2004 Hyundai Santa FE Engine cooling Problems

“The driver's side coil spring broke on my 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe at 40,000 miles. I was driving down a street and there was a loud explosion type sound, my vehicle actually felt like it jumped, all the dash lights came on and the engine died. I wrestled with the wheel to get the car over to the side of the road but I was still in the road. There was a woman in front of me getting out of her car with a toddler and I came close to hitting them as I tried to control my truck. I'm so glad I wasn't going faster than 10-15 MPH. …”

“Was driving on the freeway doing freeway speeds at 5:30 am going to work when my truck just shut down. Check engine light came on, I lost all power coasted about 300 feet, pulled off on left and engine died and would not restart. Come to find out, timing belt went bad, also had to replace the crank position sensor. I've got less than 75000 miles on this truck and am very upset that this is not covered on the warranty and that the parts they use to put these trucks together are so cheap!”

“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 getting towed over 150 miles to Hyundai dealer. Small block failed and was replaced in both- Hyundai covered the 2001 but only covered 35% of the 2004 (86 miles out of warranty). Never buy Hyundai's again!!!”

“I tried to start my 2004 Santa Fe but the engine would not turn over (it cranked fine so we knew it was not the battery). While it was being dragged onto the tow truck the driver's side front tire deflated. The wheel did not turn while being dragged up the truck ramp. The repair shop said that the front spring had snapped and triggered a kill switch to the fuel line which prevented the car from starting. I never heard any awful sounds while driving so the the front driver's side coil spring must have snapped while parked in the driveway. The spring needs to be replaced, as does the tire.”

“My pregnant wife was driving down the highway. There was no accident. There were no warning signs before it was to late. Wife saw smoke coming up from the engine of our 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe (odo 24,000 miles). She pulled over to the curb. The vehicle had never done this before. My pregnant wife was pulled out of the burning vehicle by a passerby. Wife suffered a contusion to her right cheek during this incident. She did not know the vehicle was on fire. She notified 911 who sent a fire truck and police officer. …”