How to replace the alternator on a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe 

Thanks Jim. Took on replacing my alternator on my 2011 Kia Sorento EX 3.5L. I can confirm this procedure works, but it's a doosey. I didn't have the special tool so getting that upper radiator hose off took me a while. There not much room to get a pliers in there, let alone enough leverage to pull the hose off. Just a word of caution if you're going to loosen/take off the upper radiator hose that connects to the engine it WILL dump coolant. Keep it connected and instead just loosen the hose clamp and rotate the hose out of the way on the fitting. You definitely have to loosen fan and shroud to move it out of the way, but the amount it moves is SO small I didn't think I would get it out. I spent probably 30 mins wrestling with it and it finally came out. I broke however the lower fan/shroud locking tab that is right there. There was enough for it to sit in and the other fasteners hold it tight. This job sucked and it's borderline whether or not it is just worth it to pay to have this done. I'm glad I didn't now since it took me 6 hours and $200 for a new alternator and serpentine belt. But then again, I really didn't run into anything bad like stripped bolts or all the other things that can pop up along the way. Good luck to the next guy. You Can Do IT!

Just finished this job on my girlfriends car. What a pain in the arse. Thank you for your video. It was a huge help.

Thanks for the video. I did manage to save the tire removal by loosening the belt tensioner from the top with a long ratchet. Also saved draining the coolant & removing the upper rad. hose by loosening the radiator mounts & leaning it away from the engine. Still a ridiculous amount of work required for a dang alternator & probably would have been much longer without your video so thanks again!

Did this job today on my 2012 3.5. What a pain. To anyone who finds themselves here, there's some really good tips in the comments. Not removing the whole upper rad hose and just pulling one side while leaving it loose on the engine end and turning it up and out of the way was a great one. Also, there's two 10mm bolts by the rad cap. If you can pull them, the radiator tips forward just enough to help wiggle the alternator out. I don't know how Jim managed to get it out like this video shows but the video was extremely helpful overall. Hope this helps!

Great procedure. Hyundai will tell you it's supposed to come out the bottom, but I looked at that and said "Uuuuuh......NO." Your method worked like a dream. The ONLY additional thing I would recommend is that people put a cardboard "shield" up against the radiator fins before trying to maneuver the alternator out- its a tight fit and I mangled the fins pretty good while trying to extricate the alternator.

BROTHER THANK YOU VERY MUCH GOD BLESS . Tec for 40 years, you stopped me from grabbing my knife, instead I grabbed 19mm and got the party started again.Your the man brother thanks again have a good one Joe.

Just followed this procedure for my 2011. Worked like a charm. Thanks! A few tips/clarifications for others watching: 1) To move the shroud, you have to unclip the bottom corners, then pull the shroud towards the engine and slightly below the clips, then slide it to the side. 2) Remove the oil filler neck (where the cap screws into) for an extra little bit of space. 3) Disconnect the wiring to the ac compressor. With that disconnected (along with the alternator and oxygen sensor), the harness can be flipped up and totally out of the way.

Thank you Jim for taking the time and effort to make this video. I have not put your excellent video to use yet, but since I am not a mechanic your instruction will be so helpful. It is not exactly a plug and play replacement and knowing how to get access will be invaluable to a novice such as I. I appreciate what you have done.

I did it exactly how you did it but it took such a long time to actually get the alternator out. This video definitely made everything so much easier tho!

Thanks Jim for this video. After seeing it, I realised that due to my limited amount of time and skill it will be better for me to outsource the job to a mechanic ;)

Just finished the same job on a 2011. Great video that helped a lot!!! Thanks for putting it out there.

thank you for posting this, I have been a Well trained Mechanic with the proper tools for 30 years, so you didn't save my life. But you did remind me of a few tools I should have out to make it fun,,,( My 12 volts Porter cable impact with a phillips bit and a socket adapter) to make this fun Quick and easy instead of ruining my fingers and wrists with a manual screw driver! Not to mention my sister will relax a little, because Even though, I was the head mechanic at a shop for two years, then started a different company. And she watched me rebuild motorcycles and snowmobiles and oh ya, helped my father refurbish 9 Cessna Aircraft with my father at the FBO he managed. She somehow thinks this alternator might be hard to do for me, cuz it's a foreign car!! So my eyes started rolling in my head that was spinning around, and smoke was coming out of my ears! after this stopped, I asked her? You do know I've worked on a few things in my day, right? I hope you found this as funny as I did...hahaha but again, thanks.

Nice to see hows its done before you do it. Nice video. You help so many people out, myself included.

I've been working on cars a long time and this is tough one. Thankyou for the motivation!!

Yesterday, I got to the point where you grab the alt.and pull it out and was exhausted. Figured I would start fresh today. It looks like you have the alternator pulley facing towards the driver side when you pulled it up and out ? It took me about an hour to just get the top radiator hose out with a pair of needlenose vicegrips. They sure don't make it easy for a backyard mechanic. My daughter in laws '12 Kia Sorento but it matches the Santa Fe you're working on exactly. Professional mech. wanted $650 and I can see why. Great video BTW.

So much easier doing it from the bottom. Drop your a/c compressor and there it is. No need to undo the compressor lines either.

and you wonder why mechanics drink so much !...good video man !

Thanks for taking the time.. I'm about to tackle this and had no idea how bad this was...

The oil pressure sending unit is also a common problem with this engine, and a big job to replace(took me 3 hours), I also replaced the plugs.

Thanks for the tips. I hate doing these alternators. I love your funny accent. Very North East.

Nice video and great tips to the installation!

Thanks for the video. I had started to try taking it out the bottom. Wasted a bunch of time on the a.c. compressor. Till i saw this video. So tight too get it out. Did mine on a 2010 3.5L. Thanks for your help

Thanks Jim, this is pretty much the same as a 2010 kia sorento kx2 2.2 diesel (which I think shares the same engine and chassis?) I'm due to remove later this week so your video is a great help,as I had a look and wondered how the alternator could be removed from the engine bay? keep up the good work. Ta

Well you definitely save me time and a grill from being broken lol!! Keep up the excellent work!

I am looking at this job for a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe, I thought I just had a bad garbage interstate battery. Nope, low voltage. Going to try to get it looked at in the morning. I use to drive a VW Jetta 1991 and well the Alt was right there and you didn't need to take the car apart to replace it- I've done it a few times myself in the 19 years I owned the car. I don't have the tools for the job in any event.

This video help me a ton. Thanks for sharing...👍

Excellent video!! Big help

You made that look very difficult 😂

This helped a lot. Thank you!

You are the man!!! Time a million!!

Great video. Gotta do this job today. Love the accent too. RADiator 😁

@jimthecarguy great video Jim. I am currently working on my Santa Fe doing this procedure. Where did you get that radiator plug/ petcock tool? What's it called I've searched and can't find it? Any help would be amazing .

Good job though no enough room to work around. do you have a video on replacing the water pump and the pressure housing for the oil pressure switch.

We actually got the alternator out, but can't move the fan housing! only thing blocking progress. I have a 2011. bolts all gone, clip loosened but won't move up enough to move outward.

I am replacing the alternator on a 2010 Santa Fe and, like many others, am having a hard time getting the f*cking fan shroud out of the way. Thanks for the video (I would be lost without it).

Can you just remove a\c compressor lower it down and drop the alternator out the bottom? I haven't done one yet, just looked at ours from the bottom.

thank you

Hi Jim. Great video and a great help. I’m currently trying to do this job and it’s a long shot but I’m hoping you might see this and be able to answer a question. How far were you able to move the shroud? I have it moved but it’s over as far as it will go (out of the clips and everything else detached from it) and I still don’t have enough room to get the loose alternator past the shroud.

Hi ,Jim. I had my altonar replace , but when I got the suv back ,it over heated and I did not have ac . It smelled like antifreeze, and my fan wasn't working, so the mechanic said to let it run for 20 min . But my temperature gage has never jumped the way it does . It goes up and down . Please help

Thanks for video I:m about to get started on this and it should save me alot of Headches What would we do without internet I got a quote of $700 to replace Alternator and now i see why!!!

I can't find a single video on getting a 09 elantra alternator out. I've gotten all the nuts and bolts off, but can't get it removed where it swivels and connects into the groove. Any tips are appreciated

Excellent video Jim. I have a Santa Fe 2007 so I would assume it would be similar. What is the total time it took? Just to give me an idea with regards to labour cost. thanks! Christian

is it possible to pull the actual fan shroud out of the car to gain more access to remove the alternator?

So two part question. Oneis there a way to drop it from the bottom? Two is there a substitute tool that you can use in place of that fancy dohicky that you used for the hose clamps? Angled pliers or something. Im helping a buddy out and replacing his today and just trying to get smart on this. Ive done several alternators before on my own vehicles but this one seems a bit more of a pain.

Great instructions and very clear to see what we need and to do

had to do a 07 with a 3.3 today the front valve cover was dumping oil all over the alternator causing it to poop out book was like 2 hrs and it was pretty simalar to this but i took the fans fully out

Replacing the alternator on a 3 year old car should tell you something about the manufacture

Is this the same as the xg350?

Can you make a video on how to remove the alternator from a 2011 kia?

what is the nº of the alternator belt? would 6PK 2050 OR 2005?

How do you know if its the alternator or the battery?

Please. Bore me with putting it back in. I used wooden shims on top of the ac. Don't add under shims. But between. Then with a 4 x 1/2 inch thick block of wood. I tapped with a hammer to sit it. And line it up.

Kia sportage please 2011- 2013

I CAN'T BELEIVE ALL you people who say it can't be pulled out the bottom, that is just false......depending on the year for the above video =2012 and the 2013 I just did.....work instructions say just remove alt and shows a pic, what I noticed is they showed the final pic with the a/c compressor not there......4 bolts, easy manipulation of the lines and I had the a/c compressor dropped out of the way......in 23 min ON A LIFT OF COURSE I HAD THE alt laying on the service managers desk, so not sure how far back you can do this on the santa fe but for 2012 and 2013, I have done such.

how different is the 2002 model?

Having a hard time with this vid due to lighting being so bad. :'( ...And the title doesn't say which engine this vehicle has. There's like 3-5 engines that could be installed in a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe, between the different variants of the 2.4L & the V6. -_-

take the cover off! lol

In 5 seconds 15 minutes lster

It might work better to pull the engine! LOL

15 year auto mechanic here and i would love to meet the asshole that designed this. i ended doing this.but i took the fan shroud out which is a pain itself to get out . ended up taking out the front cam sensor and the thermostat housing to get clearance to get the fan and shroud out.