I purchased a 2002 Santa Fe new and had no problems with it until last summer. Went out to start vehicle and it was dead. Got boosted and managed to make it to the dealership. It was determined that the alternator needed replacement and this was done. No problems until around October when the weather started to get cold. Consistantly waking up to dead battery. Took it into dealership again a couple times they determined finally that radio and clock were drawing too much power for some reason even when off (3 amps I beleive they said) which was draining the battery. Ended up downloading a program that was only supposed to be for American vehicles to fix a battery draining problem. This worked for a time. Started to have occasional battery problems, fixed with a boost. Last week radio and clock stopped working completely and now vehicle once again is dead. Need a boost every time I try to start (off course this happens on a weekend when dealership is closed!!!! :angry2: )
I had expressed concern about the battery being fried by the alternator, but they said it was charging fine. I have 30,000 kms left on the full extended warranty I purchased and would like to get this problem fixed once and for all. Anyone with any suggestions?

Ya.........keep bugging the dealership.............and tell everyone how much the dealership sucks if they don't get it fixed..............make sure the dealership knows this.

Well first off all default batteries suck for cars replace it. Also when you replace it they should run an electrical test for you this would also probably help point out any problems that the dealer might covientaly be missing. :) (i had mine just quit on me two they replace the batteries with a Hyundai one but still i didn't trust them and went with a new one from sears, haven't had any problems since.)

Yes My 2001 Santa fe just died on me in heavy rain (ac and radio and wipers were too much for it). This started happening awhile ago 3yrs ago, but I replaced the battery with a 1000 amp and problem went away -- guess it took that long to cripple the battery.

I plan on going to sears and replacing the 98amp oem alternator with their gold 150 alternator series tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

a smaller alternator pulley will fix it. Hyunday has one available