Engine Oil Leaking problems of the 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

On highway, car would no longer accelerate and went into limp mode causing me to slow to 50 mph and not be able to keep up with speed if traffic. Pulled over, dash lights flashed and car would not restart. Oil had leaked out of valve cover gasket all over the alternator causing the car to malfunction and become inoperable.

Leaking valve cover is allowing oil to leak down onto the alternator. Car be stationary or running. Most notable when car engine is running.

I actually have 2 issues occurring. One of these was deemed to have been fixed by a previous recall (campaign 105/110 - fixed /closed Jun 23, 2014). However, my esc off light and abs light are again lighting up. I have (luckily) not yet had loss of engine power or control. The second issue is in regards to campaign 936. I've had the front engine valve gasket cover fixed, along with my alternator replaced (after my husband and I did it ourselves after losing all power on christmas eve in the middle of road before barely coasting into a nearby parking lot where we were able to sort of park out of the way). We changed my oil this weekend, have had no other work done on the car since (except oil changes) and my husband noticed that the alternator is again covered in oil. Between the 2 issues, it is most likely a matter of days (if I'm lucky) before my car loses power in some form and I am potentially in a wreck with my family in the car. I don't know how much the dealership wants to "re-fix" the first 2 campaigns that should have already been fixed, but for just the valve gasket work, it would be at least $500, not including the alternator that will need to be replaced when the car does go out. Apparently the gasket that is leaking this time isn't the front one, it is the rear one. My personal thoughts on this are that if the front one is faulty, then it's not a stretch to get to the rear one being faulty. My Hyundai dealership even warned me when replacing the front one that my rear one would most likely need to be done too (for $500+). If the dealerships know, it makes me wonder why the recall didn't include both valve cover gaskets or a new one hasn't been issued for the rear one. Hopefully, both of these issues can be re-addressed. The date below is of first warning lights. The lights come on from park or while driving.

Fuel gauge has been faulty and check engine light would turn on and off after replacing what I thought was a bad battery one month ago. One week ago while driving, all lights on dashboard came on (battery, check engine, abs, esc. . . ), engine started to rev, electrical and power steering failed, and car had to be turned off in the middle of the road and towed home. This has happened twice while driving now. Issue is from a failing/failed alternator caused by oil leak from front valve cover. This problem is identical to issues with '06-'12 veracruz, recall #121.

While driving on I-95, the charging system warning light came on followed by a loss of engine power and then engine stopped completely. Was able to safely make it to the road side. Dealer diagnosed a defective valve cover gasket allowed oil to leak which dripped on and into the alternator causing it to fail. Second identical failure on vehicle in two years. V-6, automatic, 2wd. Found manufacturer just issued a recall on veracruz model which shares the same platform for identical symptoms and failures.

The first time I came out to start my car and looked up, there was smoke coming from under the hood and wouldn't start. I had it towed. I was informed it was the starter. The starter was replaced and approximately 6 months later, I noticed a brushing sound when I started the car. Over time it became more often. I returned the car several times to the independent auto shop. They couldn't find out the noise. In the mean time I took to a dealership and they told me it was the starter and to take it back and have it replaced. I returned to the independent dealer and they replaced, it was still under warranty. At the dealership, I was told it wasn't catching. Two weeks later it started the same brushing sound when I started the car. I made an appointment with a dealership to inspect and in the mean time the car while warming up had a brunt smell. I turned the car off and it would not start. Had it towed. The dealership put the car on a diagnostic check and put a new starter in. My car was held for 5 days. They told me oil had leaked from the starter and that was where the smoke came from and the brunt smell. Within a week the car when started had the brushing sound again. I tried to record the sound and after I started 4 times it started to smoke and wouldn't start. Had to have it towed again. It is now at the dealership waiting for a diagnostic.