Read the countless threads about this vehicle before buying. Issues with transmission/engine/drive train in general.
Copying my review for the dealer just submitted. You can gather what I think about the car and Hyundai from the review. I was so happy when I decided to buy a new car. I was so eager to try a new Hyundai. I bought it technically used. It is a 2017 and I bought it in 2017. Presumably purchased late 2016. Only 14k miles. Hardly anything.
I have put 10k on since. Previous owner had it for about a year. Now I know why. They must have noticed how strange the car moves and wanted to ditch it before it was too late. And no, I DO NOT HAVE A DCT. If someone tells me that one more time, I might scream. I had a tech tell me that I am not used to the DCT. My model does not have a DCT. Hyundai released a nice video on DCTs. Watch it on YouTube sometime, but that is not the case for me, and countless others. I am overall disappointed in my experience. I would like Hyundai to extend my warranty to 10 years and 120k miles at a minimum.
Herb Connolly is fine. The people were nice. I went in for an ECU update, because Hyundai is claiming ownership of an engine problem on a lot of their models and years. Herb Connolly took care of that without issue. I also asked for a tire rotation. Quoted $20, charged $25, no big deal, that was timely and fine. They even gave the car a rinse, which was nice too. I tried to do the right thing to keep their service techs from losing their minds and brought it in on a Monday, rather than the made rush on weekends.
My big issue here is with Hyundai USA:
Hyundai USA needs to really start pushing documentation out to their dealers about significant and un-ignorable issues with the transmission/engine performance of their Sante Fes and reportedly other models. It is not a secret that Hyundai buyers are having big issues. Most people are reporting upshifts and downshifts that jerk the car badly, hesitation for up to 4 seconds of no power followed by uncontrollable power resulting in rear-end collisions. One of the spookiest reports happened to me: I was waiting to take a left turn with oncoming traffic. A gap formed between the cars large enough to pass with ease as they approached at 40+MPH. I pushed my accelerator, turned the wheel left and went to enter the left turn. The car rolled forward so that oncoming traffic is now blazing up the road towards my face, with my care blocking the oncoming lane, in the middle of the left turn, but the engine bogged and gave me no power. The car shuddered and jerked and something finally caught (maybe transmission) and a huge amount of power surged into the accelerator and the car shot off. Think about it: For 3 or more solid seconds, I was trapped with cars coming right at me. Driving school standards typically call for a 2 second gap between cars to turn across the oncoming lane. The car bogged for longer than the recommended gap! Someone will be very injured soon, if they are not already. There are massive forums about this issue on Reddit, Hyundai owner forums, Facbeook, etc. Just look around.
No fault of the service person at Herb Connolly, when I asked if he had heard about all the people complaining. He said no. But it is not his job to read those forums. Quality Assurance reps from Hyundai USA should be reading the threads, and contacting dealers with packets of information asking for them to report to Hyundai USA every time they get any description that even remotely matches the reported issues. I do not believe Hyundai USA has accurate data on how large the issue is, because the dealers are no instructed to collect the info, so unless they read the forums, they would not know. That does not mean that are absolved of the issue, it means Hyundai USA is negligent.
I told my story to the Herb Connolly rep. He was receptive. Listened to my TLDR story, said no codes came up, said Hynudai USA has not released any information to address my description etc. So the dealer did their job, but I still do not have peace of mind. My driving habits have changed completely to work with the strange behavior of the car. The issue is intermittent and I could not replicate it on command if I was asked to do so. Therefore, Hyundai USA will continue to ignore it until someone is really hurt, or a big lawsuit is dropped on them.
If they were wise to stay ahead of it, they would release an update to the transmission system (or whatever) and then warranty the transmission for all owners (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 10th) until 10 years or 120,000miles just like the first owner would receive. However, the extended warranty should provide more lenient coverage in recognition of the issue. For owners that have the worst of the crop (there are some horror stories), Hyundai should replace equipment as needed or offer massive discounts on new products. They are offering a discount right now for folks that need Engine replacements. It is nice they offer it, but it is wild that they offer only $2-$3k off MSRP. They should push that to at least $6k off MSRP. They might lose money, but they would save the brand reputation and retain loyal customers.
Overall, Herb Connolly was fine, but I am not happy with my first Hyundai purchase. I would advise a dealer like Herb Connolly to send an un-requested report up to Hyundai USA executives indicating that this is an issue, and people are complaining, and action should be considered before it is too late.
Thank you all greatly.
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