I’m in Canada and have been loving my Santa Fe Plug-In since I bought it in May, but now that winter is here, I’m having some serious concerns about its AWD performance.
We just had a big snowstorm, and I nearly got stuck twice. It feels like the AWD isn’t engaging at all.
Here’s what I tried:
Switched to Snow Mode
Drove in Hybrid Mode instead of Electric
Turned off Anti-Skid (but the wheels still wouldn’t spin even with the pedal floored)
I expected way better snow performance from this car. Is this normal, or is my AWD not working? Anyone else driving this model in heavy snow?
@Ash
I’ve been driving in snow for 20 years, so yeah, this isn’t normal.
I’ve driven FWD and AWD in similar conditions before, and this feels way off.
This wasn’t the first snowstorm of the season, but it was the first time I had to drive on unplowed roads.
On my way to work, I had to stop at a light before a steep hill. I saw a small FWD car struggling, so I waited for them to clear it. When it was my turn, I was feeling confident—
Snow Mode ON
Anti-Skid OFF (just in case)
Pressed the gas slowly… barely moved.
Pressed harder to engage the engine… still nothing.
I pretty much got stuck halfway up the hill—worse than the FWD car. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right.
@Paxton
Yeah, that’s definitely not normal. Sounds like AWD isn’t engaging at all. At this point, I’d take it to the dealer and let warranty handle it.