— A Hyundai Santa Fe class-action lawsuit has been filed alleging the engine can stall at any speed and leave a driver out of control of the SUV. Plaintiffs Julia Reniger and Greg Battaglia claim model year 2010-2012 Hyundai Santa Fe crossover SUVs have the stalling defect and Hyundai waited years to admit the problem.
The lawsuit alleges any Santa Fe owner who complained to Hyundai was told nothing was wrong with the SUV, the dealer couldn't replicate the problem, or the dealer would try to fix the problem but failed. Further, Hyundai allegedly installed monitoring devices in some Santa Fe SUVs but didn't tell consumers.
Hyundai did issue a "service campaign" some weeks ago but the lawsuit claims the "service" doesn't fix the stalling defect.
The lawsuit claims the dealer notification letter admits the SUVs can stall because a heavy load on the alternator can cause a drop in engine rpm. The letter says even if the engine stalls it can be restarted immediately. Furthermore, the dealer letter says a "specific set of operating conditions" must occur before the Santa Fe stalls, but the lawsuit says that is false because Hyundai owners complain the problem can happen at any time.
Owners of the 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe have told CarComplaints.com about the same stalling problem.
"This car is a lemon. It suddenly loses power at any speed between 40-80 miles per hour. Dealer has replaced the throttle body three times, supposedly they claim its a "software" update that's needed. It is a gas hog, worse than my v-8 Chevy Tahoe. It is totally unreliable." - Plantation, Fla.
"While driving at a normal speed the engine just died. Imagine having cars behind you while this happens! When we called the dealer to report this issue and book a service appointment, the service agent asked if we drove a Santa Fe! Obviously they know of the problem." - Moncton, New Brunswick
"Car stalled while going downhill and making a slow left hand turn. Been to the dealer twice with this issue but nothing shows up on their codes. Throttle body was replaced on the car before we bought it so that doesn't appear to be a solution in our case." - Lawrence, Kan.
"As I am driving my car the engine suddenly stops without warning. There is no indication that anything is wrong, no sudden sounds or vibration, and no warning lights on the dashboard. This problem has occurred 3 times within six weeks. I am very disgusted and do not feel safe driving in my car much less putting anyone else at risk." - Glen Rock, N.J.
The Hyundai Santa Fe engine stall class-action lawsuit was filed August 8, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California - Reniger et al. v. Hyundai Motor America et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Lionel Z. Glancy and Mark S. Greenstone of Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP. You can find more information about the Hyundai class-action lawsuit at HyundaiSantaFeProblem.com.
Read what owners say about engine stall in the SUVs named in the lawsuit.
- 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe (Engine Stall)
- 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe (Engine Stall)
- 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe (Engine Stall)
Read the Hyundai Santa Fe engine stall legal complaint here.