There are 4 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2005 Hyundai Santa Fein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WHEN I APPLY THE BRAKE, IT FEELS LIKE THE ABS ON STEROIDS KICKS IN, ON DRY PAVEMENT, (THIS WAS AFTER I HAD NEW BRAKES INSTALLED) I ENDED UP HAVING TWO NEW SETS OF BRAKES INSTALLED. HAD IT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE SAME ISSUE AFTER THEY PUT THE 'FACTORY BRAKES' INSTALLED FOR THE SAME ISSUE AND THEY LOOKED AT ME LIKE I AM CRAZY, SO THEY GREASED WHAT THEY COULD AND SAID IF IT KEPT DOING IT TO BRING IT BACK. THIS WAS OCT 2017. IT WAS GOOD FOR A WHILE AND THEN STARTED UP IN NOVEMBER AND AGAIN IN DECEMBER ABOUT ONCE A WEEK. I BOUGHT A NEW 2018 ELANTRA AND GAVE THE SANTA FE TO MY GRANDSONS. THEY CAME OVER AND SAID 'GRANDMA, WHAT'S UP WITH THE BRAKES' THEY FINALLY KNEW WHAT I MEANT. WHEN DRIVING ON DRY PAVEMENT, IN THE CITY, PUTTING ON BRAKES COMING TO A LIGHT THEN THE ABS KICKS IN. I PUT IN A COMPLAINT TO THE CONSUMERS AFFAIRS AT HYUNDAI. THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO A DEALER AND HAVE THEM CHECK IT. MY GRANDSONS TOOK IT OVER TO THE SAME PLACE AND AN OLDER MAN DROVE IT (KEEP IN MIND IT DOES NOT DO IT ALL THE TIME) AND HE SAID HE COULD FEEL SOMETHING AND SAID IT WAS THE MASTER CYLINDER AND IT WOULD COST $800 TO BLEED THE LINES AND PUT A NEW MASTER CYLINDER IN. WELL, THE BRAKES DON'T GIVE OUT AND THEY DO NOT GO ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR ' THEY ACT LIKE ABS ON STEROIDS. SO IF I HAVE THEM REPLACE THE MASTER CYLINDER FOR $800, PLUS WHATEVER, AND IT STILL DOES IT, THEN WHAT? I SEE OTHERS ARE HAVING THE SAME TROUBLE ' WHAT IS UP HYUNDAI? SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS HAPPENING TO OTHERS TOO. :/ THIS STARTED ABOUT JUNE 2017 AND SPORADICALLY UNTIL NOW. FEW TIMES A MONTH AND NOW MORE . FOR THE LIGHTING - THE FRONT HEADLIGHT GOES OUT ONCE A YEAR LIKE CLOCKWORK AND THE INTERIOR LIGHT IS ONLY HALF ON.
BOUGHT VEHICLE USED IN OCTOBER 2014. IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM HALOGEN BULB 4 TIMES. HAVE USED THE LEAST EXPENSIVE BULB TO THE MOST EXPENSIVE BULB AND ALL BURN OUT WITH IN A FEW MONTHS OF INSTALLATION. THE FIRST INSTALLATION WAS DONE BY A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THE REST I INSTALLED. ALSO, THE RUNNING LIGHTS IN THE SAME LOCATION (BOTH WHITE AND AMBER) SOMETIMES COME ON AND SOMETIMES I HAVE TO HIT THE OUTSIDE TO THE LENSES TO GET THEM TO TURN ON. DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS RELATE TO THE LOW BEAM ISSUE.
THIS HAS BEEN A REPEATED PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME. EARLY ON I WOULD HAVE A BRAKE LAMP LIGHT THAT I WOULD BE TOLD WAS OUT. WE WOULD TAKE THE LIGHT BULB OUT AND REINSERT AND IT WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM. WE ASSUMED IT JIGGLED LOOSE. THEN, AT A LATER TIME, I WOULD BE TOLD THAT THE OTHER BRAKE LIGHT WAS OUT, AND WE WOULD REPEAT THE PROCESS AND TAKE IT APART AND IT WOULD AMAZINGLY START WORKING AGAIN. BEGINNING IN NOVEMBER 2014, TAKING THE LIGHT APART NO LONGER FIXED IT, SO WE CHECKED AND REPLACED FUSES AND LIGHTBULBS, BUT IT DIDN'T FIX IT. UP UNTIL THIS TIME, THE RIGHT BRAKE LIGHT WOULD GO OUT AND THEN IT WOULD BE THE LEFT ONE INTERMITTENTLY. THEN, AS OF DECEMBER 2014, NEITHER BRAKE LIGHT WORKS AND THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT IN THE REAR WINDOW HAS FIVE SMALL BULBS THAT STAY LIT AT ALL TIMES, BUT CURRENTLY THE THIRD LIGHT IN THE REAR WINDOW IS THE ONLY LIGHT THAT COMES ON WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKE.SINCE IT IS APPARENTLY NOT THE LAMP OR THE FUSE, I'M WONDERING IF MY VEHICLE IS INCLUDED IN THE HYUNDAI RECALL NO. 092, A STOP LAMP SWITCH RECALL, OR ANY OTHER RECALL PERTAINING TO THIS ISSUE, SINCE I AM READING A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS SAME ISSUE? I AM AFRAID THAT I AM GOING TO BE IN AN ACCIDENT SINCE IT IS AN INTERMITTENT AND NOW, APPARENTLY, FULL-TIME PROBLEM. PLEASE ADVISE BECAUSE AFTER TALKING TO SEVERAL REPAIR SHOPS, THEY ARE NOT SURE WHAT IS GOING ON. THANK YOU!
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. IN NOVEMBER OF 2008, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE TURN SIGNAL INDICATORS WERE NOT WORKING WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES AND THEY REPLACED THE TURN SIGNAL FUSE, BUT THIS DID NOT CORRECT THE FAILURE. A DIAGNOSTIC WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE THE FAILURE CODE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER. THE CONTACT WILL NOTIFY THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 50,700.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026