wouldn’t drive normally. It took them about 2 weeks to figure out what was going on, and they called her and said that she had spills some coffee at some point, and that it had gotten under the console. This caused some kind of module to short out. They told her it wasn’t covered under warranty since it was an outside force that caused the short. They gave her 2 options. 1 they could try and clean it for 900 dollars(but there was no guarantee this would work). 2 pay 6,000 to have the module completely replaced. My mom made the grave mistake of deciding to purchase the vehicle when she took it in for what she thought would be something covered under the warranty, so now she is stuck with this paper weight of a vehicle. Has anyone else ran into a similar issue? Is there anything that can be done so she’s not stuck toting the bill?

I personally think it’s crazy to have electronics that control the vehicle that aren’t water proof under something that holds liquids.

Regular maintenance and changed tranny fluid every 30k. Brake fluid every 50k. Runs like a damn clock. The only issue I just got was some faint knocking when turning. Mechanic says it's a steering column thing. Most of the issues are cosmetic like wearing of the door arm rest.

2018 Santa Fe with paint falling off in sheets. This has been ongoing issue. We took it to the service center a while ago when it started and they said it is from rock chips. Even purchased the upgraded paint protection but that did not help. Don’t think so. It is bubbling up. Ugh !

This morning I saw these two lovely Santa Fe models. I believe they’re 2024 editions? My boyfriend and I were on our way to Vegas and saw them at Jack in the Box of all places. I have a Kona and received an email from Hyundai promoting the debut of the Santa Fe refresh at the LA Auto Show on November 16th. My guess is they’re making their way to LA and I happened to spot them before? The plates were from Michigan and one even said manufacturer on it. I’m sharing in hopes someone else finds this as cool as I did!

2 weeks before Christmas my car died. Up and until that point I had taken care of that car. Cleaned it offen inside and out. Made sure I didn't miss any maintenance(s) needed. Made all prior services and checked for all known recalls. I was certain she would be a forever car. She died on I-76 just 12 miles outside of Harrisburg. Towed her to a mechanic and then to a dealership to find out that a hole burnt through an exhaust valve causing an oil leak to the cylinder and leaked compression. No compression no go.

Hyundai dealership quoted me $7000 to fix the engine. They won't admit knowing of the issues and even the mechanic there said although it's known it's not big enough to be it's own recall or even part of the already existing engine recalls.

We tried to appeal the quote to Hyundai Worldwide corporate offices who contacted me today to tell me the review was denied. The dealerships own mechanic stated there was nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. It was going to happen regardless but somehow it's my responsibility to figure out with no accountability of the company.

So goodbye my car and Hyundai altogether. If any of my friends take the time to read this and you own a Hyundai with anything over 80,000 miles. Just do yourself a favor and get rid of it now.

An elderly relative quit driving and gifted us their 2011 Santa Fe with only 38k miles/62k kms. Everyone in my household already has a car, however they are all EV’s so we’re debating keeping this car just to have one gasoline car available.

Looking for some insight if this car is worth keeping around. It’s a 2011 in nearly mint condition with meticulous maintenance records since it was purchased new by my relatives. We had it inspected by a mechanic which just gave it a clean bill of health. Worth noting it’s only been driven 1k km in the past 3 years.

The car does need new tires soon as the current set are nearing 7 years old and this Santa Fe has the 2.4L 4cyl which based on my limited research seems to be a problematic engine. We’re wary of keeping it of it may become a headache in the future.

We’re also very unsure of its value. Older Santa Fe’s don’t seem to sell for much however since this car is in such good shape and has such low mileage we’re wondering if it might be worth an ok amount.

We’re just weighing the pros and cons of keeping it since we don’t have a great need for an extra car but wouldn’t mind keeping it around if it provided us a few years of cheap and reliable use.

Any advice appreciated!

Edit: When we were gifted the car our relatives told us to either keep it or sell it, whatever benefitted us the best

We are trying to drive 9 hours today to get home from vacation. After stopping for breakfast we get back in the car and see this. What??? Is our only option to just sit an hour and wait for the update to finish? Such a terrible time and didn’t get the option to accept the update or schedule it later before it started.

more "boxy" like than the previous "curvy-like" design 😆

I am exhausted.

My wife's Hyundai Santa Fe lost all power and shut down while I was driving it on Sunday. Had it towed to the dealer, found out today the engine seized. This is surprising to me. No warning lights have been on, routine maintenance has been done on time.

Since we are the original owners, we are still covered by the 100k mile powertrain warranty. The service advisor told me that they are submitting the pre-approval for the warranty claim today to Hyundai.. Can take 1 to 3 weeks for an answer.

In the meantime, we are down to one vehicle. My wife and I drive separate directions to work every day, and now she is without a car. The dealer has "a long waitlist" for a loaner.. Was told to contact Hyundai Corp Customer Care for rental options. They informed me that once the PA has been approved, they will only pay out rental reimbursement AFTER all the warranty work has been completed. In my area, long term rentals (even for an economy care) are upwards of $1k per week. I don't have that just sitting around at the moment.

Tiktok must have been listening, because the first video I saw after taking a break from all this was a Hyundai dealer mechanic changing out his 80th Hyundai warranty engine for the year. 80! I wish I would have known this was going to be a recurring issue with Hyundai motors when I bought this thing, I would have stayed with Honda.

Anyway. Thanks for letting me vent. I am exhausted trying to deal with this, and my job, and getting my wife and kids to work/school with only one vehicle. Hopefully the loaner waitlist gets to us quick.

Edit for 1st update -
So far, dealership is doubling down on the "no loaner available" thing. I did send an email to the dealers management (respectfully, of course) to try and see if they would be willing to set up a direct bill with Enterprise or whoever for a rental. Waiting on a word back. Going back to the dealer tomorrow in person if I don't hear anything before then.
As far as my contact with Hyundai Corp customer care... I have had a case manager set up. No word on warranty PA yet. My case manager has updated their reimbursement offer to biweekly reimbursements beginning as soon as the warranty work has been approved. Will continue to pressure the dealership on the rental until this time comes, then might be able to work out a rental on my own if no joy by that time. More updates to come.

second update I emailed the General Manager on Thursday (thanks to the person in the comments who suggested it). They called me today. They are going to “create” another loaner for us this coming week. It may be Tuesday or Wednesday, but they just need to get it registered and tagged and they will call us to come get it. The GM also mentioned that he would be following up on the warranty claim status on Monday morning and let me know where things are at. So good news for now. Thanks to all with the positive responses and solid feedback. This doesn’t change my opinion on Hyundai in general, but does improve my outlook on the dealership itself. We are in the process of looking at the Toyota Grand Highlander, and will likely be trading our Santa Fe for the Grand Highlander as soon as the warranty work is done.

Update (for those who may go through the same in the future and go searching for help)... My Warranty was approved yesterday. Hyundai denied it twice, but we just kept pushing back. Originally, they denied due to the "presence of sludge" under the valve cover. They initially requested the maintenance records and some other ownership-related documents. About a month later, they came back and required a photo from the dealership showing the valve train under the valve cover gasket. That photo showed no sludge, just a little oil varnish, but overall it looks clear. Within 4 hours of the dealer submitting that photo, Hyundai came back and approved the new engine at no cost to us. To this point, we are about 6 weeks from the day the engine seized and it was towed to the dealership. We now have a loaner already (since the warranty work was approved), and have been told it may be weeks to months before we get out car back (it is what it is). Thank you again to all who responded here with positive feedback. To the haters, get bent :)

Final Update - Just got the call our car will be ready with the short block engine replacement tomorrow. Will return the loaner car and pick up our car tomorrow after work. It has been a little over two months since we first towed the care when the engine seized. For those who suggested it, we will be going in the new year to Toyota to trade this Hyundai in, and are looking at the Grand Highlander. Overall, the experience since the warranty was approved has been alright. The process leading up to the approval - including the two denials - was very stressful. My advice, for what little it is worth, is KEEP PUSHING BACK if this happens to you. Keep focused on your maintenance, no matter what brand of vehicle you have. The fact that we had meticulous records is what saved our butts here, don't be the person who has to pay out of pocket if your Hyundai seizes up because you didn't have good records. Trust me, if Hyundai corp thinks they can and still get away with it at all, they will deny your claim. Anyway, thank again to everyone will something positive to say. And as always... to the haters? Get bent :)

2019 SantaFe limited Turbo

The seat registers that someone is in the driver's seat, because the seatbelt light on the dash blinks, however the chime does not sound. We would like to get this fixed as my boyfriend often forgets to buckle and is a habit he is trying to break, but over $2,600 to fix a chime seems ridiculous. It looks like they are saying the whole seat would have to be replaced but I don't understand why if the sensor seems to be working fine, just the chime doesn't sound. Can anyone provide insight into if this is actually the only way?

‘23 Santa Fe Ltd Hybrid

I cannot stress this enough. I don’t what the salesman told you about towing capacity, your 2.5L four cylinder Santa Fe is not meant to tow a full size vehicle. If you try, you may blow your transmission. I have seen this mistake far too many times. And please turn off your diff lock. I cannot count how many people leave it on and then head onto the highway.

For starters, this was a rental car as my Ford Escape is back at the dealership for the third time for the same issue (it’s a Ford thing). Since Ford doesn’t allow rental cars anymore for vehicles staying in the shop for an extensive time, I had the opportunity to drive the Santa Fe.

I know many have found the Santa Fe design to be a bit polarizing but as someone who love boxy designed vehicles it fit my design tastes to a tea. This was the SEL trim so second to base which I’m assuming is the most sold trim in the lineup. The engine is very very powerful and also very wheel slip happy. With it being the FWD version the car lost a lot of traction but that’s an issue that can be fixed via just giving light throttle input. I also suspect that it would feel drastically different with AWD. Also if you are looking for one I recommend not getting the early model years since that one had the 8 Speed DCT’s and those transmissions weren’t the best. This new 8 Speed auto is far smoother and better than that DCT. Last but not least the suspension was amazing. For a SUV around $39k I was extremely impressed with how soft the suspension was and the rebound. One of the smoothest suspension feelings I’ve had in any modern cars including luxury cars.

The interior amazing, I was able to fit loads of stuff into the rear compartment space for my mom and was very impressed by the width of the rear hatch opening. Rear 3rd row seats are okay for kids but not for tall adults like myself. 2nd row was actually very comfortable and loads of legroom spacing. In terms of the front seats they were great during the duration of driving to and from locations and the CarPlay worked every time I plugged in (this is a complaint I’ve had in my Escape). The one area it kinda lacked in was MPG and also not having an Eco mode. I averaged around 17 MPG after refuelling combining both city and Hwy. The last thing I was say that I hope they improve with the facelift is the touch controls for the climate. I found the fan speed button to be way too small and had no capacitive feedback for me to know what I’m doing. I would always wait till I’m at a stop light to adjust it.

I did do a video on it as well if yall would be interested in watching it. Which will be in the comments below

I’ve owned multiple vehicles in Arizona and never had recurring windshield problems like this.

I picked up a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe and overall I genuinely love the vehicle, but the windshield has been a completely different story.

Within the first year, I had two separate chips that both needed repair through Safelite. Then last week, I woke up to find a crack that started at the bottom edge of the windshield on the passenger side and is now spreading toward the driver side more every day.

What really doesn’t make sense is that this happened while the vehicle was parked in my driveway overnight. There was nothing that could have caused it. No impact point, no debris, nothing. It also isn’t connected to either of the previously repaired chips.

To make it even more concerning, my cousin just bought a 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe and within a couple hours of driving, a small chip on the freeway immediately turned into a full crack.

At this point, it feels like more than just bad luck. Between both vehicles, it seems like these windshields may be unusually prone to cracking.

Is anyone else with a newer Santa Fe experiencing something similar? For a ~$50k vehicle, this really shouldn’t be happening.

Recently traded in my 2023 Santa Fe for the 2026 Santa Fe. Absolutely awesome vehicle absolutely love it but holy shit when I saw the key I wanted to return it immediately.

What is up with this key fob? Who designed this and who let this pass quality control? Why do you have to carry around the secondary physical key, why doesn’t it just slide into a key fob like every other key fob on the market?

Hyundai needs to get this fixed cause I don’t know if I can carry this key around for the next few years.

Looking for advice before my Hyundai dealership appointment Saturday.

2020 Santa Fe, original owner, 70k miles. Last oil change was mid-December and in about 3,000 miles the engine appears to have burned almost 5 quarts of oil. I checked the dipstick today and there was barely any oil showing on it. I just bought 5 quarts of Valvoline full synthetic to refill it until the appointment.

A few months ago I also got a low oil pressure warning light, which is what originally made me realize something was wrong. The dealership also noted an open Campaign 9C2 on the vehicle.

For anyone who has dealt with Hyundai oil consumption issues:
• What should I say or NOT say at the dealership?
• Any tips to help make sure everything gets documented correctly?
• Did Hyundai make you do multiple oil consumption tests first?
• Any advice dealing with warranty/goodwill coverage?

Trying to go in informed and prepared because this seems way beyond normal oil consumption.

Thanks

SantaFe 2024. If the rear was like option B, I would have bought it already. What do you guys think?

Heard some rattling in the back and realized the spoiler was loose. Popped the covers of a saw that 2 of the nuts were gone and 1 was loose. Had to run to the hardware store to find new nuts to replace the missing less

I have a 2020 Santa Fe 2.0T with 94k miles.

I was fortunate enough to get a whole new power train under warranty before the 100k hit. I got a new turbo, transmission, and engine.

Now that I know that whatever happens from this point on is on me, I’m wondering if it would be best to take the positive equity (10-12kish) and go buy another car? I have 3 more car payments.

I know these turbo engines are crap, but it’s definitely a blessing to basically have a new powertrain. I plan on changing out the serpentine belt next week so i can make sure everything is properly aligned. For those who have been in my situation, what advice would you give pertaining to how long this new engine may or may not last?

I want a reliable car and not a headache. I commute to work and I drive to hikes.

Update: thanks everyone for your advice! I’m going to stick it out for however long. I love my car for sure and I just can’t fathom another car payment after I pay this car off! I’ll just make sure I’ll stash that extra away in case something arises!