POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Miles at failure
142,000
Speed
55 mph
Severity
Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No
Narrative
I'M THE OWNER OF A 1995 HYUNDAI SONATA, 2.0L DOHC, AUTOMATIC. DRIVING ON A ICY ROAD IN MICHIGAN THE TRANNY DOWNSHIFTED BY ITSELF FROM 4TH(OD) TO 1ST GEAR AND LOCKED IN 1ST GEAR THROWING ME IN A SNOW BANK! IF IT WASN'T FOR THE SNOW BANK TO STOP THE CAR, I WOULD'VE ENDED IN FRONT OF A INCOMING SEMI! THE TRANSMISSION HAS HAD HARSH SHIFTS/DOWNSHIFTS SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR, BUT I NEVER HAD ANTICIPATED LOCKING UP WHILE DRIVING. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND A HYNUDAI TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN STATING THAT 1995 MODEL TRANSMISSIONS CONTROL UNITS MAY NEED TO BE REFLASHED WITH NEWER VERSION SOFTWARE OR REPLACED WITH NEWER UNITS. APPARENTLY HYUNDAI DIDN'T MAKE A PRIORITY IN NOTIFYING THE OWNERS ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION COMPUTER CAUSING ERRATIC SHIFTS/DOWNSHIFTS! AFTER TALKING TO A HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE ISSUE I GOT THE FOLLOWING ANSWER: "THE 1995 MODEL SONATA IS KNOWN FOR RANDOM TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS, AND LIMPING MODE ISSUES? .." I WAS SPEECHLESS KNOWING OTHER PEOPLE OWN AND DRIVE THIS MODEL AND THAT SAME THING MAY HAPPEN TO THEM. PLEASE, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. *TR