Car not shifting to neutral Hyundai Sonata 2004 Owner's Manual

DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI 2- 5
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C050B01A-AATNormal Conditions:
The Starting Procedure:
1. Insert key, and fasten the seat belt.
2. Depress the clutch pedal fully and place the
gearshift lever (manual transaxle) in neutral
or the selector lever (automatic transaxle) in
"P" (park) position.
3. After turning the ignition key to the "ON"
position, make certain all warning lights and
gauges are functioning properly before start-
ing the engine.
WARNING:Be sure that the clutch is fully depressed
when starting a manual transaxle vehicle.
Your manual transaxle equipped vehicle
will not start unless the clutch pedal is fully
depressed. On a manual transaxle equipped
vehicle that can be started without de-
pressing the clutch, there is the potential to
cause
damage to the vehicle or injury to someone
inside or outside the vehicle as a result of
the forward or backward movement of the
vehicle that will occur if the clutch is not
depressed when the vehicle is started.4. Turn the ignition key to the "Start" position
and release it when the engine starts.
After the engine has started, allow the engine
to run for 10 to 20 seconds prior to placing
the vehicle in gear.
The starter should not be operated for more
than 15 seconds at a time. Wait 15-30 sec-
onds between starting attempts to protect
the starter from overheating.
C070A02A-AAT
OPERATING THE MANUAL
TRANSAXLE
Your Hyundai's manual transaxle has a con-
ventional shift pattern. This shift pattern is im-
printed on the shift knob. The transaxle is fully
synchronized in all forward gears so shifting to
either a higher or a lower gear is easily accom-
plished.
NOTE:o To shift into reverse, rest the lever in
neutral for at least 3 seconds after your
car is completely stopped. Then move
the lever into the reverse position.
o During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not harm-
ful to the transaxle.
o If you've come to a complete stop and
it's hard to shift into 1st or R(Reverse),
put the shift lever in N(Neutral) position
and release the clutch. Press the clutch
pedal back down, and then shift into 1st
or R(Reverse) gear position.
o Do not use the shift lever as a handrest
during driving, as this can result in pre-
mature wear of the transaxle shift forks.
!CAUTION:When downshifting from fifth gear to fourth
gear, caution should be taken not to inad-
vertently press the gear lever sideways in
such a manner that second gear is en-
gaged. Such a drastic downshift may cause
the engine speed to increase to the point
that the tachometer will enter the red-zone.
Such over-revving of the engine may pos-
sibly cause engine damage.
HEF-238

2- 6 DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
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shift into reverse, depress the clutch, move
the shift lever to neutral, wait three seconds,
then shift to the reverse position.
o Exercise extreme caution when driving on a
slippery surface. Be especially careful when
braking, accelerating or shifting gears. On a
slippery surface, an abrupt change in ve-
hicle speed can cause the drive wheels to
lose traction and the vehicle to go out of
control.C070E02A-AATRecommended Shift Points
The shift points as shown on the chart are
recommended for optimum fuel economy and
performance.
Shift
from-to
1-2
2-3
3-4
4-5Recommended
mph (km/h)
15 (20)
25 (40)
35 (55)
45 (75)
C070B01A-AATUsing the Clutch
The clutch should be pressed all the way to the
floor before shifting, then released slowly. The
clutch pedal should always be used after fully
returning to the original position. Do not rest your
foot on the clutch pedal while driving. This can
cause unnecessary wear.
Do not partially engage the clutch to hold the car
on an incline. This causes unnecessary wear.
Use the parking brake to hold the car on an
incline. Do not operate the clutch pedal rapidly
and repeatedly.
C070D02A-AATGood Driving Practices
o Never take the car out of gear and coast
down a hill. This is extremely hazardous.
Always leave the car in gear.
o Don't "ride" the brakes. This can cause them
to overheat and malfunction. Instead, when
you are driving down a long hill, slow down
and shift to a lower gear. When you do this,
engine braking will help slow the car.
o Slow down before shifting to a lower gear.
This will help avoid over-revving the engine,
which can cause damage.
o Slow down when you encounter cross winds.
This gives you much better control of your
car.
o Be sure the car is completely stopped before
you attempt to shift into reverse. The
transaxle can be damaged if you do not. To
WARNING:o Avoid high cornering speeds.
o Do not make quick steering wheel move-
ments, such as sharp lane changes or
fast, sharp turns.
o Always wear your seat belts.
In a collision crash, un unbelted person
is significantly more likely to die than a
person wearing a seatbelt.
o The risk of rollover is greatly increased if
you lose control of your vehicle at high-
way speeds.
o Loss of control often occurs if two or
more wheels drop off the roadway and
the driver oversteers to reenter the road-
way.
o In the event your vehicle leaves the road-
way, do not steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into the travel
lanes.
o Never exceed posted speed limits.

2- 8 DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
C090E01O-AAT
o D(Drive):
Use for normal driving. The transaxle will auto-
matically shift through a four gear sequence.
C090F02O-GATSports Mode
C090D02O-AATo N (Neutral):
In the "N" position, the transaxle is in neutral,
which means that no gears are engaged. The
engine can be started with the shift lever in "N"
position, although this is not recommended
except if the engine stalls while the car is
moving.
C090B01A-AATThe function of each position is as fol-
lows:
o P (Park):
Use to hold the vehicle in place when parked or
while starting the engine; shift the selector lever
to the "P" (Park) position. Whenever parking the
car, apply the parking brake and shift the selec-
tor lever to the "P" (Park) position.
C090C01A-AATo R(Reverse):
Use for backing up the vehicle. Bring the car to
a complete stop before shifting the selector
lever to "R" position.
CAUTION:Never place the selector lever in the "P"
(Park) position unless the vehicle is fully
stopped. Failure to observe this caution
will cause severe damage to the transaxle.Whether the vehicle is stationary or in motion,
sports mode is selected by pushing the selector
lever from the "D" position into the manual gate.
To return to "D" range operation, push the
selector lever back into the main gate.
In sports mode, moving the selector lever back-
wards and forwards can make rapid gearshifts
simple. In contrast to a manual transaxle, the
sports mode allows gearshifts with the accel-
erator pedal depressed.
UP (+) : Push the lever forward once to shift up
one gear.
DOWN (-) : Pull the lever backwards once to
shift down one gear.
SKIP : By rapidly moving the selector forward or
backward twice, it is possible to skip one gear,
i.e. 1st to 3rd or 3rd to 1st .HXG200
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