Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The closed recall of the brake light failing to illuminate has returned and I’m not sure of my future steps in getting it fixed. The Hyundai repair website mentions it as completed in 2014, when I did not have the car. At random, my driver tail light will not illuminate whilst braking. It has recurred repeatedly, so I’ve put the incident as the most recent time it happened.
The contact owns a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V113000 (Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
TWO TIMES MY CAR HAS STALLED WHILE DRIVING, ONE AT 10 MPH AND ONE AT 20 MPH. THERE ARE NO SIGNS THAT THE CAR IS GOING TO STALL. HAVE NO LIGHTS, BRAKES, STEERING, CAN'T EVEN USE HAZARD LIGHTS.
RIGHT FRONT FOG LIGHT INOPERATIVE. DEALER REPLACED HALOGEN BULB. WITHIN A FEW DAYS FOG LAMP OVERHEATED CAUSING BULB SOCKET AND LENS BULB HOLDER TO COMPLETELY MELT DOWN CAUSING BULB TO FALL DOWN ONTO THE INSIDE OF THE RIGHT FRONT BUMPER AND BURNED TWO HOLES THROUGH BUMPER ALMOST CAUSING A FIRE AS BULB WAS STILL FUNCTIONING. NO CIRCUIT BREAKERS OR FUSES BLEW. DEALER STATES THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE TO OTHER VEHICLES AND NOW DEALER NEEDS TO REPLACE BOTH SOCKET & WIRING AND COMPLETE LENS BODY.
LONG BREAK LIGHT IN THE BACK ON TOP, FALLS OUT. USED SPECIAL TAKE TO SECURE IT
WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED, THE FRONT COURTESY LIGHT WILL NOT COME ON DUE TO A BAD DIODE. THE MAP LIGHTS WILL WORK. I UNDERSTAND THIS A COMMON PROBLEM.
THE HEADLIGHTS ARE SO POOR THAT WE DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING AT NIGHT. ON LOW BEAMS, IT ALMOST SEEMS AS IF THE LIGHTS ARE TURNED OFF. ON HIGH BEAMS, VISIBILITY IS ADEQUATE BUT, OF COURSE, WE CANNOT KEEP HIGH BEAMS ON ALL THE TIME. I CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY COULD REPLACE THE BULBS WITH NEW ONES. HOWEVER, THEY COULD NOT REPLACE THE BULBS WITH BRIGHTER ONES SUCH AS LEDS. *TR
THE RANGE OF VISION ON THE LOW BEAMS IS SUB-STANDARD. GOING UP HILLS, THEY SEEM TO SHINE INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE HILL AS IF THEIR LONG RANGE AIM WAS DOWN, NOT UP. GOING DOWN A STEEP HILL , THEY APPEAR TO SHINE ON A HORIZONTAL PLANE - NOT DOWN ON THE ROAD. THE HIGH BEAMS ARE FINE, BUT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE USING JUST THE LOW BEAMS. HYUNDAI SAYS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE FOCUS OF THE LIGHT EMITTED BY THE LAMPS OR WITH THEIR AIM. HOWEVER, THEY ARE NOT FIT FOR NIGHTTIME DRIVING. *TR
THE LIGHT EMITTED BY THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IS SO FOCUSED AS TO CREATE A TUNNEL EFFECT. THIS NON-DIFFUSED LIGHT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ANY ILLUMINATION OTHER THAN STRAIGHT AHEAD AND NO HIGHER THAN THE LEVEL OF THE HEADLAMP. IN CONDITIONS OF TOTAL DARKNESS, IT IS AS IF YOU ARE WEARING A LONG BRIMMED CAP AND BLINDERS. AS YOU DRIVE UP OR DOWN A HILL, THE LIGHT SHINES "INTO" THE RISE OR DIP IN THE ROAD. WHEN GOING AROUND A CORNER, THE LIGHT DOES NOT "LEAD" THE VEHICLE AROUND THE BEND, IT "LAGS" BEHIND CREATING A DARK ZONE AS THE CAR GOES AROUND THE TURN. WHEN THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ARE SWITCHED ON, THE TUNNEL EFFECT DISAPPEARS. HYUNDAI HAS SAID THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE LAMPS OR THEIR ADJUSTMENT. THEY CONTEND THAT IT IS A DESIGN FEATURE OF THESE PARTICULAR LAMPS AND THAT THEY ARE EFFECTIVE. THE VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE IN THE DARK. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .