I have an intermittent problem with my 2008 Santa Fe GLS (Canadian model). Sometimes, when I insert the key to start the car, the in-dash key symbol won't come up (while it usually does when everything is fine). When the problem occurs, I have all electrical power and the engine will crank over; The cranking is going very fast but shows no sign of ever turning over and the car will never start. It really looks as if the immobilizer does not recognize the key and so refuses to start the engine. So I have to remove the key, wait some time and try again. Usually, it can take 3-4 times (and up to 15 minutes!) before the key-symbol light comes up again in the dash, and then the engine will start as if nothing ever happened.

This problem occurs approximately once a week, but you never know when.

I went to the dealer just for that problem but they had no clue and could not reproduce it, .... so they ended-up doing nothing to fix it.
So I am trying to figure out what that can be in order to "help" the dealer in helping me.
Please note that the Canadian Santa Fe version comes with an immobilizer (using a chip in the key), ... while from other posts, it seems that the US version may not have it.

Note: The car also has a remote starter that was installed at the dealer. It usually works fine. But the problem also occurred a few times with the remote starter trying to start the car by itself. I could hear the never ending cranking noise from the spinning starter, until the remote starter stopped for few seconds and tried again. I had to stop the remote starter manually.

Any help is welcome,

Ozo.

 

Did they give you 2 keys when it came off the lot. Just curious if you have 2 keys and both have the same problem.

They should be able to reprogram the key, the chip should be flashable.

Gotta ask this though...did they give a "lock" only key too, without the chip (for doors and hatch), probably know where I'm going with this, but ...

 

We always use the same key, which is alone on its key ring. This key could be bad, but we also have the same problem with the remote starter, i.e. the remote starter itself sometimes has problems starting the car. And my understanding is that another key (only its chipped-head) is installed in the car with the remote starter. The probability of having two bad keys is probably lower.

I guess the receiver of the signal that's emitted by the key could be bad, though. Do we know what component includes this receiver and if that's something easy to replace?

Ozo.

 

Its probably not the key. I wonder if the remote starter uses a different encryption. Do you notice if the problem occurs when you alternate starting it with key and remote starter? Maybe you could try using only the key for a week or two, or experiment by alternating starting methods.

It could be telling you, "thats not what started the car the last time..", then the memory clears after a failed attempt.