Overview & Reviews

The 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe receives minor changes. The Limited trim pads its standard equipment roster with the high-power Infinity Logic 7 CD changer audio system and a sunroof, while SE models now include standard premium seat cloth.

• Well-designed cabin, impressive standard safety features and crash test scores, competitive price, lengthy warranty, optional third-row seat.

• Excessively firm ride on SE and Limited models, lackluster automatic transmission, disappointing driving dynamics.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 157.00

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  Transmission stinks - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By trussell - August 3 - 7:23 pm

  As it ruined my experience. There is no doubt it slips and hesitates between first and second gear. Hyundai will not do anything about it. This is definitely a problem that will come to haunt as more consumers experience it. Horrible gas mileage at 15 combined.

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  Worse car Ive ever owned - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tim G - March 22 - 4:39 pm

  So many problems I hope I can remember them all.At 33k miles I started having problems with the vehicle shutting off when trying to accelerate from a complete stop.Not a great problem to have when turning in front of oncoming traffic.After many days Hyundai finally found a pin loose under the dash and also a bad catalytic converter.At 45k the fuel level sensor went bad causing a inaccurate fuel gauge.At 49k a new stalling problem started.When slowing down all the engine and all electrical would shutdown forcing me to drift to the side of road and attempt to restart.That was the last straw in my Hyundai nightmare.I promptly traded the lemon in and couldnt be happier having something reliable now.Will never purchase a Hyundai ever again or suggest buying one to a friend or family member.

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  I agree...transmission problems - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By jd - September 8 - 7:36 pm

  This vehicle has the absolute worse transmission I have ever experienced. It is defective between 1st and 2nd gear. What makes this more aggravating is that the dealers "acts" like nothing is wrong when the mechanics clearly experience the problem. They "allege" all the codes check out but this transmission has a slippage problem. I think Hyundai is out to screw the consumer and knows about his problem but will not acknowledge it. I am hoping that the government investigates some of the transmission complaints. This is a horrible vehicle.

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  Bad Transmission - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By steph - May 12 - 7:23 am

  I agree with all the other posters as there is a definite problem with this transmission design. It does not function properly when cold. It is absolutely stupid that Hyundai would put a vehicle on the market with this transmission design. They knew this problem existed and stuck the fools (like me) who decided to purchase it. Never again. I will never buy another Hyundai. This is not a trustworthy company.

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  Buyer beware! - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dj - July 3 - 1:20 am

  I agree with previous posters, very bad transmission that definitely bogs and slips when cold. Hyundai has a horrible warranty service because they will always try to discount the problem. Poor quality. Gas mileage is about 20% lower than the sticker averages on the vehicle. Just another falsehood.

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  BAD! - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By hvinroe_2006 - August 25 - 11:26 pm

  I cant help it this SUV suffers from just plain bad transmission! It makes the driving experience horrible and the dealerships make it worse. They are unwilling to recognize that this transmission slips and has problems. Go figure! Do not buy this until Hyundai is willing to replace this transmission with one that is effective on this powertrain.

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  Dont buy this car - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Tonya - April 18 - 4:40 pm

  My husband and I bought the 2008 Hyundai in September. We put 10,000 down on it. Well, It has had nothing but problems. The transmission slips, there is a rattling noise coming from the engine, the wheel alignment does not stay in place, gas mileage sucked, and when the kids hooked up there dvd systems or game systems in the back it would cause a frying sound thru the speakers. We traded it in today and lost almost 18,000 on it. We lost all of our investment and only had it 6 months. We bought this 2008 as a demo with low miles. I will never look at or consider buying another one.

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  Traded it! - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By dj_jonns - February 17 - 11:23 pm

  After 4000 miles on a Honda CRV. The Santa Fe was the absolute worse vehicle I have ever owned and Hyundai is the worse car company I ever dealt with. Transmission was defective and they would not recognize its problems or fix it. Bad design and quality problems. They may allege to have the best warranty in the business but that is because they wont fix any problems and keep saying that is the way the vehicle was made to operate. Never buy a Hyundai again ......ever!