Other engine problem on the 2003 Hyundai Santa FE
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Hyundai Santa FE report other engine problem at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 500 miles at the tenth percentile to 120,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 120,024 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
31% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 496 miles | 21,620 miles | 77,521 miles | 112,000 miles | 120,520 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 25 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2026 at 190,000 miles.
By volume the 2017 carries the most reports, with 330; the 2003 has 14. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I purchased a 2003 santa fe lx 4WD with the 2.7l engine. Almost from the time I purchased the vehicle, it has been suffering from a sulfur smell. The dealer made one repair that seemed to last for about a week, unfortunately, the odour is back. The dealer claims that they cannot duplicate this concern, however, they only drive the vehicle 2 or 3 miles when I take it to them to be serviced. Funny how everyone except the dealer can smell this foul disgusting odor. *ak
On 10/23/04, my 2003 hyundai santa fe with 21,600 miles, began to experience a very low idle and then stalled out each time I had to stop at a stop sign or a stop light. I could start the vehicle without a problem each time but as soon as I would shift into "drive", the car would repeat the low idle/stall out process and I could not move the car an inch. The car had to be flatbed towed to the dealership. The dealership said they drove the car and hooked the car up to the computer but could not duplicate or find a reason for the problem. On 10/29/04, two days after I picked the car up from the dealership with a clean bill of health, the exact same scenario occurred again and the car was again flatbed towed to a different dealership to try to get another mechanic's view of the situation. They also could not duplicate the problem and nothing was found wrong with the car. I am unable to rely on this vehicle but am frustrated that 2 different hyundai dealerships cannot seem to discover the problem. They keep telling me "there is nothing wrong with the car".*jb
Dt*: the contact stated there has been a continuous hesitation and surging of the vehicle, as well as, extremely poor gas mileage. The vehicle was inspected by a service dealer, the hesitation and surge could not be recreated and no problem was diagnosed. When inspected again by the same service dealer, a detached cable was found under the vehicle. There was also a spring under the accelerator pedal found to be disconnected. Once the items were repaired, the mileage improved, but the hesitation and surging continued. An independent mechanic test drove the vehicle and confirmed there was in fact a hesitation and a surging. On the next visit to the service dealer, a knock sensor was replaced. The manufacturer was alerted who recommended the contact try another service dealer. Upon inspection by another service dealer, the knock sensor was observe to be loose and it was crimped to tighten it. However, the hesitation and surging continued. The consumer stated the vehicle has stalled on several occasions. Updated 08/25/06. *jb
Also reported on the 2003 Hyundai Santa FE
Other suspension problem
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Other powertrain problem
Other electrical problem
Other brake problem
Other body or interior problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 14 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2003 Hyundai Santa FE?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2003 Hyundai Santa FE?
14 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed