Hyundai Santa Fe Sun Shades: Five Cuts

Three Santa Fe sets went out in nine days in September, and they were three different generations: a 2007–2013 to Western Australia, a 2013–2018 to South Australia and a 2019–2023 to Victoria. All three were the rear door pair. That is the Santa Fe in one paragraph: a family seven-seater that has been on sale here for 25 years, with a child seat in the second row in every generation, and a buyer who wants the sun off it.

We cut all five bodies. Here is which is which.

The five Santa Fe cuts

Door pairs are $49.99 for the front and $59.99 for the rear, or $99.99 for all four, on every generation. On the TM and the MX5 the third-row quarter pair is $49.99, the tailgate panel $59.99, rear doors plus quarter glass $99.99, rear doors plus tailgate $108.99, and all eight panels $199.99. The Hyundai Santa Fe page lists the same five.

2013 appears twice

The DM replaced the CM in Australia during 2012, so the overlap at 2013 is the supplier catching run-out cars. A 2012 or 2013 Santa Fe can be either, and the two do not share a pattern: the CM has the rounder rear door with the glass tapering into the pillar, the DM the flatter, more upright rear door. A photo from the side settles it; the build month on the compliance plate settles it faster. The 2018–2019 changeover to the TM and the 2023–2024 changeover to the boxy MX5 both fell cleanly enough that the listing years hold. There is a longer guide to build dates and generations if you want the method.

The third row and the tailgate

Only the TM and the MX5 carry panels for the glass behind the rear doors. On those two, the fixed pane the third row sits against is cut as its own pair, listed as "Third-Row Side Windows", and it is the one to add if anyone actually rides back there. Universal shades are sized for door glass and leave it bare, which is where the bright wedge at the back of a seven-seater comes from. The tailgate panel is worth having if the car sleeps outside or you tour with the boot loaded; the Santa Fe's back glass is tall and close to upright, and it does more damage parked nose-in than a sedan's would.

The three earlier bodies are door glass only for now. There is a guide to the windows behind the rear doors if the position names are new.

The roof panel

The DM, TM and MX5 were all sold with a factory panoramic roof on the upper trims, and for those we cut an insulated roof panel: a reflective foil and air-cushion core about 8 mm thick, in the two pieces the roof glass is divided into, sitting in the opening and lifting out by hand. It stops radiant heat rather than filtering light, and it is a different product from the mesh. There is one for the 2013–2018, the 2019–2023 and the 2024 on car, each $69.99. It only fits a car that left the factory with the glass roof. A Santa Fe with a steel roof has nothing for it to sit in; look up before ordering.

What Santa Fe owners actually order

The rear pair, almost without exception, which matches the rest of the catalogue: half of everything we sell is the two rear doors alone. On a seven-seater the next most useful addition is usually the third-row pair rather than the fronts, because the people who feel the sun most are in the back two rows. The fronts are for the driver's own comfort when parked, and they can be added later. The guide to choosing which windows to cover goes through the trade-offs.

Ordering

Find the build month and year on the plate, match it to the table, and if you are on a 2012 or 2013 car, send the build month first. The full Hyundai list covers the other 40-odd Hyundai fits, and the Tucson guide is the one to read if the smaller SUV is the family car instead.