DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
2- 5 o Be sure the car is completely stopped be-
fore you attempt to shift into reverse. The
transaxle can be damaged if you do not. To
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 vehi-
cle speed can cause the drive wheels to
lose traction and the vehicle to go out of
control.
WARNING: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 In a collision crash, an unbelted person
is significantly more likely to die than a
person wearing a seatbelt.
HGK174 C090A03Y-AAT
AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE
The highly efficient Hyundai automatic transaxle
has four forward speeds and one reverse speed.
The individual speeds are selected automati-
cally, depending on the position of the speed
selector lever. The selector lever has 2 gates;
the main gate and the manual gate.
NOTE:For information on manual gate operation,
refer to "Sports Mode".
In the main gate, the selector lever has 4
positions, and is equipped with a button to avoid
inadvertent wrong selection.
NOTE:Depress the brake pedal and push the
button when shifting.
Push the button when shifting.
The selector lever can be shifted freely.
The first few shifts on a new vehicle, or if the
battery has been disconnected, may be
somewhat abrupt. This is a normal condi-
tion, and the shifting sequence will adjust
after shifts are cycled a few times by the
T.C.M (Transmission Control Module).
C070E02GK-AATRECOMMENDED SHIFT POINTS
The shift points as shown below are recom-
mended for optimum fuel economy and perfor-
mance.
1-2
2-3
3-4
4-5 Shift
from-toRecommended
15 mph (20 km/h)
25 mph (40 km/h)
35 mph (55 km/h)
45 mph (75 km/h)
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
2- 6
C090C01A-AAT
o R(Reverse):Use for backing up the vehicle. Bring the car to
a complete stop before shifting the selector
lever to "R" position.
C090D02O-AAT
o 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.
C090E01O-AATo D(Drive):
Use for normal driving. The transaxle will auto-
matically shift through a four gear sequence.
C090B01A-AATThe function of each position is as
follows:
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
selector lever to the "P" (Park) 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.
CAUTION:Never shift into "R" or "P" position while
the vehicle is moving.
C090A02L
C090F01GK-GAT
Sports Mode
HGK175
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.
The indicator lights in the instrument cluster
indicate the selector lever position when the
ignition is switched "ON". During the sports
mode operation, the gear currently in use dis-
plays in the numeral indicator.
DRIVING YOUR HYUNDAI
2- 7 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 .
CAUTION:o In sports mode, the driver must execute
upward shifts in accordance with pre-
vailing road conditions, taking care to
keep the engine speed below the red
zone.
o For engine protection, upward shifts are
made automatically when the engine rpm
reaches the red zone.
o By rapidly moving the selector lever back-
wards (-) twice it is possible to skip one
gear by using the sports mode. Since
sudden engine braking and/or rapid ac-
celeration can cause a loss of traction,
however, downshifts must be made care-
fully in accordance with the vehicle's
speed.
NOTE:o In sports mode, only the four forward
gears can be selected. To reverse or park
the vehicle, move the selector lever to
the "R" or "P" position as required.
o In sports mode, downward shifts are
made automatically when the vehicle
slows down. When the vehicle stops, 1st
gear is automatically selected.
o To maintain the required levels of vehicle
performance and safety, the system may
not execute certain gearshifts when the
selector lever is operated.o Before driving away from a stop on a
slippery road, push the selector lever
forward into the +(UP) position. This
causes the transaxle to shift into 2nd
gear which is better for smooth driving
away on a slippery road. Push the selec-
tor lever to the -(DOWN) side to shift
back to 1st gear.
C090H01L-GAT
NOTE:o For smooth and safe operation, depress
the brake pedal when shifting from “Neu-
tral” position or “Park” position to a
forward or reverse gear.
o The ignition key must be in the “ON”
position and the brake pedal fully de-
pressed in order to move the shift lever
from the “P” (Park) position to any of the
other positions.
o It is always possible to shift from “R”,
“N”, “D” position to “P” position. The
vehicle must be fully stopped to avoid
transaxle damage.
C090I02L-GAT
CAUTION:
o Shift into “R” and “P” position only when
the vehicle has completely stopped.
o Do not accelerate the engine in reverse
or any of the forward positions with the
brakes applied.
o Always apply the footbrake when shift-
ing from “P” or “N”, to “R”, “D”position.
C090N01O-AATGood Driving Practices
o Never move the gear selector lever from “P”
or “N” to any other position with the acceler-
ator pedal depressed.
o Never move the gear selector lever into “P”
when the vehicle is in motion.
o Be sure the car is completely stopped be-
fore you attempt to shift into “R”.
o Never take the car out of gear and coast
down a hill. This may be extremely hazard-
ous. Always leave the car in gear when
moving.
o Do not “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.
Otherwise, the lower gear may not be en-
gaged. o Do not use the “P” (Park) position in
place of the parking brake. Always set
the parking brake, shift the transaxle into
“P” (Park) position and turn off the igni-
tion when you leave the vehicle, even
momentarily. Never leave the vehicle
unattended while the engine is running.
o Check the automatic transaxle fluid level
regularly, and add fluid as necessary.
o See the maintenance schedule for the
proper fluid recommendation.