general problems of the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe

While driving or stopped the vehicle would accelerate to the highest rate of speed, on it's own, and I had to put it in neutral to stop an accident from happening. This happened more than once, almost fatally injuring several pedestrians. We took it to the dealer for repair and it was so unsafe due to the acceleration problem they wouldn't even drive it ! I had to have it towed back and forth to the dealer twice before they could even figure out what the problem was. Now they are saying it is the throttle body assembly. $1,753. 11 for a vehicle that was garaged and only driven in the winter. 53,567 miles on it. For a part that regulates your speed? this is not the first time this is reported - there was a case in japan where people actually died - after going to court they said it was driver error - stepping on the gas instead of the brake. I highly doubt it now - there are many more cases and repairs like this one - someone needs to do a little research. I for one would like a little help - I'm 73 years old and bought this car new - it's always been taken care of - the dealer has the records.

The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. While at a completed stop, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The contact had to depress the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The failure occurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing;, however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle and applying the brakes, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a building. The contact was not injured however, a police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was not inspected for the cause of the acceleration failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000.

I've owned my 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe since July 2003 and I have been mostly pleased with the vehicle. On 4/30/10, I left home for a trip to another town approximately 100 miles from home. The trip was mostly on an expressway traveling at speeds of 60 - 70 miles per hour. As I neared my destination, I got off the expressway, onto a surface road. Within 1 mile of being on the road, I was changing lanes and sensed my car "pulling" me, while I was lightly breaking. I looked down to ensure that neither my foot, floormat or anything else was touching the accelerator pedal. There was no explainable reason for the acceleration. However, by keeping more foot on the brake, I was able to control the car enough to pull into a parking lot. I stopped the car, and put in park. The engine whined loudly. But I was able to turn it off. Over the next 30 minutes I tried several times to start the car and see of the throttle would somehow reset itself. But each time, the engine raced loudly. I chose to have the vehicle towed to the nearest Hyundai dealership. They determined that a throttle sensor had shorted out. The part was replaced and I was given back the vehicle on 5/8/10. The vehicle ha seemed to operate normally since then.

The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle began to jerk. Suddenly, the engine stalled without warning and the vehicle failed to restart. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. Roadside assistance was called to the scene and the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the throttle position sensor failed, which was replaced at that time. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer on a separate occasion for the same failure. The throttle position sensor was replaced again; however, the failure still persists. The vehicle is currently at the dealer. The failure mileage was 22,112 and current mileage was 41,496. Updated 08/27/09 updated 08/31/09.

Very similar to complaint 10128836. (recently purchased 2003 2. 7l v-6) (1) vehicle bucked violently between 70 - 75 mph twice in the last 2 days. No bucking at lower speeds (SUV is seldom driven on the freeway, so this may be limited to a higher speed problem) (2) stalled while waiting (for about 2 minutes at a stop light the same day one of the bucking incidents occurred. Ambient temp was 96 deg and ac was working hard. (3) 1 incident of vehicle surging forward with foot lightly on the brake. (4) lcd clock works only on occasion dealer has not been contacted yet - I don't know if he can duplicate.

We purchased our 2003 Hyundai sante fe November of 2003. It is a 2003 model with a 3. 5 liter engine. After having the car a couple of months, we started having a lurching problem when sitting at stop light. It would feel as if someone bumped into you from the rear. We brought the car in and were told that this was due to an abs problem. They serviced the car for the recalls that were current, and explained to us that they could not duplicate the problem, but it should be ok now with the recall servicing they had done. The car continued to have the problem, doing it several times a day. Just recently I was parked in a parking lot. I started the car, applied my foot to the brake and shifted the car into reverse. The car engine suddenly revved very loudly, and the car lurched backwards about 6 feet, almost hitting some people who were parked behind me in the opposite spaces, putting groceries in their car. I had to place a lot of pressure on the brake to avoid the car going further than the six feet before the engine stopped revving. The car is now at the dealer, whom I hope will be able to help with the issue.

Vehicle was parked and without prior warning it suddenly jumped out of gear and accelerated to 55 mph. As a result the consumer's vehicle collided with another vehicle.

Vehicle was parked and without prior warning it suddenly jumped out of gear, accelerating up to 55 mph. Upon uncontrollable acceleration consumer's vehicle collided with another vehicle.

On 3 separate occasions vehicle revved and accelerated while at a complete stop but idling. Consumer's foot was depressed on the brake pedal at the time of these incidents. On the third occasion it resulted in a rear end collision.