I drive a 2004 Hyundai Elantra that I bought new. Until now I've been driving trouble free. Sometimes while driving when I give the car more gasto excelerate, I hear the car run real hard as if it's inneutral for a moment or two before it suddenly reacts. My car has 59,000 miles on it.

 

Hello. Is your car a manual or automatic? If its a manual, it could be a worn clutch. If its an automatic, it could be internal trans slipping or torque converter problem. Manual trans can do that if the clutch is worn and not fully disengaging. With 59,000 miles on an original clutch, might be time for a new one. If its an automatic and slipping, may be pricey to fix.

 

Uh Oh, it's an automatic. I hate the word "pricey"! And unfortunately it 's the only term I understood, "internal trans slipping or torque converter" went right over my head. I'll see if I can take it in to be looked at by a professional this evening.

Maybe it will be something covered by the warranty.

 

Have you check the fluid level in the transmission? The clutch packs inside the tranny will slip if the pump is starved for fluid and cannot maintain operating pressure when you stomp on the accelerator. Read your owner's manual on the correct procedure, but most cars are checked with the engine idling and the tranny selector in park or neutral. Look on both sides of the dip stick, it may have marks on one side for a cold transmission, marks on the other side for one that's been warmed up. If the ATF level is good, then you have other internal issues to contend with. I'm guessing you will not find any fluid on the dip stick at all. The required fluid is Hyundai/Kia/Mitsubishi SP-III. The transmission may still be under warrenty, so you may not wish to add anything other than SP-III to the tranny. However, if you've run this machine 59K without routine service on the transmission, the dealer may say the warrenty is void anyway.

IF the tranny fluid is low AND you plan on taking it to a shop AND you don't have the SP-III on hand AND you been told the warrenty is void, I would top off the tranny with a Chrysler +3 compatable fluid (maybe Dextron III if that's all you can find) and drive the car to the shop. Avoid your "exceleration". Neither the +3 or Dextron III are the proper fluid, but any lubrication is better than running the tranny on the dry side for a relatively short distant. Tell the shop what you've found and what you've done. At the very least, the tranny will a need a full flush service with SP-III.