Hello everyone,

My girlfriends 2007 Accect has started YET ANOTHER problem.....

Let's start with the basics:
2007 Accent-Hatchback
50,000 miles
Automatic Transmission - 3 speed? 4 speed?

Normal operation:
Put the car into Drive (or any gear) and it will make a few small noises and gracefully go into gear. When in drive if you take your foot off the brake the car will start to creep forward.

The problem:
Every once in awhile when she puts it in Drive (or any gear) it will do this very dramatic 'thud' that you feel through the car. In addition to that if you put it in drive and take your foot off the brake the car will not move. If you then press on the gas peddle the car will not move until it is at like 2500-3000RPM (almost like when on a manual car the clutch is slipping). When this happened she would turn the car off for 10sec, start it, and things would be back to normal.

I spoke with a friend who has worked at a dealership for years and she strongly advised that I change the Trans. fluid by just draining it and filling it. I did this using the Hyaudni trans fluid and removed about 3Qt. which looked pretty dirty and re-filled it with 3qt (checking the stick according to directions).

My girlfriend and I thought this had resolved the problem but she just called me to say that the car was doing it again and she had tried the 'restart solution' 3 times and it was still not working correctly.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ian

 

I'm fairly sure the trans is a 4-speed auto and there is way more than 3 quarts of trans fluid in the system. You only removed a small portion.

Was this the first time the trans was serviced? The trans fluid should be changed every 30K miles. Your girlfriends Accent is 20K miles overdue.

I would suggest getting a transmission flush. A flush is more complete than just a pan drain. A flush disconnects the transmission fluid lines from the trans cooler and hooks up to a special machine that pumps out all the fluid in the valve body and torque converter (something like 11 quarts) and refilles it with 100% new fluid.

 

I know that 3Qt. is only about 1/2 of the entire amount of trans-fluid (read about 5.7Qt total). But my friend at the dealership said that all they do for the 30K service is a 'drain & fill'.

I know that at 50K I was 20K over on the 'service'/'drain & fill'. But I do not have a garage and was unable to get this done over the winter season.

I suggested doing a transmission flush but my friend said that they have had issues with some transmissions, the flush-services will cause more problems. Has anyone else done a flush-service on their accent?

Thanks,
Ian

 

If you don't want to pay for the full flush, the alternative is to change the fluid in the pan about 5 times. You wind up with about 1.5% old fluid. Fluid capacity is actually 6.5 quarts or less according to Amsoil. Shop around for the fluid, prices vary wildly from dealer to dealer. Only use Hyundai spec SP III fluid. Change the fluid, drive around for a week, repeat 5 times.

 

I don't mind paying for the transmission flush, I'll gladly pay if it will solve the problem.

My concern is that my friend at the dealership noting that it may/can/commonly? cause more problems. At this point though I suppose it couldn't hurt anything if I get it flushed.

Again: Has anyone on here had any issues with doing the transmission flush?

Thanks,
Ian

 

It depends on the flush they do. Some flushes use a acidic cleaner fluid which is supposed to dissolve the gunk which forms. It could foul up the precision valves which control the shifting. Other flushes just use regular fluid, which is ok.

The other problem is that unless you take it to the dealer and do the flush, third party shops want to use a "universal" fluid, which is a dodgy prospect.

That's why I recommend the DIY drain and fill method. It's as easy as an oil change if there's a drain plug, and you know you got the correct fluid if you buy from Hyundai.

 

Gotcha, I have a friend with a shop that MAY have one of these transmission flush machines. Maybe I could have him do it with Hyundai fluid?

I just spoke with my friend at the dealership and was advised by her to bring the car to a dealership. She said things were sounding like the transmission may be bad.

Keep the suggestions/questions coming though, it can't hurt to have more information. I will basically run all the information by my girlfriend and let her figure out what she wants to do.

Thanks,
Ian

 

Sounds like the valve bodies are sticking, a common problem with dirty fluid. That's why you change the fluid. I'd do all I could to change the fluid before I let them "fix" the trans.

Auto trans repair had the worst success of any service known to man (according to Consumer Reports). I'd get a "newsed" trans from a junkyard before I let some wrench bender "fix" my auto trans.

 

Sounds like you didn't do the 30K trans fluid change. I would be willing to bet the dealer is going to say you voided the warranty, and won't fix the trans under warranty. It's worth asking them, though.

 

Ya, I'm pretty much ready for them to say that the warentee is void. Thus far the dealership has proved to do nothing for me....they are however really good at a saying 'sorry your warentee is void'.

If I recall according to the owners manual under 'normal use' the trans. fluid does not get serviced till 60K? If that is true would it not be void?

Ian