Our 2004 Santa Fe 6 cylinder ( front wheel drive) was being backed up when a Clunk was heard, and then the Battery and the Brake lights came on. My wife called the dealership and they say not to drive it, but to bring it to them - Monday is soonest they can get it, this happened on Thursday PM. What could the issue be?
The accessory (fan) belt might have broken.
I think that Rod is likely to be correct.
Usually, when you see both the brake and battery lights illuminated, that is an indication that the alternator is failing and is about to die. However, since there was a noise that coincided with the appearance of those lights, I think it is likely that the serpentine belt (which drives the alternator) has snapped. Ultimately, the effect will be the same.
If we are correct, you will only be able to drive the car for a fairly short distance–most likely a few miles–before you kill the battery and wind up stranded, so I suggest that you not drive the car at this point, and, if the dealership is more than a couple of miles away, you may want to have the car towed there.
Alternatively, since the vehicle is clearly no longer under warranty, and because any competent mechanic should be able to help you, you might want to forget about the dealership, and just drive to the nearest mechanic who has a good reputation.
If the water pump is driven by the accessory drive belt, driving the vehicle is not a good idea. Unless the mechanic literally lives just down the block.
Yeah you won’t get a couple miles with no water pump. I barely got a half mile in 10 below weather before the car heated up.
@Cgordo2013 seems to be fresh to the land of automotive conundrums. I would highly recommend that he call a wrecker. A problem in the driveway is so much more easily dealt with than a problem on the shoulder of a freeway.
It could be that the drive belt is ok, but the alternator has just given up the ghost and the clunk was it saying “goodbye”. The car designers have the circuitry set up to turn on both the battery and alternator lights when this happens, because this problem means corrective action is needed asap as the car will soon stop running. It’s a fail safe. If the alternator light bulb on the dash was broken, you wouldn’t know about it. So they light up the brake light too, thinking it is less likely both bulbs will fail at the same time. At least youget a warning something is seriously amiss and needs immediate att’n. I concur, it’s best not to run the engine until someone knowledgeable does a visual at least.