The 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe was nearly identical to the 2008 models, when it came to its towing capacity and a lot of the other metrics and was even able to achieve the same maximum trailer weight rating of 3,500 lbs.
There was not a whole lot of variation when it came to what actually affected the capacity range, but there were a few things you need to know in order to know how much your specific vehicle could actually handle as far as trailer weight, so let's get into it!
Your owner's manual contains all types I'm helpful information about your Santa Fe and I recommend that you read through it and that you abide by Hyundai's requirements when it comes to towing or anything else related to your vehicle.
Overall Capacity: The 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe had a towing capacity that ranged from 1,650-3,500 lbs. And the two main variables that affected this range was the engine that your vehicle used and whether the trailer you were pulling behind you had its own brake system installed.
The Tow Chart:
The tow chart for the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe was exactly the same as the 2008 models including all of the engine options and maximum trailer weight ratings that were listed.
If we look at the chart, we can see that it is in fact pretty bare-bones and there is not much in the way as far as data, but what we do see is that the maximum trailer weight ratings, along with the maximum tongue load weight ratings listed and are on the right-hand side of the table and the engine options are just to the left of those.
There are two additional rows in the table that contain a trailer brake reference and with brake is referring to trailers that are equipped with their own brakes and without brake is the metrics for trailers without brakes.
Comparing The Data:
By Trim Level: I also wanted to list the maximum trailer weight rating ranges for each of the three trim levels, which I have listed below and in order to get this data I just looked at what engine options were available for which trim levels and then carried over the data and applied it to the three options below.
- GLS: 1,650-2,000 lbs.
- SE: 1,650-3,500 lbs.
- Limited: 1,650-3,500 lbs.
By Engine Options: I Wanted to do the same comparison using the two different engine options that were available for these SUVs and if you look at the two data points I have below, you can see that the 2.7 liter engine had a slight disadvantage when it came to pulling capacity of about 700 pounds.
- 2.7L: 1,650-2,800 lbs.
- 3.3L: 1,650-3,500 lbs.
(S) Standard - Not Available
Other Important Information...
There were also a couple of other nuggets of information that I came across while browsing through the owner's manual and these talk about trailer brakes, just briefly and then the other one talks a little bit about a trailer tongue load weight ratings, in general.
Hyundai didn't give us much information about the trailer brakes, other than the unbraked trailer weight that was shown in the chart and the only other piece of information is the image that I found in the owner's manual that is shown first down below.
Hyundai also specified the maximum trailer tongue load weight ratings in the chart, which happen to be about 10% of the maximum trailer weight ratings that were listed in the chart but this 10% also applies to lighter loads as well. You will want to aim for that 10% target when it comes to the tongue load weight rating, no matter what the weight of the trailer is.
