Eight problems related to warning light on have been reported for the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe based on all problems reported for the 2003 Santa Fe.
The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving at approximately 20 mph, the contact depressed the horn and the air bag warning light illuminated on the dashboard. The dealer advised the clock spring would need to be replaced. The vehicle was left with the dealer where the contact was awaiting repairs. The failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 115,000.
On January 4, 2010 I had the vehicle battery replaced. After battery installation the airbag warning light came on and remained on. On Jan. 11 I paid $87 to have a diagnostic test which incorrectly indicated that all airbags had been deployed plus a crash was recorded. Mechanic's recommendation was to have srs control module replaced at an estimated cost of over $400.
The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the frontal air bag warning lights continued to illuminate on the instrument panel. She found recalls for the 2002 and 2004 models, but not for the 2003 model, even though the failures were identical. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were less than 100,000.
The air bag red warning light came on in 9/08. The dealer scanned the system, cleared historic codes, cycled through self test several times. Codes did not reset. Light came back on in 1/09. I will take vehicle back to dealer. My opinion is that safety equipment should be more reliable . When the red light initially came on they couldn't find a problem but I will be charged appx. $600 when they fix the problem.
The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving at approximate speeds of 65 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated. The dealer replaced the wiring harness to the passengers air bag yet the failure recurred. The dealer made a second repair to the passengers wiring harness and within a year, the failure recurred. The vehicle was out of warranty and any further repairs would be at the owners expense. The approximate failure mileage was 52,781 and the current mileage is 110,000. Updated 10/05/10 updated 10/07/10.
I own a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe in which the air bag warning light was illuminated starting in December 2006. At which time the air bag "clock spring" was replaced under warranty on 12/6/2006 at 33,154 miles. The second occurrence was in March, 2011. I was told it was the "clock spring" again, which was now not under warranty, and would cost of around $285. 00. This was not replaced due to a suggestion from the dealer's service department mechanic. The indicator was reset and has been off for over a year. The most recent occurrence was in may 2012 (mileage approx. 88,500), the airbag light came on again and now I'm told it needs a new airbag at a cost of around $750. 00!! the indicator was reset and air bag not replaced the light stayed off for approximately 3 months. A search on the internet revealed hundreds of "posts" on this very same problem (most of them on the national highway traffic safety administration's (NHTSA) website). Hyundai Santa Fe's have had this problem for nearly 10 years! and, to make matters worse, replacing either the clock spring or the airbag apparently does not guarantee that the airbag will deploy, thus causing a very dangerous situation. I also noticed that there was a recall (#103) for the 2007-2008 models. This recall should have included all Santa Fe's not just two years. Apparently, this problem is a manufacturing defect not a normal wear & tear issue.
The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The air bag warning light consistently illuminates on the instrument control panel when the seat was reclined. The error code has been reset over 15 times. Also the driver side seat and air bags were replaced due to a defective horn. None of the repairs have remedied the failure. The failure mileage was 10,000. The current mileage was 116,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The airbag and tension wires were reset numerous times within the last year, but the failure continuously recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repairs to the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 500 and the current mileage was 156,000.