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2004 Hyundai Santa FE Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 303 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Hyundai Santa FE, most often about the suspension (23% of complaints, typically around 91,500 miles). It is 9th of 26 Santa FE model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2004 Hyundai Santa FE problems
Suspension
69 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles. Parts named most often: front.
While driving on a straight, smooth section of interstate highway my wife and I heard a very loud boom, as if we had hit a large rock or something. There was no vibration that an impact would have caused. We didn't know what had caused the noise. 2004 Hyundai, Santa FE drove fine. Two days later, when making a low…
Was just pulling the car down the drive way and the front passenger side tire blew out. I stopped the car and a friend was going to change the tire. He noticed the spring had broken loose and punctured the tire. The car had been sitting in the drive way for 12 to 15 hours before we went to drive it. We had not even…
Brakes
43 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 37,500 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, antilock, disc, foundation components.
Abs brakes engaging prematurely. 1st instance after heavy rain stopped at stop sign on slight slope ABS engaged and kept moving vehicle out onto road. Dealer could not find any problem, however there was a recall to adjust brakes. 2nd instance on snow covered down grade vehicle in front stopped to make left turn and I…
Tl contact owns a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE. While the contact was driving between 3-15 MPH on an icy road surface, the contact applied the brakes, followed by resistance and caused a bouncing in the brake pedal. Suddenly, a grinding noise occurred with the anti-lock brake system engaging unintendently which resulted to…
Air bags
43 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 90,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
Airbag light came on. Diagnosed as faulty wiring. Dealer got it to go out, but if it comes back on again they say the entire passenger side airbag needs to be replaced. Dealer cannot say if the air bag will deploy in an accident and says that the manufacturer will not say either. Now, the light is out behind the…
The airbag system stopped working without ever having been used in a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE. The airbag system is currently not functioning in the vehicle. The service provider stated the airbag will not deploy if we are in an accident and told US it would cost $1800.00 to fix it.
Fuel system
40 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Came home from vacation a found the contents of my fuel tank on the garage floor. Lucky there was no fire or explosion. I took it to the service garage and they informed me that the gas tank rusted through and along with the protective plates, all had to be replaced. Contacted Hyundai but they were not helpful.
The contact owns a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that he smelled a gasoline fuel odor while standing near the vehicle. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic, who stated that the fuel tank was rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure…
Speed control
39 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 69,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal, cruise control.
The vehicle accelerated to a high rate of speed when just touching the gas pedal. The brake must immediately be engaged to slow the car. Once the car is moving the accelerator works. While cruising the engine RPM surges forcing the brakes to be engaged.this is a dangerous situation in traffic. The previous owner said…
The contact owns a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE. While driving approximately 5 MPH she applied pressure to the brake pedal but the vehicle would not stop until crashing into another vehicle. After crashing, she shifted the vehicle into park. Once the vehicle was in park the engine began to exhibit an abnormal increase in…
Engine
38 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
Upon return from vacation, power steering was moaning, loss of fluid from under front of vehicle. Examination revealed loss due to fluid cooler line beneath radiator. Fluid was leaking onto the catalytic converter inches to the rear of the line. Examination revealed black staining on surface of converter due to skin…
I've owned 2 Santa FE's in a row (2001 & 2004). Both had engine failures around 60,000 miles (both on freeway). The 2004 failed at night in the middle of the arizona desert- these both presented me with a very serious safety hazard. I was driving at 70 MPH when the engine lost power and made a terrible noise. I end up…
Transmission
21 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 37,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, clutch assembly.
The contact owns a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that on six separate occasions, the vehicle had independently accelerated without warning. On one occasion, the vehicle had accelerated through a red light with the brake pedal depressed to the floorboard. On a separate occasion, the vehicle accelerated…
The contact owns a 2004 Hyundai Santa FE. The contact stated that while in reverse, the vehicle accelerated erroneously. The contact stated that the failure occurred while shifting into drive. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Electrical
18 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring.
3rd time crank shaft sensor went in 1 year/5 months. Car only has 60,000 miles. All 3 times, car would not accelerate, check engine light then appears and seconds later the car shuts off. Twice we were on the highway when this happened and lucky we had enough time to get over to the breakdown lane before the car shut…
The first occurrence was tues. Oct. 21 backing out of a driveway and went to put the car in drive. It stalled right in the middle of a very busy road. I put it in park and tried to start it again. It did start but did not feel like it would continue to run. However, it did. The second time was yesterday when I was…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Hyundai Santa FE recalls
Suspension: coil springs
Risk: If the front coil spring fractures due to corrosion it could cause the coil spring to make contact with the tire, possibly puncturing the tire and increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Fix: Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the coil spring, free of charge. The recall began on october 24, 2014. Owners may contact hyundai customer service at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's number for this recall is 124.
Full defect summary
Hyundai motor company (hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2001-2006 santa fe vehicles manufactured from march 31, 2000, through february 15, 2006, that are registered and operated, or which were originally sold and registered, in the following 20 âsalt belt" states and the district of columbia: connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, and wisconsin. The affected vehicles may experience front coil spring corrosion from road salt, causing the coil spring to fracture and make contact with the tire.
Brakes: control unit/module
Risk: If an extended stopping distance occurs, it could result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the ABS ecu. Owner notification began on march 24, 2004. Owners should contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with 3.5 liter v-6 engines, 4-wheel drive and antilock braking systems (ABS), if the brake pedal is depressed at speeds between 3 and 12 MPH when the brake pad friction surfaces are wet, a vibration may occur between the brake discs and pads causing ABS sensor electronic signal noise to develop. At speeds below 5 MPH, the ABS sensor signal noise may cause the ABS electronic control unit (ecu) to activate the ABS, extending the stopping distance.
Equipment: labels
Risk: The tire pressure labels do not contain the information required by the standard.
Fix: Owners will be provided with a correct label and installation instructions. Owner notification began on october 29, 2003. Owners should contact hyundai at 1-800-633-5151.
Full defect summary
Certain sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 120, "tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
Questions about the 2004 Hyundai Santa FE
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Hyundai Santa FE?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: suspension (69 complaints, typically around 91,500 miles); brakes (43 complaints, typically around 37,500 miles); air bags (43 complaints, typically around 90,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Hyundai Santa FE have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from July 18, 2014 (suspension). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Hyundai Santa FE?
- It is 9th of 26 Santa FE model years by number of complaints, with 303 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.