I’m Kapoho with the same 2011 Elantra with phantom harsh shifting problem in Jan 2015. On Feb 2, 2015, Hyundai finally fixed the problem with exactly the solutions posted by Car Talk responders in Jan- Feb 2015. No problems since the Feb repairs.
Yesterday the Elantra began surging and nearly stalling out on acceleration after about 20-25 minutes driving. I was barely able to drive the car home; when pulling into the garage, there was a strong smell of something hot. Temperature gauge indicated normal engine temp; no icons lit on the dash indicating a problem.
The car was towed to Boise Hyundai dealership to hopefully find out what’s wrong with the car now on Monday when I talk with my Service representative to trouble shoot the problem.
Is anyone familiar with this surging/nearly stalling and overheating problem and is it related to other Elantra engine, trans, fuel system-related problems? I can’t find anything specific while web surfing today for some clues!
Here is a recall that may pertain to the problems you are having. Hope this helps. Recall Date: SEP 11, 2000 Model Affected: 1999 HYUNDAI ELANTRA Summary: VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SOME SONATA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.5 LITER V-6 ENGINES AND ALL ELANTRA MODEL VEHICLES MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT LOW-SPEED ENGINE STALLING, WHICH COULD OCCUR IF THE MAF (MASS AIR FLOW) SENSOR ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IS INTERRUPTED AS A RESULT OF ENGINE VIBRATION TRANSMITTED TO THE MAF SENSOR CONNECTOR WIRING HARNESS. Consequence: THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. Remedy: DEALERS WILL RE-ROUTE THE MAF SENSOR CONNECTOR WIRING HARNESS. Potential Units Affected: 165977
Barkydog - yes the elantra’s still under warranty.
knfenimore - yes, i saw the recall you mention will print it out. I didn’t know if it would apply to a 2011.
Thanks to both responders. In Feb, it was Car Talk responses andinput that paid off to solve the harsh shifting problem!
Why can’t the shop techs figure out what is wrong with these Elantras? Aren’t the on-board computers showing any pertinent information/codes? I’m at a loss that Car Talk responders have better knowledge than Hyundai technicians and service rep!
The recall may not be listed for your vehicle, but I have seen many time that affected cars are not recalled. I guess they want to save money on the reacall and hope that only a few cars have the problem.
I hate burned smells because of the catalytic converter. Things can get expensive if you have fuel or ignition problems for even a few days. Sometimes you find too few clues and other times you get buried by clues and hints from Heloise. Today is your lucky day because I won’t add to the confusion. The seventies called and I’m going back there.
I found several creditable web entires today agreeing with knfenimore ID-ing possible problem as the MAF, mass air flow. This should be a good starting point tomorrow at shop to trouble shoot and solve. No, there haven’t been too many hints this time at what the problem may be.
Having the shop techs get to the bottom of the hot odor must also be solved. The car was only driven about 20 minutes an 4-5 miles yesterdy when I limped it home into the garage.
I’ll post results of what happens tomorrow. I intend to be pleasant but assertive with Customer Service tomorrow - Sonia and I have a 10 yr relationship from when she worked in CS at Chevy across the street from Boise Hyundai dealership so it’s not some anonymous rep. But she works the dealership and I have to represent my interest to get the car fixed!
Yesterday my Hyundai customer service rep told me they could NOT duplicate the surging/stalling problem and NO codes were detected when the Elantra was hooked to the computer. She said the shop drove the car to normal engine temperature several times and the car would not surge/stall.
The 2-2-15 repair order did include replacement of the tranmission temperature sensor per TSB. On that date they also replaced the harness and gasket-valve body and drained/filled the ATF.
Today she was having her best shop mechanic trouble-shoot the problem and drive the car home tonight as he lives 25 miles from the shop.
I told her I can’t live with a 2nd phantom problem and plan to trade the Elantra in for a non-Hyundai vehicle not connected to the Hyundai dealership when I get the car back. Owning an Elantra with less than 48K miles on it, fearful to drive it across town is NOT acceptable. This is going to cost several thousant dollars that I’ll lose replacing this vehicle. At least it Blue Books at $11,500 and about $9,500 as trade it. If the car won’t show the codes, hopefully I can get rid of it this way.
I suspect you already know this, but there are a lot of potential causes for this kind of symptom and if the car doesn’t exhibit it at the shop they’re going to have a difficult time to fix it. I think it is remarkable that they offered to have one of the staff mechanics drive the car home overnight and back the next morning. I’d give them a plus for that. Remember, they didn’t design or build the car, they are just trying to help you get it fixed to your satisfaction.
And it’s only 4 years old, so whatever the problem is, it probably isn’t a serious one. Just difficult to diagnose. It is very odd though that there’s no codes stored for this “bad-car” behavior. Did you ask if they checked for transmission codes too?
If I had to make a guess, on the basis that you noticed an unusual “hot” odor, by which I think you mean a “burnt” smell … hmm … well, I’m thinking you still have some kind of a problem with the transmission. It may be necessary to exactly duplicate the drive you had the day you had to have the car towed, as there may be a certain sequence of transmission shifts and certain loads to make it occur.
I guess if I had this problem myself the first thing I’d do is check to make sure the transmission fluid is at the correct level. I presume the dealership shop has already done that. But it wouldn’t hurt to double check that they have. On some newer cars doing this job is quite a time consuming chore.
Finally, if I had this problem I’d check out what the Consumer Reports Reliability Guide has to say about this make/model/year. It lists known issues, and what the manufacturers are doing about these issues. Extended warranties, pro-active services, etc. Sometimes the dealership are not required to offer these free-bee’s unless the customer asks for them. I haven’t seen that Guide in the bookstores lately, but maybe libraries have it. It was widely available last winter.
I’ll ask about transmission codes this morning and if ATF was checked.
The travel route can be easily duplicated when I get the car including time of day/temperature. Simple errand run in the neighborood, driving 5-6 miles for 20-25 minutes. By that time, the engine was at normal temperature.
Agreed, other Elantra owners need to know about the outcome on this current phantom problem.
No, the problemm was not solved yesterday or this morning with technician driving the vehicle home last night for a 50 mile round trip. The Elantra did not not duplicate the problem. Yesterday, he re-checked the computer for indications from codes, none were detected.
The “check engine” indicator never lit up, not with the harsh shifting problem Sept 2014-Feb 2015, nor with the current surging/stalling problem. With the excellent input from Car Talk responders to the harsh shifting problem, the Elantra was repaired in February with the solution proposed by the Car Talk responders.
There is something vital that Hyundai missed/skipped or whatever. My Chevy Cavalier always indicated when there was a mechanical problem during the time I owned that vehicle from 2002-2012 when I traded it in at 210K miles for this 2011 Hyundai Elantra. The “check engine” has never shown up on this Elantra.
I am done with this Hyundai product. I’m completely dissatisfied with Hyundai and would not recommend purchasing from Hyundai.