HYUNDAI SANTA FE USER REVIEWS
(Gearbox Problem)Santa Fe off the road for 5 weeks now
2011 HYUNDAI SANTA FE 4D WAGON HIGHLANDER CRDI 4X4
By Allan Falconer on 10 Jul 2012
- Practicality
- 4
- Reliability
- 2
- Running cost
- 3
- How it drives
- 2
I purchased a new top of the range Santa Fe Highlander in June 2011 from John Huges Dealership, Perth, Australia. Over 5 weeks ago the vehicle developed gearbox trouble, I therefore returned to the dealer for repair. I was told that a gearbox seal had been incorrectly fitted at the factory resulting in a loss of fluid and subsequent damage to the gearbox. Whilst dissapointed my initial opinion was that this was bad luck. However, the vehicle has now been at the John Huges service centre for 5 weeks and they have still to complete the repair. I believe it is unacceptable for an almost new vechicle to be unavailable to me for such a length of time.
- Practicality
- 5
- Reliability
- 5
- Running cost
- 5
- How it drives
- 5
I've had my Santa Fe R SLX for just over a year (25,000km) and still love it like the day I drove it off the showroom floor.
I'll start with the negatives, because there aren't many:
The car key is a bit cheap, for $40k, I would have expected a flip out key with the remote built in, but all you get is the cheapish key with separate remote - also a bit cheap . The radio/dash dials are a bit dated and basic looking. And that's it for the negatives.
The positives: THAT engine and gerabox. They are absolutely awesome. Having come from a 4L petrol, and being worried about towing, I can confirm that there was no need to worry. It's fantastic. I get in the region of 6.8L/100 when driving long distances, and no more than 8.0L/100km when towing a fully laden camper trailer with 4 adults and 2 kids in the car!!
Service costs are good - I nearly had a heart attack at the $700 price tag for the 30,000km service, but on the plus side, the 15,000km intervals, combined with the fact that the other services are comparatble to most cars, it actually works out ok.
The 7th and 8th seats are surprisingly comfortable (when people complain about them, they forget that this is not a people mover, and they are not for permanent use) but if you're tall then long distances will be a challenge.
There is hardly any boot space when the 7th/8th seats are in use, but once again, this is not meant to be a people-mover, they are just there for convenience.
Overall, I would buy another Santa Fe tomorrow without hesitation. Except perhaps nect time I would go for the Highlander (Leater!)