NHTSA Complaint #11258229 — 2012 HYUNDAI SANTA FE

DRIVING CA I580 WESTBOUND, BRIGHT SUNNY DAY (2:45PM 9/24/19) IN 2012 SANTA FE WITH 111K MILES ON IT. GOING HIGHWAY SPEED, WITHOUT WARNING (NO KNOCKING, NO ACCELERATION ISSUES) THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN: OIL, BATTERY AND ENGINE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. HAVING NO POWER STEERING, I MUSCLED THE CAR DOWN THE NEAREST OFF-RAMP (COASTING 3/4 MILE, I WAS LUCKY TO BE IN THE FAR RIGHT LANE). I HAD ALSO OWNED A 2011 SONATA THAT WENT THRU 3 ENGINE FAILURES WITH SYMPTOMS (EACH TIME, ACCELERATION ISSUES, GEARING HESITATION AND KNOCKING OCCURRED). WITH THE SANTA FE, NO SUCH SYMPTOMS, IT JUST SHUT DOWN AFTER RUNNING PERFECTLY. I CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE AND THEY TRIED TO JUMP START THE CAR -- NO LUCK. A TOW TRUCK TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP IN DUBLIN, CA. THEY DETERMINED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT WAS FROZEN CAUSING AN ENGINE SEIZURE. I ASKED IF THIS CAR WAS COVERED UNDER THE VARIOUS ENGINE RECALLS THAT HAVE PLAGUED NUMEROUS OTHER HYUNDAI MODELS AND THEY SAID "NO". SO IT SEEMS I AM ANOTHER VICTIM (4 TIMES OVER; THE SONATA WAS LEMON LAWED) OF HYUNDAI'S ENGINE SHODDY MANUFACTURING ISSUES. I AM AWAITING THE HYUNDAI SERVICE DEPARTMENT'S OFFICIAL REPORT AND COST ANALYSIS. I WILL BE CONTACTING HYUNDAI AMERICA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE TOMORROW.