Automatic 02 Sante Fe having trouble shifting
 

Hello. I am new to the forum. This seems to be an interesting and informative site.

I have a 2002 Sante Fe (6 cylinder). It is having trouble shifting from one gear to another, especially when I go up a hill. In general, the engine is not shifting smoothly when I need extra power. It is ok when not too stressed.

Anyone have an idea on this? I hope I do not have to replace the transmission.

Thanks!

RE: Automatic 02 Sante Fe having trouble shifting
 

How many miles on it and do you know the maintenance history. Are you the original owner? If so you do have 10yr/100k warranty on power train. If that does not apply, then when was the last time the tranny was serviced? Fluid and filter change and you can not use other than Hyundai's tranny fluid. It's a "secret" formula.

RE: Automatic 02 Sante Fe having trouble shifting
 

It has 102,000 miles on it, andI am the original owner. When the problem began, I added transmission fluid. The fluid was not the Hyundai "secret formula". I went to Autozone and used what they recommended. Could this be the problem?

Additionally, I have not had the transmission serviced (although the engine was replaced under warranty - a long story). Does the transmission service have to becompleted at the dealer?

Thanks!

RE: Automatic 02 Sante Fe having trouble shifting
 

When I purchased my 07 Santa Fe and aske if I can use AT fluids such as Chevron Mercon III or higher, the tech said in an emergency yes, but then it has to be drained and the Hyundai ATF replaced asap. I know that other manufacturers have special ATF that is compatible with their tranny and some require friction additives, e.g. Ford Explorers. Your tranny should have been serviced, i.e. drained and fluid replaced every 30K. using the Hyundai ATF.

Drain and replace with, I think 9 qts of Hyundai ATF, replace the filterand see if it fixes the problem. I know $54. sounds a lot for fluid, but a lot cheaper than a tranny. These modern trannys shift by wire, i.e. computers and selenoids and are sensitive to regular maintenance and the proper fluids.

RE: Automatic 02 Sante Fe having trouble shifting
 

At 102K miles the warranty is expired so at this point anyone can service the tranny. Even under warranty, Hyundai does not have to do the service, but if the wrong fluid, filter or aftermarket parts are used, and you have acomponent failure,it gives Hyundai a way out of the warranty.

If you end up having to replace the tranny, it has to be retrained, programed, that basically requires you to drive the car with the tps open at approx 30 degrees and go through the various gears. Then increase the speed and do it again. If you look at the SantaFe TBS on HMAservice.com, it gives the procedure. Good Luck.

RE: Automatic 02 Sante Fe having trouble shifting
 

Now you know as a vehicle gets miles on it the clutches start to wear. Whenever doing a 60k service or so you might want to reset the adaptive values. Now what is adaptive values. It is what the tcm has learned over so many trips.In easy terms as clutches wear you have to clear the memory and let the shift duty relearn. Now some easy way of doing this is disconnecting the negative ( older models) not new. Hit the brake for about 30 seconds, best way is to disconnect both terminals and put a test light in between on the cable side for about a minute. Now after reconnecting test drive vehicle at 25% tps throttle and let it go through all gears .Do this about 4 times.After that go to about 45% tps throttle and repeat. As for your vehicle at hand, I would have a diagnostic ran on it and make sure there is no codes in the tcm. If so fix this first.You could have an output or input speed sensor malfunction.Pretty common on high mileage vehicles.