Vehicle Data Hub

2009 Hyundai Santa FE engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 67 complaints for the 2009 Hyundai Santa FE, 13% of the complaints on file. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
67 13% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
83,000 miles 54 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
3 and 2
Injuries and deaths
1 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2009 Hyundai Santa FE Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 83,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 4 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 4 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 7 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 11 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 6 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 7 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 2 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 1 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 1 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 83,000 miles
Based on 54 complaints that include mileage. 28% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles4
20k to 40k miles4
40k to 60k miles7
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles11
100k to 120k miles6
120k to 140k miles7
140k to 160k miles2
160k to 180k miles1
180k to 200k miles1
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 54 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 82,000 miles, and 28% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 3 crashes, 2 fires, 1 injury.

What owners wrote

Tl* the contact owned a 2009 hyundai santa fe. The contact stated that the vehicle caught on fire and was destroyed. The fire department extinguished the fire and stated that the fire originated in the engine, but there was no determination of what caused the fire. The contact's insurance company and the manufacturer inspected the vehicle and determined that the fire was due to an electrical failure that may have originating in the computer system, battery, or fuse box.

Reported at 20,000 miles, November 2011 Fire

While slowing down, applying brakes to exit the highway into the cloverleaf off ramp, steering became very difficult and I was forced to continue in the current direction off the road into the grass. Upon stopping noticed dash lights were on and the vehicle had stalled. I was very lucky that I was headed into a grassy area and not into a wall as I couldn't steer in any other direction from when I lost power. Hyundai found no error codes and couldn't replicate the problem.

Reported at 26,400 miles, August 2013

Other problems reported for the 2009 Hyundai Santa FE

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Hyundai models