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Shifter / gear select hard to move

86K views 43 replies 18 participants last post by  Dog Patch Steve 
#1 ·
Got in to go to work this am, and the gear shifter was difficult to move.

Any ideas on what to check?

I drove 70 miles to work and didn't seem like any issues with the transmission shifting.

Got in to go to lunch and it seems even more difficult to move...

Shifting back and forth in the selector seems to loosen things up a little.

A friend move the selector while I looked at the linkage and the bracket that support the cable is flexing while shifting between gears....More likely a transmission issue or something with the linkage?

Did quite a bit of good searching and didn't come up with much.
 
#2 ·
Well my problem went from bad to worse pretty quick.

I drove home and when I tried to put it in Park it was very difficult.

I decided to see if I could get it out of park and I hear a pop.

It came out of park, but can't get it back into park now.

Any suggestions on what to check appreciated.

Thanks ahead.
 
#4 ·
Going to take this one to my mechanic down the road.

Weather is terrible today and my garage is not available to work in.

Will report back the findings in case someone else runs into this.

Irony on this is that I've always had a pet peeve of applying the parking brake in neautral and making sure it was holding the car before putting in park.
 
#5 ·
The selector shaft is seizing in the a/t case where it pass into the case.. seen a handfull in the past couple yr here..

If you original owner, then dealer can pass it off as 10/100 powertrain and you get a re-man Hyundai supplied trans

Parking brake has nothing to do with this problem, it is exposure to elements
 
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#6 ·
Thanks sbr711...you are always very helpful.

Haven't got to talk to my local mechanic yet, but I called the dealer and he said that they can't cover it under power train.

He said they take it apart, clean it up and put everything back together, $150 labor.

I'm worried about the pop I heard though, taking it down to my local guy today, it completely seized up in Neutral and I couldn't even get it in drive.

Hoping I didn't do something catastrophic.

Is the the selector shaft itself a part you can buy from Hyundai?

Guessing if that sheared off though, the gear shifter would of been easy to move.

Is there a babbitted seal or something where it passes through into the transmission? Or is there bushing that is replaceable?
 
#7 ·
"Case and all internal parts; axle shafts (front/rear); constant velocity joints; front/rear hub bearings; propeller shafts; seals and gaskets; torque converter and converter housing; transfer case for AWD models; and rear differential."

Still, the dealer is being pretty cheap if they won't cover this for you.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I agree, though not sure what recourse I have.

I'm over 100K (127K), so I really don't have much ground to stand on.....other than begging for them to help me.

I do all my own service and have never had it back to the stealership except for warranty work, so unfortunately I don't have much of a relationship with them to lean on.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, sorry I left that little tid bit out....I am going down to my local mechanic now to let him know what has been suggested here and what the dealer said. Want to give him that input to help him out in is trouble shooting.

Will let you guys know how this one ends up.

SBR711, if you see my other questions on weather these parts are available to replace....and if it's a babitted type seal....would appreciate any input you have.

Appreciate the help from this forum guys.
 
#11 ·
Got the car back tonight already.

As SBR711 said, the selector shaft was seized up.

I would like to see a drawing of the linkage and the shaft to fully understand what was involved, but the basic idea was that he was able to use some PB blaster and it eventually broke free and loosen up.

You need to pull your battery and the battery support bracket to get to it.

Was about what the dealer described. My local mechanic is a great guy, only charged me an hr labor.... $50.

Was glad that I stopped back down to tell him what you guys said it probably was. I think it helped save him a little time trouble shooting it and figuring out how to fix it.
 
#12 ·



45940B -- Shaft assembly, manual control... just fit in case bore, shift arm just rotates plate that moves spool valve in valve body,, maybe take old part out and polish it again, or just buy new part at $45 and couple hr labor to get side pan off, valve body and not sure what hold shaft in place though, and install 2 new o-ring from looks of picture, and use a high quality lube on re-assemble,, maybe MOBIL-1 synthetic grease


45266A says o-ring... $1.60

45945 says o-ring... $1.60
 
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#13 ·
+1. I was pointing out the "Lever Control" (45932B in my earlier post. That's the piece on the top of that shaft that's supposed to move (if the shaft isn't bound up!). Interesting. That is now the 2nd one of those I've seen/heard. Need to keep a watch on that here.
 
#14 ·
Pretty sure that 45932B it actually secured via the nut onto the 45940B. The shaft on the 45940 B is what I understand was bound up where it goes through the case.

My mechanic was referring to a neutral safety switch. Is that shown on this diagram?

You can't see it very good without taking the battery and battery support bracket out, so I'm not 100% sure on this.

At my next oil change I plan to pull the battery/ battery support bracket out to take a good look at it and re-lube it.
 
#34 ·
The keyed stud on the end of the shift cable that goes into the transaxle shift lever has to rotate as the cable moves back and forth. When I changed my range switch, it was very stiff. I tried to lube it and work it loose with limited success. I did not feel like pulling the console apart so I left it. That has to contribute to stiff shifting. With the OP's problem, the first thing I would do is separate the cable from the shift lever and see what is jammed. I doubt if junk between the lever and the range switch could jam the trans but I would check. With the cable off I would manually unlock the the shifter and see if it shifts. Once sparated, you can see if it is the trans or the linkage. Hopefully, it is the linkage.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
#19 ·
I wounder if i have the same problems?

Hello.

Now I think I have located the problem after a lot of ifs and buts. I loosened the console and looked down at the shift lever. Loosened wire from the switch pointing and know when it is sluggish and want to spring back against the engine's direction. This means that it wants to jump out of the drive mode and not go in parking mode when the situation is further forward than what spken reaches to.

Does anyone know or have any Anning what could be wrong? Can add that I tried to pull the wire with pliers and then it worked, but it went very slow.

tried to anoint it with no results. is there any mechanical thing on the gearbox that can be hung?


did you find the problem?

insert an image.

/ memike
 
#24 ·
Ressurecting This Thread For Help



I am experiencing the same problem others have described in this thread. I was able to get my 2007 Santa Fe home after noticing it was hard to shift out of park and into drive. Now it is stuck in park. Having accessed the part noted in the diagram, what is the best way to lube this site to see if I can get it loosened up? I am not sure what happens if I loosen the nut on top to lubricate that section, and what should I use for lubricating? Am I running the risk of not having something calibrated as far as tension on a cable that would goof up the shifter once I get it loose? Any help is appreciated, thanks.
 
#25 ·
I am experiencing the same issue. I have 2008 Santa Fe 3.3 AWD with 146000 miles. I went ot take it out of the garage this weekend and noticed all of a sudden the the shifter is really stiff and it wouldn't shift into Drive and stayed in neurtral. Moved it back and forth through park and drive and finally got it into drive. It worked the rest of the weekend, but it is stiff (not as stiff as before). So from what everyone is saying, it seems like the selector shaft needs lubricated..... Going to try that and see if it works.
 
#26 ·
When you say "IN the case"........do you possibly mean "AT" the case?

It's been my experience that these kinds of shaft/cable assemblies WILL often seize due to "exposure/poor lubrication".....but by the nature of the design, the seizure usually takes place and/or is caused by deterioration OUTSIDE the actual case or housing that the shaft or cable is leading to, because that's where the majority of the exposure....and therefore the corrosion takes place.

What I'm beating around the bush to saying is, "I HAVE this problem...and I'm hoping that once I remove my battery (and whatever else is down there blocking the view) that I may be able to just replace this cable/shaft/however Hyundai describes it.

Anybody got any thoughts on that? Or perhaps actually "been there, done that"?

Thanks for any comments.
 
#27 ·
When you say "IN the case"........do you possibly mean "AT" the case?

It's been my experience that these kinds of shaft/cable assemblies WILL often seize due to "exposure/poor lubrication".....but by the nature of the design, the seizure usually takes place and/or is caused by deterioration OUTSIDE the actual case or housing that the shaft or cable is leading to, because that's where the majority of the exposure....and therefore the corrosion takes place.

What I'm beating around the bush to saying is, "I HAVE this problem...and I'm hoping that once I remove my battery (and whatever else is down there blocking the view) that I may be able to just replace this cable/shaft/however Hyundai describes it.

Anybody got any thoughts on that? Or perhaps actually "been there, done that"?

Thanks for any comments.
 
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