Question about a 1996 elantra

Hi,

My old car had some strange behavior last week. I have an automatic
transmission, and when I was accelerating (from idle) the RPM seemed
to climb very high without changing gears. So (before the engine blew
or something) I released the gaz pedal and it went back to normal when
I started accelerating again. It did so 3-4 times in a row.

I must say that day it was raining, maybe that could've affected. Also
I tried with and without the "power" button near the transmission. The
only thing that seemed to fix my problem was to dis-engage the
"overdrive". After that it never happened again.

I took the car the day after and with or without overdrive it went
well... I just don't know what to think. Do you think the transmission
is slowly dieing?

Thanks!

 

If it didn't act like it was in neutral, it's probably a simpler issu
such as a pulse generator or poor contact in the pulse generato
connector. If the transmission control module doesn't receive prope
information regarding the transmission input and output speeds, it doesn'
know when to properly shift the transmission. This can also happen if th
throttle position sensor provides an erroneous signal, causing th
transmission control module to think you have the accelerator floored

 

No it was really acting as though it was in neutral.
But it's been 2 days it OK.

 

That's not good, then. The range switch and shift cable (and thei
adjustment) as well as the fluid level are suspect, but more likely yo
have a serious transmission problem.

 

Here's your original post:

Now you are saying it acted like it was in neutral. What you describe above
is far from acting like it was in neutral. You are describing a
transmission that is not shifting out of a lower gear. Acting like it was
in neutral would mean that the car never moved. The most important part of
getting help with problems like this is accurate descriptions of the
problem. You might want to backtrack a bit and straighten out the confusion
at this point.

 

Not likely yet HT. Take a look back through - the OP has posted
contradictory descriptions of the problem. Well worth getting the problem
defined again.

 

You're right Mike. Sorry about the contradictions.
It was really acting like it was revving in neutral, (ie not going
faster and faster)
And then it skipped and the transmission entered in function again
(was not in neutral anymore). It did this 2-3 times at low speed. Once
the 3rd gear was on, the problem was not noticeable.
Thanks guys!

 

Just to make sure everyone understood, the car was moving, but not
accelerating. Like if I was pressing the pedal in the neutral position.

 

So - to me, acting like it was in neutral would imply that it was coasting
to a stop. Did it appear to lose speed, or just not accelerate any further.
If the latter, then I'd suggest that the car was at a shift point, but not
shifting.

Sometimes the semantics are the hardest part...

 

Wow that's really hard to answer. It's not like it stayed like that
for a minute. It was a question of seconds (like 2 or 3).
Yesterday I was driving and put my transmission to neutral while
moving. It was approximately the same thing.
But it would need to happen again for me to really answer your
question... (and I don't want that to happen haha)

 

So, the next time, while it is acting up, take your foot off the gas and let
the car slow down 5-10 mph. Then, accelerate again. Does the car
accelerate, or not? If it does, then it sounds like the car is simply at a
shift point (what are the RPM's when this is happening?), but not shifting.
You reach a point in any gear, where the car runs out of the ability to
accelerate any further. If it does not, then it sounds like transmission
slippage and that would be costly.

You are really at a point though where you have to define the problem more
thoroughly. It's impossible to make any determinations from what you've
been able to describe to-date. I do not remember from previous posts - have
you had the transmission scanned? That would be a first order of business.

 

"So, the next time, while it is acting up, take your foot off the gas an
let the car slow down 5-10 mph. Then, accelerate again. Does the car
accelerate, or not? If it does, then it sounds like the car is simply a
a shift point (what are the RPM's when this is happening?), but not
shifting."

This isn't necessarily true and isn't terribly helpful as a diagnosti
tool. While it's true that it could be an extended shift, one element o
the transmission could be slipping, causing for example, third gear t
slip. Upon slowing down to 10-15 MPH and accelerating, it's unlikely th
car will still be in third gear and will accelerate normally again unti
it tries shifting into third. Either scenario, however, doesn't bod
well. Most likely, it's an internal transmission problem.

 

No - I suggested simply slowing down 5-10mph. The issue I'm having is
understanding exactly what the OP is trying to say. I'm confused by the
different reports.

 

Well well my friends, I'm back.
Guess what, today it was raining again ... so here came the slippage
thing with it.
When the transmission slips Mike, I'm at 10mph ALREADY. The problem is
located between the 1rst and 2nd gear since when I start going faster
the car behaves well.. I really think it's more of a transmission
problem.

When I let go of the pedal for like 5 seconds and I press again the
car starts accelerating but BANG! Shifts up (or down) at a bad moment
and the car don't like it. (ouch). It did that 3-4 times today. And
then it was okay again.

 

I don't know. I'm not so certain now. Depending on the problem, the TC
may fail to shift the car into second gear when appropriate, resulting o
very high rpms until the TCM realizes there's a problem, and then i
abruptly shifts the car into third. I'm with Mike on this. You shoul
take the car to a professional (preferably a dealer-- they probably won'
want to toss a reman or do a rebuild for every possible problem-- t
experience the issue and perform a diagnosis

 

Could it be transmission oil ?
I'll try to take it to the garage on saturday

 

If it's low, possibly. I'd expect Canadian Tire to be competent i
checking fluid levels, though. Of course, you could always check i
yourself per the procedure in the owner's manual (fluid hot, vehicl
idling in neutral on level ground with parking brake applied)

 

Sorry. Confused this thread with another. Please disregard the Canadia
Tire reference in the previous reply

 

Thanks hyundaitech, I'll make a quick check this afternoon

 

I wonder if the rain has something to do with it of if it is just a
coincidence. Maybe an electrical contact that causes problems with
high humidity?

Rob