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Manual Shifts Is Very Rough

2522 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  pmurph1x2, 
P
I bought a stick shift GLS in April and overall I'm happy with it. However I think that something is not right with the way it shifts.

Basically when I shift from 1-2-3 it is almost impossible to do it smoothly unless I wait until the revs get to 3K RPM between shifts. This is fine for merging on the highway but not driving around town. Going from 1st to 2nd is really jerky.

Also the engine stalls easily. There is practically no time to give it a little more throttle (or clutch) when you begin to hear the engine revs go down.

At first I thought it was just that I needed to get used to it or the clutch was somehow not broken in yet but now I have 2500miles of driving in traffic and it is not any better.Also I have driven manuals for the past 24 years so, despite what it sounds like, I have a lot of experience driving stick. Additionally my wife drove it for a few days and she had the same experience.

Has anyone else, excluding learner drivers :) , experienced problems with smooth shifting or embarrasing engine stalls?

Thanks
Paul
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jsinton
Sounds like air in the hydraulics. I'd take it to the dealer and see what they said.
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eyecue
Background: I've driven stick for many years.

I've been driving my stick shift Sonata for about 2 months/4000 miles. The first few hundred miles I stalled a few times. I've learned how to control it though now. If you want a smooth non-jerky shift, shift at 2k rpm. It's slower feeling yes, but shifting at a higher rpm makes it ''jerky''. I don't stall anymore. I have to admit i've stalled a lot more in this car than any other stick shift i've had. Not so bad now though.
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Blue07
How much dead travel is there on your gas pedal? In the 4Gs (mine), when I pressed down on the gas pedal, the first 3/4 inch did nothing. It just remained at an idle. At the 3/4 inch point, the rpm would change, but up to that point the gas pedal was dead. That made shifting my car terrible. It caused a delay in fuel delivery, screwed up the timing of the clutch and gas, and really destroyed the entire rhythm of the shift. The fix was extremely easy.

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/index.php?sh...50235&st=20

The thread above discusses a this dead spot in the pedals of 4Gs. Post # 36 shows how I fixed my car. I don't know anything about 5th gens, but this may work for you.
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eyecue
QUOTE (Blue07 @ Aug 4 2010, 11:05 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347072
How much dead travel is there on your gas pedal? In the 4Gs (mine), when I pressed down on the gas pedal, the first 3/4 inch did nothing. It just remained at an idle. At the 3/4 inch point, the rpm would change, but up to that point the gas pedal was dead. That made shifting my car terrible. It caused a delay in fuel delivery, screwed up the timing of the clutch and gas, and really destroyed the entire rhythm of the shift. The fix was extremely easy.

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/index.php?sh...50235&st=20

The thread above discusses a this dead spot in the pedals of 4Gs. Post # 36 shows how I fixed my car. I don't know anything about 5th gens, but this may work for you.
Click to expand...
So is this a fix for the "wheel dampening"? I def feel the dead spot you are talking about. Fast footwork takes care of this though :)

Not sure if it would work for the 5g. Who wants to be the guinea pig :)
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P
Thanks for all the inputs. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that stalls every so often.

I'll have to pay attention to see if there is a dead spot in the accelerator. I have noticed that sometimes I can shift smoother than others so i may just have to recalibrate my foot.

Either way I'll take it to the dealer to see what they say. I might even try to take another one for a test drive for comparison.

Thanks
Paul
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eyecue
QUOTE (pmurph1x @ Aug 4 2010, 03:12 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347129
Thanks for all the inputs. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that stalls every so often.

I'll have to pay attention to see if there is a dead spot in the accelerator. I have noticed that sometimes I can shift smoother than others so i may just have to recalibrate my foot.

Either way I'll take it to the dealer to see what they say. I might even try to take another one for a test drive for comparison.

Thanks
Paul
Click to expand...
Take a stab at shifting below 2k rpm.
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H
I have similar problems with my manual. You just have to learn how to engage it smoothly, just play with different levels of clutch and accelerator action and you'll eventually get it down. I've been driving manuals for a while also, the Sonata definitely has a lot of differences. I'd love to blame it on the electronic throttle but I've had many other cars with electronic throttle in manual and they were just fine, it's some sort of issue in the programing, most people call it torque dampening. Try to shift it as fast as you can and accelerate as quickly as you can and you'll feel the car just lose power while the accelerator is planted. I'm assuming it's emissions programing in the throttle.
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P
OK So I forced myself to shift before 2K and yes it was smooth. However the throttle is super sensitive at the >1500 RPM range so I think that could be the issue.

In response to the post from Blue07 there is no truly "dead spot" in the accelerator - as soon as I depress it the revs do increase nice and smoothly. However once you press the accelerator down about 1 inch the revs start to increase rapidly. Its like you go from 1500RPM to 3500RPM over what feels like a quarter inch of accelerator travel.
Hopefully my description makes sense. I'll post what the dealer says when I take it in.

Thanks - Paul
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P
Same experience

I just got a manual Sonata and I also have trouble with it stalling and it is difficult to shift smoothly through gears 1-2-3. I'm going to take it to a dealer to see what they have to say and as I get used to the car I'll let everyone know my findings.
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