NHTSA Complaint #10453959 — 2010 HYUNDAI SANTA FE

VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN IN THE RAIN FROM SAVANNAH GA TO JACKSONVILLE FL, OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE APX 80 DEGREES, WITH AIR CONDITIONING ON. AIR CONDITIONING ABRUPTLY CEASED BLOWING COLD AIR AND STARTED BLOWING HOT, HUMID AIR, WHICH FOGGED ALL WINDOWS FROM THE INSIDE. SUDDENLY LOWERED VISIBILITY CAUSES DRIVING HAZARD. THIS HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE WITH THIS VEHICLE WHEN (1) IT IS HOT OUTSIDE, (2) THE AIR CONDITIONING IS ON, (3) IT IS RAINING, (4) THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVING FOR APX 30 TO 45 MINUTES. REMEDY IS TO PULL OFF THE ROAD, TURN OFF THE ENGINE, WAIT 5-10 MINUTES, THEN RESTART CAR. AIR WORKS NORMALLY FOR ANOTHER 30-45 MINUTES THEN SAME PROBLEM RE-OCCURS, BUT PULLING TO THE SIDE OF AN INTERSTATE ALSO CAUSES A SAFETY PROBLEM. THERE IS AN ONLINE LITANY OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS FROM OTHER OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE AT HTTP://ANSWERS.EDMUNDS.COM/QUESTION-2010-SANTA-FE-WITH-AIR-CONDITIONER-PROBLEM-104733.ASPX. HYUNDAI CUSTOMER SERVICE REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM EXISTS, TOLD ME THIS MORNING THEY HAD NEVER RECEIVED A COMPLAINT ON IT BEFORE, AND LOCAL DEALER REFUSES TO REPAIR IT. *TR