hard shifting 07 Elantra

[unblack]

Hi there,

yesterday I bought a 07 Elantra for my girlfriend here in the US (I live normally in Germany; sorry if my english may be clumsy ).

During the test drive everything was fine. Smooth shifting, absolutely no issues. We had a 2 hour ride back from the car dealer - also without any issues.

This morning when I made another ride I noticed that the tranny shifted very hard, always with a little impact. After one mile it disappeared between the 1st and 2nd gear and after the second mile also between the 2nd and 3rd. Then everything was smooth again.
I parked the car and when I wanted to start again all the control lights only flickered like when the battery is out of power. But there was power obviiously, because everything else worked and after the 10th attempt it started again like nothing happened.

I know that the car stood a while at the dealer (for 3 months), but I'm extremely afraid that I bought a lemon car, even if I have a warranty.
Of course I'll bring it back to the dealer (which would be another 2hr ride again), but does anyone got an idea what the problem could be?

Thanks a lot in advance

Matze

[slyderdai]

any check engine light on? how many miles? automatic transmission?

[unblack]

Check engine light was on but fixed before we had the first ride. The dealer said it was a failed O2-sensor. Since then it never came on again.

It's an automatic transmission, about 29k miles. It already shifts hard when I set it to D or R after starting the engine, but as I wrote after a mile it disappears, so I hope it's just something minor like the tranny fluid or so (but level is fine).

And about the flickering... maybe my girlfriend let the lightswitch on last night and I'm not sure if the positioning lamps stay on in that case (the headlights don't). I don't know if the Elantra has a discharge protection and I have no idea if that could be the issue.
Anyway, the rest of the day it ran fine.

[zero_gravity]

at this point it could be a lot of things...further diagnosis is needed. a fluid flush is always a good idea in cases like this. it eliminates that as a problem which helps towards the diagnosis.

good news is you definitely have warranty so if there is something wrong it will be fixed under that. you may have to be a little persistent with the dealer in getting this fixed however. also check out if maybe this is common. its entirely possible that this is just normal operation of that trans - although i doubt it. my mom got an '07 elantra and has no troubles like what you describe. she'd call me up if there was lol.

if you decide to get a fluid flush also get the filter changed on the off chance that its partially blocked. also check how they are flushing it. many just drop the pan and refill, but this does not totally flush out the trans. you still have old fluid in the torque converter and the cooler which is located inside the bottom of the rad. good ones will use a pump machine to fully clear it out.

finally double check with the shop and your owners manual as to what fluid they are using - wrong fluid is a good way to wreck a transmission. don't take 'this stuff will do' attitude. there are several fluids that are compatible but you should check this compatibility. it is easily checked on the manufacturer's web site.

also note (even write down) exactly when this problem occurs and what you do to make it occur - sounds like when you shift into gear you feel it but not after that. note if its cold startup or not.

P.S. note what the fluid on the dipstick smells like. should not smell burnt, just a lot like an oil or petroleum jelly.