2002 Hyundai Santa Fe Suspension Problems

Which parts fail

• Rear
  15
• Front › Control arm › Lower ball joint
  3
• Front
  2
• Front › Control arm › Upper ball joint
  1
• Front › Control arm
  1

Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  12%
• 25k–50k
  00%
• 50k–75k
  49%
• 75k–100k
  716%
• 100k–150k
  1330%
• 150k+
  1943%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while coming off an exit, the front driver side coil spring fractured causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a metal guardrail and the vehicle drove over to the passenger side and crashed into a median. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the right arm and the right rotator cuff which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The contact was later notified of NHTSA campaign number: 14V435000 (suspension). The vehicle was not inspected or diagnosed to determine the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving 35 MPH, the lower control arm failed. The vehicle was unable to be controlled and crashed into a curb. The contact did not disclose if a police report was filed. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 09V124000 (suspension); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.

While driving at 25 MPH, my wife had to hold the steering wheel at 10 o'clock in order to keep the vehicle going straight. The dealer told us that the subframe and controller arm had broke - a recall campaign which was repaired in 2010 (or so we thought). Due to this the car is not drivable and we are told by the dealership that, although the subframe and controller arm will be covered, the damage to the struts and tires are our responsibility to the sum $973.31. Our personal mechanic states that the front tires (under 4 years old and having less than 3000 miles on them) and the struts (under 5 years old) would not need to be replaced if not for the issue with the subframe and controller arm. At our recall appointment on December 22, 2014 (for a separate issue), the dealership saw no issue during their inspection of the vehicle. …

Driving at 25 MPH, there was a loud noise and vehicle started swaying violently in the rear. Luckily no other cars were around and I hadn't gotten on the freeway yet. After tow, discovered the trailing arm cracked the suspension. This was supposedly "corrected" during previous recall. Obviously not. Dealer won't look at it stating they have new owners. 3 people with 70 years of repair experience have never seen anything like this. Vehicle is not drivable, opened case with Hyundai, not expecting much. Vehicle also had to have engine cradle replaced (Hyundai did replace at no expense) however they screwed more up and it had to be returned to fix their mistakes. Vehicle was "inspected" front to rear and was "OK", twice. That was end of 2015. This corrosion could not happen in that short amount of time. Everything is rusted to almost beyond recognition underneath.

Tl* the contact called on behalf of a client who owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while his client was driving at 55 MPH, she experienced what she thought was a flat tire on the rear of the vehicle. As the client began to pull over, the entire passenger's side rear control arm collapsed without warning. Due to the failure, the contact's client had the vehicle towed to his independent mechanic shop where he discovered that the entire lower rear control was corroded and had detached from the vehicle. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 09V123000 (suspension) however, upon speaking with twin city Hyundai (3024 alcoa hwy, alcoa, tn 37701) the contact was informed that the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

While driving slowly, I heard a clunk from the rear, and heard tire scrubbing noise while noticing steering wheel cocked 90 degrees in order to keep vehicle straight. Returned vehicle slowly to house driveway about 1/4 mile away. Noticed right reat trailing arm cracked and deformed. Vehicle had been serviced 4 years earlier for recall # 09V123000 (trailing arm corrosion problem.) Hyundai and local dealer claimed that recall was complete and I would have to pay for the repair. Obviously, their recall fix (drilling holes in the stamping to let water out) was insufficient to fix a potentially dangerous defect. I had just sunk $1800 dollars in this vehicle to fix other problems. Again, Hyundai claimed no responsibility to fix. I called NHTSA and have file fcc complaint #87016133 at their recommendation.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving 55 MPH, the contact felt that the rear of the vehicle was out of alignment. The contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road and noticed that the rear passenger wheel was bent. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear trailing arms were corroded all the way through and needed to be replaced. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 09V123000 (suspension) and 14V435000 (suspension). The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that upon inspection of his rear brakes, he noticed excessive corrosion on the rear trailing arms located by the coil springs. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA campaign number: 09V123000 (suspension) which he linked to the failure. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn and there was an abnormal odor of fuel inside the vehicle. In addition, the contact had to add air to the four tires and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the suspension and axle needed to be repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 160,000. The VIN was unknown.

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 09V123000 (suspension) and 14V435000 (suspension). The parts for the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact stated that the suspension was rotted through to the point that the vehicle was not able to be driven. The approximate failure mileage was 146,000. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Related recalls

NHTSA investigations

Suspension complaints in other Santa Fe years