How do you like this SUV

I currently own a 97 Chevey Blazer with 60,000mi and am having lots of troubles with it. Heck, you should see the huge number of posts over there - some of it cause they are older than the Hyundai Santa Fe, but then again maybe not. I don't notice too many trouble posts here and some of these have been around a couple years. I keep thinking if I had a 10/100,000 warranty I would not have sunk $1,000 so far into it and still not fixed. It is very nice looking - I just wandered about it. I did see some of the posts fromt the other possible buyer here.

What is Hyundai servcice like?
Ride?
Interior?
Power?
Maintenance especially? (but then again 10/100,000 - helps a bunch $-wise)
AWD?
Noisey?

Thanks for any input.
-Shawn

The Sante Fe, along with the XG350 are the most reliable cars Hyundai makes. I am the parts manager at a Hyundai dealer in Indianapolis, and have been working with Hyundai for a year and a half now and am very impressed with them. Don't worry about their old reputation, becuase that is gone now. The Sante Fe is very nice, I'm actually driving one right now a as a demo, and like it a lot. Only complaint I have is the gas mileage. I actually think you get better gas mileage in a V6, then you would the 4cyl like I'm driving right now. The 4cyl just seems to be underpower for the sport utility and just works too hard to keep up with traffic, therefore, resulting is decreased fuel economy. The best tank I've had so far in the 4cyl one I'm driving is 19mpg. It's rated at something like 23 city and 27 highway, I think. I bought my wife a '03 Sonata LX last year, and she wants a Sante Fe now she likes it so much more. Visibility is very good, it's comfortable, quiet, rides smooth. There are very few problems I see with the Sante Fe, mainly emission problems, like purge vales, or fuel vent valves. Nothing too major really. As long as you keep up with your scheduled maintenance, Hyundai will honor the warranty. I see a lot of people that don't do anything because of the long warranty, but it ends up biting them when their transmission goes out at 70k miles and never had a transmission service. A definate good buy if you ask me.

John Nance, Parts Manager
Bob Rohrman Indy Hyundai, Suzuki Superstore
7101 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46219
www.indyhyundai.com/www.indysuperstore.com
1-866-290-7046
317-613-7048

Thanks for the reply John. I am glad to hear that. It sounds like a nice SUV. I sensed in your reply the Warranty is contingent upon meeting strict check-up requirements. I do the majority of my own work. I have some reservations about having to spend a lot of money every 6mo-1yr on visits to the shop to keep my 10/100,000 in force?

-Shawn

The main things Hyundai is concerned about is the 30k and 60k miles service, with oil changed in between. Just keep your receipts for the oil changes. They recommend changing the transmission fluid every 30k miles, and you have to use the Hyundai fluid. Mitsu and Kia use the same ATF, but you can't buy it at an aftermarket parts store. 30k mile service consists LOF, ATF change, fuel injection service, air filter, pcv valve, and coolant change. 60k is the same as 30k, plus timing belt and plugs. Dealer will charge you quite a bit, but do as much as you can yourself and you'll save a lot of money.

I have honestly never met an unhappy Santa Fe owner they all love them. and with the 3.5l they drive so nice, especially since they are a unibody based on a luxury car platform.

I have honestly never met an unhappy Santa Fe owner they all love them. and with the 3.5l they drive so nice, especially since they are a unibody based on a luxury car platform.

ME: I have a 2002 SantaFe GLS and i just bought my elderly folks a 2004 SantaFe GLS 4 wheel drive. I really like mine alot --- the ride is very soft and it soaks up bumps. Very agile in case of an emergency. I really compared all the competing SUV's and the Hyundai was the most value for the money. THe styling cant be beat and theyve put in a better sound system in the 2004 which has alot of power .Hyundai spent ALOT to time on fit and finish.....look underneath the car and see how they ran the hoses and lines...all very neatly supported and symetrical. They have made an incredible comeback to the AMerican Market. I cant think of anything that i dont like about it .

Dave

Hi All,
sit back have a drink, cause this is going to be long...

I have a 2002.5 (mid year changes) AWD 2.7V6 AWD White Santa Fe

Service:
As for my own personal experience, I have had great service from my service department. I was so happy with them I even sent a letter to corporate thanking them for the professionals that work in the dealership/service dept. The reason why I was so happy is because before the Santa Fe, I had a Mazda Protege (POS) and the dealership I used to take it to was half Hyundai and half Mazda. That was the worst treatment I ever got. Plus the fact that there are some SF owners that are not to happy with their service departments made me weary of taking my Santa Fe in for servicing. But I am glad I did and found one heck of a nice surprise in service. BTW its Valley Stream Hyundai in LI, New York for those who want to know.
In overall, not all dealerships/service depts are the same and not all are as professionally courteous as they should, but alot are. You just have to look around.

Ride:
I like the SF in its handling on the road. Although its really made for the urban jungle and not for rugged outdoors. It is more than adequate. Shoot with the roads all pot-holed here in NYC, its almost like the rugged outdoors and the Santa Fe handles very well in those situations. It is car based so it has a smoother feel to the ride as oppose to the typical truck base feel. But I can only suggest to test drive it. Like the slogan goes Driving is believing and most are surprise of the ride. Of course thats all subjective especially since you currently have a truck based vehicle (Chevy Blazer) and might find the smoother car like feel of the Santa Fe is too smooth for your tastes. Only test driving it will clarify that.

Interior:
Well, I got the top of the line model the LX and so it comes with leather interior, auto climate, wood trim, seat warmers, etc. The seats are great, especially in winter when you need to get warm as fast as possible. The auto climate works great, although some say its get too cold while others say it does not get cold enough. The same goes for the heater. I feel its great. There is plenty of leg room and height. And for those that are really tall there are a few modifications that one can do to increase the leg room one of which is noted on my website modification page. There's plenty of cup holders, and a rear 12volt socket that can be used. Speaking of the back, in the cargo area there are plenty of hidden storage bins for not often used items. And the 5th wheel is undernealth the vehicle as opposed to hanging on the back hatch. (Which is really dangerous in a crash.)

Power:
Well, to me its faster than what I previously owned and is adequate. Plus the fact that the 2.7L V6 I have is the middle ground compared to the 2.4L and the 3.5 L so it gives the best of both worlds, adequate power and good fuel economy. The 2.4 is too underpowered, while the 3.5 is great it takes a bit of more gas and your wallet. especially now a days with the gas going higher and higher. Now compared to the Blazer, you will get better mileage from the Santa Fe, but in acceleration I think the Blazer might do better. Again only a test drive will determine that for you.

Maintenance:
Looking over the extensive and long warranty rules there is nothing in there that says that an owner has to go to a hyundai dealership for service maintenance. So long as you keep your reciepts and show proof that the scheduled maintenance has been performed then there should not be any problem should one arrise. Of course there are always two sides to every coin and for some items I would recommend only to have the service department do the work, such as the spark plugs, ATF etc,
also every dealership has their own schedule for maintenance. If you plan on doing your own work for the lesser stuff then go by your warranty book schedule. When the time comes to do the big stuff then take it to the dealership. I myself just let them do everything since I hate doing it myself. True its a bit more expensive but hey it gives me a piece of mind that I do not mess anything up.

Warranty:
The 10/100,000 warranty is great and I am glad that they are continuing it. It helps to know that if anything goes wrong to the parts that are described in the warranty would be covered without having to shell out the money myself. I even bought an extended warranty just to please my family and since I usually keep my vehicles for a long time I will probably be better off having the extended one. For those that change their cars often the 10/100,000 would be adequate.

AWD:
There are many pros and cons for having AWD. I think I rather have it than not. Do a search on the web and see the difference of the pros and cons.
On the Santy itself, the AWD is made by the guys that did the same for Porsche. So you know its good.

Noisey:
That depends on your definition of noise. With windows close, sunroof close and idle. No noise whatso ever. Driving on smooth pavement, noise comes up a notch but barely. On rough road or driving in highway the noise comes up. Then with any opening opens (windows, sunroof) the noise really goes up. I actually think its quieter than other suvs except the Lexus brands. Those are really quite.

Knowledge:
Of all the automobile websites, the only one that I know of that gives access to both the shop and electrical technical manuals to consumers is Hyundai. Plus the fact that it also lists all Technical Service Bulletins and or recalls on the same website for owners to see is a tremendous asset that the owners have. Owners can now look up a problem they feel they are expierencing and understand whats causing it and or see if there is a solution which they can print out and take with them to the dealerships. That I know of, no other company does that. http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/default.asp (http://Hyundai Webtech)

Realiability:
As for Hyundai realiability of the past, thats just it, its in the past. It recently got awarded JD powers customer survey award and mags from Consumer Reports to Auto Pacific have given it awards and praise left and right. They are finally realizing what thousands of current Hyundai owners have known for quite some time now, that for combination of value, price, warranty, ride and safety nothing beats the Santa Fe.

Sorry for the long post, but hey you ask questions, we got answers.

TS out

Wow. Great news. Thanks for your time everyone. I don't know if I am still in the market to go in debt again - but if I do the Santa Fe sounds like number one so far. A test drive is all I require now.

Thanks,
Shawn

Shawn,

Here is my Hyundai story. I own a 2003(.5) Santa FE LX 3.5L 4wd with 16,636 miles on it. It has everything the factory had to offer plus anything and everything the dealer could install on it.

Readers digest version: I Love it!!!!!

Long version;
Prior to owning this "mid" size SUV I have only owned American V8s.
(2001 Cadillac DTS, 2000 Dodge Durango SLT 5.9L with EVERYTHING Plus some, 2001 Mustang GT Convertible.

I came to the realization I did not need the Durango and it's capabilities any longer. It was killing me in gas. On avg 12mpg and $425 monthly (before gas was $2.00/gallon)

I looked, reviewed, questioned, researched and drove multiple times every "mid" size SUV out there for almost 8 months. Highlander, Xtera, Pilot, Saturn Vue (what a POS that was), Kia and etc..

I eventually chose the Santa FE for these reasons in this order, Features, Quality, Price, Warranty

What is Hyundai service like?
Has been excellent. I only needed them once so far. I have the Monsoon 6 disc In dash 200 watt system. The Head Unit got stuck one day shuffling through the CDs in it. (I had no CDs in it that had paper labels.)

Ride?
Excellent. Amazed at the handling. Was incredible this past winter on the ICE and Snow.

Interior?
Sweet, seats are very comfortable, fully automatic climate control.

Power?
3.5L is peppy

Maintenance especially? (but then again 10/100,000 - helps a bunch $-wise)
You can have it serviced anywhere, just keep records. Minor stuff do it yourself or go to the local guy. Major milestones etc.. go to Hyundai

AWD?
Only one issue with it. When it is cool/cold out while driving it for the first time between 5-10 mph the transmission makes a bang and the truck surges forward a bit. It is the AWD synching up.. I have talked to a few people and they have the same symptom. One of the auto mags also called this out while I was researching it.

Noisy?
Not really. On the highway you get a bit more road noise than with some of the other vehicles. However, for me this isn't really an issue as I always have the sun roof open and the 200watts cranked. :)

To summarise, any vehicle can have some things done better. The Santa FE doesn't have daylight driving lights or auto/dusk sensor for the lights. This bugs me especially as this would only add a few dollars.

I can't name anything else.

Regards,
Bob

Hey 03Sante FE/Bob,

Its true that the Santa Fe does not have Daylight Runing Lights (at least on the earlier models, I believe the 2004 do) but I found this little gadget that gives the Santa Fe the cabability for DRL. Its only $20 US dollars and it has worked so far, so good the last few days I've been testing it. I'll have the full step by step installation guide written up on my website (www.santafemods.com) in a day or two. So stay tuned.

Hey sleslie17
Good luck on whatever you decide to get, just give us an update when you do.
Oh, by the way, at the following Motley Fool .com (http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm) website there is a test drive checklist template (http://www.fool.com/Car/Worksheets/TestDriveChecklist.htm) that you may want to print up to take with you to the test drive. This way you can jot down any thing that you observe on the ride. Better yet, bring a friend with you so he/she can do the writing for you. Trust me it helps. Cause after the ride one tends to forget everything that they wanted to remember from the ride.

Also at Car Buying Tips .com (http://www.carbuyingtips.com) in chapter # 3 (http://www.carbuyingtips.com/car3.htm?x=0tekxgl_eoyyqkz_ttky3&y=0x40x25x16) it talks a little bit of the dos and don'ts on a test drive.

Both sites offer very good info on buying, trading, leasing a vehicle and it would be best to look them over and get ahead of the car buying game, so when you go in and arre ready to buy you won't be caugfht off guard by the extra fees, routines and or scams being played.

Again good luck and take care and keep us updated.

TS out

Twospirits,

Thanks for the 411. However, 1 slight problem.

Went to www.santafemods.com

found --> Daylight Running Lights - Install Guide

This title is no longer hyperlinked?


03Santa_FE

Hi Bob,
If it wasn't said before let me now say welcome to the forum.

The link to the "Daylight Running Lights" install guide on my website is temporarily unlinked because I need to do further testing with the module. It seems that when I was performing/creating another modification (Adding an Alarm Chirp to Pre-2004 Models) I accidently had cross the wires for the pulse timer relay that I was doing on that mod. Doing so blew the fuse on the ETACS of the vehicle and at the same time blew the Daylight Running Lights module since it was on the same line. Therefore I have to order another DRL module and do further testing to make sure that it was the crossing of the wires that blew it or if its something else or if I need to add an additional fuse to the wire. This way I can be sure that every possible precaution has been taken and then and only then can I feel comfortable enough in posting the install guide on my website. This way others can follow the instructions and not fear of doing anything wrong to their vehicle or worse hurt themselves. Hopefully by this weekend the new module will come in and I can retest it.

Stay tuned.

TS out

Update
The Daylight Running Light modification link on my mod page is working now.

hey twospirits, i dont know about for the santa fe, but the canada spec tib has daytime running lights. i cant get to webtech right now(school computer lab), but check etm under the illuminations schematic. if the canadian spec santa fes have DRLs, then in you should notice it branching off in two different directions. maybe you could just buy the parts off a canadian santa fe and swap them right in, im sure it would be easy as pie.

I wish it was easy as pie, if it was, trust me I would have done alot more modifications that are on the canadian/european/asian models.

I originally looked at the schematics and first you have to get the parts, plus the fact that you need to have the updated etacs which is next to immpossible to obtain from hyundai. plus the cost of getting all these parts is beyond the scope of most owners. yes it could possibly be done but the way I did it on my guide is much more simplier on the wallet and on the hands.

It just drives me nuts that Hyundai has diiferent features set for the same models sent to different countries. ex: the canadians models have the rear fog lights and daylight running lights that the US models don't and the asian models have the multimedia controls and multitrip computer (POD) that the canadians and US don't have. AAARRGGHHH.

Oh well I still can't complain since I think we got the best suv for the value on the planet.

something that i have noticed though, is that a lot of times hyundai will have all the wiring right there, they just wont have the component for it. like i know for the gk leather seats, the wiring goes stright to a dummy switch. all you need is the heated seat switch and appropriate seats, and you have heated seats.

i know what you are talking about with the country specific features though. europe gets a electronically controlled headlight aiming system on their rd tibs. we, get a change holder in place of the switch.

Yep thats true about the seats but there are other stuff that there is no wiring what so ever. I got a rear fog light switch and the schematics from a fellow santa fe owner from Europe and the wires were not there so I was not able to do anything with the switch except use it for something else. I ended up doing what other santa fe owners did with the rear lights and make them functional brake lights instead. Hopefully when Hyundai completes the Mobis plant next to the auto plant in Alabama maybe then we can start getting these items that Mobis sells over in Asia and which are put inside the vehicles.

Side note: actually you can get the items now if it wasn't for the language barrier on those korean aftermarket web pages like motorcraft.co.kr