Hi everyone, first time here... Hoping you can help me out because I am in major panic mode!!!

I have a 2001 Hyundai Elantra GLS with about 109k miles on the transmission and I think around 60k on the engine (previous owner took it in for scheduled maintenance at 60k miles, something went wrong and the engine blew so the dealer replaced it). So tonight I was driving on the freeway around 65-70 mph and all of a sudden there was a loud thud under the front of the car toward the driver's side, and the check engine light turned on immediately. I panicked and pulled to the side of the road thinking maybe a tire blew or something, but the car still ran so I got off the freeway and pulled into a parking lot. It didn't seem like I had hit anything and there were no weird sounds, nothing dragging, no smoke, no weird smells, engine temp was normal, etc. Eventually drove it home very slowly and the only things I noticed were that when I switched into and out of reverse the car seemed to jump, and when I would accelerate from being stopped it took a little bit longer for my car to get going. Seemed like the brakes might be a bit different too, but I couldn't be sure because I was trying to drive it as gently as possible! When I got home I turned it off then on again a few minutes later, and it still started. Overall it just feels like the car doesn't have as much power.

Can anyone tell me what is going on and if it is okay for me to drive my car? I spent $1200 less than a year ago to do maintenance (oil change, alignment, air filter, tires), fix an oil leak, replace the front left wheel bearing, replace the belts, etc. I'm an incredibly broke college student and this could not have come at a worse time... I live way up in the hills and If I can't get to work and school then I am completely done for! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

**Not sure if this has anything to do with it but about a month ago the interior air randomly stopped working. I would turn the fans on full blast and no air would come out, but the a/c and fans still worked because I could hear them switching on/moving. Anyways after about a week I was driving and all of a sudden the air came on full blast and has worked perfectly ever since.**

Doesn't sound too good. You live in the hills, you don't say you change the trans fluid. Not a good combination.

You have a check engine light, you need to get the trouble code scan before you do anything. Take it to AutoZone for a free code scan. Write down the codes, report them back here.

Been planning on getting the transmission flushed but I haven't been able to afford it :/ Just moved up to the hills about a month ago though and the drive isn't really intense or anything, just meant more that I don't have any other mode of transportation if I need it.

So I am okay to drive it to Autozone though?

Well, you definitely need a code scan somehow. I'd avoid driving it until you got the engine light to go out and get a fluid changed. Only use the Hyundai spec SP-III fluid, as routinely use "universal" fluid and do more harm than good.

A 2000 Elantra with an auto trans is an underpowered and overworked car as it is. It's really hard on a transmission.

So what color is your trans fluid? What does it smell like?

Gotta be at work in 4.5 hours. Don't know what I'm going to do! Work and Autozone are both like 5 miles away... Was able to drive home after that happened last night. Went about 30 mph and it was like 10 miles probably...


Let me check on the trans fluid and get back to you...

Ok so I checked the fluid. I know I should have checked it while the car was idling but I didn't want to turn it on yet. The fluid looked perfect, not dirty or burnt. Looked like it might be a bit over full though because after sitting all night it was up to the hot level. Don't know why it would be over full but could that cause problems?

So anyways, checked that, checked the oil. Looked around, didn't see anything that looked too out of place (not that I know much about what it would look like if something were wrong lol). Turned the car on and it started fine, and the check engine light was off! Granted I was too afraid to take it out of park quite yet, so I guess it could come back on... I feel like I remember my check engine light tuning on once before though and it would always come right back on as soon as I started my car, even if it had been off for a while. Guess I won't be able to tell until I try to drive it... What do you guys think?

That's good. Don't worry about the fluid level, sounds ok. Now you need the code scan. Probably it's going to say input sensor or something fixable.

What if the check engine light doesn't come back on though.... I mean I guess I should still just go easy on it and try to get the transmission flushed asap right?

Something is not right. Have the codes read.

Yeah the transmission is definitely slipping a lot. Check engine light didn't turn on at all when I drove though so at least there's that. But it's weird, it almost feels like something happened to my brakes too because they feel different now and if I push them too quickly they make a weird sound... Wth happened?! I'm 99.9% positive I didn't run over anything....

Read the codes, codes are stored in memory. You're not helping the car driving around like that.

I drove 5 miles away because I had to get to work, and I drove really slow, tried not to let it switch gears too much. I don't plan on driving it anywhere else except to Autozone.

What are the codes? With that mileage and an auto tranny I'd say there's a problem with the tranny, it may need to be rebuilt/replaced. If this is the case and you can't afford to get it done now then you will likely lose reverse and all gears except 1st. I don't know what could have caused the noise you heard but maybe you'll get lucky and it came from someone else's car. As far as the brakes there could be a vacuum leak somewhere, that will cause the brakes to feel different. The weird sound could mean the pads are worn. Check them to see how much of the pad is left. You can do this by removing the tire and looking at the pads without taking anything else off.