Three problems related to accelerator pedal have been reported for the 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe based on all problems reported for the 2001 Santa Fe.
When the vehicle reachs approximately 40 mph, the vehicle bucks, stutters, hesitates, downshifts for a few seconds. When the problem occurs it is like you are taking your foot off the accelerator and then putting your foot back on. We no longer feel safe in the vehicle and its only a matter of time before the transmission breaks leaving us stranded or even worse causing a fatal accident. Americas best warranty is a meaningless slogan when a company chooses to deny that there is a serious and dangerous defect in a vehicle.
While driving vehicle will jerk forward , accelerator pedal when depressed will slow down. After a few minutes, accelerator will respond again. Dealer replaced transmission, did not remedy. Currently, dealer insisted it was a software problem.
This vehicle accelerates while braking. When pressing on brake pedal you can accidentlly press the accelerator pedal at the same time. This has happened a number of times since I purchased this vehicle. This creates an extremely dangerous situation when this happens since your first reflex is to press harder on the brake pedal, which causes the vehicle to accelerate more. Very scary when this happens, especially when pedestrians are in front of the vehicle. It appears this is caused by the position of the brake pedal in relation to the accelerator pedal. I don't believe this to be an isolated incident but more of a design flaw. As a mechanic for 31 years and driver of numerous foreign and domestic vehicles I have not experienced anything quite as unnerving. If any additional information is needed please do contact me.