Timing belt or chain on 2 liter petrol 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe

Casspar

Hi
Was looking to buy a 2006 petrol Santa Fe on Done Deal and asked the dealer if the timing belt had been replaced. He said that this model uses a chain not a belt. I am sure this is not the case, can anyone confirm this?

colm_mcm

The revised interval is very short. 36000 miles or something. They have been known to fail sooner than that on older ones. I think the interval was originally 60. Not 100% certain on this though.

They're a very old design now. They were outclassed in 2006 being the old model. It would want to be very very cheap.

Casspar

That's VERY helpful, thank you, you might have saved me a lot of money!!

Cheers
J.

bazz26

You might get a petrol Honda CR-V of similar vintage for around the same money, they are a much better car.

Toyotafanboi

They are definitely belt and not the easiest belt to do either. The car would want to be mega cheap even if it's in ok shape.

Casspar

tha's valuable advice, many thanks. in fact we have run Santa Fe's ever since they came out and we like the old ( pre 2006 ) model because they have a lot of room for our dogs. we have only recently arrived in Ireland and are looking for an Irish plate SF, lots around but a lot to be avoided! and some not very honest ad's as well!! But thank you for your advice!

We are looking for a petrol engine because I reckon high mileage diesels can get expensive but the petrol engines tend to ahve lower mileage and we have a very small annual mileage at around 8K kms.

unkel

You reckon right. Get rid of the Santa Fe. Before the belt snaps, a turbo blows or the engine seizes. Only problem is that there are loads of them for sale for peanuts and your car is worth very, very little

So taking that in mind, it might be financially wiser to just drive it on (without changing the belt) until it breaks, then just scrap it.

bazz26

Unkel, I think the OP was looking for advise on one they were thinking of buying rather owning one already.

I'd have a look for a Honda CR-V or Toyota Rav4 petrol instead. Nissan X-Trail petrol would be a 3rd choice if you cannot find a CR-V or Rav4.

Casspar

Thanks Bazz26. You are right. We have owned our diesel SF for 8 years without problems. I have had it very regularly serviced and always at shorter intervals than recommended by mfgr. Trouble is, it's LHD so I want another SF with RHD and will sell the LHD one in teh UK where there is a strong ( or maybe was because of Brexit !! ) market for LHD SUV's.

I would buy a Rav4 without hesitation because of Toyota reliability but sadly too little space in back for the dogs.

I may have to reconsider an SUV and go back to a good quality estate; we had a Subary Legacy for many years and it never let us down

Thanks nonetheless for your wise advice

unkel

Why not keep your LHD SF? Better the devil you know and all that. You can import for free and this option costs you nothing. All tolls are automatic these days, so that's no longer an argument for not driving an LHD car here. Check your insurance first though. Most are fine with it, but some aren't...

Unless you really can sell the LHD SF over in the UK for good money, but somehow I doubt that. Who to? Eastern Europeans? Afaik Polish people are allowed to register RHD cars in Poland since a change in the law over there recently