Delay in engaging reverse in my Grand i10 AT: No solution in sight

Start the car from car parking garage in the morning and engage R mode. Car moves back with out any issue.

BHPian gkveda recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello all,

I have a Grand i10 automatic transmission car 2017 (Torque converter}model. Recently, there is a peculiar problem when I put the car into reverse gear(R mode). Here is the detailed description of the problem. Request the experts on this forum to let me know the cause and probable fix.

Scenario 1: Start the car from car parking garage in the morning and engage R mode. Car moves back with out any issue. Once the car hits the road, put the car in D and drive forward. Car moves forward without any issue.  (No issues during cold start).

Scenario 2: Car has run more than 15-20 kms(meaning engine has reached optimal operating temperatures). Put the car into R mode and press accelerator. Dashboard clearly display R In the cluster. However, the Car behaves as if it is in neutral. meaning, accelerator sound raises but car does not move.

After 2-3 attempts of raising the accelerator, (very lightly) there will be a buck sound (a small thud sound) after which car jerks and starts moving back. After this, if I shift the gear to D or P or N and back to R, there is no problem again. It just obeys the gear position. This issue occurs randomly. There is no specific pattern.

Now, to fix the issue, I met with Hyundai ASC and asked them to diagnose the problem and resolve. As usual, the problem did not occur in their presence even after 4-5 trips and test drives . Since they could not reproduce the issue , they started analysis as below:

1. They initially thought it could be due to faulty solenoid and scanned the car. All solenoids were found ok (there were no issues in any of the solenoids).

2. They checked oil level using dip stick method and said oil is only less by 1-2 mm and it should be fine for and 1-2 mm less than the mark does not matter.

3. They checked battery level and it was found 62%. The SA said that battery voltage level is low and may be this could be the reason for solenoid to malfunction.

Confusion started now. I asked his senior if battery could be a cause for this delay in engaging reverse gear. He responded, in iAMT battery voltage variation can cause the solenoid malfunction but not in torque converter.

They argued for 2-3 mins and finally suggested me to:

A. Change the battery (battery is original 2017 manufactured excide)
B. Add and top up some transmission oil

If the issue persists, they asked me to go back to them for reproduction of this issue and they will do deep dive

I am not convinced with both above solutions since they themselves are not confident the issue can be resolved with above recommendation.

Request you all to let me know your thoughts on how to proceed.

Here's what BHPian audioholic replied:

Can you try completely replacing the ATF? Is the ATF degraded which makes it lose viscosity at higher temps hence not engaging reverse correctly? Thats what I can logically relate to. If replacement of the ATF isnt solving the problem then you have to look deeper into the transmission oil pump. Since you say the issue is only with delayed engaging of reverse, I feel the oil is the culprit.

Here's what BHPian It's Magic replied:

I had a similar problem with my manual Grand i10, where sometimes the reverse gear wouldn't engage on the first attempt. The engine would just rev after pressing the accelerator, but nothing would happen. However, if I put the gear in neutral or first and then re-engaged the reverse gear, it would slot in without any issues. As this was a very rare occurrence, I never really brought it to the service centre notice, and it never really bothered me.

Now, when I read your post, I remembered it and thought of mentioning that the problem might not be specific to automatic transmission.

I think I read about this issue either in the official Grand i10 review or in some forum discussion a long time ago. Unfortunately, I can't find it now.

Here's what BHPian Mr.Bentley replied:

A rough guess, but I think there is some issue with gear synchronization.

I faced this in multiple manual transmission cars during my driving experience. Not an apt gearbox-to-gearbox comparison, but I see this even in my 2018 manual Grand i10 time to time (saw this even when the car was just a few months old).
Every time I'm in this situation, I try double de-clutching, and it works all the time.

Here's what usually happens:
I engage reverse gear, I gear slots into reverse position, but the car doesnt move - it just revvs there (sometimes there will be a little grinding sound).
I shift back to neutral again, do a small tap on the accelerator, wait for the revs to get back to idling range and then shift to reverse again. Now the car moves back as intended.

I've read somewhere that this is a common practice in vehicles (usually old trucks) which do not have a Gear Synchronizer.

I usually face this issue during cold starts, more specifically when I parked/stopped the car in motion in Neutral or with clutch pressed.
So every time I start the car, I engage first gear and go an inch or two forward and then shift to reverse. This worked 99.9% times.

I guess your gearbox is also doing something similar - trying to mesh the gears when they are not in sync, and that is taking time. AFAIK, this is not a wear and tear issue, but a quirk in gearbox design itself.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen replied:

I would at least check what happens when you change the battery. With the engine cold the resistance of the solenoid is low. As the engine and its surrounding warms the resistance increases. A battery at its end of its life might give problems then. It’s a well known phenomena on starter motors that won’t work properly on warm engines in combination with warm battery.

See if you can borrow somebody’s battery.

Good luck

Jeroen

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