Shudder @45 Mph

MTROXELL · 03-16-2006, 07:22 AM

i HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THIS PROBLEM FOR A WHILE NOW..IT STARTED AS A LUNGE FEELING WHEN IT WOULD SHIFT FROM 3-4 SOMETIMES WOULD ALMOST BE COMPARED TO WHIPLASH...THEN IT PROGRESSED TO A SHUDDER @45MPH.. GOOD NEWS.. THEY ARE FINALLY REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION. MY FLUID WAS BROWN AT 28KMILES..HAD IT FLUSHED...WAS BROWN AGAIN AT 40K. WE SHALL SEE IF IT'S FIXED.

miki425 · 04-01-2006, 12:33 AM

Hi my Sedona 2002 also shudders on a regular basis, sometimes the Check Engine light comes on. I tried replacing with an equivalent spark plug (all 6), but this did not solve my shuddering. After the shudder, the check engine light comes on, and I'm in the fail-mode tranmission gear (3rd gear) basically limping my way along at high RPMs.

Next thing I'm going to try is replacing the spark wires. Then I'll try to replace with OEM spark plugs but these plugs are like $20/each x 6 =$120 total. I don't know if this will help solve my mis-fire / shuddering.

Anyone dealt with this mis-firing shuddering issue?

Thanks, please email me as well with your reply.
Miki - miki425@yahoo.com

len1266 · 04-01-2006, 01:14 AM

About 2 yrs ago I had something simlar with our Carnival,it turned out to be a small vacuum hose connected to the feul injection system,it also caused the check engine light to come on.Once we replaced the hose the shuddering disappeared & the check engine light did not come back on.The hose would be no more than 7 or 8 inches long with an elbow in the middle.I hope this helps.Cheers Len

MTROXELL · 04-01-2006, 07:19 AM

I NEVER GOT A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. HAD THE TRANNY REPLACED AND THE ULTIMATE SHUDDER IS GONE BUT THIS TRANS IS REACTING THE SAME WAY AS MY OLD ONE...THERE IS A DEF. HICCUP BETWEEN THIRD AND FOURTH GEAR WHEN ACCEL ESP WHEN AGGRESSIVE AND ALSO I BELIEVE THEY MUST HAVE MESSED UP MY ALIGNMENT(LET ME KNOW WHAT U THINK) CUZ SINCE I GOT IT BACK I HAVE NO LEFT HAND TURN RADIUS(CAN'T EVEN MAKE TURNS I USED TO BE ABLE TOO) BUT RIGHT HAND TURNS ARE FINE. IT FEELS LIKE THE TORQUE CONVERTER IS NOT MAKING A SMOOTH TRANSITION INTO LOCK UP? ANYONE KNOW MORE ABOUT TRANS TOPICS AND OPERATIONS?

knightyuae · 04-01-2006, 08:45 AM

I had the shudder due to misfiring, which was caused by lead/coil issues. The leads and plugs were replaced with new and one of the coils (apparently there are more than one - I think 3?) was replaced with a used one (out of warranty) and it's been fine for a few months now.

That shudder you guys have described with the noticeable lurch from 3rd to 4th sounds quite different. If it's an engine related (misfire) then you should not notice a lash at gear change, I certainly didn't with the misfire. Your problem sounds like transmission.

One other car of mine had a killer vibe at a particular speed, which turned out to be the universal joint (rear wheel drive) - maybe your shudder could be a CV joint at the front...if it always happens at 3-4 gearchange then it's probably trannie. If it happens at a specific speed it could be a CV joint.

Inky · 04-01-2006, 05:16 PM

When replacing components to fix an ignition system problem, it's important that they all be done at the same time. IOW, don't replace plugs and then, later, replace the wires. If you have to replace a coil, replace the plug wires and plugs when doing so. (NOTE: You don't have to replace coil(s) each time you replace the plugs or wires, nor do you have to replace the wires when the plugs are replaced as part of routine maintenance.)

I learned this lesson the hard way.

RDNK4RE · 04-05-2006, 08:48 PM

Troxell I hate to say it but I would take it back and go for the test drive with a mech or service manager whichever to deminstrate the turning issue you have. The transmission operation actually sounds normal to me. These are computer controlled transmissions so the ecm tells the transmission when and how to shift, hickups are a combinations of sensor inputs and the programmed values in the ecm. I actaully just asked about any software updates for the ecms specificly for the transmissions last week and at that time there was no updates for any of the transmissions attached to the 3.5L 6 cylinder.

In areas with more rolling hills the transmissions on the Sedona, Amanti and Sorento all seem to become lost in gear when transitioning from down hill to up and up hill to down, but sadly no updates. I experienced this problem in the rolling hills around Athens, GA in my Amanti, my wife experienced it in her Sedona in the mountains and hills in Nebraska and South Dakota. In a conversation with the service manager I prefer to deal with he also experienced it in a sorento in Richmond, Va. At that same time he told me about the parts coming from Korea to fix the Sedona's from clunking, I'm still waiting for some guinea pigs for that fix.

miki425 · 04-06-2006, 12:14 AM

Good news! I just wanted to close up my problem situation concerning my initial thread (2nd one from top). Key message is trust your equipment. Meaning, my ODBII registered a P0715 error (input shaft speed sensor) when the Sedona shuddered. Initital I thought it was a mis-firing so I bought plugs, then another set of Kia plugs, then when that didn't solve my shuddering problem, I bought the plug wires. All of this caused the check engine light to come on after a hard shuddering which would throw my transmission into 3rd gear (fail-safe mode). I kep getting P0715 code but didn't trust it, figuring something else further upstream caused this to register.

So I said, OK I'll go ahead and buy another input shaft speed sensor. Well after replacing this baby... I'm good again. Shifts really smooth and nice. No shuddering.

Concerning changing the spark plugs on the 2002 Kia Sedona. Yes, the back three plugs look intimidating at first because you can't readily get access to it without removing a few things (manifold). But don't let scare you, just take it one nut/bolt at a time. It took me several paces around this thing to get some confidence to pull things out to get to the plugs. But it can be done. I've heard others trying to get from under the car and I don't know how they do it without being a limber gymnist. I found it to be much easier to go from top. Take the 8 nuts from the manifold, the 4 bolts that attach the "butterfly/air flap" component. The 3-4 bolts on the back of the manifold bracket, and the surrounding electronic nic-nacks. The manifold just pops right off exposing the back three plugs.