The alignment tool is 5mm

 

Can't figure out how to edit. 3/16 drill bit also works.

 

Nice job. I would add to grease it with something water repellent. When I encounter things like this I coat them with dielectric grease. It is tenacious, will stay there a long time and water rolls off it like a duck's back.

Very nice write-up!

 

I was kind of worried about loading the shaft with grease. I guess time will tell. If I do encounter this issue again, I'll make sure to soak the shaft in penetrant and then apply grease to the shaft to prevent any contaminant entry. Fingers crossed that I never have to encounter this procedure again lol

 

Great job; clear pictures w/ descriptive labels and clear narratives

Questions:
- Any danger in the selector shaft (p/n 45940B) falling down and below the detent spring (p/n 45950A) while cleaning it up?
- Is p/n 45266A a washer or the case bushing?
- Does the selector wing (45932B) bottom out on the shoulders of the selector shaft or does the inhibitor switch (45956B) have a spacer bushing in it to prevent the switch from binding when the nut is torqued down?

Noticed all incidents involve early CMs. Wonder if issue has been fixed by redesign, or does 3.5 use a different transmission, or have we not been exposed to the elements long enough for the issue to start showing up.

 

Very good questions!

Question 1- that sucker isn't moving. I wouldn't take a hammer to it to test out that theory though lol.
Question 2- That's definitely something inside the case. Not 100% sure on what it is. Maybe someone can chime in.
Question 3- the inhibitor switch has a larger bore hole so it sits on the lower portion of the shaft. The selector wing has a smaller bore hole and sits a bit above it. If you look at the photo of the shaft, it's beveled a bit to hold the selector wing.

i believe the 3.5L has a different transmission. Most older model CMs are nearing 10 years of age so I wouldn't be surprised if we get more people with this issue. Hopefully this thread helps future members.

 

Thanks, Pawalek.. This will help many, especially the ones who haven't run into the problem - yet.

As a dry lubricant/antisieze application, one or two wraps of teflon tape (usually used on pipe threads) can be very good to help put things back together. As a bonus, since it's not wet it won't attract and hold dirt or moisture. It's not only for pipes. It can be used on any threaded fasteners.

.

 

Nice! Thanks for taking the time to give back and update us! Definitely add anti-seize or grease for longevity...


Cheers

 

Very nicely done write up and good photos. Thanks for taking the time and effort to help the rest of us out.

 

From the photo the inhibitor switch seems clear of the arm being removed. Hence at a loss why disconnecting it is required. My vehicle is used pretty often and wondering if the problem of it tightening up is due to infrequent use?

In other vehicles I have seen the bolts used to hold the battery base extremely well rusted. Always one holding it that won't come out no matter what is done. Nothing short of hacking the plastic will get it out as in one case a clip under with a bolt through was spinning. I am in Canada and removing that is sure to be pretty trying step to even reach the assembly.

 

This was done on a Canadian vehicle with 200k km. The bolts will be rusted in our case. More severely then vehicles located south. Rust penetrant is your friend here in Canada.

 

can I spray under the batt. case with the batt. in the car ??

 

hey can I just spary under the batt. case with batt. still in the car ? befor the rust.? Buster

 

No... it's not possible.

 

If thr batt. was taken out and making a small hole in the case to spray under it ?

 

No I don't believe you'll actually hit the shaft itself. It's covered by the inhibitor switch.

 

my mechanic figured it out after the wife's '07 3.3 AWD seized in our garage in D. Managed to get it out of P using the shift lock bypass, but then it wouldn't select D. CAA rolled it out with the help of a 400lb tow driver, and my mechanic did the rest. Your pictures helped me visualise the work effort. It's due for its 250k oil change in a few weeks, and he'll inspect and lube again to make sure it doesn't happen again. I'll also be sure to remove the battery, tray and blow out the area next time I detail the engine

 

Thanks a Million!

I brought my 2009 Sante Fe to the dealer for the frozen shift rod and they said it needed a new transmission! I had already seen your post so I knew that it didn't but since the car was far from home I had it towed to a transmission dealer and they wouldn't spend the time to soak and clean it up and wanted to put a new transmission in! I had to get it towed home and fix it myself and holy cow was that all seized/rusted up. I had to extract the inhibitor switch bolts since one of the places broke them but it is all good now. The inhibitor was so seized on I needed to use a 3ft crow bar to loosen it after soaking it for 3 days. Not an easy job but with patience and care it can be done. Now I know to soak up my other Sante Fe before it happens to that one too. Thanks so much for the PERFECT directions!

 

Hi I'm new to the forum and running into this issue on my gfs 07 Sante Fe AWB with 2.7L. I can't seem to view the pictures in the original post. They are telling me the same "you need a new trans story" and I'm fairly confident that she just needs the shaft to be freed up. I plan to do this myself and the pictures would be a great help.

 

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here in case someone else finds this thread.

I've been working on cars (my personal and occasionally friends'- not professionally, as far as doing engine and tranny rebuilds/swaps) for about 20 years but still learned a few things from fixing my family member's 09 Santa Fe 2.7 FWD with 110k miles. Symptoms were similar, check engine light and no start. I replaced the inhibitor switch back in May, it worked fine for about 4 months. Then the car wouldn't stay in drive! I must have played with this, readjusting the inhibitor switch and the linkage for 4 hours cumulative. If I went one way the shifter wouldn't line up and would pop out of drive, if I went the other way the car wouldn't start or P wouldn't show up in the indicator. To my wits end, finally stumbled upon this thread

Lessons learned-
- the key (for my situation) was to do the penetrating oil of the shaft then moving it around. As seen in the attached picture- I did this a few times, each time starting at a different position and spraying PB blaster. A bunch of rust came out! I kept doing this until no more rust came out and then let it sit overnight and did it again.

- Always use the drill bit/5 mm bolt to align the inhibitor switch to the metal "wing" in Neutral and keep it there where tightening both its 10 mm bolts AND the 12 mm linkage nut
I made the mistake of attempting to line it up visually- then when I tightened it down, it must have shifted the position ever so slightly, which brings me to:

- They weren't joking when it was mentioned the inhibitor switch is very touchy- I estimate I adjusted it 1/32" rotation and that was all it took from a no start condition to starting reliably.

 

Any quick fix

I just posted today in the Tucson JM forum for 05 Tucson, 81k, 2.0L and 10 years in very dry rust free climate. No room for me to do the work described, but then mine seems not as bad as most listed here. What are the chances my local shop can on the 2.0L simply lube the cable and that be the fix? Anyone get lucky and that work, if not and its more complex I'd prefer to take it to the dealer and let a tranny guy do his thing as he's be more familiar. What do you think, local shop or dealer?

 

I just posted today in the Tucson JM forum for 05 Tucson, 81k, 2.0L and 10 years in very dry rust free climate. No room for me to do the work described, but then mine seems not as bad as most listed here. What are the chances my local shop can on the 2.0L simply lube the cable and that be the fix? Anyone get lucky and that work, if not and its more complex I'd prefer to take it to the dealer and let a tranny guy do his thing as he's be more familiar. What do you think, local shop or dealer?

Never seen cable issue with our cars... always rust / corrosion where selector shaft pass through case gets bound up.. couple adjusters come out and ask to have cable disconnect from arm to show them the shaft is bound up

Dealer level, Hyundai doe not allow us to do internal trans repair, except for couple item,, selector shaft not on list..

We just install Re-Man trans and let Hyundai contractor (Translead) deal with shaft and any case damages if any,,

 

SBR711--You were correct, it was not the cable as it it very well protected from the elements by the rubber boots, they did seem to lack proper lubrication being an 05, time likely thickened the viscosity, once lubed, moved freely better than new. The bracket where the two cables connect was loose and couldn't be tightened anymore than it was, added a washer and it was tightened and aligned itself perfectly so it would start in Park and now shifts better than new. No rust or corrosion was noted, just an out of alignment(for a unknown reason) bracket. Now if I could just fix my hand brake, my vehicle will be good as new again. Thanks for your help.

 

Are the images for the original post gone?

My 2008 Santa Fe is at about 270k kilometres and after the car was unused for about ten days the gearshift lever now requires force to move. It will usually not stay in D or P at the first attempt and requires some moving around before it sticks to the wanted position. It seems to be easier to move when I've driven for a while and the engine is warm.

Are there any other things to check or should I just remove the battery and tray and check for rust where the sleector shaft enters the transmission?

 

tmulsund, if you can still drive and warm it up fully, do that first, get it HOT. Then quickly tear out battery and tray and SOAK that thing down with a good dose of penetrating oil. When I did mine, I made my own out of ATF and Acetone. Patience and time are what is mainly required. Once I got mine freed up after a few days, soaked up as much crap as I could then heaped on my favorite anti rust goo. Here I use Rust Cure 3000 but I guess anything a bit heavier that can be built up would work. Been three years since I did mine, just touch it up with a bit more oil once a year, still silky smooth. To give you an idea how bad mine was, I had to have it towed home finally.

 

I know I'm late to the party but I have to thank Pawelek, my spirit animal.

I took my 2009 Sante Fe to the dealer with a stiff gear shift (200,000 km) and they wanted $700 to clean the shaft for me (in Ontario, Canada).

I've never touched a car in my life but I broke out my pristine socket set and fixed this no problem by following these instructions. Everything was rusted to **** but the PB Blaster seemed to do the trick. Shifts like butter now.

If I can do it you can, Pawelek is the boss I owe you buddy.

 

We followed the process that you explained. The Park, Reverse, Neutral, but it will not go into Drive. Any thoughts? I was not able to see the pictures noted above but the explanation was wonderful.

 

For future reference. If you’re having this issue, you need to go back and realign the switch. It is imperative it does not move! Even the slightest movement causes issues like mentioned.

 

Question, i have a 2011 that is stuck in park. Brake lights work. I stumbled across this thread, but question for those who are knowledgeable: the shift override (the little slot where you can push down to override the shift lock) works fine on my car. Could the issue still be the fix listed in this thread? Or because my override works, its something else?

 

My 2010 Elantra GLS is stuck in Park. Brake switch works properly (brake lights and shift-lock release), shift cable is fine, shift assembly (inside the car) functions as it should. I narrowed down the problem to the gear selector shaft on the transmission being stuck tighter than bark on a tree. Unmovable. What if there is no visible rust and no suspicion of rust on the gear selector shaft? The transmission was replaced when the car was 5 years old, so maybe that's why it looks pretty clean. I don't have any rusted up bolts, nuts, gear selector lever, neutral safety switch, shift cable, etc, all are rust free. Could this solution of using penetrating oil still be viable for my situation? I've soaked it with Deep Creep for two days and nothin'...still stuck solid. I'm thinking maybe something busted inside the transmission and my lubricating efforts are in vain.

 

my car got stuck in reverse, 2008 Santa Fe. I managed to force it out of reverse and into drive to take it to the muffler shop for a new catalytic converter. the old catalytic and the flex pipe in front of it were badly rusted with holes through and through.

when I picked up the car they put it in manual mode for me to take back home because the car wouldn’t shift/register correct gear when outside of drive.
I worked on it a few days and couldn’t get the dash to light up on the correct drive light, I sometimes got it to light up on reverse while the shaft was set to neutral.

i finally realized it was an electrical problem when everything worked the two times I had it hooked up with jumper cables to my other car. I went and replaced the eight year old battery and everything is working well now

lubricated the shaft and shifting mechanism, put in a new neutral safety switch and battery. Mileage is 213k

 

Anyone know if the Selector Shaft can be replaced if it gets stripped out? The selector shaft is covered in penetrant, but the threads in the nut are absolutely SHOT! I'm assuming the nut is a softer metal than the selector shaft?
Another question. What size nut (I'm in the US) goes onto the selector shaft? Thank all of you for the overwhelming knowledge. 🙏🏾

 

Visit dealer part counter with vin in jand to ID chassis build.

Manual selector shaft, and all of it is service parts, they can print picture for you, andyou use your highlighter marker to show parts wanted, then they look up for you

 

Wow!!! Just popping on here to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for this guide. Bought a used 2008 Santa Fe last month with 280k km on it and after three days, the shifter seized up in my driveway. Same old story… had a mechanic come and look at it and he told me I needed the transmission replaced. Found this forum and was intimidated at first because I had never touched a car repair in my life, but after staring at the dang thing stuck in my driveway for far too long, I knew this was my opportunity to learn. Got a basic socket wrench and extension kit, wire brushes and a can of PB blaster and spent yesterday afternoon taking it apart and lubing up the parts. The wing and switch were rusted on there real good so I had to lube them up, rock em back and forth, wait an hour and come back to repeat the process. Eventually both came off and I lubed up the shaft while using the selector to turn the shaft back and forth and let it sit overnight. When putting it back together I didn’t have a 3/16 drill bit or a 5mm bolt so I used an Alan key that fit nice and snug to align the switch and the wing. The battery had died so I gave it a jump and voila!!!!!! It started. Runs like butter now. I didn’t even have to go back and adjust the parts so the Alan key trick served me very well. This guide saved me a ton of money (only spent about 70 bucks in parts and supplies) and I gained knowledge from this too. Thank you again!!