I have a 2000 Hyundai accent. I was changing oil and mistakenly drained tranny fluid instead. I then put about 4 1/2 quarts of oil in engine on top of what was already in thinking I drained everything. About 8 1/2 quarts were in engine! I started car and let idle with all that oil and no tranny fluid, I then reverse car and parked it. It idled fine but I could hear the tranny gears jump and jerk in place when I reversed and parked; most likely because there was no fluid. But did I do damage or not? I did not go for a drive and the car was only idling for like a minute and then I reversed and parked car and turned it off.
I was told that if there was no tranny fluid in the automatic car, that it would not start at all. It did start and change gears. Does that mean there was still some fluid in the pump? The dipstick was dry, but it still:mad: turned on.

Did I do damage just letting car idle and then reversing and turning it off?

Probably not. But that certainly was not the smartest of things to do to turn it on BUT you did turn it off right away. The only true test will be to fill it up with tranny oil, turn it on and hear if there are any "funny" noises going on. Hopefully your car was not damaged. I once drove around with no oil in my Jeep's engine for about a week and I didn't burn it out... but then it is a 6 banger and you can't kill them with a sledge hammer.

I just was able to get tranny fluid from a hyundai dealer since no auto store sells hyundai's stuff. But I filled it up and heard no "funny" sounds so far. Also the engine seemed fine and I smelled no burnt oil and it seems the seals did not blow from the 8 1/2 quarts of oil!! in the engine. So if it runs fine no does that mean there should be no problems?? Thanks

Should I be surprised the car even ran with all that oil without screwing up?

You should be OK but I'd definitely keep my ear open for any funny noises or watch how it shifts when out on the road. If you are starting to experience hard shifting then ah oh you are going to have tranny problems and better to get the car to a mechanic pronto. The fact you did not move it very far was much to your advantage. The engine did not get any damage either as you didn't take it out and run the hell out of the engine say racing up and down the highway at 60 MPH for an hour. You would have definitely had the engine blow up then.

Somebody must have been watching over you trannyman as your car still runs. Those little 4 bangers can be very touchy. I had several 4 bangers and I had pretty good luck with the engines.

Do me a favor, OK? Go to one of those quicky oil change places and have them do it for you as they will also properly grease your car at the same time the oil is changed. Or go to a reliable mechanic to have your oil changed. The price of the oil change is not that much more than you buying the oil and oil filter and doing it yourself. Plus you will be able to have the car jacked up in the air and have the opportunity to check out the underside of the car and look at stuff like your muffler, exhaust pipes and stuff like that that you don't normally have a good chance to look at. I have my Jeep up in the air and can inspect these things myself and know what to expect. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm dumb.

I've had some very expensive auto mechanics lessons from a master mechanic over the years. Every time my car was worked on I was there with him and asking him all kinds of questions. The one thing I did remember and like to pass on to everyone is the fact that the louder a sound your car makes the more expensive the repair is going to be. Also don't let your car's problem continue. The qucker you have them fixed the less likely there will be more problems caused by the original problem.