Sinoed

Hoping someone can help me out with this.. I'm thinking about buying a used 94 Hyundai Elantra, the car is in great shape with one problem. The transmission seems to hesitate between gears. I've been doing some digging on the Internet but haven't come up with much other than the fact that transmissions seem to be a standard problem with the Hyundai models and hesitation between gears is not new either. Is this indicative of a bigger problem that could mean a transmission rebuild? What could cause hesitation between gears, is it necessary to fix it, and I guess more importantly, what do you think it would cost to fix? Thanks!

texan

If it hesitates and then clunks into the next gear, that's usually clutch pack and/or missing gear teeth. Which means a rebuild is necessary, and should cost t least $1000 US to do properly. I'm not that up on Hyundai trannies, but if they are electronically controlled (as most are today) it could just be bad programming or some other minor mechanical issue. You should first replace the tranny fluid at any rate, and a good teardown and inspection are in order. Personally I wouldn't recommend buying any car with a known problem, ask that the current owner ensure a clean bill of health for the tranny out of his own pocket before you purchase it. Get a copy of the transmission shop bill so you can see the diagnosis and what was done to fix any possible problems. There's just no reason to purchase a vehicle like this if it isn't in perfect working condition.

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'03 Corvette Z06
'99 Prelude SH

Sinoed

Hmmm... well I'm hoping its a minor mechanical problem but never having seen or heard this car run its a little tough. I live north of Toronto in Ontario, the car is located in New Jersey. I know fixing cars isn't for everyone but there is a really good reason I'm considering buying this one - price. I can buy this car for a quarter of the cost it should be because it isn't running that well. Even though there is a tremendous amount of paperwork involved & a tall stack of bills to pay with all of the duties & taxes I can't even touch the price here in Canada for the same car, working or not. If I can get the car here I'm ok, my uncle is a mechanic at a dealership, I'm just worried about getting it here! (Its an 8 hour drive).

Ideally I guess I'd drive down and inspect it first, but the car is cheap enough that it doesn't really make it worthwhile.. I did read that a common trouble spot for the 92-95 Elantra's is the kickdown servo located in the bottom of the tranny above the pan. Apparently if this gets out of alignment it causes undue hardship on the solenoids causing fluid to leak, hesitation & harsh shifting. Supposedly, adjusting the kickdown servo can make the problem go away, but there isn't very much literature out there about this at all. Obviously, I'd have to drain the tranny & remove the pan but I'm not exactly sure what they mean by adjusting the servo or how to do it (maybe its best left to a dealership..?)

Thoughts on the servo? Could I drive it for 8 hours.. enough to get it here?

Sinoed

Oops.. one other thing too.. its an auto.