Our 2004 Sata Fe with the 2.7L V6 and auto transmission has been a great car for us, with 230,000 miles so far and no major problems. But now it won't shift out of 2nd gear. One shop says it might be a sensor problem, another says it is because the catalytic converter is shot. We've checked the trans fluid and the levels are good and the fliud is clean.

I have read that if the cat converter is clogged up it can trigger an error code in the computer that causes the trans to go into "limp home" mode to avoid overheating and potentially cause damage to the trans. I've also heard that a clogged converter can cause the engine to lose so much power that the trans can't physically shift up. Of course, at 230K it's quite possible the trans is going out, but I'd like to make sure that's really the problem before sinking a ton of money into a rebuild I might not need.

Can a cat converter cause trans problems like this, and if so, how much should I expect to spend to get the emission system replaced?

 

Scan it for fault code and report back.. guessing gets expensive

 

... looks VERY similar to the symptoms on my wife's car!!


Thanks