2006 Santa Fe - occasional problem starting

Duffryman

Hi,

Apologies if this is in the wrong section. Please feel free to move if necessary.

I drive a 2006 2.0 Hyundai Santa Fe (it's the older model of the two that were produced that year). Lately, it's occasionally giving problems when I try to start. Will start okay maybe 20 times in a row, but then gives trouble the next time. Turns over okay, but engine doesn't fire. Then give it a break for a few minutes - maybe five, maybe twenty - and it'll go okay again.

Happened first about three weeks ago. Garage ran a diagnostic test and showed up a fault with the camshaft sensor. We replaced this and all was fine until last Thursday lunchtime when same thing happened. Started five minutes later and I went back to garage (happened to be close by). Computer showed nothing and their best guess was it might an immobiliser issue. Their advice was to start using the second key I had, and see how I got on.

Then, Friday night, same thing (no joy with either key, but started ten minutes later), and again, same thing this morning (which happened to be at NCT centre! - but it started five minutes later anyway, they tested it, and it passed).

Anyway, I've obviously got a problem somewhere along the line. Does anybody have any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks in advance.

biko

When it starts and drives - does it start on the first go?
No spluttering/smoke/whatnot?

Atlantic Dawn

If it's turning over it's not an immobilizer issue. I'm presuming it's s diesel, when was the diesel filter last changed?

Duffryman

Hi folks, thanks for the help.

Firstly - yes, when it starts, it's as if there's no problem at all. No smoke, no spluttering, no other signs of trouble at all.

On the other point raised - absolutely no idea when last changed. I've owned the car four years, had it serviced three years ago, two years ago, but not since. So definite no change in at lEast two years, and possibly longer

TrailerBob

Duffryman wrote: »

I've owned the car four years, had it serviced three years ago, two years ago, but not since. So definite no change in at lEast two years, and possibly longer

If you haven't had it serviced in two years, then it's likely that the filter is getting clogged, you'd be amazed how much crap can accumulate in there, especially if you buy from lesser branded fuel companies. You really should be servicing it once a year, even if you do very little mileage. Or more if you do the miles

Duffryman

Nice picture

Thanks. Haven't actually done much mileage this past two years (maybe 10,000 km or less per year) through first being out of work for a while and then landing a new job that allows me to work from home 90% of the time. Looking after the pennies more than normal while out of work also meant that things like car servicing went on the long finger. But yup, suppose it's time all right....

Duffryman

Well, just a follow-up here, in case anybody else with a similar problem ever ends up on this page to look for advice or wonder what happened.

Definitely not the diesel filter or anything else simple like that. As a matter of fact, it's currently baffling a second garage as well.

My own mechanic suggested another place nearby, who are specialists in diagnostics and the like, and who (I'm told) have the same gear as a main Hyundai dealer. It's been with them since Monday of last week, and they can't find the problem either. The guy there tells me the only hope he has is to try run diagnostics at the odd time when it won't start, and try figure it out then.

So...the problem happened last Tuesday, but it started up again as soon as he attached the diagnostic machine, and so he could tell nothing. Since then, he's been driving it around like it's his own car, waiting for it to happen again. He's just phoned me now to say that it finally did happen again this morning, he was able to run a test this time, and he's now 99% sure it's a problem with the crankshaft sensor. He wants to be 100% sure before changing it though, so he's going to keep it for another while and wait for the problem to happen again before going ahead and doing anything.

I'm basically lucky that I was away on holiday myself last week and didn't need the car, and my folks are away this week, so I'm using my father's instead, while my own is still at the garage. Could be walking next week though, if they still have it....

jca

Change the crankshaft sensor its a cert to be faulty. Work colleague had the exact symptoms in a 2007 one.