Hyundai Repair: 5 speed transimission problem, gearshift, levers

Question
A couple of days go the transimission started not working in 3rd or 4th gear.  You could shift into all other gears but when you went to rd or 4th it felt like there was nothing there.  The shifter just juggles around in those gears and doesnt engage ( no feeling of even being in a gear) What can cause this?  I checked the linkage at the shifter and it all seems to be working fine.  I then took it to a mechanic to look at it and now it doesnt work in anything except 5th and reverse.  Could it bee something as simple as a adjustment or the bushing being worn down so the shifter isnt getting enough response to engage the gears?

Answer
Hi, Mark.  

Can you tell me what the mechanic did?  Did he have any findings?  It would certainly seem that a mechanic should be able to tell you whether the problem were with the shifter, cables, or inside the transmission.

If this were just a problem with just 3rd and 4th gears, I might suspect a problem in the transmission.  And as you had no other issue until the mechanic worked on your vehicle, there still remains a possibility that the issue may be in the transmission.

As the problem is now with 1st and 2nd gears as well, I suspect there's a problem with a shifter cable or its attachment to the gearshift or transmission, or a problem with the cable in addition to a problem in the transmission.

It's relatively simple to check the shifter and cables.  Simply remove the console to expose the shifter.  Check to be sure that the cables are not only securely attached to the transmission and shifter, but are also clipped in place on the brackets.  Also check that the shifter appears to not be broken and that the brackets are securely attached to the transmission.

If that's okay, pop the cables loose from the transmission and attempt to manually engage each gear using the levers on top of the transmission.  If you still have the same issues, the problem is internal to the transmission.