At 30,000 KM our 2007 Santa Fe also had the rear driver side brake fail. The pad wore down to the metal. My husband is a mechanic and said that the caliper frame is machined wrong and Hyundai is "cramming" the brakes in. With the brakes being wedged in, they seize and lock the whole time you drive, causing a safety issue and probably very poor fuel mileage.
The dealership we go to also would not cover it, as we didn't pull the brakes off at 24,000km and "grind them down to fit", or lube the sliders on the caliper frame.
Has anyone ever had to do this to brakes??? AND it only happened on the one wheel! We bought new brake pads from Hyundai and tried to fit them in but we refuse to wedge them in there and drive around like that, so we need to replace the rotor and wrong-sized caliper frame, or it will not be safe enough to drive.
We are going to the Department of Transportation. We'll post what happens next.
We talked to the department of transportation, safety enforcement regarding our 2007 Santa Fe brake issue. They told us they are going to see how many people may be having that problem and then launch their investigation into the BC dealership. They also advised us to notify the Better Business Bureau, which we have not done. Please post any Santa Fe brake problems you may have, would love to hear about it.
We did purchase new brake pads and we had to modify them in order to install them! We captured the proof... Watch it on You Tube under the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeWj8cpgHTY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6hv0fWL5QY
I have just purchased a new 2008 Sante Fe Limited. I have had it 1 week and my sunroof is leaking. Not into the vehicle yet but into the lip. Has anyone else had this problem? What resolution did you get? I am waiting for the service department to call me as I write this. Any advice?
My 2007 Santa Fe has less than 23,500 kms. Back brakes almost worn out. Pads had to be replaced and rotors ground down to fit properly. $309 later, I find out that the brakes are NOT covered under the warranty.. It seems that brakes fall under the same category as wipers!! Imagine.. they are all "wearable parts"... well so is the rest of the Santa Fe.. so does that mean there is nothing covered under their 5 yr 100,000 km warranty... very disappointed.. may go back to Honda.
We've also got a 2007 Santa Fe with 27,000kms on it. Same thing as everyone else. Brake problems. Driver's rear brake seized up and wore the outside pad down to the metal. Huge gouge in the rotor now. Had to order new pads and a new caliper. Not covered under warranty. Not in stock either at our dealership and not available aftermarket. Not very impressed at the moment. Have already contacted Hyundai Canada directly regarding the problem and basically got the "Oh well" response. Brake pads alone are twice the price of the ones on my Chevrolet pickup. (at least I've got one reliable vehicle I can count on) Will never buy foreign again. Also, word to the wise, never buy KIA. Had two of those and both were POS's with nothing but problems. Never again. Next one will be a GM product.
I have a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe in Canada. I've had it for a year and a half, and would personally LOVE to be able to roll back time and undo that purchase based upon personal experience. Make your own decision though. Comments below are based upon actual experience.
Good:
> Comfortable/quiet ride
> Lots of space
> Small town dealers are extremely friendly when we've had to see them (although we do unfortunately have to deal with big city dealers regularly)
Bad:
> My purchase decision
> Fuel economy (3.3L AWD)
> Radio - we've had it replaced after experiencing the same complaints all over the net. $40K vehicle with a radio that has a TSB stating that it's normal to fade in and out constantly. This happens in a big city with no reason for it. The radio in my 81 Future had better sound than this. I don't want to replace it with aftermarket, as I don't think the 07 vehicle is worth the 2-din price of a new radio, as I may get rid of it soon. : (...MP3 works OK though.
> Sale process: I had a bad experience during sale process, which should have been a big warning bell. Sales guy learned I was buying somewhere else and called me to give me 'heck' (light word used here) for not buying with them and to trash talk me. I learned later that a neighbor had a similar experience from same dealer. I'm not naming names.
> Service: Small town dealers seem good. With our dealers in a large town, I constantly have to go back multiple times for the same issues over and over. Because I can't trust dealer closest to me due to sale issue, I have to run to a dealer a fair distance away, which is a royal pain. They try to tell me a Santa Fe with 40K mileage needs $750+ of additional work (ie. replace all fluids - steering, brakes, transmission, etc...) - over and above Hyundai recommended service. They also try to pressure me into this work as if I'm neglecting the vehicle. IMHO - if it was actually required, Hyundai might recommend it as part of regular service??!!
> Rust - on numerous locations of the vehicle. Dealer said it was from brakes 'splashing' rust onto body of the vehicle, thus causing surface rust. I'll let you decide validity of this one...
> ESC light coming on intermittently and can't track code, so no fix.
> Rear drivers wheel smoked and heated up quite a bit once (similar to other web reports) - been 'OK' since, but I'm extremely wary of fire or blow-out.
> Rust on body panels and accessories (1.5 years old)
> Brakes and tires given 'yellow' warning condition at 40K check.
Calls to Hyundai Canada regarding issues above (radio specifically) have been unresponsive. They say 'see the TSB - that's the normal operation'.
As stated above, I would love to undo my purchase and go for something more reliable (ie. Acura). As they say, you get what you pay for. I could've easily justified Acura based upon time and money invested in the Santa Fe thus far. If I only knew then what I know now...
Bought Mine used with 35000 on it and love it so far! The only thing I have trouble with is road noise, tires mostly I think. 23 MPG and am happy with that also. Price was right also~~~
I own a 2007 Santa Fe. When I took it in for service I was advised the right rear brake was worn metal to metal. However, when I drive the vehicle and applied the brakes there was no indication of the brake being seized. I was advised the the rear rotor had to be turned @ 89.00 and the brake pads replaced for $159.00. The vehicle only has 44000km on it. When I discussed the problem with the dealership I was advised that this was normal wear. When I discussed the problem with Hyundai Canada. I was given a story or woe by the service representation who stated she has a high end vehicle and the brakes were worn prematurely. Was she indicating the Santa Fe is a low end vehicle? No solution was offered by Hyundai Canada. Too bad, so sad. This will be my last Hyundai for sure!!
My 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe makes a loud whistling sound when driven between 15 and 45 mph, and there is a burning smell coming from the rear driver's side wheel well after driving. This has been going on for a couple of months and continues to get worse. The car only has 8,000 miles on it. My husband is sure it is a caliper issue - we just called the dealer to have it fixed and were told that this is a wear and tear issue and will not be covered under warranty. We will call Hyundai United States to complain; what I'm seeing online (from other Santa Fe owners) is that the Santa Fe is defective and there should be a safety recall.
FYI - I purchased a 2003 Elantra GT brand new in Akron, Ohio. I noticed the driver side rear wheel getting very hot and showing excessive brake dust at around 20K miles. I figured the emergency brake wasn't releasing completely (5 speed so I used the ebrake all the time). Marhofer Hyundai agreed and replaced the caliper under warranty. I did notice the same symptoms again a year or so later so I removed the wheel and lubricated and worked the emergency brake mechanism. Actually traded the Elantra on my wife's 07 Santa Fe. Only complaint there is tire noise on Bridgestones after rotation. Matt.
I came to this website because I took my 2007 Santa Fe GLS into the dealer on February 6, 2009 for squealing rear brakes and was told that this is a common problem caused by the salt and deicing chemicals used on the roads in northern Ohio. I was told these chemicals cause the rear brakes to seize up. The car has 20,000 miles and has otherwise been great. I doubted the veracity of the dealership's explanation particularly since I have heard the same squealing sound on my former car and found then that I needed an entire brake system including rotors. I had to pay $145 to "unseize" the brakes, although this is not what was listed on the invoice. The dealer called it, "front and rear disc brake service", but the $145 cost was all labor. There seems to be a pattern of seizing rear brakes in this car that starts surfacing around 20,000. I am going to contact the dealer again and send him this website. I do not wish to replace brakes when it is a manufacturer's defect, nor do I want to be on a crowded freeway in a car that has improperly designed and potentially dangerous brakes.
We bought a 2008 Santa Fe, have had it maybe 9 months and I'm already seeing orange spots on it that looks like surface rust. I called the dealer this morning and he said it's an issue with the paint and that they can get it out. We have also had 2 other issues... the air conditioning system stinks. It smells so bad, like soured laundry, when we first start it up after it's ran for a few minutes, it goes away. I've taken it in twice to have it deodorized and that still didn't fix the problem. Of course it's winter now, so I'm waiting to see what it does this summer. Also, the driver's and passenger windows had to be replaced. After about 2 weeks of owning it, they squeaked so loud when we would roll them up... apparently it's another "factory defect" that they know about. It just has to start doing it before they can be replaced. Why they just don't fix these issues before purchase is beyond me.
Other than these few issues (which so far appear to be minor), I absolutely LOVE my car. It drives and handles great. The dealership has been more than willing to fix and look at things or explain issues to me. I have been very happy with my Santa Fe and the dealership.
23 Mar 09.
07 Santa Fe, back brakes done at 24000 kms! Reason caliper seized, causing brake pad to sit against the rotor.
Took it in to get serviced at 40000 kms, and after the work was done, the tires are making a loud humming sound. I marked the tires before rotation at service. And the dealer said that the sound is coming from the tires after rotation. I again checked my marked tires and they were not rotated at all. Still a grinding noise, so I had the front brakes done. Same noise. Gets a little worse when I brake. Never again buy a Santa Fe.
I bought my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe two months ago. For a while (one month), the brakes started to fail unexpectedly. This happened six times in a month. When I push the second time it works, but I'm afraid to hit somebody. When I brought it to the dealer service, they didn't find any problem and they said they can't duplicate the problem. Any help or suggestion is welcome.
I'm leasing a 2007 Santa Fe and have encountered a seized and very badly worn left/rear brake at 40k. I've noticed the same unusual wear on the same brake at 50k!