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Hyundai Accent Transmission Questions

Recently, my car could not shift into gear when it was turned on, off it shifts fine. The car has a hydraulic clutch. So I thought it might be the clutch master cylinder, and replaced it, and that was not the case, then there was a small leak in the slave cylinder, which I replaced it. I was speed shifting it, then it got stuck in 4th gear. So it is in 4th gear, no matter if the clutch pedal is in or not. The shifter, flops between 3rd and 4th also. The dealer said to bleed the air better out of the clutch system. This problem came on fast, not gradual. What steps should I take, if the bleeding or the clutch hydraulic system, does not work?


  • iwas driving my honda shifted gears i noticed my clutch did not spring back pulled up my foot went to shift my clutch went al the to floor it disconnected from pedal how can i connect it back to pedal
  • Hi I have a 1997 Hyundai Accent with a auntomatic transmission that i am having transmission problems with sometimes it will go into drive and drive forward sometimes it want but every other gear works fine no problems does anyone know what my problem could be or does anyone know if i can take a transmission out of a 1994 hyundai Excel automatic transmission and put it into my 1997 Hyundai Accent?.....Please help anyone Thanks in advance i am needing it fixed
  • ancobacaancobaca Posts: 3
    Well I had problems with my 96 hyundai accent auto trans too somewhat similar. What happened to me was I was driving about 45mph and all of a sudden in heavy traffic my car downshifted on its own to like 1st gear and basically made me stop the car. I shut it off turned it back on and it was fine. Then also little bit later I was going from a stop and its like it would rev up but not shift up to 2nd. I took it to dealer and was told they have electronic transmissions they the contacts needed cleaning and adjusted 10 degrees. I guess they can only be adjusted so far too..but seemed to work for the next 5 years until I had the problem with it not wanting to shift from first into 2nd from a stop. So I just changed out the trans fluid and filter and its worked fine for last 2 years.
  • bcsbrownbcsbrown Posts: 1
    I just bought an 01 accent, and I don't have an owner's manual for it. I don't know when I should have the car in overdrive and when I shouldn't. Any advice would help out a lot. Thanks.
  • Hi

    My car will "get stuck" in low gear when you pull out into traffic, you try and accelerate but the revs go up and you stay doing 20Km/hr. Putting you foot down does nothing except increase the revs, you have to put your foot on the brake and come to a halt and they try accelerating again. As you can imagine this is dangerous if you have pulled out into heavy traffic. It has now also developed a new trick - sometimes it changes gear but around the 3oKm mark you hear a loud bang (like you have hit the car with a hammer) and the whole car jerks (hard enough for you to bang your head on headrest!). There is no particular time it happens (can be first trip of day or after many). Car is great after you get into 3rd and for long trips of accelerating past other cars great.
    I purchased the Hyundi Accent in Dec 05. No problems till begining of 07 then noticed that sometimes had trouble getting into gear. Took to dealer to look at they said nothing wrong. Anyway it is now mid 2008 and problem is getting worse and my car has been in repair shop for 1 week and they say they cant find anything wrong as the on-board computer doesnt throw up a fault code!
    Has anyone else had these type of problems. I am getting frightened to drive car as I am an accident waiting to happen and when someone drives into the back of me it will be my fault as they will not be expecting me to be doing 20Km/hr. I have a 5yr replacement warrenty for all the good its doing me. The repair shop says it could be a few things but refuse to try anything as computer not showing code implying that I am imagining all this. Other people have been in car with me when it gets stuck but as an intermitant fault the repair shop says it doesnt happen for them. As I am female I feel that I am not being taken seriously or they are waiting for my warrenty to expire then they will find problem!
  • just replaced my gear selector cable and now cant select 1st, 3rd or 5th what the hell have i done wrong????
  • Hi,
    My neice has a 2001 hyndai accent she purchased several months ago. The vehical has around 60K miles on it. I noticed the trans fluid had a burned smell to it and was discolored. Had her take it in for new filter and fluid change. After about 3-weeks past that, her over drive quit working. Now its a 3 speed. Any ideas from someone out there would be greatly appreciated.
  • autonomousautonomous Posts: 1,769
    2001 hyndai accent ...has around 60K miles ... the trans fluid had a burned smell to it and was discolored. Had her take it in for new filter and fluid change
    Burnt and discolored fluids are not a good thing. Is it a manual or automatic? Do you have the past service records? Even though it's low mileage I wonder if this is the first time the transmission fluid has been changed. You may need to take it into a transmission shop to get an expert evaluation of the problem.
  • She bought the car used from a dealership. The automatic transmission worked fine up until she had the fluid changed in it. Then the overdrive into 4th gear just stopped working. I am pretty mechanical. Is the overdrive on an automatic Hyndai a simple fix or what ? I have read thats its an electric engagment and might not be to hard to fix. Has anyone out there worked on this type of problem ?
  • Crystoman - I know your post was over a month ago, but I'll bet I know what happened. I'll wager anything that the shop used the wrong ATF. In a Hyundai automatic, you MUST use SPIII ATF. This is available at Hyundai or Kia Parts Departments, or also at Mitsubishi Parts Departments, as the transmission was originally a Mitsubishi design.

    Interestingly, our large Hyundai dealer here uses a synthetic base "so called" equivalent to SPIII ATF. I don't know how they can get away with this, as Hyundai corporate specifically states to use SPIII ATF. And, it also states as such as in the Owner's Manual.

    You can go into any auto parts store, such as Advance Auto Parts, Autozone, etc., and you may find ATF that "claims" to be an equivalent to SPIII ATF. Don't use it, because it's not. Simply stated, if you use anything other than SPIII ATF, the automatic transmission will not work as designed, and its use will cause the transmission to fail.

    Same goes with any of the Quick Lube stations, NONE of them stock or use SPIII ATF, and don't let them tell you otherwise.

    Again, you must use Hyundai/Kia/Mitsubishi SPIII ATF in the transmission. Yes, it's more expensive than other ATF, but you will be rewarded in the long run by a reliable transmission.
  • Better late than never - youre neice has what we in the industry refer to as a hook and stitch. - if you take apart your shift handle I bet you youll find that the wires from the overdrive switch in the shift handle down to the junction connector are broken - I had the same problem with my car, and this is one of those things they love to get you on, they charge you 1500$ say their replacing the trans, and they fix two wires. your overdrive is coming on and off because of whats left of the wires flexing back and fourth.. eventually itl be gone all together... - try this I bet you that fixes the car.. :)

    Also, despite what anyone may tell you the hyundai certified transmission fluid is nothing different than the stuff you buy at the autoparts store, all youre paying for is piece of mind, I've seen the production charts of these chemicals and they use the same exact detergents! I've fixed this problem before, it happens due to cheap wiring in the shift handle... - to have a gear be there and suddenly not be there is unheard of, if it had anything fluid related to do with it youd feel loss of oil pressure in other gears, not just 4th..

    (ASE certified technician)
  • espo35espo35 Posts: 144
    I beg to differ, Ben. I've replaced quite a few transmissions which had "recently" been serviced with Dexron/Mercon ATF instead of SPIII. The one thing they all had in common is that the customer paid for the new transmission, which if had been filled with the correct fluid, would've been covered by warranty.
  • what do you work at a dealership or something? I dont get why everyone is trying to upsell the dealership fluid... no transmission fluid is any different than any other transmission fluid.. yes there are tranny fluids for gm and for ford, and chrysler and honda, but ive seen shops put this in cars... keep in mind these cars are junk to begin with.... their throwaways, did you actually take the trans apart inside to see what failed on it? im a trans tech, I dont just replace transmissions, I fix them. if you had an actual evidence of damage in the transmission I might believe you, but dealership warranties are [non-permissible content removed] to begin with.. I fix all the cars you guys "dont cover under warranty" if these fluids are truly different, Id like some evidence.. send me a copy of an MSDS with the contents of SP3, because until there is evidence, the difference between SP3 and dex merc remains unknown, which doesn't prove either one of us right or wrong... however, in my experience, there isn't any problem using the dex merc fluids on transmissions... just look at what goes into manuals, you can use ATF, diffy fluid, anything you want that is oil, more or less.. its designed to lubricate, and ATF is an ultra thin lubricant, it lubricates everything.. the only differences per GM and ford are the weights of the oil...
  • pb84pb84 Posts: 2

    My hyundai accent's automatic transmission has the following issueS:

    A. When I start the car, it wont pick up easily, it takes a lot of acceleration (feels like i might be picking it up in the second gear), high RPM etc.

    B. When I go past say 70 or 80 KM/HR, the engine makes a lot of noise like its struggling, and the RPM goes above 4000, which never happens!!

    These two things happen most of the time now, although, on some occasions the car runs smoothly, but will start acting up on the trip back, or during the trip. Sometimes it even starts running normally AFTER Ive run it for sometimes.

    Please help!

  • stephen987stephen987 Posts: 1,994
    Can you feel it shift at all? If not, it may be in "default mode"--essentially stuck in 2nd gear--which would indicate a problem with the computer.
  • pb84pb84 Posts: 2
    Yes, It shifts. Problem occurs when i pick up initially, or when I go over 80. Feels like its stuck, engine makes a lot of noise and RPM goes up.

  • It also shifts hard into 3rd and shifts hard going down to 1 it is an automatic. Interesting enough it shifts fine into any gear when its cold out around freezing temps. Anyone have any ideas?
  • Is your DTC p0723 (2 to 3rd gear ratio, off top of my head)? If so try the speed sensor, it is about $50US else it is rebuild time is my guess. This what happen to mine. Note the advice is free for what that is worth. On 2nd try with junkyard trannies. Like the guy said they are throw away cars and I have read where rebuilts only last a year ($700us) but there is a place in San Berdo.. (around pick a part) which will give a 3 year for $1800 you install it. But the car does get 45mi/gall, best. I got 150K miles on the tranny and used dextron in the last 30K. I think that is what kill it plus a cartop carrier and moving wood panels. Stick with the factory oil or atf 3, chrysler since it is their tranny.
  • I have 2002 Accent w/AutoTrans. When shifting from 1st gear up to next gear there is decided "jolt". Am beginning to experience some down and up shifting while cruising. For the first time I couldn't shift into reverse to back out of a parking place (let it roll back to get enough clearance to pull forward). After a few blocks I pulled over, put it into reverse and it worked fine. I have a little over 90K mileage. Am I looking at a re conditioning repair, replacement with a re conditioned tran, or a replacement with a low mileage used unit? Any idea of the cost involved?
  • azemmelazemmel Posts: 1
    hey.. i read over the problems that you were having with your car and it sounds just like the same problems i am having with my 05 Hyundai accent. i have taken it in 6x now and no one can fix it.. they say it has something to do with the sensors going haywire... im assuming it has something to do with the computer in the transmission.. last time i drove it 3 weeks ago it scared the crap out of me.. i was wondering if u found any helpful information about it.. they say to rebuild the transmission which will cost around 2500 and the car is totally not worth it considering im still paying it off.
  • I have achance to buy a nice accent and it won't go into reverse , I am clueless, and I want the car but I don't want to change the tranny. I guess what i'm asking is is it worth it possibly, how would you knoe you havent seen it , oh it has 180000 on it but runs perfect, but no reverse , it has an inspection and a new one ???????
  • I didn't mention the car is a 1998 in years, just no reverse and it's an automatic...with 180,000...????? very curious , this car could be practically given to me and i really could use it, thank you for anyone's time!!!
  • With no reverse, the car would be difficult to park anywhere. The only way to fix it would be to replace the tranny. I wouldn't pay more then a few hundred bucks for this car if it runs good and be prepared to spend over $1000 to replace the tranny. In all honesty, I'd look elsewhere.
  • Thank you at least I know what to do , not get the car!!!, thanks again!
  • I always had stickshifts,but have a new accent hatchback automatic now.I am use to downshifting before braking.Will this be bad for an automatic transmission?
  • backybacky Twin CitiesPosts: 18,784
    The automatic downshifts... automatically, based on conditions.
  • Manually forcing a downshift won't hurt it, but really, all you need to do for better engine braking is click off the overdrive lockout switch. Please give us a new owner report in the Accent hatchback forum, basically tell us which model you got, how much you paid and what you like and don't like about your new ride. Few owners participate here so it would be nice to hear from a new owner. Hope to see you there!
  • I bought a new 2010 accent hatchback GS package.I paid $13014 before taxes.I bought the smallest car I could find that had the things I wanted. Parking is a problem in my area,but this car fits in spaces big car can't ! It's easy to handle and fun to drive(better than my grandson's remote control toy!),and economical too.As a trout fisherman all my life, the hatchback up serves as a canopy when eating lunch or putting on my hip boots. So far I have no complaints at all and hope it stays that way. p. s.,I bought the car in June 2010.
  • 2002 Accent automatic.

    Problem just started today. Does not go into reverse. Hard shift and slipping when shifting into other gears while driving. Check engine light on.

    What are the possible causes?

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