Hi...
Here is my problem...
My wife took the new '08 Santa Fe for the first oil change at the dealer a couple of weeks ago. After the free service, they gave the car a run through the car wash... So far, so good...
Two weeks go by and I am following her car back to my house and I notice that the antenna looked funny. Sure enough, when I got home, I realized that the antenna was gone. It was torn off from the base of the unit. On close examination, I can see that the antenna was broken off and even damaged the antenna base assembly. The car was sitting in the garage for most of the last two weeks and since the antenna was intact the last time I checked it, I am 100% sure that the car wash at the dealer was what caused the antenna to be torn.

I contacted the dealer service and sure enough, they are not owning up to the deed. They did say that they would install the antenna assembly for free if I paid them $150 for the parts... What a crock of S!!!... BTW, I looked online and found the OEM replacement part for $61 for the antenna assy. and $16 for the mast... They told me that they can give me the rubber antenna mast for free, though... hahaha... Anyway, I wrote a long email to the sales manager that sold me the car about what's going on... And since I am looking to purchase another vehicle from the dealer, I am hoping that they would do the right thing and fix the antenna for me.

Anyway, the reason that I am posting this is to see if any of you know if I can replace the antenna assembly of the Santa Fe with the ones from a different car from the Hyundai line up. I looked into the diagrams and it seems that I might be able to use any of the XM antenna assemblies from either Sonata or even Elantra. The reason for this is that I want a lower profile XM antenna. After all, if I replace the antenna with the same Santa Fe unit (same as the ones on Veracruz) I might be facing the same broken antenna problem as the one I am dealing with now.

So, any suggestions and/or, hopefully, an experienced insight would be greatly appreciated.

In the mean time, the dealer that caused this headache for me is the one in Troy MI... The Suburban Hyundai... Real nice Sale people but unhelpful and rude Service staff...

Thanks

p.s. I am thinking about writing or calling Hyundai Customer service and complain about the poor design of their antenna as well... I can't believe it can be torn off so easily by simply running the car through a car wash!!!

Didn't you notice the LARGE signs at every car wash stating "we are not responsible for ...."
It was most likely the blower at the end. I worked in car washes many centuries ago. Even then, antennas were a favorite. Many, now tape down the rear windshield wiper. When they get ripped off, that makes mad customers.

Yes... I noticed those signs... But they are usually referring to the old antenna types, I hope. The ones that are 36" long and usually mounted on the fenders of cars... Now a days, they have shorter (6"-8") rubberized antennas like the one that broke on my Santa Fe. It's also mounted on the roof. I am not sure how tall you are, but I am not going to climb up to take the antenna out when ever I have to take it to the car wash. Besides, if the concern for breaking antennas existed, they should instruct and warn the owners of such.

Take a look at these,,, it is something I am considering.

http://www.visualgarage.com/Product_Overview.html

Hmm... not sure... I think I would like to replace the one on the car... not cover it up... But they look nice, I guess... :)

I have found that removing the flexible rubber antenna does not affect reception on AM, FM, or XM, so I removed mine and covered it with a small rubber cover.

That's a good idea... I might try that. I used to remove the antennas (old, long ones) from other cars that I used to own. I had one of those long antennas get rip off from the car at a car wash long time ago... I just figured that the new ones that are much shorter and are also flexible would be designed properly to weather going through the wash a little better.

You must live close to your stations. Removing my antenna, kills my reception.
This link is to another Shark Fin and shows the installation. It screws onto the stubby antenna. Not sure about reception, but I installed a longer antenna to improve my reception.
http://www.sigmaautomotive.com/FoliaTec/antenna.php

"Do not be damaged during auto car washing"
"Can actually increase fuel economy"
LOL

It's hilarious how one of those pages claim that "theoretically" the fin antenna is more aerodynamic and can improve gas mileage by reducing drag.

How much drag do any you think the SF antenna creates? :grin:

Might as well remove both side view mirrors and cover the front grille with a solid piece of curved cardboard if you really think an antenna is going to make a dent in drag. :bwekk:

This post has been edited by R4M0N: Jun 11 2008, 09:31 AM

Don't forget to shave its legs. :P

David <><

That had me rolling here in the office. :laughing:

:clap:

Update:

It's good news... I had to talked with the Service Dept. Manager, his boss and finally the dealer group service boss (Suburban Collection) and he told me to bring the car in for inpection. I took it in yesterday afternoon and after looking at the damage to the antenna assembly, they decided to fix it. So they ordered the parts and will call when they are ready to fix my car. I noticed that the antenna left a few scratched on the roof when it broke off, too. The service manager pointed them out but I guess I will let that one go. There are 3-4 scraches just in front of the rear hatch opening. I will mention it to them when I drop my car off for the antenna but I guess I am not going to sweat over those scratches... Anyway, I am glad that this story has a happy ending.

I did ask the manager if it would be possible to install a lower profile antenna assembly from another Hyundai and he didn't seem too interested in seeing if that could happen. Oh well...

They won't even entertain the option of installing another vehicle's antenna base and mast. There are not any other ones that will swap over, anyway, even though they look similar. They are all different part numbers and have physically different dimensions and mounts.

The service department should have replaced this for you from the very beginning. There is no sense in them arguing with you about it. We have a drive through type car wash at our dealership, too, and have replaced numerous antennas at our expense because they broke in the car wash. There is no sense in losing a customer over less than $100 in parts, usually not even that much. For an antenna base and mast, the actual parts cost for the dealer is just that, right around $100.

That's what I thought. They did however try to put the blame on me first though. They came through at the end but not without a fight from my part. Now... I just hope that they will clean off and touch up the scuff marks scratches on the roof from the antenna without any problems, too...

Ahhh...this is one of my issues that brought me to this forum. I bought my Santa Fe (2007) recently, and I noticed my antenna is gone. The threaded section broke off with the mast. I do have the XM combo antenna. So, these Shark Fin antennas look promising. I don't want to deal with this again.

Oh yeah, I know it sounds a bit funny, but don't be too dismissive about decreasing drag coefficient...check out the Aptera. They don't use side view mirrors for the very reason of the drag. They have 3 cameras mounted instead, so you have side and rear view on screens on the dash. I think the Aptera is the most aerodynamically efficient vehicle out there. No, I don't own one, or own stock in the company, or have a brother in law at the company...it's my sister in law! :P Just kidding...I just like the thing!

Aptera website

Be prepared for a strange looking vehicle, it looks like a beechcraft 2-seater aircraft without wings!

This post has been edited by Rockbeast: Sep 17 2008, 04:26 PM