2007 Hyundai Santa Fe - Steering problem

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I have a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe with 20,000 miles.



I was driving on a city residential street yesterday (3/26) in a heavy rain at about 30 MPH. There was not any excessively deep water on the street.



Suddenly the battery warning light came on and that was immediately followed by a failure of the power steering. The engine did not cut off. I stopped; shut down the motor and restarted. I drove a short distance and the problem reocurred. Happened several more times that morning.



Later in the day it happened again. It was still raining.



I took the vehicle to our local Hyundai dealer (Palmer’s Hyundai in Mobile, AL on 3/27) I was immediately told there was a Sonata owner there with the same problem.



The problem was traced to a wet drive belt. There was no damage to the housing and the belt was in good condition. The service department dried the belt and coated it with a water protective lubricant. I was told the problem should not reoccur.



This evening (3/27 it happened again several times…still raining)



Any thoughts?



Thanks



Skepticaldad



2

It certainly sounds like the symptoms of a slipping drive belt. As a next step, I would suggest having the belt tension checked, because I suspect that the belt is a bit loose. If the belt tension is properly adjusted and if it continues to occur, then I would suspect a bad belt tensioner, which should be a warrantied item.

3

Thanks for the quick reply. This is an interesting situation. There were 3 Hyundais at the dealer on Friday, all with the same problem. My Santa Fe and 2 Sonatas. The service manager actually kept my vehicle when I went back on Saturday when his repair on Friday did not work. Your note sounds like the only logical explanation. Does not sound that difficult to figure out. But then we are in Alabama.

Thanks again.