My "04 santa fe 3.5 has been running badly lately. It is sluggish when I start out , go up hills or try to accelerate. On a flat highway at 65mph it seems to run ok though. The exhaust is much louder than it used to be but there are no holes or leaks. Also, it has been using twice as much fuel than it used to. There are no fault codes and the engine light is off. I don't know what to do. I have replaced the plugs, had the timing belt replaced , drained and replaced the trans fluid. Checked the fuel screen in the tank, it looks clean. Replaced the air filter as well. Help!!!! I still owe some money on this car and am afraid it will be dead before I pay it off. This vehicle ran great until I had to replace the damper pulley because the outer pulley portion came off of its rubber mounting. It was difficult to remove. It took some prying to get it loose from the lower sprocket that slides onto the front of th crankshaft.

 

Have the TPS sensor looked at.

 

Did you change the fuel filter?

 

No, I did not change the fuel filter because it doesn't have one. It does have a mesh screen that is mounted to the bottom of the pump assembly which appears to be clean a s a whistle. If this is what you are calling a filter then no I did not replace it . The dealer recommended a fuel filter but they said it was in the gas tank . I am going to assume that this mesh filter is what they were speaking of because I didn't see any other filtering type of device in the tank. I was told also by another source that the fuel filter was a part of the fuel pump. I did spend 130 dollars on the pump portion of the pump assembly and realized that I just wasted 130 dollars. many of the parts on these cars seem to have more than one name. For example The crankshafts position sensor is also known as the crank angle sensor. This is just on example. I am not sure if this is done on purpose to confuse and frustrate the average guy that has previously worked on their own car or somethings just get lost in translation or they are disorganized and inconsistent

 

HMA service shows a fuel filter under the car, probably near the fuel tank. Here's the replacement instructions:

1.
Lift up the vehicle.
2.
Reduce the internal pressure of the fuel lines and hoses and make the following operations.
A.
Disconnect the fuel pump harness connector at the fuel tank rear side.
B.
Start the engine and after it stops, turn the ignition switch to OFF.
C.
Disconnect the battery negative (-) terminal.
D.
Connect the fuel pump harness connector.
3.
Remove the two fitting nuts while holding the fuel filter nuts securely.
4.
Remove the fuel filter mounting bolts, and then remove the fuel filter from the fuel filter clamp.
Tightenging torque
Fuel filter fitting nut:
30 ~ 40 Nm (300 ~ 400 kg·cm, 22.1 ~ 29.5 lb·ft)

 

The hma website has some bad info. For example It shows my accelerator cable going to the throttle body when in reality it is connected directly to the APS and nothing else. I looked all over under the vehicle and the filter is not there.

 

I agree that the hma site is not so good sometimes, but I have generally found it to be accurate. I find it a little hard to believe that there is no fuel filter, just a mesh screen in the tank. That wouldn't make any sense.

 

After reviewing your case again, at the very least I would have a fuel pressure check done to ensure your fuel system is making the correct PSI to properly atomize the fuel.

When there is no trouble codes present and the motor runs like crapola, I have found that the problem is generally a fuel pressure problem. Sometimes the ODB II codes system fails to diagnose a problem with other stuff, but it's rare. ODB II doesn't diagnose fuel pressure, though.

The correct procedure is to test for fuel pressure, but mainly changing the fuel filter is a really good place to start. The rest of it like timing belt, spark plugs, even transmission, etc, will generally produce a trouble code.

I sympathize with you not finding the fuel filter. I had to come to this forum to find mine, and I got conflicting answers. Ken99 finally gave me the correct answer: It was well hidden under the brake booster under the hood.

I find it impossible to believe that you don't have a fuel filter, as it's critical in a fuel injected car, and can't recall seeing ANY car without one.

A fuel pressure check will tell for sure if the PSI is the problem or not.

Please keep us informed. Good luck!

 

I'm am still having trouble with my 04 santa fe 3.5 . Anyway after doing some exploring I found another access panel under the rear passenger side seat. It is similar to the one under the rear driver side seat, the one that covers the fuel pump. Any way, when I removed the panel there is something similar to the fuel pum. But it only has one fuel line and one wire . I havent removed it yet but I want to know what it is.

 

Sounds like the same problem i am having with my 04 santa fe.... except my check engine light is on....the problem was the oxygen sensors. You might wanna have them checked because it can damage the catalytic converter if not repaired.