[Minwaabi]

Hello,

I'm looking at possibly buying a 2016 Santa Fe. It seems like a decent car that might be able to do all that I want it to do. However, I am concerned about the interference between the rear hatch door and my kayak. I typically keep my kayak on the roof of my car (which has historically been sedans) once ice is off the lakes and don't take it off until the ice comes back. It looks like the hatch will raise way too high if I let it go all the way up (my kayak is about 16 ft/ 4.8m long). But it might be okay if I only let it go 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up. It has a manual lift gate. Is there anything I can do to limit it so it can't try to open all the way?

Likewise, how has this car treated folks? Is it pretty reliable and doesn't need a lot of repairs?

 

[Thormaxx1234]

I had a 2015 Santa Fe (Just upgraded to a 2023) and we Kayak as well (my wife and I). Never had issues with the kayak making contact with the hatch. My setup was a pair of J racks for each Kayak.. and I made sure the boats were positioned far enough up so no contact was a concern with the rear lift gate. If the car has a moonroof, the you will need a taller rack (at the time two rack optioned were offered by the dealer and we took the cheaper $400 route (today that same rack is $600 CND). A piece of advice... you can get these two 8 inch loop straps that fasted under the hood on a fender bolt that will make front tie downs a lot simpler. When you are done, you can tuck these little loop straps into the engine compartment.

 

[LHThread]

Hello,

I'm looking at possibly buying a 2016 Santa Fe. It seems like a decent car that might be able to do all that I want it to do. However, I am concerned about the interference between the rear hatch door and my kayak. I typically keep my kayak on the roof of my car (which has historically been sedans) once ice is off the lakes and don't take it off until the ice comes back. It looks like the hatch will raise way too high if I let it go all the way up (my kayak is about 16 ft/ 4.8m long). But it might be okay if I only let it go 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up. It has a manual lift gate. Is there anything I can do to limit it so it can't try to open all the way?

Likewise, how has this car treated folks? Is it pretty reliable and doesn't need a lot of repairs?

open the hatch the usual way. When it opens to its highest point and stops, gently pull it down by hand to the required height. Then press and hold the button on the hatch for a few seconds until it beeps. Press the button again to close the hatch. Now open the hatch in the usual manner. It should open only to the lower position.
To restore the normal opening height, simply lift it to the max. opening and press the button for a few seconds as before until it "beeps". It's all explained in the owner's manual which, by the way, is available on-line. So you can read before you buy!

 

[Minwaabi]

Right. That's for an automatic liftgate, but this one is manual (it has hydraulic pistons). So no button.

 

[LHThread]

Right. That's for an automatic liftgate, but this one is manual (it has hydraulic pistons). So no button.

my apologies! I missed the sentence where you explained it was a manual lift gate... mea culpa!
I had a similar issue with an ancient Land Rover.. the upper section of the split tailgate banging against timber lengths from the hardware store... When opening the top section of the tailgate, I used attach a strap between the latch and its "keeper" which limited the tailgate travel.....

 

[Thormaxx1234]

Right. That's for an automatic liftgate, but this one is manual (it has hydraulic pistons). So no button.

As i mentioned before…it might come down to the placement of your boats on the rack. Are you using J racks? Otherwise, I do not believe you can adjust the opening height for a manual lift-gate. I never had issues with contact with my kayaks in J racks..and i have a 14' tandem and a 12' single