Auto trans question on 04 Sonata

My Hyundai dealer tells me this is normal, but I was wondering what
some other Hyundai owners think. My Sonata never seems to downshift
into 2nd gear, It will drop right from 3rd into 1st. Makes it kind of
sluggish when I'm in 3rd and should be in 2nd.

For example, when I pull up to a red light, and I'm going about 5- mph
and the light changes, I'm still in 3rd gear, and if I'm on a hill,I
have no power. To prove my point, I put the transmission into
Shiftronic (or whatever it's called) and I can actually watch it
downshift. from 4th, into 3rd, VERY rarely into 2nd, then into 1st.
But 99% of the time, it goes from 3rd, and never into 2nd, and drops
right into 1st.

Could some other Sonata owners let me know if their Sonata does the
same, or does it shift like a normal transmission should?

I just spent $451 on my 30,000 mile checkup. Had a bad speed sensor,
or something, but that didn't correct the problem.

 

When in shiftronic, your car won't downshift like it normally does. Based
on your description, I have some concern, but don't have a really good
idea what it's doing. Once you step on the gas, the trans should shift
into the gear appropriate for your acceleration and speed. On the other
hand, while decelerating and off the gas, it'll tend to remain in as high
a gear as possible.

 

I can feel it doing the same, not downshifting properly, even when not
in shiftronic. It will however, downshift, if I really press the
accelerator, but in any other car I've had, I never had to do that to
that extent. I would think that if you are going about 10 mph, 3rd
gear is not the correct gear for that.

I'm hoping they honor the warranty when my transmission finally does
fail. I just hope it does it before my 100,000 miles are up

Another problem, which I think is related is that when going up a
slight grade, and the transmission needs to shift, it feels as if it
slips then bangs into the lower gear. This problem has been happening
since day one also, but they insist there is nothing wrong.

 

I find any slip-bang description disturbing. Is this intermittent? Has
the dealer duplicated it?

If you really believe you have an issue and the dealer has told you it is
normal, you should probably take your car to another dealer for a second
opinion.

As long as you service your transmission properly, you should have no
issues with Hyundai honoring the warranty.

 

It's intermittent. It always happens on the same roads in the same
place on the road. Using a slight grade and making a slight turn. I'm
not sure what it's doing, but I think it's downshifting from 3rd to
2nd, or maybe from 4th to 3rd. I need to be going about 25-30 mph. Any
slower or any fast and it's fine.

The dealer hasn't been able to duplicate it. If they kept the car for
a whole day, I think they could. I actually went to a different dealer
for my 30,000 mile check up. There was no way I was giving the dealer
I bought the car from another dime. They treat you like you don't know
what you're talking about when you go in with a problem.

I told the 2nd dealer about the problem, but I think they thought
replacing the failed 'output speed sensor' (check engine light was on)
fixed the problem, but it didn't make one bit of difference other then
my check engine light is now out

 

If you like the second dealer, take the car back to them and give them
specific instructions about what is necessary to make the condition occur,
or, even better, take one of their technicians on a drive and point it out
to him (if that's possible). You should be aware that if they need to
drive the car for an extended period of time, that you'll probably need to
make some sacrifices. Hyundai won't pay them for extended test drives.
One of the things we do is to drive the customer's car home overnight
(with the customer's permission, of course) in order to make a
significantly longer test drive. If this is okay with you, make it a
point to tell them it's okay when you drop off the car. That way, they'll
know you really want them to duplicate the problem and are willing to take
some of the steps necessary for them to do so.