We are the original owners of our 2003 Santa Fe 2.7 and it has been probably the best car we have ever owned. It currently has 221,000 on the odometer and has had very few maintenance issues. I do most of my own maintainance which includes Mobil 1 synthetic oil & Wix oil filters exclusively it's entire life, routine transmission fluid changes, timing belts, etc. - but truly nothing major. I would speculate that 95% of the miles are highway miles as we use this vehicle almost exclusively for running back and forth to our Lake home- approximately 400 miles every weekend.
About a week ago, I cleaned the engine compartment with some Simple Green and the garden hose- which I have done several times over the years. I had absolutely no mechanical issues before that, but obviously created some type of problem this time. Engine was warm, but not hot and was not running when I cleaned it. Upon completion, when I started the engine, it had developed a miss. I assumed I had gotten something wet - even though I'm usually fairly cautious about where I spray water. I took it out for a drive hoping it would clear itself, but did not. It wasn't major, just not as smooth as normal. My wife drives the Santa Fe to work during the week - which is only about a 20 mile round trip - again all highway. I hoped that a trip to work and back might do the trick, but it didn't. The car triggered the check engine light, so I pulled the codes out and they were a #3 and #5 cylinder misfire, and a couple other random codes. The car has always run smoothly with very consistant mileage, so I'm almost embarassed to say that I had never changed the plugs or wires - partially due to having to remove the intake plenum to gain access to the rear cylinders, but decided this might be a good time. Picked up NGK Platinum plugs and a set of 7mm wires and replaced all. Initially engine idle was greatly improved, but still had a slight miss - which cleared itself after a short drive. I thought I had solved the problem since the car starts, idles and runs great now and since clearing the codes, it has not triggered any more. When we went out of town for the weekend last Friday though, I realized that the engine was even more under-powered than normal - when under a load of any kind. The transmission downshifts often and unless I build up substantial speed when approaching a steep hill, it really falls on it's face. There is no knocking or unusual sounds and the temperature maintains it's normal reading, but it is very under-powered. The check engine light has not come back on. I'm not sure where to begin to solve this problem. Possibly a clogged catalytic converter? Is there a way to check out the converter without disconnecting it from the exhaust system? I noticed on various sites that the 2.7 engine has a fairly common problem with their crank position sensors, but I'm not having any problems at all with idle or dying.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated-
About a week ago, I cleaned the engine compartment with some Simple Green and the garden hose- which I have done several times over the years. I had absolutely no mechanical issues before that, but obviously created some type of problem this time. Engine was warm, but not hot and was not running when I cleaned it. Upon completion, when I started the engine, it had developed a miss. I assumed I had gotten something wet - even though I'm usually fairly cautious about where I spray water. I took it out for a drive hoping it would clear itself, but did not. It wasn't major, just not as smooth as normal. My wife drives the Santa Fe to work during the week - which is only about a 20 mile round trip - again all highway. I hoped that a trip to work and back might do the trick, but it didn't. The car triggered the check engine light, so I pulled the codes out and they were a #3 and #5 cylinder misfire, and a couple other random codes. The car has always run smoothly with very consistant mileage, so I'm almost embarassed to say that I had never changed the plugs or wires - partially due to having to remove the intake plenum to gain access to the rear cylinders, but decided this might be a good time. Picked up NGK Platinum plugs and a set of 7mm wires and replaced all. Initially engine idle was greatly improved, but still had a slight miss - which cleared itself after a short drive. I thought I had solved the problem since the car starts, idles and runs great now and since clearing the codes, it has not triggered any more. When we went out of town for the weekend last Friday though, I realized that the engine was even more under-powered than normal - when under a load of any kind. The transmission downshifts often and unless I build up substantial speed when approaching a steep hill, it really falls on it's face. There is no knocking or unusual sounds and the temperature maintains it's normal reading, but it is very under-powered. The check engine light has not come back on. I'm not sure where to begin to solve this problem. Possibly a clogged catalytic converter? Is there a way to check out the converter without disconnecting it from the exhaust system? I noticed on various sites that the 2.7 engine has a fairly common problem with their crank position sensors, but I'm not having any problems at all with idle or dying.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated-