'11 Sportage transmission "scrubbing" noise

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 10, 2016
Messages
1,255
Location
Campbellsville, KY
A customer asked me about a noise his '11 Sportage (2.4L/auto, 175K) is making, and after a test drive and a little poking around with it in the air it appears to be in the transmission. Becoming audible from inside the car above about 15 MPH, the only time the noise doesn't occur is when there's absolute slack in the drivetrain - even when slowing down it's there, but slightly quieter than when sustaining speed or accelerating. It's not a whir or whine, like a wheel bearing, and not a defined bang or pop - more like an oscillating scrubbing sound that has a rhythm to it, directly related to ground speed; however, it's not related to wheel speed because when I had it in the air, idling in drive (speedo was reading around 20) and rubbed a board on one tire slowing one wheel the noise didn't change in relation to that, only with the difference in engine speed. Which makes me think it's in the final drive portion of the transmission. But after some googling I don't see any mention of a similar, common problem with these vehicles.

Thoughts? I'm inclined to recommend against any maintenance to try to "save" the transmission, because new fluid ain't gonna help worn or banged up final drive gears, and just drive it 'til it gets worse or fails then rebuild/replace.
 
Does it have an atf dipstick, and if so what color is the fluid? Hopefully it's been changed a few times over the 175k miles. Prob needs a new trans would be my guess. It would be nice to drop the pan and change the filter. No flushes. Funny/weird trans issues have been solved with a simple drain and fill. It's worth doing a little maintenance to see if an issue goes away. Esp ones that cost less than $100. Napa prob has a decent filter in stock. If that doesn't solve it I'd stop there and not continue doing maintenance type stuff to it.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Does it have an atf dipstick, and if so what color is the fluid? Hopefully it's been changed a few times over the 175k miles. Prob needs a new trans would be my guess. It would be nice to drop the pan and change the filter. No flushes. Funny/weird trans issues have been solved with a simple drain and fill. It's worth doing a little maintenance to see if an issue goes away. Esp ones that cost less than $100. Napa prob has a decent filter in stock. If that doesn't solve it I'd stop there and not continue doing maintenance type stuff to it.

Pretty sure that is a sealed unit with an internal filter. I'd still do a drain and fill on it though. Not terribly difficult and Kia ATF is pretty cheap.
 
Originally Posted By: KGMtech
Are the bolts holding the flex plate tight to the TC? I saw this issue on YT - it was a Korean car IIRC.
Complete wild guess. Maybe a cracked flex plate?
 
I'd put the front up on jack stands, turn off traction control, and have someone "drive" it and crawl underneath and listen.
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
It's not a whir or whine, like a wheel bearing, and not a defined bang or pop - more like an oscillating scrubbing sound that has a rhythm to it, directly related to ground speed; however, it's not related to wheel speed because when I had it in the air, idling in drive (speedo was reading around 20)

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I'd put the front up on jack stands, turn off traction control, and have someone "drive" it and crawl underneath and listen.
 
Originally Posted By: HangFire
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
It's not a whir or whine, like a wheel bearing, and not a defined bang or pop - more like an oscillating scrubbing sound that has a rhythm to it, directly related to ground speed; however, it's not related to wheel speed because when I had it in the air, idling in drive (speedo was reading around 20)

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I'd put the front up on jack stands, turn off traction control, and have someone "drive" it and crawl underneath and listen.
33.gif
I'm an idiot
 
I ruled out something on the engine side of the transmission because the frequency of the noise corresponds to ground speed, not engine speed - but not to the speed of one wheel or another, which would indicate it's in the final drive before the spider gears/axle shafts.

I believe this unit is intended to be non-serviceable, but I'll see what a drain/fill would cost.
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
I ruled out something on the engine side of the transmission because the frequency of the noise corresponds to ground speed, not engine speed - but not to the speed of one wheel or another, which would indicate it's in the final drive before the spider gears/axle shafts.

I believe this unit is intended to be non-serviceable, but I'll see what a drain/fill would cost.

Dealer averages seem to be in the $150 range (at least near my location, YMMV). Indie shops seem to be around the $85-100 range. Or you can do it yourself:

1) Remove undercarriage panel

2) Remove fill plug (do this first- you don't want to drain fluid and find that you cannot remove fill plug)

3) Drain fluid through drain plug (I believe it requires a 24mm socket, or your 3/8" socket wrench will fit perfectly inside without an attachment)

4) Reinstall drain plug and remove level check plug

5) With a catch pan underneath, fill transmission with ATF using a long funnel (preferably a 12" funnel). When transmission level is correct, a thin stream will come out of level check hole.

6) Start car and let it idle for about 15 minutes. Once done, shift through gears.

7) Add fluid until a thin stream comes out of level check plug.

8) Reinstall level check plug and fill plug.

Note: The car must be level in order to get accurate level checks.

There are also plenty of youtube videos out there covering this that will give better step by step directions than I have. It's pretty straight forward though. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quick and now you can perform another bit of preventative maintenance on your vehicle.
 
Originally Posted By: Alex_V
I ruled out something on the engine side of the transmission because the frequency of the noise corresponds to ground speed, not engine speed - but not to the speed of one wheel or another, which would indicate it's in the final drive before the spider gears/axle shafts.

I believe this unit is intended to be non-serviceable, but I'll see what a drain/fill would cost.


Dealer averages seem to be in the $150 range (at least near my location, YMMV). Indie shops seem to be around the $85-100 range. Or you can do it yourself:

1) Remove undercarriage panel

2) Remove fill plug. Do this first- you don't want to drain fluid and find that you cannot remove fill plug. (I believe this is a 22mm socket, but a 3/8" extension will fit in the center of the plug)

3) Drain fluid through drain plug. (I believe it requires a 24mm socket, or your 3/8" socket wrench will fit perfectly inside without an attachment)

4) Reinstall drain plug and remove level check plug

5) With a catch pan underneath, fill transmission with ATF using a long funnel (preferably a 12" funnel). When transmission level is correct, a thin stream will come out of level check hole.

6) Start car and let it idle for about 15 minutes. Once done, shift through gears.

7) Add fluid until a thin stream comes out of level check plug.

8) Reinstall level check plug and fill plug.

Note: The car must be level in order to get accurate level checks.

There are also plenty of youtube videos out there covering this that will give better step by step directions than I have. Also important, the fill plug is plastic so don't over-torque it. It's pretty straight forward though. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quick and now you can perform another bit of preventative maintenance on your vehicle.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top