Overview & Reviews

For 2001, Hyundai comes to market with its very own sport-utility. The Santa Fe is based on a modified Sonata midsize car platform and is available with either front-wheel drive or full-time four-wheel drive with either a four-cylinder or V6 engine.

• Relatively inexpensive price, super warranty, roomy interior.

• Unproven reliability, unimpressive four-wheeling capability, underwhelming powertrain performance.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 82.00

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  Hyundai doesnt honor its warranty - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By theiowan - November 5 - 10:00 am

  I just found out that Hyundais "best warranty in America" is bogus. They claim a faulty power window is an "adjustment item". The fact is it is not functional because of faulty design.

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  What was I thinking - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dissapointed - October 11 - 9:56 pm

  So, I purchased this vehicle about 1 1/2 years ago. I tell you what you need that 100,000 mi warrenty. Everything that goes wrong is time consuming. I was sucked in by the cheap price as most people are. Well I have now come to realize that you get what you pay for with Hyundai. Everything in the car is plastic, it all snaps and hooks together. It is not a quiet drive by any means. The gas tank is too small. It tows my snowmobiles but not with out some effort. You cant make it a 3 hour trip with anything in tow without a stop for gas again. Keep in mind that this car is worth nothing in 1-2 years time -- you cant get rid of it. No dealership wants it. You will be buried in negative equity.

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  Unrealiable - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Terhi Millard - June 1 - 2:16 am

  I bought this vehicle, in Apr 04, when it first came off lease; it had a total of 50K. In Dec I had the altinator replaced by my mechanic. I then had a problem with the vehicle stalling. It turned out that the coolant temperature sensor needed to be replaced, which ended up costing me $107 however, they did replace and reprogram two o2 sensors, since this problem was under recall. In Mar of 05, I again had a problem with the vehicle stalling. I had it towed to my mechanic for a price of $90. It turns out that the right wheel bearing needed replacing. The driver side wheel bearing has now been replaced 3 times. THere is also a burning rubber smell inside. Frustrated

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  Worst Suv Ever - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By B-E-N-I-T-O - February 9 - 3:46 pm

  Well stating I have only had my Santa- fe for a few months now I must say I will never by another Hyundai ever again. The santa-fe is built cheap compared to other foreign models. The parts are extremely expensive. Parts are not high quality, transmission have many problems. Heated seat got so hot it burnt a hole in my drivers seat, center-console it very cheap plastic. Has left me stranded 3 times now and with a nice Wrecker bill also.

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  Incredibly loud noise - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Russ - September 5 - 10:36 am

  This vehicle deafens us whenever we take it on the highway. Wheel bearings are short lived. The battery has to be replaced frequently. Overall, not worth the money. The dealer is also on an efficiency kick which means that you will pay top dollar for the vehicle as well as service. They are trying to squeeze the customer whenever they can and the auto body shop doesnt provide good quality.

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  Check Engine - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Jadejaws - September 13 - 6:26 pm

  No Sante Fe owner can tell me he/she hasnt seen this light WAY too often. Overall not a terrible car, but the interior has cheap flimsy equipment (the steering wheel literally started to come apart in my hands). I am rid of this car now and couldnt be happier about that. Maybe the later models were better, but way too many "out of warranty" repairs were needed on this vehicle. The stated MPG is an outright lie and I was lucky to get 16 MPG most of the time. I can honestly say that of the 6 cars I have bought new, this was without a doubt the absolutely worst one (1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse a very close second).

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  Read before you buy - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Josh - July 21 - 7:33 pm

  Beware of a problem. the ignition system is designed very poorly. every 20k miles the car needs plug wires and/or ignitoin coils. $200-$550 every 6 months for us. 2.4l engine design is bad. Hyundai does not help except charge us every 6 months for the same replacement parts as they do not warranty these. BE VERY BEWARE!!!!!!

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  I will never purchase Hyundai again - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SecondaryGemini - June 25 - 12:43 pm

  I bought my 2001 Santa Fe used at a Toyota dealership, and within three weeks of purchase I had replaced almost 3000 worth of computer parts, as well as the spark plugs. The dealership was full of liars and crooks, but most importantly this car turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. My transmission blew in late 2008 and cost me almost 4500 to fix, and I only fixed it because I still owe so much on the vehicle and the dealership did nothing to help me. As soon as I can get rid of this car, I will do so and I will never purchase another Hyundai again. Its a smooth ride and the seat is comfortable, but neither does me any good when the car almost never runs.

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  Worst Ever...Horrible! - 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By SSK80 - February 6 - 2:23 pm

  I have had my Santa Fe for almost 3 years now...and have had NOTHING but problems with it!! I have had to replace/repair so many things its not funny. It has ranged from electrical issues in the engine (multiple), the cruise control had to be disabled at one point or the transmission got stuck in 1st...now its a power steering issue. I am dumping this thing as soon as humanly possible. Hyundai was NO help at all of course, non-transferrable warranty and all that.