Does anyone else get a draft from the floor area on the passengers side of their Santa Fe? Mine has had a draft of outside air since I've had it.. and on the highway it gets really bad. Passengers complain that they're freezing when I drive on the highway. I've sat in the passenger seat while someone else drove and it is a pretty serious draft. I've checked under the floor area and cannot find any reason for it.....

I thought my '01 Santa was the only one with this problem. It depends on the position of the button for using fresh outside air or recirculating the inside air. I can think of two possibilities: Either the cover for the cabin air filter has popped loose, or the damper that chooses outside or return air doesn't move far enough to seal the return air opening under the dash and cold outside air blows out past it. This spring I have several projects planned for the car, and this is one of them. I'll pass along what I find.

Does anybody know what the damper looks like? Where is it? Is it operated by a vacuum or an electric motor? Could the problem be caused by a damper linkage problem, or could it simply be a buildup of dirt that keeps it from moving through a full stroke?

Have the same problem with my 05, wife almost refuses to drive in the winter with me. Also got her to drive and I sat there trying to figure out where it comes from. Dealer was no help in this matter either. My brother in law's 04 had the same problem and he traded for a 08 after the dealer was no help. I figure it is a manufacture defect that they don't know how or want to fix.

I bought some insulation from Home Depot and stuck it under the area where the air is coming in. You can't see it unless you look under the dash... its the only solution I see at the moment.

I too have the draft problem but not been able to find it yet and no one has complained but i can feel it when my hand is down near the manual gear stick.

Are all rubber grommets and such in place on the fire wall?
I know that I once forgot to replace a grommet in my Focus when installing a stereo and the draft was quite noticeable.

hi all i have the same issue! I was wondering if my door seal had moved... I am fine when I am driving, heater/AC works fine on the Driver side (RHD) but I sat in the passenger seat as my wife drove the car on Saturday and I was freezing! I hope to investigate futher at the weekend, i will let you know how i get on.

Paul

Hi all,I too have the same problem on my 02. I was trying to figure out why my AC wasn't blowing much air and found that when I opened the cabin air filter door it was full of pine needles so I was doing a little investigating to find the source of the draft with no luck , it seems the car has to be in motion to be able to find it . But the recirc/fresh door is up on top of the AC/heater unit to the right and found it to be fully closed. I hope this is some help to someone that has time to look into it further.

Same thing in my 04 but it has always come from the centre console underneath the ashtray, makes for cold hands resting on the shifter ;)

Same issue with my 2004, Torontonian. We ski every weekend north of Barrie and my husband drives my car, which sticks me in the passenger seat - I freeze!! I'm thinking of wrapping my legs in a blanket this winter since it looks like this is an obvious design flaw in the Sante Fe.

Try this... buy a block of insulation (the type you would use in your walls). Shove it in the area under the passenger seat where the draft is coming from. I did that a few months ago and no one who rides in my passenger seat seems to complain about the draft anymore.

But yes, it definitely does seem like some sort of design fault. Thinking that the source of the draft was the cabin air filter, I checked it to make sure it was secure -- and it was.